CLPNBC: Nursing Standards And Practices In British Columbia

Introduction to CLPNBC

Question:

Introduce the Professional Standards and Practice Standards documents from CLPNBC and familiarize with how to recognize practice expectations as well as safe or unsafe practices.

The CLPNBC (college of licensed practical nurses of British Columbia) is a regulatory organization that has been set by the provincial government of Canada. They regulate and provide accreditation to the nurse by setting professional frame works and standards. This organization set up rules and regulations if the licensed practical nurses do not meet up to the standards ("CLPNBC", 2017).

CLPNBC has got several mandates, which plays a pivotal role in the nursing profession. The college establishes, assesses and enforces different professional and ethical standards of nursing. Thus is enhances the quality of the care for the patient by preventing the unethical practice. It helps in the continuation of the competency standards of the nurses by promoting quality assurance programs ("CLPNBC", 2017).

The professional standards document helps to provide the minimum requirement criteria then nurse requires surviving in a practice setting. The framework provided in the docent help out the nurses to upheld their professional skills in nursing ("CLPNBC", 2017). The document assists in the delivery of a competent level of care in different phases of nursing. They serve as an evaluation tool for the nurses to ensure clinical safety and proficiency. It helps in the development of the competency checklist (Meadows & Prociuk, 2012).  The professional standards assist the nurses and the management team to develop a safe staffing practice, delegation of tasks to the licensed professionals.

The practice standards provides with the requirements that are linked to specific aspects of nursing practice. It sets up standards and limits on the scope of nursing practice. The practice standards are always guided by federal laws and norms.  Breaching of these practice standards might cause penalties of other legal consequences ("CLPNBC", 2017).

Professional standards

1. Standard 1. Responsibility and Accountability

• The case scenario reveals that Jill takes notes of everything, of whom and when to see, which depicts her systematic approach towards her work.
• It was evident from the 8.15 A.M section of the scenario, that Jill helped all her clients with their breakfast trays and assisted the patients who are unable to feed themselves, which indicates accountability and responsibility in Jill.
• Jill assisted Mr. Jackson in cleaning and dressing up himself. She also managed to get him in his wheelchair.
• Throughout the scenario, Jill has been found to be preparing the remainder for the breakfast medications for the patient, which shows the responsibility and the accountability of Jill.

1. Standard 2: Competency-Based Practice

• The case study had mentioned Jill's concern regarding the communication with Mrs. Tsang, who was not cooperating with the laboratory staff at the time of blood collection. Jill made note of the lab tech report of the blood culture of Mrs. Tsang.
• Jill documented everything about how much the residents ate and drank in their breakfast and lunch. She also helped the patients to settle down in their rooms after they are done with their lunch. She pushed her limits to provide an appropriate care to the patients, and did as one could have done.
• Jill was successful in keeping 24 hours notes regarding the patients for the staffs to maintain after her shifts, which shows her competency in giving a proper clinical handover. Before the end of the shift Jill ensured that she provides all the clinical information to Nurse Julie, such that it is easier for her to manage the patients in absence of Jill. According to Swanson, (2017) proper clinical handovers can reduce the chances of patient morbidity.

1. Standard 3: Client-Focused Provision of Service

• Jill made sure that none of her diabetic client was given sugar in their tea and coffee. Jill ensured that all her patients are administered with enough fluids for maintaining the electrolyte balance of the body.
• Jill had shown competency in documenting the vital signs and the priorities of her patients. She took care of everything such as baths, bowel movements, application of medications in due time. She even jotted down the details of Mrs. Summer’s unwitnessed fall and also witnessed her vital signs.
• Jill was effective in addressing the requirements for each patient. She was well aware of Mr. Petty's allergy to sea food and hence updated the food chart for Mr. Petty.

1. Standard 4: Ethical Practice

• Jill took care of everything such as baths, bowel movements, application of medications in due time.
• Jill requested for a translator for Mrs Tsang in order to remove the barrier of client- nurse communication.
• Jill tried to update him through a nursing education journal which shows that she wants to practice a family oriented care to a patient, who is terminally ill.

Practice standards

1. Boundaries in the Nurse-Client Relationship: Jill greets each of her patients with a warm ' good morning' ensuring a healthy client- patient relationship.

