the
Role of the LPN in the Long Term Care Setting
Purpose:
To give direction and support to Long-Term Care Facilities regarding the role of the LPN in providing quality care under the Minnesota Nurse Practice Act.
Issue:
The
vital role of the LPN in the long term care setting is at risk because of
differences in practice and expectations encountered across the continuum of
care. What is the LPN’s role as it
relates to assessment and delegation under the Minnesota Nurse Practice Act?
The
reality of workforce availability creates the need for flexibility in staffing
a long term care facility as well as providing a safe environment for the
resident.
Position:
MN-DONA
accepts and supports the important role of the professional nurse in the area
of assessment, delegation, and evaluation.
The
role of the LPN includes providing nursing functions as delegated by the
professional nurse, directing the work force, and triage within the limits of the LPN job description.
The
LPN is able to direct managerial functions delegated by the professional nurse
in a long term care setting. The LPN
may direct a function or activity including:
checking, tracking, updating, counseling, monitoring, and inspecting.
The
LPN strengthens the data gathering process by participating in the completion
of assessments such as facility designated assessment forms, written changes to
the Care Plan, charting progress towards goals, changing approaches, and initiating
Temporary Care Plans.
Summary:
MN-DONA
respects all roles in the long term care setting, professional, licensed, and
nonlicensed. There is no substitute for
professional nursing judgment and roles are not interchangeable.
MN-DONA
recognizes that it is essential to retain the differences in practices from
employer to employer and from one area of the health care continuum to another
as interpreted by the Minnesota Nurse Practice Act.
It
is critical that Directors of Nursing feel safe in their practice. Directors of Nursing require the support and
flexibility to delegate nursing functions to the LPN. MN-DONA encourages regulatory agencies to work with the Directors
of Nursing in facing this challenge and issues of declining reimbursement, regulatory
expectations, and most importantly the crisis of limited human resources facing
the health care industry.
Resources:
Minnesota
Nurse Practice Act
Minnesota
Licensed Practical Nurses’ Association Position Statement on Nursing Practice
of LPNs in the State of Minnesota
Minnesota
Nurses Association Position Paper: Delegation and Supervision of Nursing
Activities
Minnesota
Board of Nursing-For Your Information
Minnesota
Board of Nursing-Delegation Workgroup Updates
Minnesota
HomeCare Association Position Paper-Nursing Delegation