RN
True or False. States within the US have the same Delegation rules for RNs delegating tasks to LPNs.
False, states have different delegation rules
Rhonda (LPN) has asked Gracie (CNA) to give a bath to Ms. Dennis who has been newly admitted from a geriatric nursing care facility. Rhonda delegates to Gracie to wash the patient’s hair, empty her existing ostomy pouch and record the output, and apply Hydrocortisone Cream to the patient’s eczema. How does Gracie respond?
She may not apply Hydrocortisone Cream to the patient. It’s a labeled medication.
True or False. When an RN delegates a task to an LPN, accountability for that task transfers to the LPN doing the task.
Accountability stays with the RN delegating the task.
A CNA sick call resulted in the Medicine unit having 1 CNA for a 12 hour shift. The charge nurse called a team huddle and asked the team to work together to get patient care tasks completed. Travis, CNA, delegated a few patient baths and linen changes to the LPN who had a smaller patient assignment at the time. What concern, if any, would the LPN have with this?
CNAs are not able to delegate to LPNs or RNs.
Name two tasks RNs may not delegate to LPNs?
Teaching, Comprehensive and Admission Assessments, Evaluation
Greta (LPN) is discharging Mr. Bell who had a new JP drain placed in IR this morning and will need education about how to empty the drain at home. What teaching methods may Greta use?
None, this is out of scope for an LPN.
When an RN delegates a task to an LPN, name 2 factors the RN must consider before the delegation occurs.
The stability of the patient condition, The training and ability of the LPN, The nature of the nursing task, Whether the delegated task has a predictable outcome, and The required degree of supervision the LPN needs.
Kari (RN) is transferring an unstable patient to the ICU and asks Mandy (LPN) to draw a scheduled CBC from the patient in room 201. When Mandy realizes the patient in 201 has a Central Line, she should:
The LPN may draw the blood from the patient's central line only if the LPN has been trained and has competency to do so. If not, the LPN should inform her charge nurse she is not trained to do this intervention.
What are the 5 Rights to Nursing Delegation:
Right Task, Right Person, Right Circumstance, Right Direction/Communication, Right Supervision
There is only one empty bed on a busy med surg unit, and the charge nurse has assigned Anne (LPN) who’s up for the next admission a patient coming from the ED who will need to go to the Cath Lab shortly. The patient’s HR is 113, RR is 24, B/P is 92/58. The charge nurse thanks Anne for taking this patient so quickly and for beginning the admission assessment. Name 2 concerns with this scenario.
The patient’s condition is unstable, and the LPN may not complete admission assessments.