Care Collaborations: RNs and LPNs Partner on Med/Surg Unit (Podcast)

One of the most common healthcare settings where licensed practical nurses (LPNs) work is long-term care facilities. However, they are valuable team members in emergency departments, post-anesthesia care units and other areas within hospitals.

A 26-bed medical/surgical unit at Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital integrated LPNs into its care model, partnering a clinical nurse with an LPN to provide high-quality care for patients.

“Wherever there’s a need for patient care, I really think that if the team is open to it and you tell them the ‘why’ behind wanting to have an LPN join the team, they can be successful,” says Mary Richards, DNP, RN, nurse manager of a medical-surgical unit and dialysis unit at Martin North.

In this episode of Cleveland Clinic’s Nurse Essentials podcast, Richards and Julie Cianciulli, MSN, RN, director of inpatient nursing at Martin North, share insight on incorporating LPNs into inpatient healthcare teams. They cover:

• The skills and qualities licensed practical nurses require
• Successful collaborations among clinical nurses and LPNs
• Development of the LPN/RN team model at Martin North
• Advice for nursing units that want to bring LPNs on board
• How to support licensed practical nurses on their LPN-to-RN journey

Click the podcast player above to listen to the episode now, or read on for a short, edited excerpt. Check out more Nurse Essentials episodes at my.clevelandclinic.org/podcasts/nurse-essentials or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast excerpt

Podcast host Carol Pehotsky, DNP, RN, NEA-BC: What advice would you give to registered nurses working [with LPNs] to really establish that trust, to understand the swim lanes and where best to communicate and how to really make sure that the LPN feels like they're practicing at the top of their scope?

Cianciulli: Well, I think it would first have to start with education to the RNs on what [the LPN’s] limitations are. We want them to stay within those guardrails of their licensure, but we also want them to work to the top of it. So, I think initially it would be a lot of education. And then, what Mary was stating, we have to bring in some of that trust.

We are bringing LPNs in to help. They can do this. So let's think outside the box. I think sometimes we get stuck in a thought process. How can we offset some of the stress that nurses are feeling? And there's always, unfortunately, you know, a financial side to it. So, how can we do the best of both worlds?

Let's just kind of think outside the box. OK, this is it. Let's go. Let's build that process and then build the trust with it.