Errors Of Delegation In Nursing

According to Yoder-Wise (2015), delegation involves two individuals who engage in open communication to achieve a goal. Effectively used delegation can lead to improved patient care outcomes. This author was delegated the task of being a trach care educator to patients and family members by a charge nurse. The case load had become too much for the charge nurse to conduct trach education alone for the whole floor. The delegated task was clear and effective. Once assigned the task, a education class was provided by the hospital to become a certified trach educator. At the class, education was given on how to properly and legally teach the family members in trach care, routine trach changes, emergency trach changes, and suctioning. Once the education was complete, a binder was given with notes. The binder was a personal tool to guide and teach the family members. With the increased education, the author was very comfortable with educating patients and families. The delegation decision was logical. The charge nurse was aware that the author was very familiar and comfortable with trachs. With her increased work load, she needed help. She knew that the author would be a great candidate for being a trach educator.

The one who will delegate or prioritize tasks must be knowledgeable, skilled and competent in knowing their staff. Delegation consists of knowing the team members scopes of practice and appropriately assigning tasks for those in the team to complete in a given situation. Delegation entails knowing who can be delegated what task, proper communication of said task, and more importantly follow up of assigned task. In nursing, delegation requires the nurse to have knowledge of what he/she can delegate and to whom they can delegate. Effective delegation requires clear, concise and direct orders.

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.

Delegation--Authorizing an unlicensed person to provide nursing services while retaining accountability for how the unlicensed person performs the task. It does not include situations in which an unlicensed person is directly assisting a RN by carrying out nursing tasks in the presence of a RN.

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.

Equating status with authority can be misleading or misconstrued by other nurses who have the same status as to the authority figure. For an organization or department to work harmoniously, timely, and chaos free, there should be a clear understanding of who is the authority figure even when the nurses have the same status. “Essentially, in the formal organization, the emphasis is on organizational positions and formal power. Through departmentalization and work division, provides a framework for defining managerial authority, responsibility, and accountability. In a well-defined formal structure, roles and functions are defined and systematically arranged, different people have differing roles, and rank and hierarchy are evident.” (Marquis

ABSTRACT: Delegation refers to the practice of a registered nurse assigning certain tasks and activities to other people while still maintaining responsibility for the actions of the others to whom responsibility has been delegated. The act of delegating assumes that the delegator has a certain amount of trust in the person to whom they delegate. Additionally, quality communication is paramount in maintaining superior patient care when delegating tasks to others. One signifigant obstacle to delegation is ensuring that the proper tasks are delegated to the appropriate individuals. The organizational structure and leadership

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.

143). Delegation allows for the efficient use of resources to their fullest potential and helps the nurse to provide safe, efficient patient care (Kaemested & Bragodottir, 2012, p. 10). When delegating nursing tasks to UAP, the nurse must ensure the delegation is done appropriately. This means ensuring the task being delegated is the right task for the UAP, the task is being delegated at the right time, for the right person, the nurse has given the right directions to the UAP, and provided the right supervision (Porter-O'Grady & Malloch, 2013, p. 432).

AC 2.1 Justify an appropriate process to follow when delegating work within your area of responsibility?

This paper will attempt to show what skills are necessary for effective delegation, and how the managers of the author 's organization uses delegation in his or her management responsibilities. The paper will also attempt to show how delegation could be used more effectively within the four functions of management in that same organization. Through delegation managers combine task responsibilities and the authority needed to carry out tasks in the organization. The author will also discuss some advantages of delegation as well as the issue of poor delegation.

For example, Jill is a RN and Marie is a UAP at General Hospital. Jill and Marie are assigned to work together. Jill delegates to Marie the vital signs, patient hygiene, and blood glucose monitoring of all of her patients except for Mrs. Smith, who is sicker than any of the other patients. Jill decides not to delegate any of Mrs. Smith’s care because all of her care will require professional nursing judgment due to the severity of her condition; therefore Jill will be accountable and responsible for Mrs. Smith’s care. Marie is responsible for performing the duties that were delegated to her by Jill; however Jill remains accountable for all of the delegated tasks. If Jill overlooks a patient’s blood glucose level of 45 and the

This article discusses about the process of nursing delegation. For the process of nursing delegation, it must have strong communication, empowered staff, and organizational support. The guidelines identify 5 rights of delegation, which include right task, right circumstances, right person, right direction & communication, and right supervision & evaluation. When a delegator, such as a nurse, delegates, they will remain responsible for the tasks that were delegated. Delegation of an action/task is done based on the patient’s safety and their quality of care. Following the process enables a nurse to appropriately delegate to benefit the care of the patient.

effectiveness (Cioffi & Ferguson, 2009). Therefore, it is important to ensure that nurses who assume leader roles have the skills to manage and delegate tasks as required. There must be clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each team member that take into account the levels of expertise among the members. It can be troublesome when team members do not carry their share of the work. When this occurs, other team members take on an additional work burden to address the shortfalls in patient care. If the team leader is unable to provide clarity and direction for the team, the model will not be effective.

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