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RN Frequently Asked Questions

If you cannot find the information you need at one of the links below, access the OSBN scope-of-practice decision guide, the OSBN interpretive practice statements, or the Nurse Practice Act.  To submit a written practice question, please email us at osbn.practicequestion@osbn.oregon.gov.  However, if your question is answered in the FAQs or in a practice statement, you will be directed back to the website.

​A:  No.  The Oregon license covers only the provision of care to clients in Oregon.

The jurisdiction over the nursing practice provided to residents of Oregon is held by the Oregon State Board of Nursing.  Other states have a similar mandate to protect their citizens, so they have authority over how nursing practice is carried out for those within their borders.

To provide nursing care (including case management) to clients across the United States, the Oregon-licensed nurse would need to hold RN licenses that cover practice for all states where clients are located. 

​A:  Yes.

No one may offer to provide nursing services or represent themselves as providing nursing care to residents of Oregon unless they have an Oregon nursing license.  The Oregon State Board of Nursing holds jurisdiction over nursing practice that is provided to residents of Oregon.  A limited number of exceptions to this requirement are found in Oregon law, such as for nurses on a disaster team, nurses on a transport team, school nurses here with student groups, and nurses hired to fill an appropriately documented shortage in limited types of units in hospitals and nursing facilities.

​A:  Yes. However, the Board does not provide lists of allowed assignments or tasks that should be accepted or declined.  In all cases, the RN may accept only those assignments for which they have the knowledge, skills, and documented competency to perform safely.

Each individual nurse must determine how to proceed within their own practice setting.  The Board has developed a useful tool for this purpose.  Utilize the Scope of Practice Decision-Making Guideline to consider a specific practice situation.

The Nurse Practice Act does not prohibit the RN from any specific procedures.  Employers may have their own policies on types of procedures that are allowed or prohibited and the RN would need to be aware of these policies as part of using the Scope of Practice Decision-Making Guideline.  Competency may be gained through formal educational programs, continuing education, or employer-provided training.

Please note:  Licensees sometimes pause on the first question in the Scope of Practice Guideline (Is the role, intervention or activity prohibited by the Nurse Practice Act and Rules/Regulations or any other applicable laws, rules/regulations or accreditation standards?).  The NPA is silent on specific procedures associated with client care, but other regulatory Boards may have jurisdiction over some procedures or activities.  Procedures/activities associated with radiology, esthetic procedures, acupuncture, control of medications, etc. may be limited due to the laws/rules of the related regulatory boards.

Use these links to review how the Board has used the Scope of Practice Decision-Making Guideline to answer some common questions:

​A:  Only if the RN holds a LPN license, a CNA certificate, or a CMA certificate issued by the Board.  Hours worked in another role would not count toward practice hours for RN license renewal.

The RN seeking employment as a LPN, CNA, or CMA must hold the appropriate license/certificate from the Board.  This is different than a situation where the RN is assigned and accepts the assignment to complete duties typically assigned to a LPN, CNA, or CMA for a shift, as these duties fall within the RN scope of practice.  The RN accepting such an assignment remains accountable for their actions and decisions, and cannot refer to themselves as a “LPN," “CNA," or “CMA."  The RN would be responsible to disclose their role for that shift to the client care team.

The RN with a current license may apply for either a CNA or CMA through the Board.  The RN may seek a license as an LPN only if a program specific to training the LPN has been completed.  If accepting a CNA/CMA position with the appropriate Board-issued certificate in place, the RN would need to be clear with the employer that the work is limited to the authorized duties for CNAs/CMAs and the name badge would need to say “CNA" or “CMA."

A:  No.  A nurse may not independently prescribe or order medications.

When a prescription has expired or all refills on an existing prescription have been dispensed, there is no longer an active prescription in place.  A new prescription must be generated by a person who is authorized by the State of Oregon to prescribe.  Prescribing is beyond the scope of practice for the RN and the LPN.

​A:  It depends.  For the purposes of Oregon's Nurse Practice Act, a nurse's practice team member who is a medical assistant is an unregulated assistive person (UAP). Per OAR 851-045-0060(3), the RN may assign to a UAP, work the UAP is authorized by organizational position description to perform in the practice setting.  For more information, see OSBN Sentinel Winter 2021 article, Nursing Practice with the Medical Assistant Healthcare Team Member​. For the definition of unregulated assistive person, see OAR 851-006-0210. 

