PN Level 1 case studies
PN Level 1 · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The PN Level 1 credential - often shortened to PN1 or Practical Nursing Level 1 - is an entry-level nursing certification for candidates preparing to work as practical or vocational nurses under the supervision of registered nurses and physicians. It signals that a candidate has mastered the foundational knowledge expected at the start of a practical nursing career: organizing and coordinating care, protecting patient safety, preventing infection, promoting health, supporting psychosocial needs, delivering basic comfort care, administering medications and parenteral therapy, reducing risk, adapting to changing physiological conditions, and practicing within ethical and legal boundaries. The PN Level 1 case studies are 5 cases and about 3,516 words.
1Assigning Care When the Only RN Leaves the Unit
You are the licensed practical nurse (LPN) on a 30-bed medical-surgical unit during a 1900–0700 shift. Staffing is one RN, you, and two unlicensed assistive personnel (UAPs) for 28 patients.
758 words, about 4 min2Suspected Pulmonary Tuberculosis Admitted to a Semi-Private Room
R, 62, is admitted at 2330 to a medical unit with a 3-week history of productive cough, night sweats, a 9-kg weight loss, and a chest x-ray showing a cavitary lesion in the right upper lobe. Sputum for acid-fast bacilli was sent at admission; results are pending.
705 words, about 4 min3Supratherapeutic INR With a New NSAID Order
L, 74, weighing 54 kg, is admitted with a 2-day history of a swollen, painful right knee. She has atrial fibrillation and takes warfarin 5 mg daily; her INR today is 5.6 (target 2.0–3.0) and was 2.4 one week ago.
674 words, about 3 min4New Confusion on Post-Operative Day One
G, 78, is on post-operative day 1 after open reduction and internal fixation of a right hip fracture. She lives alone, manages her own medications, and was alert and oriented ×4 on admission.
685 words, about 3 min5Suspected Diversion by a Colleague
You are the LPN working a 1500–2300 shift. At 1830, three of the four patients assigned to RN Colleague report pain scores of 8–9/10 within an hour of receiving IV morphine that the colleague documented as "given, effective." The automated dispensing cabinet history shows the colleague removed 6 vials of fentanyl and 4 vials of morphine in the last 4 hours and documented "wasted" on 3 vials without a co-signature.
694 words, about 3 min