Kristen R. Crocker
ECPI University
Blood Transfusion What is the Nurse Practice Act? The Nurse Practice Act describes the scope of practice for nurses in the State of South Carolina. The scope of practice describes the procedures, actions, and processes that a healthcare practitioner is permitted to undertake in keeping with the terms of their professional licenses. There are different health care providers who act out different roles, but equally essential roles. The ultimate goal for all health care professionals is to provide the best patient care possible. The Nurse Practice Act can be found through the State Board of Nursing website. CNA stands for Certified Nursing Assistant. CNA’s may be asked to …show more content…
The duties of the LPN are defined in the “scope of practice” laws of the individual states. Each state’s Nurse Practice Act controls what LPN’s can and cannot do. LPN’s provide patient care in a variety of settings, for example, from long term care, hospitals, doctor’s office, and now LPN’s are becoming Directors of nursing in some facilities. LPN duties include, but are not limited to, collecting health care data to assist in care planning of patients, administering and delivering medications, and treatments, implementing nursing interventions and tasks, teaching basic health promotion after the Registered Nurse has already enforced the teaching with the patient, assisting in evaluation of responses to interventions, providing the maintenance of safe and effective nursing care, performing additional board approved acts that require special education and training. In the state of South Carolina, LPN’s work under the supervision of an advanced registered practice nurse, registered nurse, licensed physician, licensed dentist, or other practitioner authorized by law to supervise an LPN practice (State Board of Nursing, …show more content…
The RN is expected to carry out some or all of the following tasks: start, monitor, and/or discontinuing intravenous catheters or the intravenous fluids, start, monitor, or change critical intravenous medications that stabilize the heart or blood pressure, take phone or verbal orders from the MD, administer intravenous medication that are given “push” or very quickly, care of central intravenous lines (Brown Mackie College). The scope of practice is different for healthcare providers depending on their role. The RN, LPN, and CNA all partake in different roles. The chain of command, and the level of medical care begins with the RN, then the LPN, then the CAN. For instance, RN’s are considered to be critical thinkers, it is their responsibility to develop and change care plans for patients. The LPN’s and CNA’s may offer suggestions based on their observations, however, it is the RN who is to make, change, and enforce the plan of