Essay On Delegation In Nursing Delegation

The American Nurses association defines delegation as, ‘The transfer of responsibility for the performance of a task from one individual to another while retaining accountability for the outcome’ (Saccomano, 2010, p. 523). When delegating to staff or members of your team, it is important that it is used appropriately and within the proper guidelines. It is common to see RNs delegating in the hospital setting to the LVN or nursing assistant, however, the RN must know the limitations and what is within their scope of practice. Unfortunately, even if the nurse uses these guidelines, conflict can still occur with other staff making the process more difficult. Having the responsibility to delegate, especially as a new registered nurse, can be daunting,

The nurse needs to recognize the limitations of each staff member and learn what assignments are within the scope of their practice and what are tasks that need delegation. Delegation is defined as a complex process that requires clinical judgment and final accountability for patients’ care (Weydt, 2010). An assignment is defined as “giving someone else a task within his/her own practice and is base on job descriptions and policies” (NCSBN, 2005, p. 1). The Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) and the Board of Vocational nursing & Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) website, lists what duties the RN and the LVN can legally do and is within their scope of practice, this is called the ‘nurse practice act’. A nurse assistant personnel (NAP) or Unlicensed Assistive personnel (UAP) may perform different tasks depending on the state that they reside in, but most include tasks that are considered activities of daily living (ambulating, hygiene, grooming)(NCSBN, 2005). The LVN can perform tasks that the nursing assistant can do, as well as other tasks which include: medication administration (oral, subcutaneous, intramuscular), simple dressing changes, wound care, suctioning, catheter insertion, drawing blood from a patient, and starting an IV and intravenous fluids. IV and blood draws are dependent on the LVNs certification, competence, and

According to the National council of state board of nursing (2005), the task should be performed if it can be performed with a predictable outcome and does not endanger a client’s life or well-being. For example, the nurse can delegate to the nursing assistant to collect and measure urine output and report it to the RN. This is a non-invasive task and would not harm the patient. However, if the patient were requiring straight catherization to collect a urine specimen, it would be delegated to the LVN since this is an invasive procedure that requires skills and knowledge of performing this procedure. Right circumstance is the next right of delegation. Even though the RN can delegate to nursing assistant to have the patient ambulate, if the patient is recovering from hip surgery and had issues with bleeding during surgery, it would not be appropriate for the nursing assistant to do. The RN should do this task, since the patient is at a risk of being unstable (NCSBN, 2005). The third right of delegation is the right person. After determining what is the task or assignment that needs to be completed, the nurse should decide who would be the best person to do it. Factors that influence the RN’s decision are the knowledge and skill of the person who is performing the task (NCSBN, 2005). Most facilities check skills at the