Published Mar 10, 2016
moty
1 Post
I graduated in May as an LVN....I have applied everywhere and gone on a lot of interviews and I finally got an offer at a obgyn...the position I applied for stated in ad that I would be assisting dr, rooming, vitals, labs...but when went to interview she said the position was for Lvn triage...so I was confused as to why they didn't put phone triage in the ad...and I thought you have to be an RN to do triage...I am a new graduate with no experience...I don't know what to do...so can anyone tell me if an Lvn with no experience do phone triage?? I live in Texas...so I need to know if it is within Lvn scope of practice...thanks.
CrunchRN, ADN, RN
4,549 Posts
I started that way as an RN. Also assisted. You will learn as you go.
LeChien, BSN, RN
278 Posts
Look up your state's practice act for scope of practice.
PD82
491 Posts
At most clinics, phone triage is a part of the nurses job, along with working the floor (rooming pt's, etc)
I know it sounds scary at first, but you will learn with time!! I work for a pediatric clinic and spend half the day doing triage, and the other half working the floor. When I first learned triage I had a trainer sitting with me, and a triage book for referencing. If I was on a call and not sure of the answer, I'd put the caller on hold and discuss it with my trainer, or look it up. Or you can get all of the information and call the pt back.
Triage is a pretty valuable skills to have, and most places wont throw you out there to do it without proper training. Congrats on the job!! Just be ready to learn :-)
HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD
9,051 Posts
You're very smart to be concerned about Scope of Practice issues. In Texas, this is beyond the scope of practice for an LVN. The only way it could work is to act under very specific Standardized Designated Medical Orders... that outline exactly what questions to ask the patient & subsequent questions and actions for each response. Overall, it's very shaky ground to use "triage" in an LVN job description because that word means that the individual must undertake independent actions according to his/her professional clinical assessment findings.
In my experience, physicians don't intentionally set out to violate nursing scope of practice - they just don't understand the boundaries. They just want to hire the least expensive staff (LVN instead of RN). You probably need to help clarify the issues. At any rate, if you step over the line, it is it YOUR license at stake.... "just doing what I was told to do" is never an acceptable excuse.