In December 2015, the BC government signed into law a revised Nurses (Licensed Practical) Regulation. BCCNM has established standards, limits and conditions to complement the Regulation.
What you need to know
- You can stay up to date by reading and checking BCCNM's website and newsletters
- Contact BCCNM if you are an LPN who is carrying out activities that are not included in this document
Regulatory framework
The 2015 Regulation sets out a new regulatory framework for LPNs in BC. Several fundamental changes impact the way LPNs practise in BC.
1. LPNs can carry out orders from nine different health professionals:
- Dentists
- Medical doctors
- Midwives
- Naturopaths
- Nurse practitioners
- Pharmacists
- Podiatrists
- Registered nurses
- Registered psychiatric nurses
LPNs are only allowed to act on a client-specific order from an authorized health professional who is registered to practise in British Columbia, except where the client has been transferred from Alberta, Yukon or the Northwest Territories for emergency treatment in British Columbia. In addition, an order for an LPN to cast a fracture of a bone may only ever be given by a physician or nurse practitioner who is registered in British Columbia.
2. LPNs have a degree of autonomous practice, which they never had in the past:
LPNs make a nursing diagnosis of a condition before determining an appropriate plan of care.
LPNs are authorized to treat respiratory distress in a known asthmatic, anaphylaxis and hypoglycemia.
3. LPNs are authorized to carry out restricted activities and need to know which restricted activities require an order and which restricted activities do not.
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