Can the Licensed Practical Nurse delegate to the nursing assistant to administer naloxone for a suspected opioid overdose?

It is not within the Licensed Practical Nurse's scope of practice to delegate administration of an opioid antagonist by any route in any setting. RCW 69.41.095 provides an exception to the nursing delegation laws and rules and does not require delegation for a nursing assistant to administer an opioid overdose medication by intranasal spray or by injection. The Licensed Practical Nurse should use the Scope of Practice Decision Tree to determine if specific activities are within the registered nurse's legal and individual scope of practice. For more information, go to the Washington State Department of Health Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution Website.