The criteria established by professional nursing organizations that describe peer expectations for safe, competent, ethical performance of professional responsibilities. Documents such as the American Nurses’ Association Standards of Clinical Practice and Standards of Professional Performance describe general behaviors expected of all professional nurses. Criteria established by specialty nursing organizations, such as the Standards for the Nursing Care of Women and Newborns developed by the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses, contain both universal and specialty-specific expectations. Standards are used to develop nursing curricula and job descriptions and to evaluate nursing effectiveness and accountability.