When delegating tasks, the nurse should first know what the nurse practice acts and laws of the state, in which he/she resides, says about delegation. Once this information has been acquired, then the nurse needs to take into consideration a few other elements, such as: the patients’ needs, the situation at hand, and the facility’s policies and procedures. When using the decision-making framework, the nurse goes through all of the above elements and asks himself/herself questions. If the nurse is ever meet with a no for an answer, then the task may not be delegated. The first question that should be asked before delegating is what do the laws and rules of the state say about delegating this situation. Second, is it in the scope of practice
not have control of delegation: “The RN may delegate components of care but does not
Observing and analyzing my leader opened my eyes to the amount of responsibility and knowledge one needs to be a great leader. These responsibilities that were witnessed during the shadowing project included aspects of role modeling, mentoring and educating fellow staff and colleagues alike. My leader possessed a well-rounded amount of experience, skills and knowledge about nursing and her management role. All of these aspects we observed and I feel my leader is not only strong nurse, manger and mentor; all these aspects contribute to making her a fine and valuable assets to our organization.
This is the legal liability the practitioner owes to the patient. By accepting the responsibility to perform a task the practitioner must ensure the task is performed competently at least to the standard of the ordinarily competent practitioner in that type of task. If a practitioner such as a registered nurse should delegate a task, then that practitioner must be sure that the delegation is appropriate. This means that the task must be necessary; and the person performing the delegated task, for example a HCA, must understand the task and how it is performed, have the skills and abilities to perform the task competently and accept responsibility for carrying it out
Nurses play many roles in the healthcare field, can have many duties to fulfill under their licensure. It is important for a nurse of any degree, or licenses to know all of the duties that can be performed under their scope of practice. Olin (2012) states, “Scopes of practice are the same for every nurse at a basic level and very different by specialty.” Therefore, it is important to understand the scope of practice, that the nurse is licensed for. A nurse has many roles under the scope of practice that the nurse is licensed under. There are times when a nurse is asked to perform a task that isn’t under the nurse’s scope of practice and guidelines, and it is very important not to fulfill the task at hand if it
In nursing, delegation helps in making use of the talent or skills of another person. One nurse transfers interventions which are under his/her practice roles to another to another member of the healthcare team who lacks such powers authorized under their scope of practice. Delegation can only take place if it is in patient’s best interest.
The literature provided speaks of the nurse’s responsibility in creating a safe environment for the patient and a healthy work environment for individuals of the organization. Part of providing safe and competent care to patients is for the RN to ensure that she is clinically capable of providing care at the skill level necessary for an assignment, especially when she floats to other units. Otherwise, she must decline the duty to care for that patient, make it known to the charge nurse that the assignment is beyond her competency level, and ask for an alternative assignment that matches her skill set (California Board of Registered Nursing, 1998). In addition to knowing the nurse’s
Under the regulations of the California Nurse Practice Act, a Licensed Vocational Nurse has the ability to delegate tasks to unlicensed assisted personnel (UAP) according to individual facility policy. Delegation as stated in Hill & Howlett is defined as, “transferring the authority to perform nursing duties that are in the job description of the LVN charge nurse.” Prior to carrying out this important nursing duty, it is important for the LVN to recognize the difference between assigning tasks and delegating tasks. As explained in an article in the Journal of Nursing regulation titled; National Guidelines for Nursing Delegation. Assigning tasks would involve performing “routine care, activities, and procedures that are within the authorized scope or practice of the LVN or part of the routine functions of the UAP. Delegating tasks on the other hand is defined as “allowing a delegate to perform a specific nursing
It is up to the nurse/delegator to determine the delegatee’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and any training that will ensure that the task will be handled appropriately and safely. If it is necessary the nurse/delegator must provide instruction and direction to the delegatee. The nurse/delegator or another qualified nurse must be available to supervise the delegate and delegated task. The level of supervision needed will be determined by the training, capability, and willingness of the delegate to perform the task. A delegate may not delegate to another person or expand the delegated task without the permission of the nurse/delegator. Once the delegated task is completed the nurse must evaluate the delegated task, patient’s health status, determination if the goals are being met and if the delegation of the task may be continued (UT Admin Code R156-31b. Nurse Practice Act Rule, 2013). In section R156-31b-704 the rules for the recognized scope of practice of an RN are outlined. It states that the RN, RN managers, and RN administrators should practice
Under the scope of practice of an RN from the New York State Education Department, an RN can diagnose and treat human responses to actual or potential health problems. To be able to perform those tasks a care plan must be made for each client. An RN manages the health care services such as observing and assessing the health status of clients and implementing/assessing nursing care. This all falls under the initial assessment of a client, which is within the scope of an RN. An RN uses information gathered as part of client assessment, they then have the capacity to assign client care to other members of the nursing team, RNs and LPNs, and assign tasks to other care providers such as nurse’s assistant. Even though there are parts of the nursing process that may be delegated to qualified personnel, the initial assessment is the RNs responsibility. The initial assessment is the basis for safe and appropriate client care, which makes it so vital and why not just anyone can perform it. RNs hold the overall responsibility in the nursing
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
Patients have the right to self-determination and individuals should have control over their own lives. With respect for human autonomy comes respect for patient rights. Apart of the nurses job is to promote, advocate and protect the rights, health, and safety of our patients. Patients have the right to determine their health needs, make informed decisions, and the right to information regarding their treatment and also the refusal of treatment. Nurses are obligated to know the rights of a patient and to make sure the patient understands their treatment plan. Supporting patient autonomy includes making decisions in the best interest of the patient, considering their values and recognizing differences between cultures. In the treatment
The first consideration a registered nurse should determine is if “The Right Task (Cherry 355-356)” is being delegated to the right staff member. Delegation to the right staff member must be in their scope of practice and have proven to competent to complete. An individuals’ scope of practice will be set forth by the facility in which they work. In addition to individual facility polices the nurse must adhere to the scope of delegation set forth in the Nurse Practice Act of Maryland. Per the Nurse Practice Act of Maryland the task to be delegated must be “within the area of responsibility of the nurse delegating the act (Code of Maryland Regulations 10.27.11.03).” An example of incorrect delegating would be having an unlicensed individual, CNA or LPN to
The National Council of State Boards in Nursing defines delegation as “transferring to a competent individual the authority to perform a selected nursing task in a selected situation” (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Resources section, 4). When delegating, the registered nurse (RN) assigns nursing tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) while still remaining accountable for the patient and the task that was assigned. Delegating is a management strategy that is used to provide more efficient care to patients. Authorizing other individuals to take on nursing responsibilities allows the nurse to complete other tasks that need tended to. However, delegation is done at the nurses’
I have similar experiences while delegating the tasks the nursing assistant. Once I had a patient with a Jackson Pratt (jp) drainage valve from her surgical site. The patient’s jp was getting full frequently. There was a nursing assistant who floated from another floor. I asked her if she knows how to empty the jp. She said she knew it. So, I told her to empty the jp and record output when I went to my lunch break. After lunch break, when I went to assess the patient I found out that she emptied the jp, however, she did not squeeze it to close the clamp. That’s why the JP Valve was empty. Because with jp, we need to squeeze it prior closing, so it would create vacuum and drain the body fluid. Later on, I thought I did not properly delegate
Reyes, J. A. (2016). Nursing Delegation Guidelines for Nurses and Advanced Practice Nurses. Iowa Board Of Nursing Newsletter, 35(3), 1-4.