The Important Elements to Understand Before Delegating a Task
Registered nurses cannot provide every element of care that a patient may need. Registered nurses have an obligation to their patients to provide appropriate and quality health care within their scope of practice. Delegation of basic tasks can be accomplished successfully, if the registered nurse has the skills, experience and the resources available to delegate the approved tasks. The RN must understand and acknowledge her own responsibilities before tasks can be delegated.
There are five steps to delegation that include the right task, the right circumstances, the right person, the right directions, the right supervision and evaluation. You must ask yourself if this task can be delegated. Are the circumstances appropriate and can they be safely carried out? Do you have the right person to carry out the task? Have you provided a clear understanding of what the task is and your expectations? The registered nurse must be available to monitor, intervene as necessary and evaluate the outcome.
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The organizational delegations include the medical facilities responsibility to provide adequate staffing so that tasks may be delegated safely. The medical facility is also responsible for monitoring the competency of all staff providing patient care and ensuring the appropriate educational opportunities for nursing assistive staff. Delegation is a professional right and facilities must have policies in place to clearly identify this area of nursing.
The essential elements to delegating tasks are asking yourself what needs to be delegated and do you have the appropriate staff for the delegation? The Registered nurse will discuss with the staff what needs to be done and who would be willing to do the work. The staff must be clear regarding the scope of practice and authority to carry out the tasks effectively. The RN must allow their staff to build up their skills and obtain feedback from the tasks performed. Delegating responsibilities should be considered carefully and not taken lightly. Registered nurses must delegate tasks based upon their scope of practice and delegating experience.
As a seasoned Associate degree registered nurse, I have been involved in, the earlier years of my career, of delegating nursing responsibilities. I have worked with the Nurse manager in formulating policies and guidelines that the licensed practical nurse and the certified nursing assistant become very familiar. I incorporated the task of delegation to the licensed practical nurses as well as the certified nursing assistants early in my career. The registered nurses would initially, at the beginning of shift start, evaluate each patient on her floor and formalize tasks that could be delegated to the licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants. The five principles of delegation would be applied as stated above.
For example, the licensed practical nurses would have the task to monitor intravenous fluids and the site. However; they would involve the registered nurse if the intravenous fluids would need to be replaced or site changed. The certified nursing assistants would be given the task to change non-sterile dressings and they would alert the registered nurse of any problems. There have been many instances in my career that certain policies regarding delegation would need to be re-evaluated and re-written such as a policy allowing licensed practical nurses to change intravenous sites and insert nasal-gastric tubes. Delegation for the nurse must be something that is practiced to be proficient.
You must evaluate yourself and determine if you were consistent in the delegating of tasks and evaluation of the outcome. The nursing shortage in the 1980’s was as critical then as it is today. Delegation is as much as a privilege as it is a professional requirement of the job. All registered nurses must work diligently to stay apprised of the polices of their medical facility and laws of their state regarding delegation of the specific tasks. If registered nurses , licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants work together to achieve a common goal the patients will receive optimal, cost effective, quality health care.
The Important Elements to Understand Before Delegating a Task. (2023, Mar 16). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-important-elements-to-understand-before-delegating-a-task/Cite this Page
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