Standards of professional performance for nursing professional development.

P rofessional practice in any specialty includes continually increasing knowledge and maintaining competence to best serve constituents, whether those constituents are patients of a specific population, staff who are being led by managers, or learners who are being taught. Those who successfully practice Nursing Professional Development (NPD) as their specialty have a unique body of knowledge and skill set, just as those nurses who practice in other specialty areas such as renal dialysis or neonatal intensive care. Clearly, nurses are not easily interchanged, and competence in one practice area does not automatically ensure success in another. Recognizing the unique knowledge and skill set of each area of practice, whether it be a clinical specialty or a specialty such as administration, education, or informatics, is essential. Defining standards of practice and professional performance is critical to the advancement of the specialties and the individual’s practice.