How The LPN Can Complement Patient Care In A Hospital Environment
The ratio of Registered Nurses (RN’s) in the United States is a significant indicator of the ability of the country’s healthcare system to cope with its health care needs. Unfortunately this ratio is expected to reach a peak shortly and will then be followed by up to decade long period of decline.
Employment trends are often complex and it is frequently difficult to isolate specific causes for certain effects. However, what is true is that as a steadily aging population of RN’s reach the end of their careers the profession needs new entrants to be entering the sector. If, as thought, today’s employment market provides a dramatically increased variety in job opportunities, then it is quite likely that the overall number of new entrants into the nursing profession will show a decline.
This expected decrease in numbers of RN’s might not have come at a worse time. The need for health care services in the US has been increasing steadily for a number of years. The primary reasons for this increased demand are believed to be; an increase in the overall population, as much as 1% per year; there have been an increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant infections; there are more incidents of chronic illnesses; and, older people in the population are living longer due to new technologies and treatments.
Traditionally the LPN has been used in both economic and resource shortage situations as a substitute for RN’s or patient care assistants (PCA’s), operating as a sort of in-between. But recent pilot studies have shown that greater success may be achieved if the role of the LPN is used to complement that of the RN rather than replace it.
At the start of each day the nursing team meet to evaluate the needs of their patients for that day. The RN, who would supervise all work undertaken, would allocate tasks to the LPN’s and PCA’s based upon their specific skills and experience. In this way the medical facility maximises the return on the particular make up of its staff team as well as involving them in the important decisions surrounding the care of their patients.
The rationale behind this team based approach is to provide the foundation for the maintenance of standards of patient care but at the same time creating an environment in which the RN is free to utilise their time where their experience and qualifications have most impact. They will be able to free themselves from tasks that are relatively straightforward and mundane allowing them time to devote to the more complex aspects of treatments. This method of utilising LPN’s to complement the care team also means that stress levels and time demands on the LPN are reduced thus avoiding potential risks to the quality of care and to staff morale.
In summary, the Licensed Practical Nurse, or LPN can have a significant impact on the smooth running of health care environments, but in order to properly leverage their effectiveness consideration needs to be given to exactly how they are used in the workplace environment as ineffective utilization of their skills and abilities can lead to increased patient treatment issues and staff dissatisfaction.
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