Fulltime/Fullscope LPN in BC-Canada

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Specializes in ACUTE, GERIATRICS.
:nurse: Hello fellow LPNs especially in BC, Canada! Well FYI i just hired as fulltime-fullscope LPN in the hospital at TCU. At first I don't know what will be the job of LPN in acute-TCU. I think we're still in the trial period having 6 stable pts doing med admin except IVs, care + bath (including bed making), calling Drs, pharmacy, etc., charting, vital signs, dressings, distribute meal trays + collecting them back to the cart, feeding, taking Drs order, admissions, discharge, emptying hampers, re-stocking linens, etc. It is a very challenging role for us. RNs eventually will be doing same as we're doing plus the supervisory job and taking care of critical pts. What can you say about the load? Thanks. :chair:
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Specializes in Palliative, Geriatics.

Wow! It's VERY rare to find an LPN position c full scope of practice. Good for you!! :) However, (nothing against anyone who does this)You shouldn't be distributing meal trays & picking them up. Where i work, kitchen staff or housekeeping does that.

Congrats on finding a great job, i hope everything works out in your favor!

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Specializes in ACUTE, GERIATRICS.

You're right this is the only time this hospital offered a fulltime/fullscope LPN in acute care. You're right too that in my other job we don't distribute & picking up meal trays kitchen staff do that and also those soiled item are beeing done by the housekeeping staff. Since we're the first batch, the pioneer batch of 12 LPNs in this floor they said it still in the experimental period so we could give our feedback about the amount of loads that are not necessary to do by us. Thanks and have a nice weekend! Happy Halloween too! :eek: :angryfire :coollook:

Wow! It's VERY rare to find an LPN position c full scope of practice. Good for you!! :) However, (nothing against anyone who does this)You shouldn't be distributing meal trays & picking them up. Where i work, kitchen staff or housekeeping does that.

Congrats on finding a great job, i hope everything works out in your favor!

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What's TCU?

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Congratulations.

I had full scope in Alberta and loved it. We used to say the only difference between us and the RN's where I worked was IV meds and $12/hour.

Enjoy using your knowledge. There isn't a job within three hours of where I live and I've tried every hospital within a 150 miles.

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What is the difference between a LPN and a full scope LPN? An US nurse is wondering.

Schroeder

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Depends on where you work, what skills the facility will let you use. The RN's up here have very strong unions and are quite protective of their jobs.

For example: I had one employer who would let me do BGM's but not administer insulin. On one unit I could give narcotics but not on another. I wasn't allowed to use any injectable drugs period. Wound care was OK but I couldn't decide on the protocols. It was kind of strange to have an RN ask me what I would use "because you do more wound care than me". RN's did injectables, paperwork, and family/doctor calls.

A different employer let me do all my own diabetes care, write my own wound protocols. I managed a unit, with an on-call RN available, who I would notify if I had a patient needing transfer to acute care.

A third employer allowed full scope, which where I worked meant everything except IV drugs and NG insertion/removal.

All three employers expected that I could physically assess any patient and document appropriately. Could be kind of confusing as a casual. Had to keep remembering where I was working that day.

It can be really frustrating and even the RN's wished the management would let us work to the level we had been trained. We were trained to work med/surg., psych, maternity, peds, and geriatrics.

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Specializes in ACUTE, GERIATRICS.

TCU - Transitional Care Unit, pts who are waiting for placement to facilities or to be discharge back to their homes after being admitted in acute care and recovered from their illnesses.

What's TCU?
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Specializes in ACUTE, GERIATRICS.

Thanks. Mine is only 25 mins drive from home.

Congratulations.

I had full scope in Alberta and loved it. We used to say the only difference between us and the RN's where I worked was IV meds and $12/hour.

Enjoy using your knowledge. There isn't a job within three hours of where I live and I've tried every hospital within a 150 miles.

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TCU - Transitional Care Unit, pts who are waiting for placement to facilities or to be discharge back to their homes after being admitted in acute care and recovered from their illnesses.

Thanks, I'm a mat-child nurse and haven't worked in the world of sick adults for a long time!

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Transition -- that opens up cans of worms. Anything form I need some ADL and all the facilities are full and I'm waiting for a bed to Total Two person care. We had 3LPN, 1RN on the phones, 1RN working with us, and NA's with an 8 person assignment. We all kept busy. Trays and feeding were done by LPNs if time permitted. We did all the meds, new patient admission assessments, tube feeds, catheters, and wound care (pretty much everything we were trained to do except for suture removal for some reason never explained to us).

You'll use your skills and be amazed at how much patience you have. Keeping the elderly as independent as possible is always a challenge on those units.

Good luck. The RN's I worked with were brilliant, ask them pretty much anything and you can learn so much.

Enjoy your new team.

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Hello Fiona- Where in BC are you working and where can I apply to work alongside you? Sounds like a great job!

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