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Nursing Rules and Laws of Colorado

Anonymous Rasmussen University NUR1055: Introduction to Nursing Professor Carla Swett MSN, RN August 1st, 2021

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Nursing Rules and Laws of Colorado Knowing the Acts and Laws in the state in which I plan to be implementing nursing is very important to the safety of myself, patients, and medical facilities. Throughout this article, I will be discussing the roles of registered nurses according to the ADN program at Rasmussen. Further into the article, I will be identifying the Nurse Practice Act for Colorado and comparing the scopes of practice between RN’s and LPN’s within the Act. To conclude this paper, I shall be evaluating what I have learned and how I can use what I have learned once I obtain my RN license. According to Rasmussen’s RN program, registered nurses have a set of things they can do outside of an LPN scope of practice. Diagnosing and analyzing are enormous tasks Rasmussen focuses on in its Introduction to Nursing course required for the ADN program. In this class, students are being taught that nursing roles are as follows: Data collection/assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Data collection and assessment includes obtaining subjective and objective data from the patient, ensuring that all other nursing staff in their team have their work divided amongst them by what is in their scope of practice, and reporting all findings back to the team. One thing that only RN’s can do and LPN’s cannot be doing is diagnosing. RN’s are required to take the data that has been collected and interpret that to come up with the most accurate diagnosis for the patient. With the information given to the RN (either by their findings or what will be relayed from the LPN’s), they must come up with a suitable plan individualized for that specific patients’ needs. Although the LPN can contribute towards the patient’s care plan, it is ultimately the role of the RN to develop the plan that can be implemented by the LPN or RN.

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In Colorado, to be a licensed nurse, a student must graduate from a Colorado-approved practical nursing education program and pass the NCLEX exam. If the student did not take the courses needed in Colorado, the program they completed must be approved by the board of nurses in the state that the program was completed and the NCLEX exam passed to be licensed in Colorado. For students who don’t pass the NCLEX the first time, the exam can be taken up to three times in three years. If a person does not pass the NCLEX the first three times, they must reevaluate where they were wrong on the exam, reeducate themselves on their weak topics of study utilizing NCLEX review, or do more coursework. Once they feel confident enough to take the exam the fourth time, they can submit a written petition for a waiver to retake the exam. Once the board receives the waiver, they can then choose whether to grant the student another chance at the exam again or not. Once a professional nursing license is obtained, the scope of practice is determined by the board (Nurse Practice Act, 2020). To determine what is within the nursing scope of practice, questions can be asked to oneself, such as “Was the skill/task taught in your basic nursing program? If it was not included in your basic nursing education, have you since completed a compressive training program that included clinical experience? Has this task become so routine in the nursing literature and nursing practice, it can be reasonable and prudently assumed within scope? Is the skill/task in your hiring agency policy and procedure manual? Does carrying out the duty pass the “Reasonable and Prudent” standard for nursing?” (Board of Nursing: Laws, Rules, and Policies. 2021). When it comes to LPN’s and the state of Colorado’s board of nurse’s scope of practice, LPN’s responsibility is to help the RN by completing their delegated tasks. An LPN education program in Colorado is 9 to 11 months long, focusing on patient care and examining the body to identify irregularities within the patients’ health. The RN is responsible for delegating tasks

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given to LPN’s that are within their scope of practice. Once the LPN completes their duties, they must report any findings and information from the patient to the RN to which they are assigned. An LPN is not to diagnose any patients but to help inform RN’s of patient information so that the RN can diagnose and create a care plan. The LPN can implement the care plan and contribute input to the care plan for the RN to oversee, but overall the RN puts the plan in place and approves the overall care to take place. (Board of Nursing: Laws, Rules and Policies, 2021). When it comes to nursing, understanding the laws is very important to keeping ones’ license. These laws are set in place to ensure the safety of the medical staff and patients. As I find myself on my journey to becoming an RN, knowing the scopes of practice in the specific state where I’ll enact my licensing is a must to ensure that I am the best nurse I can be. As an RN, I’ll know what’s in the scope of my practice and avoid stepping outside of the boundaries set in place by the Board of Nursing. Reading through these laws makes me feel more confident that what I am learning in the nursing program at Rasmussen is setting me up to succeed in my future medical career. Taking part in the nursing program will help me draw the line of what I can and cannot do as a nurse, and I will use what I learn to understand better what is within my scope of nursing.

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References Board of Nursing. (2021) Board of Nursing: Laws, Rules, and Policies. https://dpo.colorado.gov/Nursing/Laws

Nurse Practice Act, Col. Stat. § 12-225-110 (2020). https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BK5DhxXxJZbOHRFaGVlV0xVSEk/view?resourcekey=0PmFMTK0ZnhvZTDF959qR3A...