Why Does Delegation Exist

Delegating is one of the most valuable leadership skills a charge nurse possesses.   Effective delegation skills are essential for proper patient care and safety. Delegation is defined as when a nursing professional entrusts the performance of a nursing task to someone who is qualified, competent, and able to perform the assigned task (Q1).  In order for the charge nurse to delegate effectively,  he or she must take into consideration the patient's needs as well as the capabilities of the nursing professional for whom he or she is delegating the task to. The American Nurses Association outlines The Five Rights of Delegation as a guideline for nursing professionals.  The first right is for the professional to determine if the task is one to

Introduction As nurses we accept the responsibility of caring for the patient therefore, we have to be hold accountable for the care that we provide. It is important for nurses to use their own judgment in accepting responsibility, when to seek consultation and when and what to delegate to others. According to Battie & Steelam “prospective nurse should hold themselves accountable for patient advocacy, continuity of care, lifelong learning, to colleagues, the nursing profession, and their organization.

A few perspectives related nursing delegation such as professional standards, legal aspects and ethics affects will be analyzed to clarify the authorizing mechanisms of nursing delegation. At the end, a personal reflection will be identified and described how I will approach to delegation in my own nursing practice in the future. Keys points about how to delegate in nursing will be summarized in conclusion section.

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

Nursing - Delegation of Work 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’

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).

Her other past history includes mastoid surgery when she was forty. She has several environmental allergies and is also allergic to Sulfa, Slow-K, Ranitidine and Zinc. She doesn't smoke.

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.

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

Complexities of Delegation by the Registered Nurse Rebecca Rynders College of Southern Maryland Complexities of Delegation by the Registered Nurse Among the professional skills that a registered nurse (RN) must possess; the skill of delegation is vital. Both the nursing shortage and the need for more cost effective care has resulted in the

Accountability means:” being accountable for one’s own action”. The American Nursing Association (ANA) states in its code that the nurse will assume accountability for individual nursing judgments and actions. Professional nurses are accountable in several areas including accountability to the public, client, profession, employer, and self (Hood, 2010, p. 307). All professional nurses have the responsibility to work within their scope of practice to provide the best possible care to patients. Nurses’ should have a thorough knowledge about their accountability in specific areas of practice. The level of responsibility and accountability depends on professional levels. A nursing supervisor has more responsibility than a charge- nurse. A

Nurses’ and Nursing Assistants’ Reports of Missing Care and Delegation Jenny Conejo RN Baptist School of Health Professions NUR 4340 Professional Nursing Issues and Health Care Delivery Systems September 10, 2015 Delegating nursing care to subordinates and colleagues, so how do things get missed? Our day is planned out, we have a perfect plan of action, and something goes wrong. Our shift is coming to an end we are checking our list to see if everything was completed but inevitably we have forgotten something. You’re running through your mental list and you thought you delegated duties to someone but did you? Keeping up with all of your patients’ needs can be overwhelming. Each day at work is different with a new set of patients

Within the nursing profession, understanding the principles of delegation as defined by American Nurses Association (ANA, 2015) and the Joint Statement by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) is considered a fundamental skill acquired by nurses. Delegation as defined by both ANA and NCSBN is a process by which a nurse direct a task to one another personnel to carry out while the nurse who is delegating is still held accountable for the task itself. In this case, the nurse when delegating must take into account the Five Rights of Delegation, which are

Her past medical history is negative for major medical disorders by her report. She denies a history of chronic HTN but her BP when she was first seen by us today was 160/102. On completion of our evaluation her BP was 124/83. She denies any allergies to medications and

Nursing Assignment A nursing assignment is one of the most essential decisions a charge nurse or nurse managers have to make on a daily basis. It allows nursing managers to assign patients to a nurse based on education and level of experience. Assignments are most often mistaken as a delegation. However, they are not the same. Nursing assignment is basically made with regard to patient medical need, and acuity level. Delegation, on the other hand, is when simple nursing tasks such as feeding, bathing, etc. are assigned to other nursing personnel to complete. According to Catalano, “Delegation is recognized as designating ancillary personnel for the responsibility of carrying out a specific group of nursing tasks in the care of certain clients. Whereas “assignment is designating tasks for ancillary personnel that falls under their own level of practice according to facility policies, position descriptions, and, if applicable, state practice act (Catalano 2014). Nursing assignments involve critical thinking skills because accuracy is important to optimize care. It is important for charge nurses to ensure proper and appropriate assignment because lapse can lead to poor quality of care, disappointing outcomes of care, jeopardized patient safety, and could even cause legal consequences. Thus, as a charge nurse, it is important to incorporate critical thinking, clinical reasoning and judgment when assigning patient care.