Editing Management of Care – LPN Flashcards (section)

== Scope of Practice ==

;What document defines the LPN scope of practice
:The nurse practice act of the state in which the nurse is licensed, interpreted by that state's board of nursing. Facility policy may narrow a scope but can never widen it, and a provider's order can never authorize practice outside the legal scope.

;What is the LPN's role in assessment and in teaching
:The LPN collects focused data and reports findings to the registered nurse, and reinforces teaching the RN has already initiated. The initial comprehensive assessment, the care plan, initial teaching, and evaluation of outcomes belong to the RN.

;What kind of client is appropriate for LPN assignment
:A stable client with a predictable outcome and an established plan of care.

;Name eight skills commonly within LPN scope
:Administering oral, topical, subcutaneous, and intramuscular medications; sterile dressing changes and complex wound care; urinary catheterization; nasogastric tube insertion, feeding, and maintenance; tracheostomy care and suctioning; ostomy care; capillary blood glucose testing; and monitoring a client who has already been stabilized.

;Name six activities generally outside LPN scope
:The initial comprehensive assessment, nursing diagnosis and care plan development, initial client teaching, evaluation of care outcomes, administration of blood products, and intravenous push medications in most jurisdictions.

;What should the LPN do about an assignment that exceeds the LPN scope or the LPN's training
:Clarify it with the supervising registered nurse or charge nurse before acting, naming the specific task involved, and request orientation, supervision, or reassignment of that task. Do not silently perform it, and do not walk off the assignment, which can constitute abandonment.