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Licensed practical nurses in critical care areas: intensive care unit nurses' perceptions about the role.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine critical care nurses' perceptions about the reintroduction of the licensed practical nurse into critical care areas. DESIGN: A qualitative research design was used, with focus groups used as the method for data collection. SETTING: A large midwestern university-affiliated medical center. SUBJECTS: Registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) employed in the medical center's critical care units. PROCEDURES: RNs and LPNs were interviewed separately in groups of 3 to 8 members. Open-ended questioning was used to collect information about nurses' perceptions concerning the reintroduction of the LPN role into critical care units. Data were analyzed for themes within and across groups. RESULTS: Registered nurses were unprepared for reintroduction of the role and were unsure of legal versus hospital-directed restrictions on LPN practice. LPNs were frequently placed in situations in which they assumed patient assignments outside those described in job descriptions or unit standards. CONCLUSION: When LPNs are reintroduced into critical care units, clear descriptions of roles and responsibilities are needed as is orientation of RNs to the roles of delegator and resource nurse.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Hospital demand for licensed practical nurses.

Despite evidence that hospital use of licensed practical nurses (LPNs) declined in the 1990s, the current registered nurse (RN) shortage has prompted interest in LPNs as substitutes for RNs. Hospitals, being the dominant employer of RNs, have an economic incentive to use less expensive LPNs as substitutes. Beside wages, there are several forces underlying hospital demand for LPNs. In this article, the authors model and estimate hospital demand for LPNs as a function of nurse wages and hospital, market, and patient characteristics using a longitudinal data set of short-term general hospitals in the United States. The authors find evidence that higher RN wages increase hospital demand for LPNs, both in levels and relative to RNs, suggesting that hospitals at least partially substitute RNs with LPNs.

Employment↗

Barriers to the retention of registered and licensed practical nurses in small rural hospitals.

The availability of nursing resources is one of the most critical issues facing health care organizations in the country. The study investigated the potential factors that relate to the desire of registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to continue practicing in rural hospitals of North Dakota. All RNs and LPNs who worked in North Dakota hospitals with fewer than 100 beds (490 hospitals) were mailed survey questionnaires. Approximately eight weeks later, responses were received from 291 respondents for an overall return rate of 59 percent. Correlational analyses were used to examine the subjects' responses. A moderate relationship was found among the work-related variables. Overall job satisfaction and performance constraints were the only variables to make significant contributions to the prediction of turnover intention for both RNs and LPNs. Overall job satisfaction accounted for the largest percentage of the variance (R2 = 0.42 and R2 = 0.44) for RNs and LPNs, respectively. Satisfaction with promotion was the only work-related variable to make a significant contribution to the prediction of turnover intention for RNs (R2 = 0.23). Performance constraints, role ambiguity, and shift worked were the only work-related variables contributing to the prediction of turnover for LPNs. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the management of RNs and LPNs in rural hospitals. Clinical ladders for promotions, the identification of potential performance constraints, and supervisory training are suggested as target areas in which rural hospitals might focus attention for managing turnover in RNs and LPNs.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Accuracy and bias of licensed practical nurse and nursing assistant ratings of nursing home residents' pain.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the accuracy of licensed practical nurses' (LPN) and nursing assistants' (NA) Minimum Data Set (MDS) pain ratings of nursing home residents and evaluated the bias in pain ratings associated with residents' race, gender, mental status, function, depression, or disruptive behavior. METHODS: Data were obtained on the same day directly from residents, LPNs, and NAs by trained interviewers in two safety-net nursing homes. A total of 252 residents were included in this study: 79% were Black, and 60% were men. MDS items J2a and J2b evaluated pain frequency and pain intensity during the last 7 days (weekly pain frequency and weekly pain intensity). A parallel question evaluated pain intensity on the day of the interview (daily pain intensity). MDS data were obtained for the MDS Cognition Scale, the MDS Activities of Daily Living-Long Form Scale, the MDS Depression Rating Scale, and the MDS Disruptive Behavior Scale. RESULTS: Kappa coefficients documented fair to good resident-LPN (K =.70,.56, and.50) and resident-NA (K =.72,.58, and.60) agreement for weekly pain frequency, weekly pain intensity, and daily pain intensity ratings. LPNs and NAs underestimated residents' weekly pain frequency (p <.001 for LPNs, and p <.001 for NAs), weekly pain intensity (p <.001 for LPNs, and p <.001 for NAs), and daily pain intensity (p <.001 for LPNs, and p =.002 for NAs). LPNs underestimated weekly and daily pain intensity more than NAs did (p =.016 for weekly pain intensity, and p =.035 for daily pain intensity). LPN and NA pain ratings were not biased by resident race, gender, mental status, function, depression, or disruptive behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Results documented that (i) LPNs and NAs underestimated residents' pain frequency and pain intensity, (ii) NAs were more accurate than LPNs for pain intensity, and (iii) resident characteristics did not bias LPN or NA pain ratings.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Using adaptive competency acquisition assessment for licensed practical nurse career mobility.

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of adaptive competency acquisition in Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) graduate candidates as an assessment mechanism for career mobility. Participants completed the The results indicated that LPN graduate candidates developed adaptive competencies necessary for career transition. The results place value on career mobility, while providing educators insight into the basic competencies of one level of educational preparation, which can aid in service-based program development.

Career Mobility↗

In a different voice: the attitudes of licensed practical nurses towards the future.

In the fall of 1997, the Idaho Commission of Nursing and Nursing Education undertook a survey of Idaho nurses to collect data on future workforce and educational needs. The results of the survey demonstrated substantial attitudinal differences between licensed practical nurses and registered nurses in the areas of educational motivation, role differentiation, skills by type of nurse, trends in nursing supply, and educational preparation. Given that the Idaho workforce is comparable to the national nursing workforce in numbers, educational background, and age, these findings have implications for health policy planners and nursing educators throughout the country. This article presents the findings and then uses the data as a basis for suggesting their implications for nursing education and workforce planning.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