Delegation: LPN/LVN vs. UAP — A Clear Comparison
The one rule behind every delegation question is that the RN keeps assessment, teaching, evaluation, judgment, and unstable clients, and everything else can often be delegated. A UAP does routine tasks for stable clients with predictable results, while a licensed LPN or LVN can additionally give most oral, IM and subcutaneous medications and perform procedures such as sterile dressings, catheters, and tube feedings.
Safe delegation: what the LPN may do, what the UAP may do, and what stays with the RN.
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Delegation questions are common because Management of Care is the biggest category on the exam. They are also very learnable. The rules are clear.
Important: what an LPN/LVN may do is set by each state’s Nurse Practice Act, and it varies. The NCLEX tests a general national standard. Your own state’s rules govern your real job.
The one rule behind everything
The RN keeps: assessment, teaching, evaluation, judgment, and unstable clients.
Everything else can often be delegated.
If you remember nothing else, remember those five things. They answer most delegation questions.
What the UAP can do
A UAP (unlicensed assistive personnel) is a nursing assistant, aide, or tech. They are not licensed.
UAPs can do routine tasks for stable clients with predictable results:
- Bathing, mouth care, hair care, nail care
- Making beds
- Feeding clients who can swallow safely
- Helping clients walk, if they are steady
- Turning and positioning
- Taking routine vital signs on stable clients
- Measuring intake and output
- Weighing clients
- Emptying drains and catheter bags
- Simple, non-sterile care such as basic hygiene
- Applying compression stockings
- Transporting clients
- Stocking supplies
UAPs cannot:
- Assess anything
- Teach anything
- Evaluate whether care worked
- Give medications (in most settings)
- Do sterile procedures
- Take vital signs on an unstable client
- Care for an unstable client
- Do anything needing nursing judgment
What the LPN/LVN can do
An LPN/LVN is licensed. They can do more.
LPNs can usually do everything a UAP can, plus:
- Give most oral, IM, and subcutaneous medications
- Change sterile dressings
- Insert urinary catheters
- Insert and manage nasogastric tubes
- Do tracheostomy care
- Suction
- Do focused data collection on stable clients
- Reinforce teaching the RN already gave
- Monitor stable clients
- Give tube feedings
LPNs usually cannot:
- Do the first assessment on a client
- Create the care plan
- Do the first teaching
- Give most IV push medications
- Manage blood transfusions (in most states)
- Care for unstable clients
- Evaluate whether care worked
The comparison table
| Task | UAP | LPN/LVN | RN only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bathing, hygiene | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Feeding a safe swallower | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Vital signs — stable client | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Vital signs — unstable client | ✔ | ||
| Intake and output | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Helping a steady client walk | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Oral medications | ✔ | ||
| IM and subcutaneous injections | ✔ | ||
| IV push medications | ✔ | ||
| Sterile dressing change | ✔ | ||
| Urinary catheter insertion | ✔ | ||
| Tracheostomy care, suctioning | ✔ | ||
| Tube feeding | ✔ | ||
| Blood transfusion | ✔ | ||
| First assessment | ✔ | ||
| Focused data collection, stable client | ✔ | ||
| First teaching | ✔ | ||
| Reinforcing teaching | ✔ | ||
| Care plan | ✔ | ||
| Evaluating if care worked | ✔ | ||
| Any unstable client | ✔ |
The three questions that answer any delegation item
1. Is the client stable? No → RN only. Stop here.
2. Does the task need assessment, teaching, evaluation, or judgment? Yes → RN only.
3. Does the task need a license? Yes → LPN or RN, not UAP.
Three questions. Almost every delegation question falls out of them.
Word traps to watch for
Test writers hide the answer in one word.
“Assess” vs. “collect data” vs. “check.”
- “Assess the client’s breathing” → RN
- “Take the client’s vital signs” → can be delegated if the client is stable
“Teach” vs. “reinforce teaching.”
- “Teach the client how to use crutches” → RN (first teaching)
- “Reinforce teaching about crutches” → LPN can do this
“Stable” vs. “newly admitted” vs. “just returned from surgery.”
- Stable → can delegate
- New, just back from surgery, or just changed → RN
“Evaluate.” This word almost always means RN. Evaluating results is RN work.
Examples
Which task can be given to the UAP?
- Teaching a client about a new medication → RN (teaching)
- Taking vital signs on a client who just came back from surgery → RN (not stable yet)
- Helping a stable client walk to the bathroom → UAP — correct
- Assessing a wound → RN (assessment)
Which task can be given to the LPN?
- Making the care plan for a new client → RN
- Giving an oral medication to a stable client → LPN — correct
- Giving IV push pain medication → RN
- Doing the first assessment on a new admission → RN
The mistake working nurses make
At your job, the aide may do more than this list. That does not change the exam answer.
The exam tests the standard, not what happens on a busy night with short staffing.
If you catch yourself thinking “but our aides do that all the time” — that is the warning sign. See Article 37.
Scope of practice for LPN/LVN is set by each state’s Nurse Practice Act and varies. Check your own state’s rules for real practice.
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Frequently asked questions
Common follow-up questions on Prioritization, Delegation & Management of Care.
What can a UAP do and not do?
A UAP can do routine tasks for stable clients with predictable results, such as bathing and hygiene, feeding safe swallowers, routine vital signs on stable clients, intake and output, helping steady clients walk, turning and positioning, and applying compression stockings. A UAP cannot assess, teach, evaluate whether care worked, give medications in most settings, do sterile procedures, take vital signs on an unstable client, or care for an unstable client.
What can an LPN or LVN do that a UAP cannot?
An LPN can usually do everything a UAP can plus give most oral, IM and subcutaneous medications, change sterile dressings, insert urinary catheters, manage nasogastric tubes, do tracheostomy care and suctioning, give tube feedings, reinforce teaching the RN already gave, and do focused data collection on stable clients. LPNs usually cannot do the first assessment, create the care plan, do the first teaching, give most IV push medications, manage blood transfusions, or care for unstable clients.
What three questions answer any delegation item?
First, is the client stable? If no, RN only, stop there. Second, does the task need assessment, teaching, evaluation or judgment? If yes, RN only. Third, does the task need a license? If yes, LPN or RN, not UAP. Almost every delegation question falls out of these three.
What word traps hide the answer?
Test writers hide the answer in one word. Assess the client's breathing is RN, but take the client's vital signs can be delegated if the client is stable; teach is RN first teaching, while reinforce teaching an LPN can do. A stable client can be delegated, but newly admitted or just returned from surgery is RN, and evaluate almost always means RN.
Does what my aide does at work change the exam answer?
No. At your job the aide may do more than this list, but that does not change the exam answer. The exam tests the standard, not what happens on a busy night with short staffing. If you catch yourself thinking but our aides do that all the time, that is the warning sign.
Sources and references
- Potter PA, Perry AG, Stockert PA, Hall AM. Fundamentals of Nursing. 10th ed. Elsevier; 2021; Chapter: Managing Patient Care.
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing. National Guidelines for Nursing Delegation. Journal of Nursing Regulation. 2016;7(1):5-14.
Reviewed by the NCLEXPace team, October 2026.
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