Background In response to the growing healthcare needs of the population and with the aim of optimizing the services dedicated to them, several studies have focused on evaluating nursing practice such as activities, roles, and competencies in various settings. However, despite the available data on nursing practice and its effects, ambiguity in the literature regarding the concepts used to describe practice remains. It limits comparisons between studies and contributes to a shared misunderstanding of nursing practice. Purpose To develop a clear and comprehensive operational definition of the concept of Actual Scope of Practice in the field of nursing science. Method The Walker and Avant (2019)’s concept analysis method was used to unpack the concept Actual Scope of Practice . The literature search was conducted in the databases CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE with Full Text (EBSCO), PubMed, Scopus, and the Health Care Administration Database, as well as in gray literature (Google), without time restrictions. 22 articles were included. Article selection and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. Data were analyzed using content analysis and thematic analysis. Results The attributes—“nurse’s legal scope of practice for which they were trained,” “operationalization of knowledge and competencies,” and “determinants of enactment”—were identified as elements consistently observed whenever the concept appeared. The initial nursing education and ongoing professional development, the current legal and regulatory standards governing nursing practice, the population needs that nurses must address, and the internal and external resources available to the nurse precede the concept of the Actual Scope of Practice but are necessary for it. Finally, the Actual Scope of Practice leads to multiple consequences, including impacts on patient outcomes, on nurses themselves, and on organizational outcomes. The results of our concept analysis could support the development of measurement tools by improving the construct validity of the concept, ultimately contributing to the continuous improvement of nursing practice. Conclusion This review provides important clarifications of the concept of Actual Scope of Practice for nurses, managers, researchers, and other stakeholders. By clearly defining this concept, the study contributes to the standardization and measurement of nursing practice across diverse care settings. These findings may inform the development of assessment tools to evaluate nursing practice and support more effective workforce planning and management.
Morin et al. (Thu,) studied this question.