Help me please!

nrsman1 · Sep 23, 2009

Please guys any help would be greatly appreciated.

EmergencyNrse · Sep 23, 2009

You should look to your nurse manager for the answers to your questions.

He/She should be aware of institutional policy about your duties & responsibilities. Get a copy if possible.

Next, you should look to your state board. Oklahoma?

I didn't know until recently that all states don't publish a scope of practice. I don't know anything about Oklahoma other than I won't live there ever again. :no:

Does your State Board of Nursing provide to you a well defined scope of practice? Regardless of institution policy you cannot violate your scope. You may need to make them aware of any conflicts.

There are other jobs but only 1 license. Don't lose it. You worked hard to get it, right?

The Board could care less what THEY told you to do.

You asked, that's my :twocents:

EmmyBee · Sep 23, 2009

I am about a nervous wreck!! I have heard differing answers to these questions and i need to know what resource is the end all and be all. question 1. can LPNs in oklahoma teach about medications even new ones (IMO if you give it you should know what it is) 2. Discharging--can LPNs do this, seeing is how there is teaching envolved. finally if i am following my facilities policy and procedures am i ok leagally. please I need definitive answers it is killing me.

I have been an LPN for over ten years, and I have ALWAYS included patient teaching as part of my routine care.

If you are giving a medication to a patient, you should definitely know what it is, what it does, and what the side effects and contraindications are. And your patient should know this information as well.

If I were a patient in a hospital, I would never accept a medication without knowing why I was taking it and what effects it would/could have on me. And I would expect to get that information from the person giving me the medication.

Granted, many times you are administering a medication that they have been on for a while. And they might know more about the drug than you do. But you need to be prepared to educate that patient if they have questions or concerns, especially if it is a new medication that they will continue once discharged.

The same is true about any procedure or nursing intervention you provide. You should always educate your patient about what you are doing and why. As far as discharge teaching is concerned, my experience is that it depends on the facility. But again, even if they require an RN to do the actual discharge, it won't hurt to go over the information with your patient. That way you can ensure they are clear on what they have to do once discharged.

You say that you are following your facility's procedure. If you are uncertain about any aspect of your duties and job description, you need to ask for a copy of them (this is usually given upon hire).

Another resource is the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act. Here is the link:

http://www.ok.gov/nursing/actwp.pdf

Part of your duties as an LPN are listed as:

4. "Licensed practical nursing" means the practice of nursing under the supervision or direction of a registered nurse, licensed physician or dentist. This directed scope of nursing practice includes, but is not limited to:

a. contributing to the assessment of the health status of individuals and groups,

b. participating in the development and modification of the plan of care,

c. implementing the appropriate aspects of the plan of care,

d delegating such tasks as may safely be performed by others, consistent with educational preparation and that do not conflict with the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act,

e. providing safe and effective nursing care rendered directly or indirectly,

f. participating in the evaluation of responses to interventions,

g. teaching basic nursing skills and related principles,

h. performing additional nursing procedures in accordance with knowledge and skills acquired through education beyond nursing preparation, and

i. delegating those nursing tasks as defined in the rules of the Board that may be performed by an advanced unlicensed assistive person;

systoly · Sep 23, 2009

1. yes - teaching is part of my job discription, if one of my patient's got a new rx order and I didn't educate and then document my boss would wanna know why

2. yes - but it depends on the circumstances and the facility

3. no - as mentioned above, you are responsible to know the scope of your practice, I've seen several situations where facility policy required LPNs and CNAs to perform duties outside their scope and I have refused some duties in the past. I'd rather be unpopular for a while than risk my license or worse, harm a patient, because I'm doing something I shouldn't be.