​A:  No.

The duties that may be carried out by the CNA1 and the CNA2 are finite and listed in Oregon Administrative Rule.  The RN may not expand the lists based on a perception that an individual CNA is capable of being trained to do more.

Oregon Administrative Rule includes the lists of authorized duties.

​A:  There is no list.  Nursing judgment must be applied in all situations where the delegation process is used in community-based care.  The RN may deem it safe to delegate a procedure for one client, and may deem it unsafe for the same staff member to carry out the same procedure on another client.

All RNs involved in community-based care need to review the delegation rules in the Nurse Practice Act​ to understand this unique area of practice.

​A:  It depends.

Facility policy should be consulted for this question.  If no policy exists, the RN must consider the appropriateness of sharing a lab value with a client.  If this is a routine lab result for on-going monitoring of a known condition, it may be appropriate to share with the client directly.  If the lab test was completed for purposes of ruling out or making a particular diagnosis, the RN may be put in a position of having to rule out or confirm a diagnosis when sharing a lab value with a client.  This would be beyond the scope of practice for the RN.  The ordering provider would need to review the lab results in this case and make a determination of how to communicate with the client, which may include instructing the RN to share the results with the client.

​A:  No, except for some unique circumstances.

The Board of Nursing has an Interpretive Statement about patient abandonment that helps licensees understand what may be considered patient abandonment.

In a setting where a nurse may be providing care in a client's home and no other care provider is available to relieve the nurse, it could be considered patient abandonment to leave the client alone.  A nurse working as the sole provider of care in a client's home is advised to fully understand the options open to them, if a relieving nurse is not available.

​A:  Not as a requirement for licensure.

Licensed nurse competencies in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and/or first aid are typically a requirement of practice setting policies, rules governing a setting/service, and/or a specific position description within an organization.  Completion of these trainings is not required for licensure or license renewal.

​A:  Yes.  The Board has developed an interpretive statement to assist the nurse with this question.

A:  A key scope of practice difference is that the RN has an independent nursing practice and the LPN has a dependent nursing practice.  For example, the RN creates the comprehensive plan of care while the LPN contributes to the plan.  The RN completes both comprehensive and focused assessments while the LPN completes focused assessments.

These differing scope of practice authorities are grounded in the type of nursing education program completed by the licensee and by the Nurse Practice Act (NPA).

At the RN level of licensure, the NPA makes no requirement for clinical direction or supervision of practice.  Division 45 of the NPA grants the RN the authority to conduct an independent nursing assessment, develop a plan of care, and evaluate outcomes related to the plan.  While a practice setting may enact supervision requirements related to the RN's role within the setting, the RN remains independent in their nursing practice.

At the LPN level of licensure, the practice act does include requirements for clinical direction and supervision of practice. Division 45 of the NPA specifies that LPN practice may only occur under the clinical direction of a RN, or, under the clinical direction of a licensed independent practitioner (LIP) such as a physician or dentist. 

Clinical direction of LPN practice means the communication from the RN to the LPN for the implementation of the RN's established plan of care or the communication from the LIP to the LPN for the implementation of the LIP's treatment plan. Any practice by an LPN that occurs outside of an established plan of care is not occurring within the scope of practice boundaries of LPN licensure.

Foundational to the LPN's implementation of the established plan of care is the LPN's completion of a nursing assessment. At the LPN level of licensure level this is a focused assessment.  Focused assessment means recognizing the priority condition at the time of the intervention within the parameters of the established plan of care.

Additional resources:
  • OSBN Sentinel - November 2017, Oregon's NPA: The foundation for scope of practice differences in LPN and RN practice. 
  • OSBN Sentinel – November 2018, Focused assessment and the licensed practical nurse.​​

​A:  No.  An OSBN-issued license authorizes the practice of nursing for persons who are physically located in the state of Oregon.  Regulation of the practice of nursing is based on the location of the client at the time of their interaction with the nurse and each state holds legal jurisdiction over the practice of nursing occurring within its borders. As such, you will need to contact the nursing regulatory body (NRB) of the state(s) where your clients are physically located. ​​

​A:  Yes.  An OSBN-issued license is required to engage in the practice of nursing with clients inside of Oregon's borders.  A limited number of exceptions to licensure exist and are in ORS 678.031 accessible at: www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors678.html​

