Nursing assessment is outside the scope of practice of the licensed practical nurse. As stated in 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 2830, Chapter I and pursuant to the Mississippi Nursing Practice Law, "The registered nurse shall be held accountable for the quality of nursing care given to patients. This includes assessing the patient's needs, formulating a nursing diagnosis, planning for, implementing and evaluating the patient's care..." It is further stated that the licensed practical nurse "may assist the registered nurse in the planning, implementation and evaluation of nursing care by," in part, "observing, recording and reporting to the appropriate person the signs and symptoms that may be indicative of change in the patient's condition." Therefore, it is the registered nurse's responsibility to perform the initial systems and collective assessment of the patient. The licensed practical nurse may assist the registered nurse with collecting data for that initial assessment and must document and sign the portion of the assessment he/she did. The registered nurse must document and sign the portion of the assessment which he/she completed.

The registered nurse may delegate the observation and recording of a patient's ongoing or subsequent status to the appropriately educated and competent licensed practical nurse. However, the registered nurse is held accountable for the quality of nursing care given by self or others being supervised. There must be documentation that the licensed practical nurse is educated and competent. This education and competence must be documented initially and on an ongoing basis.

Refer to the LPN and Assessment Functions Position Statement