If the director of nursing (DON) is an LPN, what is required to ensure nursing expertise?

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Multiple Choice

If the director of nursing (DON) is an LPN, what is required to ensure nursing expertise?

When the director of nursing is an LPN, an RN must still provide regular, professional nursing oversight to ensure quality and safety. An RN consultant brings the higher level of nursing judgment needed for complex assessments, care planning, medication considerations, and regulatory compliance. Having an RN employed for at least eight hours per week as a consultant ensures there is consistent access to RN-level expertise to guide staff, review plans of care, and support quality improvement, without requiring a full-time on-site RN supervisor. This arrangement fills the gap created by the DON’s LPN status and helps maintain proper clinical standards. The other options would either neglect essential RN oversight, impose an unnecessary full-time supervision, or remove nursing leadership altogether.

When the director of nursing is an LPN, an RN must still provide regular, professional nursing oversight to ensure quality and safety. An RN consultant brings the higher level of nursing judgment needed for complex assessments, care planning, medication considerations, and regulatory compliance. Having an RN employed for at least eight hours per week as a consultant ensures there is consistent access to RN-level expertise to guide staff, review plans of care, and support quality improvement, without requiring a full-time on-site RN supervisor. This arrangement fills the gap created by the DON’s LPN status and helps maintain proper clinical standards. The other options would either neglect essential RN oversight, impose an unnecessary full-time supervision, or remove nursing leadership altogether.

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