​A:  Yes, to both.  Per 851-045-0065(2), a nurse must only accept an assignment they know is within their own individual scope of practice. For a nurse to determine whether any activity, intervention, or role is within their individual scope of practice, they must apply standards located at OAR 851-045-0065(2)​.  These individual scope of practice standards identify eight specific criteria the nurse must apply to their own situation. Only when the nurse determines that all criteria are met may the nurse accept the assignment.​

​A:  To engage in the practice of practical nursing, one must hold LPN licensure.  Standards on LPN licensure are in OAR 851-031.  This is different than a situation where an RN accepts an assignment to perform activities, interventions, or a role typically assigned to an LPN for a shift. In this situation, the RN remains responsible under their RN license to adhere to OAR 851-045-0060​ RN scope of practice standards and OAR 851-045-0065​ nursing practice standards. The latter standards include accepting accountability for one's decisions and actions and accepting only those assignments which fall within one's individual scope of practice. 

A:  No. RN licensure does not grant prescriptive privilege.  Only a health care provider whose Board-authorized scope includes prescriptive authority may prescribe.   

​A:  No.  Per OAR 851-0060(3), an RN may assign to a CNA authorized duties the CNA is authorized by organizational position description to perform in the setting.  ​

​A:  There is no list of RN plan of care nursing procedures expressly approved for delegation by all RNs.  OAR 851-047 Standards for Registered Nurse Delegation Process in a Community-Based Setting​ does however expressly prohibit the delegation of two nursing procedures: Venipuncture and the discontinuation of an intravenous access device. All other RN plan of care nursing procedures may be considered for delegation by an RN. This consideration occurs through, and is guided by, the individual RN's adherence to both Division 45 and Division 47 standards.​

​A:  The Nurse Practice Act is silent on the activity of communicating diagnostic results with clients. To determine whether communicating diagnostic results with clients is an appropriate activity for you to carry out in your practice setting, you must apply OAR 851-045-0065(2) individual scope of practice standards. 

​A:  This question is not answered by Oregon's Nurse Practice Act (NPA) and the term "patient abandonment" is not found in the NPA.  However, per OAR 851-045-0070, the action of a nurse accepting an assignment and then leaving or failing to complete the assignment without notifying the appropriate personnel and confirming that assignment responsibilities will be met, is conduct derogatory to the practice of nursing. ​

​A:  Not as a requirement for RN licensure.

A:  It depends.  It depends because Oregon's Nurse Practice Act (NPA) does not expressly authorize the performance of any procedure or intervention by all RNs.  The requirement of the NPA is that an RN must only accept an assignment within their individual scope of practice.  For an RN to determine whether the performance of a specific cosmetic procedure is within their individual scope of practice, they must apply nursing practice standards in OAR 851-045-0065(2).

These individual scope of practice standards identify eight specific criteria an RN must apply to their own situation. Only when an RN determines that all criteria are met, may they consider the procedure to be within their individual scope of practice.
When the performance of the cosmetic procedure is found to be within an RN's individual scope of practice, the RN remains responsible under their license to practice consistent with additional 851-045 standards. These standards include but are not limited to 851-045-0060 standards related to RN scope in the practice of nursing, and 851-045-0065(9) standards related to the licensee's responsibility in the acceptance and execution of medical orders.

As RN licensure does not permit the diagnosing of medical conditions or permit the prescription of treatment for conditions, an RN's role within a cosmetic practice is as a practice team member who assists with implementation of a health care provider's treatment plan for a client. This means that prior to, during, and following the performance of a cosmetic procedure for a client, the RN is responsible for their own practice of nursing (with the client) and remains accountable for their own decisions and actions.

​A:  In certain settings, yes. RN standards on teaching to promote health and safety are in OAR 851-045-0060(4).  To determine whether teaching other people how to administer lifesaving medications is within your individual scope of practice, apply OAR 851-045-0065(2) individual scope of practice standards. 

​A:  A nurse from any state may apply for retired status. However, whether the nurse is ​granted retired status will depend on if they meet the requirements set forth in ORS 678.050(6) and OAR 851-031-0086.  

A:  Oregon's Nurse Practice Act (NPA) is silent on this question. This means there is nothing in the NPA which places a legal requirement on a nurse or CNA to sacrifice their own life or personal safety over that of their client during an event in the workplace that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm.​

A:  Oregon's Nurse Practice Act (NPA) does not regulate staffing, work breaks, labor agreements, or HR matters. The following links are provided as a courtesy: