Delegation By The Registered Nurse

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

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

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

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

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’

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

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.

Delegation in nursing practice will be discussed in this essay. Delegation will be clearly and concisely defined and described as following:

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 nurse is responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks consistent with the nurse’s obligations to provide optimum patient care. (Bosek & Savage, 2007, p. 59) The nursing student realized that she wasn’t an expert in pharmacokinetics and requested the help of a pharmacist to provide quality care for her patient. (Bosek & Savage, 2007, p. 59) Delegation is a huge responsibility and should never be taken lightly. The duty of the nurse is to ensure the patient receives quality care. This means delegating responsibilities to others to ensure that care is met. If a nurse feels she is unsure of a certain area of care, that nurse is obligated to find the precise person who can provide that care. The author’s daughter (Bella) was in the hospital for a reoccurring MRSA infection. When the nurse walked in the door they were asked a question regarding infectious disease protocols and how best to handle the situation. Instead of giving an answer they thought might be correct, the nurse requested that an infectious disease doctor be called in to answer all questions concerning the patient.

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.

The role of the nursing supervisor is to make sure the appropriate steps of the

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

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).