Please differentiate the use of the words "Shall" and "Should" as they are used in the new INS Standards of Practice
It seems that "Shall" means "Must" as it applies to a "Standard" and "Should" means "Best Practice/Strongly Recommended" as it applies to the related "Practice Criteria"
Robbin George RN VA-BC Vascular Access Resource Department Alexandria Hospital Virginia
You are correct. Shall carries a higher legal weight as in one must do something. Think of the Ten Commandants and the use of the word "shall". So all standard statements are written with the word shall. There are no shades of gray in those statements. Either one did it or did not do it.
The practice criteria statements are writtenw ith the word should and are based on the available evidence. These are ranked according to the strength of the evidence and have many variations.
Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861