The Arkansas LPN scope of practice covers nursing tasks performed for sick, injured, or otherwise vulnerable patients under the direction of a registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, physician, or dentist. In practice, that means taking vital signs, wound care, medication administration, and collecting patient data to report up the chain. What it does not cover is any task requiring the substantial specialized skill, judgment, and knowledge that define registered nursing. That line is set by the Arkansas Nurse Practice Act, and it governs everything else below.1Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Arkansas Code 17-87-102 – Definitions
What Arkansas LPNs Are Allowed to Do
The routine work of an Arkansas LPN sits in the direct-care lane. You take vital signs. You perform wound care. You administer medications. You collect patient information and report it to the supervising nurse or physician who is directing your work.1Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Arkansas Code 17-87-102 – Definitions
The word “direction” matters. An LPN in Arkansas is not an independent practitioner. Every task you perform sits under the authority of an RN, APRN, physician, or dentist. That supervisor does not have to be standing next to you, but the clinical direction has to be theirs.
The Legal Ceiling: Where LPN Duties End
The Nurse Practice Act draws one bright line: LPN duties cannot require the substantial specialized skill, judgment, and knowledge that define professional (registered) nursing.1Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Arkansas Code 17-87-102 – Definitions If a task calls for the kind of independent clinical assessment or decision-making an RN is trained for, it is outside your scope, even if the task itself looks technical and doable.
The statute does not publish a checklist of forbidden tasks. It sets a standard, and the Board applies that standard. When in doubt, the safe move is to ask the supervising nurse whether a specific task falls within LPN practice at your facility.
IV Therapy
IV therapy is the main area where an Arkansas LPN can expand hands-on responsibilities, but only after completing additional training. The Board allows registered nurses to delegate certain IV tasks to LPNs who have validated their competencies in the procedure.2Arkansas Department of Health. ASBN – IV Therapy Guidelines
The required training covers anatomy, fluid and electrolyte balance, venipuncture techniques, infusion equipment, IV flow rate calculations, and how to identify and manage complications. Once you have completed it and had your competency validated, you can:
- Start a peripheral IV line on an adult
- Set up and replace IV tubing
- Adjust flow rates
- Monitor blood product administration
- Push medications through a peripheral IV catheter
The same ceiling still applies. If a particular IV task requires the specialized judgment of a registered nurse, it cannot be delegated to an LPN, regardless of your training.2Arkansas Department of Health. ASBN – IV Therapy Guidelines Training expands what you may do; it does not move the ceiling.
Delegating Tasks to Other Personnel
Arkansas LPNs can delegate certain nursing tasks to other personnel, but only within the rules the Board of Nursing has established.1Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Arkansas Code 17-87-102 – Definitions This is a real authority, and it comes with real accountability. If you delegate a task that falls outside what the Board allows, or you delegate to someone without the right training for it, the responsibility for that decision is yours.
Two questions to work through before you delegate anything: Does the Board permit this task to be delegated? And does the person I am handing it to have the training to do it safely? If either answer is no, do not delegate.
Why Scope Matters for Your License
Practicing outside your scope is not just a paperwork issue. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing has sole authority to deny, suspend, revoke, or limit any nursing license, and grounds for discipline under Arkansas Code 17-87-309 include incompetence, negligence, unprofessional conduct, and repeated violations of the Nurse Practice Act.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-87-309 – Disciplinary Actions A task performed outside the LPN scope, or a delegation made outside the Board’s rules, can put a license in front of the Board.
The practical takeaway is straightforward. Know what tasks your supervisor is directing you to perform. Confirm that IV work is only done after your competencies have been validated. Delegate only what the Board allows, and only to someone trained to receive it. Everything else falls to the RN, APRN, physician, or dentist above you.
When to Ask Before You Act
The Nurse Practice Act sets a standard rather than a task list, which means judgment calls come up. If a task feels like it might cross into RN territory, treat that instinct as information. Ask the supervising nurse. Facilities interpret the standard within their own policies, and a task that is routine for LPNs in one setting may be handled differently in another. The scope is statewide; the workflow is local.
Your license is issued on the assumption that you understand where LPN practice ends. That understanding, more than any single skill, is what the Board expects you to bring to work.