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Discussion

LPNs and medication

When I take practice questions about delegation roles, so far the answers for LPN's usually aren't vital signs (those are for the "unlicensed assisted personnel" in NCLEX world) and LPNs can give medications but not teach, evaluate, or assess (in NCLEX world). So then I had a practice question:

The nurse administers the first dose of chemotherapy to a client on an oncology unit. The nurse knows that which of the following activities is appropriate to delegate to the LPN?

A. Obtain the client's blood pressure.

B. Provide teaching about the side effects of chemotherapy.

C. Administer the second dose of chemotherapy.

D. Flush the client's central line with heparin.

I picked C because it was the 2nd dose so the nurse would know how the pt reacted the first time.

But the correct answer is A. The rationales were just that "administrating a dose of chemotherapy is not an activity that the LPN should perform"

Can LPN's not give any IV meds, or specific ones, or central line meds? I couldn't find a website that was clear about their role with medications for the NCLEX.

Thank you.

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    In our facility, I believe only chemo trained nurses can administer chemo medications because it is a specialized skill. I imagine it's similar for this question because the side effects of chemo are so severe and get progressively worse with each dose.

    In regards to LPNs giving medications IV, that would be facility and board dependant.

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    A LPNs scope is very state specific... in my state LPNs can only hang certain IV meds and they must be pre-mixed and labeled.. They cannot do a direct IV push of any medication.. and cannot touch any type of central line including PICC or port-a-cath...

    so when I ready the question you posted the only answer choice I would have chosen would be obtain BP :)

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    Can LPN's not give any IV meds, or specific ones, or central line meds? I couldn't find a website that was clear about their role with medications for the NCLEX.

    Thank you.

    That does vary from state to state, but I don't think that it matters for this NCLEX-style question. "Check the blood pressure" is the obvious answer because it's the safest answer. The medication administration options have some potential for harm.

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