The College for Licensed Practical Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador (CLPNNL), in accordance with the Licensed Practical Nurses' Act, has the legislative responsibility for regulating the practice of Licensed Practical Nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador. The mission of the CLPNNL is to promote safety and protection of the general public through the provision of safe, competent and ethical nursing care.

In fulfilling its role of protecting the public, the CLPNNL assumes the responsibility of determining standards for the education and practice of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) to ensure they have the knowledge, skills, judgements and attitudes required to provide holistic nursing care to a diverse clientele in a variety of settings. The CLPNNL is also responsible for the investigation of all written complaints alleging negligence, incompetence, or professional misconduct by LPNs and any necessary disciplinary measures. As well, the College for Licensed Practical Nurses recognizes the need to address mandatory competencies and issues related to maintaining these competencies. This will be a focus of future CLPNNL activities.

The CLPNNL first published its Scope of Practice, Standards of Practice and Competencies for Beginning Practitioners in February 1984. These documents were revised in 1988, 1991 and 1994. However, health care is taking new directions. Rising costs have created a need for more cost effective use of resources in order to maintain universal access to quality health care. This has led to the reorganization of health care services, with greater emphasis on health promotion, illness prevention and community care. These changes make it necessary to more clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all members of the health care team. Consequently, a review and reconceptualization of these documents is now essential.

These documents will help to clarify the role of the LPN as an equal member of the health care team. Such clarification will enable LPNs to present an informed view of their practice to others and will communicate to health care consumers, employers and other partners in health care delivery a greater understanding of the theoretical and clinical preparation of Licensed Practical Nurses.

As changes occur in society, health care, and nursing, aspects of these documents will be revised to reflect the changes for LPN practice. These documents, in their entirety, will be reviewed every three (3) years.