One common mistakes exhibited by professionals in the field is delegation of duties by persons. Nurses should be wary of delegating duties to health care assistant because nurses should be aware of the abilities of the person with whom he or she is delegating duties. This is to minimize any chance of poor service delivery. Poor patient attendance by a person tasked with the duty at the time of delivery will extend the liability to the nurse delegating duties.
Delegation can save money and time, help in building skills, and motivate people. Poor delegation, on the other hand, might cause frustration and confusion to all the involved parties.
Reviewing the literature, I found several resources to help the register nurse (RN) to delegate with confidence (Yoder-Wise, 2015). I chose a simple one which is basically a list of keywords that will help the nurse in the right path on delegation process. These bullet points aren 't 100% precise in all situations, but combining these clues with the critical thinking
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
After collecting the surveys I distributed, I found very vital data. I surveyed all competent residents and all employed CNAs. The surveys asked questions based on the quality of care provided and the stress levels from this issue. Many of the residents commented that they would like CNAs to stop in and visit. Some of the CNAs said they could complete all the tasks if a third CNA was on duty.
2. I would say that the unit 2 RLC was most helpful; as it cleared up a lot of the confusions I had about the material we’re covering.
I often have a hard time with delegation. There are times when our administrative assistants could be help us prepare documents for meetings, but I am often half done with a report, before I think about delegating. Coming from positions that I had to rely on myself has provided for difficulty letting work go to others. I understand that I will need to change the way I do things to continue to be effective and have enough time to complete my assigned tasks, otherwise my resilience will wane over time and I will become either tired, overwhelmed or unsatisfied with my job. Studies have shown that “innate resilience can be developed or enhanced though cognitive transformational practiced education and environmental support” (Grafton, Gillespie, & Hendersen,
If the nursing team isn’t working together to accomplish this task then it is the patient that ultimately suffers. Delegation can be a powerful tool to improve the patient health status or it can hinder what the health team is trying to accomplish if the wrong person is delegated the wrong task or isn’t capable of handling that particular task, the patient could suffer and even resulting in death.
The author, Peter Fitzpatrick, a department head and associate professor of healthcare management, attempts to illuminate and suggest proposals on issues in the healthcare system. His study presents with estimated statistical data on the ever-growing elderly population and the need for affordable long-term care. Fitzpatrick discusses how a shortage of Certified Nursing Assistants present a crucial problem and how given a number of factors affect the patient-to-caregiver ratio. With his unbiased, well-researched pursuit he compels readers to take a look into these issues and implications. While he states that “Retention of CNAs is not singularly going to achieve these outcomes, but it will go a long way to assist their realization”, he presents
If I asked for help with turning or repositioning heavy patients, I often got the same response. There were a few CNAs that I could rely on for assistance, but they were not always scheduled on the days I worked, so many times I was on my own. Due to the overt and covert uncivil behaviors expressed by my co-workers, I often dreaded going into work, despite really enjoyed assisting the nursing home patients. I also felt ethically uneasy, as I knew that many of the patients were not getting the care I would like to provide due to me not having enough time or enough assistance. It was discouraging to have this as my first nursing experience.
Delegation…. Having the knowledge to know how to delegate efficiently is the key to advantaging yourself and increasing your importance to any company. Transferring responsibility permits you to shift from what you can do yourself to what you can supervise. Delegating tasks is one of the utmost significant and efficient managerial tools there is today. Lacking the capability to delegate efficiently and effectively, is unmanageable for you to progress in a supervisory position to an even advanced position of accountability.
Delegation is the responsibility of the knowledgeable and educated nurse. The nurses understanding of the level of skill the person posses is imperative to the successful act of delegating. Once the skill is performed it is the responsibility of the professional nurse to evaluate if it was completed and documented accurately. “Professional nurses use nursing judgment in delegation” (CNN, 2015).
Delegation is an important function in any organization and in today’s environment we see it becoming increasingly important in the health care setting. For management to make the best use of their time and skills effective delegation of tasks to the staff assists in their growth and development, builds confidence and trust, and increases the amount of work completed. Effective delegating provides benefits to the organization when managers mobilize resources, share responsibilities, and focus on doing a few tasks well, rather than many things less effectively resulting in increased management and leadership potential. The need for accessible, affordable, quality health care and an ever-growing shortfall of practitioners and providers
Delegation of tasks was surprisingly easy as all the team members were very supportive and passionate. (Prive, 2012) Identifying the strength of my team is also a key factor in placing trusts in delegating tasks to the right person. It was also my duty to be fair to all group members of the workload they were handling. For an example, we would as a group evaluate and assess sub-tasks to see it needed more than one person to work on it.