Iv Theraphy

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in LTC, Post OP.

Why do students in LPN programs have to take IV theraphy if they are not allowed to work IV's are does it differ from state to state.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Go to your state's board of nursing web site to read the scope of practice.It does vary from state to state.It also varies from employer to employer.I am in ltc now and only the RN's can hang IV's in my facility(we seldom have them anyway)In the last hospital I worked in I started IV's and hung the piggies-no pushes and no chemo or blood priducts but I could monitor them after they were initiated....My scope is much narrower where I am now-I don't know if the DON truly does not trust our training or what-I also know that the few RN's we have are really NOT the cream of the crop-we do have a few great ones but we have several whose skills are sorely lacking-as is their common sense...But then again-the newest GPN's (we have 3 right now) do not seem to have any critical thinking skills and will not be capable of working on a unit with any degree of automomy for a long time....So many of us are being moved around to other units and having our schedules changed to accomodate them...

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Specializes in LTC, Post OP.

Thank u ,u were right. As i read this board i see that some states really limit the LPN where here in Louisiana it seems we are not, here is what found about lpn in louisiana, from the LSB

The practice of practical nursing is defined in Section 961 of Chapter 11, Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. According to this law, practical nursing is the performance, for pay, of acts in the care, treatment or observation of the ill and for the maintenance of the health of others and the promotion of health care. Practical nurses may train and/or supervise other nurses, and subordinate personnel. They may also instruct patients.

A licensed practical nurse must practice under the direction of one of the following: licensed physician, optometrist, dentist, psychologist, or registered nurse. A licensed practical nurse may perform duties consistent with his/her educational preparation. The licensed practical nurse may also, with appropriate training (which is approved by this Board, and documented), perform additional specified acts which are authorized by the Board of Practical Nurse Examiners when directed to do so by the licensed physician, optometrist, dentist, psychologist, or registered nurse.

The Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners (LSBPNE) has no "laundry list" of tasks/skills an LPN can perform. Such lists tend to limit practice. Scope of practice is a fluid concept. It changes as knowledge and technology expand. LPNs must possess the knowledge, skill, and ability to perform their duties, therefore, scope of practice comes down to the competency of the individual LPN.

Following are some of the tasks (those most frequently inquired about) an LPN may perform when the above conditions are met (NOTE: THIS LIST IS NOT INCLUSIVE OF ALL OF LPN PRACTICE AND SHOULD NOT BE USED TO DEFINE OR LIMIT PRACTICE):

Initiate and maintain IV therapy and administer IV medications by IVPB and/or IVP (including hyperalimentation, blood and blood products)

Reinsertion of suprapubic catheters

Accept verbal/phone orders directly from the prescriber (an optometrist, advanced practice registered nurse, physician, dentist, or psychologist)

Perform heparinization during hemodialysis

Serve as first surgical assistant (but may not suture, dissect or cauterize)

Maintain and administer meds via heparin locks

Pap smears/GC cultures/IUD string checks/Fundal heart tones/Leopolds Maneuvers

Apply Unna Boots

Load/monitor PCA machines

Care for clients with external venous catheters (including Hickman, Groshong, Brovia) and specifically: obtain blood specimens/connect and monitor IV fluids/connect IVPB, provide site care (including dressing changes)

Care for clients with internal venous access devices (including port-a-cath, life port) and specifically: access with and/or remove Huber needle/draw blood/connect and monitor IV fluids and provide site care (including dressing changes)

Insert a feeding tube in a neonate

Reinsert a tracheostomy tube in an established tract

Remove sheaths in a cardiac cath lab and later D/C these lines

Perform tasks which promote pulmonary health and hygiene (administer oxygen, aerosol and IPPB treatments, suction, perform CPT, etc.). LPNs MAY NOT HOLD THEMSELVES OUT AS RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS OR RESPIRATORY THERAPY TECHNICIANS.

Perform "head to toe" physical assessments

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Specializes in LTC, Post OP.
Originally posted by ktwlpn

Go to your state's board of nursing web site to read the scope of practice.It does vary from state to state.It also varies from employer to employer.I am in ltc now and only the RN's can hang IV's in my facility(we seldom have them anyway)In the last hospital I worked in I started IV's and hung the piggies-no pushes and no chemo or blood priducts but I could monitor them after they were initiated....My scope is much narrower where I am now-I don't know if the DON truly does not trust our training or what-I also know that the few RN's we have are really NOT the cream of the crop-we do have a few great ones but we have several whose skills are sorely lacking-as is their common sense...But then again-the newest GPN's (we have 3 right now) do not seem to have any critical thinking skills and will not be capable of working on a unit with any degree of automomy for a long time....So many of us are being moved around to other units and having our schedules changed to accomodate them...

:rolleyes: , i think that sucks that u are begin limited that not fair, i am glad i live in LA, i just knew i had seen LPN give my sis blood before, matter factly she gave meds too:)

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I think it may also depend on Union organization too.

Here is PA we have a lot of unions and my nursing instructor said that that was a main reason why here in Pittsburgh RN's don't hang I.V.'s but the LPN's? or IV teams do.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

l am not in a union.I have done hospice amd worked in 2 hospitals.At my age the benefits are more important now then the scope of practice.I have to plan for my retirement.When I first worked in this home over 10 yrs ago( I quit and then came back several yrs later) only the RN supervisors could do the fingersticks-we only had 2 accuchecks int he building for over 300 beds....I am not permitted to take verbal orders(In Pa our scope says that we may do so if it is an emergency and the orders are within our scope of practice-we do this in many other facilities)We are really not being utilized to the fullest and it seems wasteful-right now we have a few new rn's whom must fulfill their obligation to our facility and stay with us for 2 yrs-they cannot wait to move on....The DON will change her tune again....I think many RN's are really not familiar with our scope and the depth of our training-my don has only ever worked in this one facility-she has no idea.....As far as acute care goes-I loved it and do miss it but I am older now....I enjoy working with the elderly and feel that I can really make a difference in someone's quality of life....In med-surg many days passed in a blur-just treading water to keep from drowning....The down side is that the admin likes to perpetuate an "us against them" attitude-Rn's vs LPN's vs CNA's and they call it professionalism-it has taken me some time to get used to this...I was treated as part of the team by my co-workers prior to this and am used to being treated as though I have a lick of sense.One of my supes will actually tell me exactly what to say to a visitor or write in a chart--hello-I have worked with people for yrs and I have some cooth-I am a pretty good nurse,too....I try not to let it bother me-but sometimes it gets to me....(she does this to everyone-you should see her hang an IV antibx-she flings that tubing around like a lasso-contaminates it every time)

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Louisiana is one of those confusing states that have two boards that govern nursing, one for LPN's and another for R.N.'s. LPN boards may indicate that LPN's can do something but R.N. boards may say that this same thing cannot be delegated by an R.N. to an LPN.

Louisiana state board of nurses (R.N.):

In institutions where

registered nurse supervision is unavailable or limited, such as in home health or a school

setting, the administration of IV medications and fluids may not be delegated.

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Specializes in LPN.

Help.. In pa. If not hired as a lpn can i work as patient tech in a dialysis clinic and do the job or does my lpn still apply even if i was not hired as an lpn ? Some say yes others say no.. So, confused... If hired as lpn i stay in my scope of practice, i understand that.. But, if hired as a tech in dialysis clinic do i still have to follow lpn scope of practice????

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