Ways That RNs Are Expected To Attend To Their Clients' Needs

- Safe and Effective Care Environment: Coordinated Care. This content area addresses the ways in which the practical nurse should work with the rest of the patient care team to help enhance the safety and effectiveness of the setting in which care is delivered, and the ways that PNs must work to protect clients and healthcare personnel. The skills measured in this content area include, but are not limited to, advance directives, advocacy, informed consent, establishment of priorities, and continuity of care.

- Safe and Effective Care Environment: Safety and Infection Control. This content area addresses the ways in which LPNs should work with the rest of the patient care team to protect both clients and healthcare workers from health and environmental hazards. The skills measured in this content area include, but are not limited to, accident, injury, and error preventions; handling hazardous and infectious materials; safe use of equipment; and use of restraints and safety devices.

- Health Promotion and Maintenance. This content area addresses the ways in which LPNs should work to incorporate knowledge of growth and development principles and prevention/early-detection strategies into the care of their clients. The skills measured in this content area include, but are not limited to, ante/intra/postpartum and newborn care, developmental stages and transitions, health promotion/disease prevention, lifestyle choices, and data collection techniques.

- Psychosocial Integrity. This content area addresses the ways in which LPNs should assist in sustaining and enhancing the emotional, mental, and social well-being of clients as they undergo events causing stress, as well as of clients dealing with acute or long-term mental illness. The skills measured in this content area include, but are not limited to, abuse/neglect, chemical and other dependencies, crisis intervention, end-of-life care, grief and loss, mental health concepts, sensory and perceptual changes, and therapeutic communications and environments.

- Physiological Integrity: Basic Care and Comfort. This content area addresses the ways in which LPNs should work to provide comfort to clients, and assist clients in performing activities and meeting expectations of daily living. The skills measured in this content area include, but are not limited to, assistive devices, elimination, mobility and immobility, nutrition and oral hydration, and rest and sleep.

- Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological Therapies. This content area addresses the ways in which LPNs work to provide safe and effective care relating to the administration of medication, and the monitoring of clients receiving parenteral therapies. The skills measured in this content area include, but are not limited to, adverse effects/ contraindications/side effects/interactions, dosage calculation, expected actions/outcomes, and medication administration.

- Physiological Integrity: Reduction of Risk Potential. This content area addresses the ways in which LPNs work to reduce the likelihood of complications or problems that arise due to existing conditions, procedures, and treatments. The skills measured in this content area include, but are not limited, to vital signs, diagnostic tests, laboratory values, potential for complications from diagnostic and surgical procedures, and potential changes in body systems (such as cardiovascular, endocrine, gastroenterological, integumentary, musculoskeletal, and neurologic).

- Physiological Integrity: Physiological Adaptation. This content area addresses the ways in which LPNs work to help in the provision of care for patients with acute, chronic, or life-threatening conditions. The skills measured in this content area include, but are not limited to, alterations in body systems, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, medical emergencies, basic pathophysiology, and unexpected response to therapies.

Integrated Processes
Integrated processes critical to the practice of nursing are also addressed in the questions on the NCLEX-PN® exam. 
These processes include all the methodologies employed by LPNs in entry-level positions to address their clients' needs. As described in the '2011 NCLEX-PN Detailed Test Plan—Candidate' (available at www.ncsbn.org/1287.htm), they include:
 

- Clinical Problem-Solving Process—a scientific approach to client care that includes data collection, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
- Caring—interaction of the practical/vocational nurse and client in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust . . . [providing] support and compassion to help achieve desired therapeutic outcomes.
- Communication and Documentation—verbal and nonverbal interactions between the practical/vocational nurse and the client, as well as other members of the healthcare team . . . [and] written and/or electronic records that reflect standards of practice and accountability in the provision of care.
- Teaching and Learning—facilitation of the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes to assist in promoting a change in behavior.