In Arkansas, the LPN scope of practice covers nursing care for sick, injured, or otherwise vulnerable patients under the direction of a registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, physician, or dentist. That means hands-on patient care, but always within tasks the supervising clinician has assigned and within limits the Arkansas State Board of Nursing (ASBN) sets.
What LPNs Can Do Day to Day
Under the Arkansas Nurse Practice Act, practical nursing is defined as performing nursing tasks related to patient care under the direction of an RN, APRN, physician, or dentist.1Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Arkansas Code 17-87-102 – Definitions In practice, that typically includes:
- Taking and recording vital signs
- Wound care
- Medication administration
- Collecting patient data and reporting it to the supervising nurse or physician
The work is hands-on, but it is tethered to someone else’s clinical direction. You carry out the plan of care; you do not independently design it.
The Legal Limit on What You Can Do
Here is the line the statute draws, and it is the one that matters most: 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 requires the kind of assessment, clinical reasoning, or decision-making the law reserves for an RN, it is outside your scope regardless of your experience or confidence with the procedure itself.
That rule governs everything else. A task that looks the same on paper may be in scope in one patient context and out of scope in another, depending on how much independent nursing judgment it demands.
IV Therapy With Validated Training
IV therapy is the clearest area where an Arkansas LPN’s hands-on role expands beyond the basics, and it does so only through specific training. The ASBN allows a registered nurse to delegate certain IV tasks to an LPN who has validated competency 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
- Identifying and managing complications
Once an LPN has completed that training and been validated, the following IV tasks are within scope:
- Starting a peripheral IV line on an adult
- Setting up and replacing IV tubing
- Adjusting flow rates
- Monitoring blood product administration
- Pushing medications through a peripheral IV catheter
The core restriction still applies. If a particular IV task requires the specialized judgment of a registered nurse, it cannot be delegated to an LPN even if the LPN is IV certified.2Arkansas Department of Health. ASBN – IV Therapy Guidelines Training expands the task list; it does not change the underlying legal boundary.
Delegating Nursing Tasks to Other Personnel
An Arkansas LPN can delegate certain nursing tasks to other personnel, but only within rules the Board of Nursing has established.1Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Arkansas Code 17-87-102 – Definitions This is real authority, and it carries real responsibility.
If you delegate a task that falls outside what the Board allows, or you delegate to someone who lacks the training to perform it safely, the consequence falls on you. Delegation is not a way to offload accountability; it is a nursing act in its own right, judged against the same practice standards as the task you handed off.
Conduct That Can Narrow or End Your Scope
Your scope of practice also depends on holding a license in good standing. The ASBN has sole authority to deny, suspend, revoke, or limit any nursing license, and several of the statutory grounds relate directly to how you practice. Under Arkansas Code 17-87-309, the Board can act against a nurse for:3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-87-309 – Disciplinary Actions
- Fraud or deceit in obtaining a license, or practicing without a valid license
- Criminal conviction
- Incompetence or negligence, or being unfit to practice due to habits or other causes
- Habitual intemperance or addiction to habit-forming drugs
- Unprofessional conduct, which the Board interprets case by case
- Having a license revoked, suspended, or placed on probation in another state
- Voluntarily surrendering a license in another state without reinstatement
- Willfully or repeatedly violating the Nurse Practice Act
Two of these are worth flagging. Unprofessional conduct is a broad category, and the Board decides on the facts of each case, so practice decisions that stretch past your scope can land there even without a specific statutory label. And prior discipline in another state is independently actionable in Arkansas, which matters for compact-licensed nurses and endorsement applicants alike. The Board is also required to revoke or refuse a license for anyone convicted of certain criminal offenses listed in state law, though a waiver process exists.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-87-309 – Disciplinary Actions
Practicing within scope in Arkansas comes down to three habits: taking direction from the authorized clinician above you, staying inside tasks the Board recognizes for LPNs (plus any you have been specifically trained and validated for, like IV therapy), and treating delegation downward with the same care you expect from the RN delegating to you. The statute is short on specifics for a reason. It gives the Board room to judge individual situations, and it gives you room to use nursing judgment, as long as that judgment stays on the LPN side of the line.