Licensed Practical Nurses
The Health Professions Act governs 22 regulatory colleges, and the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia (CLPNBC) is one of them. CLPNBC is a body tasked with the regulation of licensed practical nurses for the interest of the general public. The role of the CLPNBC is to ensure the establishment and enforcement of standards that govern professional ethics and practice standards that are aimed at enhancing the quality of licensed practical nurses. The functionality of CLPNBC depends on the professional standards and the practical standards documents. The professional standards document specifies the minimum requirements for the licensed nurses’ practice in any setting and provides the guidelines that CLPNBC uses to regulate licensed practical nurses in British Columbia. The practical standards documents on the other side set out the requirements for practice and give information required concerning the specific aspects of LPN practice.
Professional Standards
The professional standards document is based on several assumptions that ensure easy functionality of the CLPNBC (College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC, 2017). For example, LPNs are expected to be self-regulation professionals with the ability to provide safe, credible, legal, and ethical health care within their framework. Also, teamwork is the definition of the nursing career, and the client is the most important party in the nursing practice. AdditionallyAdditionally, the main goal of LPNs is to provide safe, competent, and credible health care. The Professional standards document defines nursing actions based on various professional standards that include responsibility and accountability, competency-based practice, client-focused service provision, and ethical practice.
Responsibility and Accountability
CLPNBC provides nursing practice and professional conduct that must be maintained by LPNs. From the scenario, several nursing actions come out. First, a licensed nurse should maintain their competence and practice. When Jill finds out that the night nurse’s order is messy, Jill makes better notes using her competence to avoid confusion that might be caused by the messy order to other nurses. Also, a licensed nurse should be able to maintain physical, psychological, and emotional fitness while interacting with clients. For example, Jill greets her residents happily and maintains a jovial mood all over her interaction session. The tiredness and disappointments that Jill has gone through since coming to work do not affect the mood that Jill requires for successful interaction with the clients. Additionally, a licensed nurse should be keen to take relevant action to ensure safe, competent, and ethical care to patients. When Jill realizes that a language barrier exists between her and her client, Jill seeks the help of a translator before attending to the client.
Competence-based Practice
The professional document specifies that a licensed practical nurse should apply relevant skills, judgment, attitudes, and knowledge consistently when during practice. First, a licensed nurse is expected to know where and how to obtain information that will aid in the provision of safe, competent, and ethical nursing care. The first step that Jill takes in the event she realizes the existence of a language barrier was to consult the chat with her colleague. Upon realizing the required information could not be obtained from her colleague, Jill decides to seek the services of an interpreter, and the client is attended to without challenges. Secondly, a licensed nurse is expected to use critical thinking to collect and interpret data to be used in the nursing practice. For example, Jill is presented with an order that is poorly prepared by the night nurse. However, Jill knows that such an order will confuse when represented to other staff. Jill goes ahead and prepares better notes to avoid confusion. Thirdly, a licensed nurse, should always collect information and status of clients from various sources before providing the required attention. For example, Jill discusses with the lab technician concerning the tested samples before proceeding to attend to Mrs. Tsang.
Client-focused Provision of Services
CLPNB specifies that a licensed nurse should work in collaboration with other staff for the best interest of the clients. First, a licensed nurse should always make the client the priority while making any decision related to nursing care. Jill shows her commitment to prioritize the clients in her nursing practice. When Jill arrives for her shift, the first thing she does is to make notes concerning the clients that have to be attended to throughout the day. Secondly, a licensed nurse is expected to involve the clients in identifying and creating priority concerning their health. An example of a client’s involvement is when Jill seeks the services of an interpreter to help in communication with Mrs. Tsang. Jill understands that Mrs. Tsang’s communication is important and should be involved in the treatment process. Thirdly, a licensed nurse should always be willing to collaborate and communicate with other members of the nursing care concerning the services given to the various clients. For example, a nurse may consult lab technicians or doctors concerning the medication requirements of a client.
Ethical Practice
The nursing profession recognizes several ethical standards that have to be upheld by every licensed nurse during the nursing practice. The first nursing action about ethics is to respect and protect the dignity of a client about uniqueness and diversity. For example, Jill involves Mrs. Tsang’s daughter when misunderstandings come up due to Mrs. Tsang’s ethnic beliefs. Secondly, a licensed nurse should recognize and respect the input that other people have in the nursing care program. For example, Jill is ethical enough to recognize the importance of the lab technician in helping with the interpretation of laboratory results. Also, a licensed nurse should identify the effect of their own values on the provision of nursing care.
Practical Standards
The nursing profession is guided by practical standards that have to be followed by all licensed practical nurses (Butcher & MacKinnon, 2015). Although unlicensed assistive personnel may assist the licensed nurses, a licensed nurse cannot be replaced by the unlicensed personnel. The specific aspects of LPN practice are specified in the practical standards document. Various actions expected from the licensed practical nurses have been brought out by the case of Jill’s contact in the medical center.
The various actions expected from licensed practical nurses have been shown by Jill in her conduct during her provision of nursing care. A licensed practical nurse is expected to maintain ethical boundaries between the nurse and the client. For example, Jill is well aware of the extent to which she can go in her relationship with Mrs. Tsang. Jill is aware that Mrs. Tsang is free to make her decisions and that the nurses cannot force Mrs. Tsang to take her medication. Jill, therefore, collaborates with Mrs. Tsang’s daughter for successful nursing care. Also, licensed practical nurses should be responsible for preventing the transmission of communicable diseases between the nurses and the clients. For example, Jill washes her hands before meeting her resident clients to minimize the chances of transmitting communicable diseases. Additionally, licensed nurses should not let conflict of interests to affect the provision of safe, competent, and ethical nursing care.
Moreover, licensed practical nurses should ensure proper documentation to avoid confusion while attending to clients. For example, Jill makes notes that help her to follow up on the various clients that she can meet throughout the day. Also, licensed practical nurses are expected to provide nursing care to the clients. Jill appears committed to taking care of the clients without complaining concerning the burden of having many clients to attend to in a day. Additionally, the licensed practical nurses are expected to report back to the senior nurses concerning the performance of clients. For example, Jill prepares reports concerning the welfare of the clients that she is assigned to attend. Besides, the operation of a licensed practical nurse should involve working in collaboration with healthcare assistants. Jill shows collaboration with the facility’s assistants who help her to feed and transport the clients.
In sum, CLPNB is tasked with the role of ensuring the establishment and enforcement of standards that govern professional ethics and practice standards that are aimed at enhancing the quality of licensed practical nurses. The licensed practical nurses should regularly review the standards set by CLPNB to avoid engaging in activities that violate the nursing professional ethics. The standards set in the CLPNB documents generally provide smooth operation of licensed practical nurses.
References
Butcher, D. L., & MacKinnon, K. A. (2015). Educational silos in nursing education: A critical review of practical nurse education in Canada. Nursing inquiry, 22(3), 231-239.
College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC. (2017). Professional Standards for Licensed Nurses. College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia , 1-13.