Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumClient Care Assignments and Collaboration

A registered nurse (RN) and a licensed practical nurse (LPN) are co-assigning client care for an upcoming shift on a step-down cardiovascular unit. Which of the following responsibilities are legally and safely within the LPN's scope of practice to accept? Select all that apply.

  1. Administering scheduled oral analgesic medication to a client recovering from a total hip arthroplasty.Answer
  2. B
    Performing a comprehensive admission assessment for a client who just arrived from an acute care hospital.
  3. Changing a sterile dressing on a client's healing abdominal surgical incision.Answer
  4. D
    Providing the initial explanation of surgical risks and benefits before obtaining a client's signature on a consent form.
  5. Reinforcing the registered nurse's dietary teaching for a client managing type 2 diabetes mellitus.Answer
  6. F
    Administering a prescribed intravenous (IV) push dose of a loop diuretic to a client with heart failure.

Answer

The tasks appropriate for the LPN to accept include administering scheduled oral analgesics, changing a sterile dressing on a healing incision, and reinforcing dietary teaching.
The correct selections are administering scheduled oral medications, changing a sterile dressing on a healing wound, and reinforcing prior dietary teaching. These tasks involve stable, predictable client outcomes and rely on established care plans, which perfectly align with the legal boundaries of practical nursing.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze each delegated task against the established legal scope of practice for a licensed practical nurse.
Identify tasks involving initial assessment, initial teaching, or complex/unstable interventions.
The LPN scope of practice focuses on clients with predictable outcomes and requires RN collaboration for complex situations.
2
Identify tasks involving focused data collection and routine therapeutic procedures.
Tasks like oral medication administration, sterile dressing changes, and teaching reinforcement are identified as appropriate.
These tasks involve stable clients and standardized procedures without requiring complex, independent clinical judgment.
3
Eliminate tasks that fall outside the LPN scope of practice.
Comprehensive admission assessments, providing initial explanations for informed consent, and administering IV push medications are eliminated.
These require RN-level comprehensive assessment, provider-level procedure explanation, or advanced intervention skills.

Key Concept

The licensed practical nurse (LPN) provides care to clients with stable, predictable outcomes and can perform routine procedures, administer standard medications, and reinforce teaching, but cannot perform comprehensive assessments, develop initial care plans, or administer high-risk IV push medications.
Rate this question

Topics

Client Care Assignments and Collaboration

More questions from this topic