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Restricted activities outside the scope of practice of LPNs

Part 4: Restricted activities for licensed practical nurses

LPNs ​​only provide care within BCCNM's scope of practice. However, there are two exceptions:

  1. ​​in life-threatening emergencies

  2. ​where a formal delegation process is in place

In life-threatening emergencies, LPNs are ethically obligated to provide the best care they can, given the circumstances and their individual competence. Employers and nurses should not rely on the emergency exemption when an activity is considered an expectation of practice in a parti​cular setting. The emergency exemption is meant to deal with situations involving imminent risk of death or serious harm that arise unexpectedly and require urgent action.

The following activities a​re considered to be outside the LPN scope of practice and LPNs do not carry them out.

LPNs do not:

  1. Apply electricity to destroy tissue or affect the heart or nervous system (exception: automat​ed external defibrillators)

  2. Apply laser that cuts or destroys tissue

  3. A​dminister in allergy challenge testing or desensitization treatments

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900 – 200 Granville St
Vancouver, BC  V6C 1S4
Canada

info@bccnm​.ca
604.742.6200​
​Toll-free 1.866.880.7101 (within Canada only) ​


We acknowledge the rights and title of the First Nations on whose collective unceded territories encompass the land base colonially known as British Columbia. We give specific thanks to the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-ulh Sníchim speaking Peoples the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), on whose unceded territories BCCNM’s office is located. We also give thanks for the medicines of these territories and recognize that laws, governance, and health systems tied to these lands and waters have existed here for over 9000 years.

We also acknowledge the unique and distinct rights, including rights to health and wellness, of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples from elsewhere in Canada who now live in British Columbia. As leaders in the settler health system, we acknowledge our responsibilities to these rights under international, national, and provincial law.​