Essay On Delegation In Nursing

Delegation In Healthcare Studies have shown that an ideal patient care setting would be an all RN staffing, where the “safest care is delivered by the most-educated bedside nurse” (Bellury, Hodges, Camp, & Aduddell, 2016, p. 345). However, “Driven by competitive market practices hospital administrators are embracing restructuring. They are radically altering the skill mix… and thinning the ranks of their skilled registered nurses (RNs), often substituting cheaper, inexperienced, personnel and minimally trained unlicensed assistive” (Orne, Garland, O’Hara, Perfetto, & Stielau, 1998, p. 101). Hence, delegation of task has become a common practice where as cited in Learning House (2007), some aspects of care delivery are shared that frees

Matching staff skill to patient and family needs highlights the difference between delegation and assignment” (Weydt, 2010, Delegation and Related Concepts, para. 1). This principle came handy, when I was assigned to care for a patient who had multiple injuries from a car accident. The care was complicated with the presence of a Foley catheter, total parenteral nutrition (TPN), chest tube, wound vacuum, and ventilator machine to support the patient’s airway. Under normal patient care assignment, the nursing assistant would perform the bedside care, e.g., bed bath, turning and repositioning of patients who were on bed rest, assisting with feeding, to mention a few. However, for this particular patient, the medical conditions were complicated by the multiple machines and equipment that nursing assistants were not trained to manage. Hence, I was fully engaged in most of the patient care activities. My presence and involvement were required from the provision of bed bath to turning the patient every two hours. I made sure that even with the simplest activity, the safety of the patient was not compromised. The only task that I allowed the nursing assistant to perform on her own, was the emptying of the urine drainage bag for the output

As discussed in Learning House (2007) “Improper delegation will only create added frustration when the outcomes remain unmet. It also creates a potentially dangerous situation for the patient” (p. 6). In delegating to the nursing assistant, I stayed within the scope of the Five Rights of Delegation, e.g., “(a) the right task, (b) the right circumstance, (c) the right person, (d) the right direction/communication, and (e) the right supervision” (Weydt, 2010, (Delegation and Nursing Judgment, para. 1). However, I also made sure, that working side-by-side with the nursing assistant, partnership was evident in the work scenario at all times. As cited by Weydt (2010) “In partnering, there is increased commitment to one another and confidence that complex situations can be managed. The partnership enables RNs to perfect their delegation skills more fully” (Partnering, para.