Anyone ever expected to act out of their scope of practice???

Nurses LPN/LVN

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i am a new nurse, still in my first year, i work on a tele floor. i usually have 7 pts, sometimes 9. as a new grad this is pretty overwhelming. where i work the lpn does everything the rn's do except atart blood, iv pushes, & hang some iv meds (cardiac gtt's), oh, and we take and write orders from dr's but we cant note them off. i am the type of person who always follows the rules, if there is a rule, i follow it, no exceptions. i recently had an rn who had charge over my pt's say to me, "anything you arent supposed to do, just do, i trust you, and i will sign off on it." although it is flattering to have the trust of people i work with, i just know i am never going to compromise myself when it comes to my scope of practice. that being said, i dont want to risk offending the rn that said that, i work with her all the time. any advice on how to handle this situation. i dont want to offend her, but i have to ask her to help with stuff i am not supposed to do. i always offer to help out, like if i need someone to give some pushes, i offer to give their po meds, i try not to be a burden, i am a team player, i dont want her to think i am just being lazy when i have to ask for help. any advice at all would be helpful! :uhoh3: :uhoh3: :uhoh3:

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Specializes in tele, oncology.

Just tell her "I'm sorry, I'm not comfortable going outside my scope of practice b/c it could get us both in a whole lot of trouble!" She should understand the limitations that you are working under and be willing to accommodate.

Personally I think some of our limitations are pretty stupid...I'm not allowed to spike the bag of blood, but I'm allowed to monitor for s/s of transfusion reaction? Who thought that one up? I could train my toddler to spike a bag of fluids (well, maybe not him, but the ten year old certainly could), but the state won't let me do it with blood?

I'm allowed to pull a PICC, but not to de-access a port-a-cath? Makes me wonder if the people who made these rules up are actually nurses sometimes :)

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Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.

"I'm honored by your trust and confidence in my skills, that's why I could never forgive myself if I put you or your license in jeopardy"

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I often wondered if "THEY" decided on the limitations to still justify not paying an LPN for doing RN work. I'm not an LPN, but I am due to start school next month. However, I do work in a LTC Skilled facility and noticed some things. The RNs and the LPN are pushing the same drugs, assessing the same patients, and just about everything else equally. The only tangible difference on my job is that you must be an RN to work as a supervisor, risk manager, and care plan manager. Yet, the RN starts at $5.00/hr more. In fact, we have a lot of CNA/CNTs that have been working there for over 20 years and they actually make more than a first-year LPN.

Adding to the above, the RNs on our floor often talk about how LPNs can hit the ground running faster because they are given more practical experience in school as opposed to the RNs who receive more theory and I am double confused as to why an LPN is so limited. Do not get me wrong. I truly respect the extra education that an RN gets. I think they should be able to move up as they enhance their credentials. I just think the line between RNs and LPNs should be less blurry and make better sense. (Don’t even get me started with the new CNA/Med Techs vs. LPN situation that's growing)

I'm allowed to pull a PICC, but not to de-access a port-a-cath? Makes me wonder if the people who made these rules up are actually nurses sometimes
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:rcgtku: for your comments & suggestions!!!

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