A recent College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta blog post (Let’s Get Some Facts Straight!) generated overwhelming response from our members, and for this we thank you. The passion and commitment within the Licensed Practical Nurse profession is boldly evident, but the ongoing frustration is also evident.
Health care is inherently interprofessional. It takes a team of providers for quality health care delivery. No single profession can or should deliver all the services required by a patient. Therefore, it makes sense to have different levels of education within providers. Think of it this way, it wouldn’t make sense to have a person educated at a PhD level providing basic nursing or starting all the intravenous lines. Different levels of education make sense; it is not a bad thing that we are different! The trouble is our differences are not valued. Read on…
CLPNA speaks out on behalf of the Licensed Practical Nurse profession
Recent discussion generated by CBC Radio’s Eyeopener (Nursing Shortage; Looking for Nurses) related to nursing shortage and hiring of “lesser trained” nursing personnel showcases some major historical biases and beliefs, which are not relevant to or supportive of healthcare in Alberta.
First, it is unfair and inaccurate to refer to the LPN as a “lesser trained nurse who puts patient safety at risk”. There are three types of professional nurses in Alberta: Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Registered Nurses (RNs), and Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs). Each group has a defined scope of practice and is educated to function safely and effectively within their legislated scope. Read on…
Hugh Pedersen, CLPNA President, and Linda Stanger, CLPNA Executive Director
Collaborative practice is a goal and focus for change throughout health organizations. Today, work is underway provincially and nationally to integrate interprofessional collaboration strategies into health care education and practice. The new National Interprofessional Competency Framework (CIHC, 2010) provides a launch point for such direction by focusing on role clarification, team functioning, interprofessional conflict resolution, and collaborative leadership (see pg. 23 of CARE Fall 2011 for more details about this Framework). Health organizations across Alberta are recognizing the need for collaborative directives to guide and support teams and are committing to such practices. These discussions are not new; in fact, several research projects conducted in our province have clearly noted these components and their connection to collaborative practice (Besner et al., 2005; Cummings et al., 2011; White et al., 2009).
In recent months, CLPNA has expressed concern around a possible new staffing plan within Alberta’s new mega hospital in south Calgary. This potential model involves a move to registered nurse (RN)-health care aide (HCA) staffing, which could exclude the LPN role in this facility. CLPNA is very concerned about any model where LPNs are excluded particularly when current evidence and best practice, much of which comes from within AHS, demonstrates the value of the LPN on interprofessional teams. Read on…
posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010
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This spring, College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA) welcomed the Government of Alberta’s invitation to participate in the review of the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health (MACH) “A Foundation for Alberta’s Health System” regarding the proposed Alberta Health Act.
The CLPNA is committed to working within a comprehensive, universal, portable, publicly-administered, and accessible health care system. We are pleased to support the Government of Alberta’s commitment to these guiding principles, which are the core of the Canada Health Act; and its commitment to sustainable public health care.
LPNs & the Alberta Health Act
The stated objective of the Alberta Health Act is to consolidate the 30 pieces of legislation and 100 regulations that currently guide the health system. LPNs are regulated by one of those pieces, the Health Professions Act (HPA), which provides for self-governance for 73% of health professionals in Alberta. Read on…
posted on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
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In case you missed it, Dr. Stephen Duckett (CEO & President of Alberta Health Services) recently had a personal encounter with emergency health services that gave him fresh insight into Alberta’s health care system from a patient’s point of view.
In his Blog, he discusses what he learned from the work, collaboration, and many kindnesses extended by the health care workers he encountered, and those working behind the scenes.
Read his complete post under the section “A most unusual event” on Duckett’s AHS Internal Blog titled “Anniversaries, Events, Engagement and Advocacy”.
And if you have a comment, click on “Read more”. Read on…
posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010
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National Nursing Week (May 9-15, 2010) is a time to celebrate the contribution of nurses to our healthcare system and our society. Last month, the stories of the individual achievements of Alberta’s Licensed Practical Nurses were made as the 2010 Awards of Excellence recipients were honoured, and now, we’d like our member’s to share their stories of nursing excellence. Read on…
