Scope of Practice of RPN/RN

Need to be a bit clearer do you mean Registered Psychiatric Nurse or Registered Practical Nurses? There is a province that uses Registered Psychiatric Nurse as RPN

Each province will have their own expectations but these links may help you understand

For Ontario http://www.cno.org/international_en/...pectations.htm
CSGNA http://www.csgna.com/role.htm
BC http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/leg/hpc/...e-lpnurse.html

Very much depends on the province.

5cats

OK, Ontario is the ONLY province that uses the term "RPN" across the rest of the country it's LPN.

I know that in Alberta our scope is so close to the RN's now, it's ridiculous. Basically I can't pull a central line, pierce blood or travisol bags. I can't do Charge and I can't take phone orders in acute care but can in continuing care.

Or is it only Ontario you are interested in?

Never heard of anyone doing that. We got told which hospital we would be at and which units to work.

The only "choice" we got was we could tell our instructors which services or branch of nursing we were interested in and hope they would let us do our final placement prior to graduation. A lot of people wanted postpartum but usually units will only take one RN and one PN student at a time on the final placements.

Some go to clinics, some to continuing care, geriatric programmes, other areas of the hospital (medicine, surgery, gynie).

The education for PNs is generally two years now and it is a diploma program and the RN has gone to a BSN degree for licensure in some of the provinces.I would expect eventually all will require the degree.
Like Fiona said the scope for PNs is pretty close to that of an RN.

When I was in school I had no real say in my clinicals except I did a mental health placement in a large mental health facility that was by choice. They would only take 6 students so only those who really wanted to go went. I did get to choose by final placement as wel. It was where I wanted to work and am working now.