Scope of Practice / Nurse Practice Act

Your workplace should have a policy on what an LPN can do. The Nurse practice act is very vague on the roles.

http://www.in.gov/pla/files/ISBN_2008_EDITION.pdf

see page 44.

i have searched high and low for something spelling out the scope of practice for nurses in indiana. the information i find is very vague. interestingly, the scope of practice for pa’s is clearly defined and spelled out to the letter. i wonder why the law is so ambiguous toward nurses and so clear with pa’s. the only thing that is clear is that apn’s must have a corroboration agreement with physicians and that crna’s must work under the direct supervision of a physician.

Hmmm...I just spent a half hour looking. I found lots of statutes that said what would happen if you didn't follow the rules, but didn't state what the rules are!

for aprn’s i’m guessing the scope of practice would be defined by your collaboration agreement. i have no idea how they determine rns and lpns scope of practice.

LPN and RN scopes of practice are determined by the facility. That's why some LPNs can hang blood and others can't.

If you look in the IAC (Indiana Administrative Code) the scope of nursing for RN's and LPN's are clearly spelled out. I believe the RN practice acts are on page 39 of this code book. The LPN practice acts should be right after that.

Good Luck!!!!!!

Thanks Indynurse317! I will definitely be checking this out, as I will be a graduating RN next May. :-)

Here is the link for the 2011 edition of Administrative and Indiana code related to nursing. I have read portions of other states' Nurse Practice Acts and in some respects, I agree, there is a feeling of "vagueness". Although I have heard at times that is "good" because if it is not expressly prohibited by law ...

http://www.in.gov/pla/files/ISBN.2011_EDITION.pdf