Can LPNs do wound care? What the rules say about dressings, staging and wound vacs
Written and reviewed by Rachel Goldberg, MSN, RN, CEN · 4 min read · Updated November 2026
Checked against official sources: November 2026
Rules, fees and deadlines differ by state and change without notice. Check with your state board of nursing before you rely on them.
Short answer
Yes. LPNs and LVNs carry out ordered wound treatments, including dressing changes, irrigation and suture or staple removal, and the 2026 NCLEX-PN test plan lists these as entry-level PN tasks. The limit is judgment, not dressings: the LPN collects and reports wound data, while the RN's comprehensive assessment sets the plan.
Wound tasks the NCLEX-PN expects you to do
The NCLEX-PN test plan effective April 2026 is built from NCSBN's 2024 practice analysis of what new LPN/VNs actually do. Its activity statements name wound work in several client need categories, which tells you wound care is treated as standard PN practice rather than a specialty add-on.
| Activity statement | Client need category |
|---|---|
| Perform wound care and/or dressing change | Physiological Adaptation |
| Remove wound sutures or staples | Physiological Adaptation |
| Provide care for client drainage device (e.g., wound drain) | Physiological Adaptation |
| Assist with client wound drainage device removal | Physiological Adaptation |
| Perform irrigation (e.g., wound) | Basic Care and Comfort |
| Use measures to maintain or improve client skin/tissue integrity | Basic Care and Comfort |
| Collect baseline physical data (e.g., skin/tissue integrity) | Health Promotion and Maintenance |
Note the verbs. The PN plan says perform, provide and collect data; it does not ask the LPN to design the wound treatment plan. State rules use the same split, as the next section shows.
Can LPNs stage pressure injuries?
None of the board texts we opened names pressure injury staging, so the answer comes from how each state draws the assessment line. Texas Position Statement 15.27 says the LVN collects data, recognizes changes and reports them, while the RN's comprehensive assessment lays the foundation for the plan. North Carolina rule 21 NCAC 36 .0225 counts measurements of physical structure as LPN data collection but limits the LPN's interpretation of that data.
In practice that means measuring, describing and photographing a wound per policy is LPN work, and a new or worsening wound is something you report the same shift. Whether your recorded stage stands alone or needs RN confirmation is set by facility policy, so read it before you chart a stage.
Can LPNs do wound vac changes?
The rules we opened do not single out negative pressure wound therapy; they treat it as an ordered treatment. Texas Position Statement 15.25 says LVNs are educationally prepared to administer medications and treatments as ordered, and Pennsylvania rule 21.145(b) says the LPN carries out the therapeutic treatment ordered for the patient.
The catch is competence. Pennsylvania requires the LPN to get instruction and supervision before an unfamiliar procedure, and Texas Board Rule 217.11(1)(H), quoted in Position Statement 15.3, requires a reasonable effort to get training when meeting new equipment. If you have not been checked off on the device your unit uses, say so before you take the assignment.
Can an LPN be a wound care nurse?
Yes. The National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy (NAWCO) lists Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse among the licenses eligible for its Wound Care Certified (WCC) exam in its April 2024 candidate handbook. The same handbook describes the LPN/LVN role as giving prescribed wound care under RN or provider supervision and giving input to the care plan.
| Requirement | What the handbook says |
|---|---|
| License | Active unrestricted LPN/LVN license (RNs, therapists and physicians also eligible) |
| Education | A skin and wound course of at least 20 hours, or an existing WOCNCB or ABWM wound credential |
| Experience | 120 hours of precepted clinical training, or 2 years full-time or 4 years part-time wound experience |
| Fees | $350 exam fee plus a $30 nonrefundable processing fee |
A certification shows knowledge; it does not rewrite your license. The handbook lists conservative sharp debridement under the RN role, and only where the state practice act allows it, so do not take on debridement as an LPN unless your board says in writing that you may.
Sources
NCSBN, 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan (effective April 2026). Wound-related PN activity statements and their client need categories
Texas Board of Nursing Position Statements 15.3, 15.25 and 15.27. LVN focused assessment and reporting, LVNs administer ordered treatments, training for new equipment, limits to scope expansion
49 Pa. Code 21.145, Functions of the LPN. LPN carries out ordered therapeutic treatment; instruction and supervision for unfamiliar procedures
North Carolina 21 NCAC 36 .0225, Components of Nursing Practice for the LPN. LPN data collection includes physical measurements; interpretation of data is limited
NAWCO, WCC Candidate Examination Handbook (April 2024). LPN/LVN eligibility, education and experience options, fees, LPN/LVN wound role, sharp debridement under RN role
Common questions
Can LPNs remove staples and sutures?
The 2026 NCLEX-PN test plan lists removing wound sutures or staples as an entry-level PN activity. You still need a provider order and your facility's policy and competency check before doing it.
Does WCC certification expand what an LPN may do?
No. Scope comes from your state's practice act and rules. Texas Position Statement 15.27 says there are limits to how far LVN scope can expand, and changing level requires a formal education program, not continuing education.
Who writes the wound care plan?
The RN or prescribing provider. NAWCO's handbook describes the LPN/LVN as giving input to the care plan and performing treatments per orders, which matches Texas 15.27, where the RN develops the nursing plan of care and the LVN contributes.