Saskatchewan’s Licensed Practical Nurses were proud to mark Nov. 24 as the 15th anniversary of the proclamation of the Licensed Practical Nurses Act 2000, legislation which established LPNs as a fully autonomous, self-regulating nursing profession, working within their own scope of practice, standards of practice and code of ethics.
“November 24, 2000 was an important date in the Saskatchewan health care field, and LPNs are proud to mark this special occasion,” said Lynsay Nair, Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses (SALPN).
“When the Licensed Practical Nurses Act 2000 was proclaimed, there were approximately two thousand LPNs working in the province. Today that number approaches three thousand seven hundred, and the LPN workforce is growing at about 4% per year. More than half of Saskatchewan’s LPNs (51%) work in acute care facilities such as hospitals, while 37% are employed in long term care facilities such as nursing homes. Other members of the profession are employed in Home Care (5%) and various specialized programs (7%) across the province,” Nair noted.
“LPNs are one of three disciplines of professional nursing in Saskatchewan: Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses. LPNs study from the same body of nursing knowledge as Registered Nurses (RNs) and Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs), with a focus on foundational knowledge, critical thinking, and clinical judgment. Saskatchewan LPNs graduate with a two year diploma in practical nursing, which provides 1,787 instructional hours, including 712 hours of theoretical instruction and over 1,075 hours of clinical / lab experience,” Nair added.
“The SALPN is mandated through the Licensed Practical Nurses Act 2000 to regulate the profession according to its Bylaws and Standards of Practice, in a manner that protects the public. In addition to overseeing the registration standards and competencies of the profession, the SALPN is the counseling, disciplining and licensure body for Licensed Practical Nurses in our province. Utilizing best practice approaches, the SALPN supports collaborative practice and patient-centered care,” Nair said.
The SALPN currently works with the Ministry of Health, the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association (SRNA), the Registered Psychiatric Nurses Association of Saskatchewan (RPNAS), other regulated health care providers, employers, members and unions to collectively work toward excellence in nursing care for the people of Saskatchewan,” Nair concluded.