1. b) Communicable Diseases: Preventing Nurse-To-Client Transmission: The nurse has been found to maintain hand hygiene before attending each patient. She had been found to wash her hands as she moves from one patient to the next.
2. c) Conflict of Interest: Tsang refused the laboratory staff to give blood for the laboratory tests. This was mainly due to the miscommunication between the client and the care giver.
3. d) Consent: Tsang was convinced after the appointment of a translator and she gave consent to do the blood work. Furthermore the nurse also assured her a safe care.
4. e) Documentation: Jill has been successful in documenting the keywords like ‘pain’, ‘washroom’, ‘hungry’, thirsty’, ‘please take your medication’, that would help her to communicate with Mrs. Tsang. She wrote the keywords in English with Mandarin pronunciation such that she does not face much difficulty in communicating with the patient, who belongs to a linguistically different background. Jill had shown competency in documenting the vital signs and the priorities of her patients. She even jotted down the details of Mrs. Summer’s unwitnessed fall and also witnessed her vital signs.
5. f) Duty to Provide Care: Jill was successful in looking after each and every requirement of the patients, starting from dressing them up to application of eye drops. Jill enquired to Mrs. Summer regarding the pain on her back and encouraged her to move off her tailbone. Jill assisted Mrs. Summer to attain a comfortable position. Jill made a note to ensure that Mrs. Summer is turned every two hours which proves her patient centered care approach. She also made it sure to leave the call bell within the reach of the patient in case the patient had to call the nurses. She had been extremely prompt in her action, when she found that Mrs. Summer had suffered from a fall. She managed to bring a mechanical support for transferring Mrs. Summer off the floor.
6. g) Duty to report: In the morning Jill called up Dr. Kim for crosschecking the antibiotics for the patients. Before the end of the shift Jill ensured that she provides all the clinical information to Nurse Julie, such that it is easier for her to manage the patients in absence of Jill.

Jill had been responsible in informing the patient’s family regarding the health status of the patients and also assured them about the well being of the patients.  She personally had words with the family members in order to assure them and encourage them to take part in the care regimen. It seems that Jill believed in involving the families for providing a collaborative care to the patient. 

Medication administration: One of the biggest qualities of a nurse is to realize her mistakes and make amend of it. As soon as Jill got aware of his forgetfulness regarding the application of the Voltaren ointment to Mr. Perry, she rushed to the patients to apply the medication, which shows her sense of responsibility towards her profession.

Privacy and Confidentiality: Jill was aware of the nursing standards and practices. She understands the obligations of a nurse. Thus she deters herself from taking selfies with her residents. In order to avoid any sort of complications regarding the posting of pictures in to the social networking site. She was correct on her part to inform the management regarding this. Another example which shows that Jill was well aware of her limits is that she refused to share the resident’s information to any anyone, even if to the family friends.

Use of LPN title: Jill introduced herself to Mrs. Tsang’s daughter as the licensed practitioner nurse (LPN).

Working with Healthcare Assistants: Jill and Nurse Brenda worked in collaboration to bathe Mrs. Summer, which shows her ability to work as a team. Jill also assisted in feeding the residents of Nurse Brenda, which proves her capability of cooperating with her peers to provide a comprehensive care to the patients. Jill also helped the care aids observing Mrs. Summer.

Conclusion

The CLPNBC practice standards of nursing refer to the important factors like the client - nurse relationship. According to Harvey, (2015), the client nurse relationship is the foundation of any treatment regimen. LPNs should be able to avoid the chances of transmission of communicable diseases and should also be able to impart education to the patients regarding the importance of maintaining hygiene. According to the ethics of nursing it is essential to maintain the integrity and the dignity of the patient. This could be done by maintaining the confidentiality of the patient (Caputo, 2016). LPNs should be having the ability to document each and every detailing of a patient. A proper clinical handover have been found to be successful in reducing the rates of mortality and morbidity among the patients. The professional standards of nursing help in the upliftment of the professional skills. It also helps one to adhere to the rules of ethics.

The government, CLPNBC, LPNs and the employers work together for ensuring a safe, competent and ethical care to the public. CLPNBC places specific boundaries over the LPN practice ("CLPNBC", 2017). 

An LPN should always remain updated with the professional and the practice documents to ensure a safe and clinically competed nursing care. Professional and practice standards not only ensure patient safety but also ensure workplace safety (Alligood, 2014). Regular updating of these standards helps the nurses to avoid the breaching of the standards and compensation. It helps the nurses to be acquainted with the new policies related to nursing practice

References

Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work. Elsevier Health Sciences.

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.

Caputo, S. A. (2016). The development of practical nursing in British Columbia: a social historical perspective, 1940-1980(Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia).

CLPNBC. (2017). Clpnbc.org. Retrieved 14 December 2017, from https://www.clpnbc.org

Harvey, J. L. (2015). Exploring what quality means to licensed practical nurses and implications for professional practice(Doctoral dissertation, Royal Roads University (Canada)).

Masters, K. (2015). Role development in professional nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Meadows, C. A., & Prociuk, J. (2012). Integrating licensed practical nurses into home care nursing: One health authority's journey. Home Healthcare Now, 30(5), 273-279.

Swanson, M. E. (2017). The role of registered nurses in primary care and public health collaboration: a scoping review(Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia).