Delegation in Nursing

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.

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.

Knowledge, skill, and independent decision making. The purpose of delegation was put into perspective when Corazzini et al.

effectiveness (Cioffi & Ferguson, 2009). Therefore, it is important to ensure that nurses who assume leader roles have the skills to manage and delegate tasks as required. There must be clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each team member that take into account the levels of expertise among the members. It can be troublesome when team members do not carry their share of the work. When this occurs, other team members take on an additional work burden to address the shortfalls in patient care. If the team leader is unable to provide clarity and direction for the team, the model will not be effective.

Teamwork, communication and delegation in nursing are variables that are dependent on one another for success. This post is the first in a series on nursing delegation in which we will discuss the team nursing model, the RN's role in delegation, and how effective communication fosters teamwork which leads to better outcomes for patients and employees.

If the nursing team isn’t working together to accomplish this task then it is the patient that ultimately suffers. Delegation can be a powerful tool to improve the patient health status or it can hinder what the health team is trying to accomplish if the wrong person is delegated the wrong task or isn’t capable of handling that particular task, the patient could suffer and even resulting in death.

For the busy manager, there never seems to be enough time in one day to do everything. You can create “To Do” lists, plan ahead, abide by a calendar, but in healthcare, an industry that is constantly changing, new tasks arise in response to external and internal environmental changes very quickly. In order to adapt to these changes, a skilled manager must know how to delegate. Merriam-Webster defines delegation as “the act of giving control, authority, a job, duty, etc. to another person”. The National Council of the State Board of Nurses defines delegation as "the transfer of authority to perform a nursing task from one person to another, while retaining accountability for the outcome.”Definitions may vary, but the significance of strategic delegation within an organization is tantamount to the very people who work within it. Delegation is a layered process that has implications for employees, managers, and the greater organization. Empowering staff through delegation is a such a challenge, that a leader with effective delegation skills is essential to the success of any organization. Effective delegation has the potential to boost staff morale, develop more competent employees, and gives managers time to address management level duties. In this paper we will discuss the basic, and most important elements of delegation and the impact it has in the workplace.

The following standards must be met before the RN delegates nursing tasks to unlicensed persons. These criteria apply to all instances of RN delegation. Additional criteria, if appropriate to the particular task being delegated, may also

Reviewing the literature, I found several resources to help the register nurse (RN) to delegate with confidence (Yoder-Wise, 2015). I chose a simple one which is basically a list of keywords that will help the nurse in the right path on delegation process. These bullet points aren 't 100% precise in all situations, but combining these clues with the critical thinking

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.

Thesis Statement Even though delegation is one of the most difficult tasks that registered nurses face in the practice of nursing, registered nurses need to learn how to best delegate to be successful in their roles as leaders. Delegation increases the quality of care, staff productivity, job satisfaction, and can help developing the nurses' leadership skills by gradually maturing their decision-making processes (Curtis & Nicholl, 2004, p. 27) Topic The ability to delegate tasks to others is an essential skill for the registered nurse (Sacommano & Pinto-Zipp 2011, p. 523). Excellent delegation skills are crucial since they increase the quality of care and the ability to work with others effectively and efficiently.

I feel like you made some really good decisions in this week’s discussion post. How a registered nurse delegates tasks to those on her floor can either make or break patient satisfaction. “Delegation provides a means of increasing unit productivity. It is also a managerial tool for subordinate accomplishment and enrichment” (Marquis & Huston, 2015, p. 480). Learning more about delegation this week really opened my eyes to how hard it can be. I feel like in a large hospital I would go crazy trying to assign everyone the proper jobs. The role of delegating is not a job for everyone, but it definitely is a job that needs to be done right so a facility can function properly and give great care.

Delegation accountability is accounted for in the policy handbook for RNs. Who and what we are allowed to delegate is written out hospital-wide but also per unit. In my hospital,

Part of being a leader, at least for the nurse leader, is making decisions on what care is appropriate to delegate (“Code of Ethics”, 2011). This could be anything from morning vital signs to monitoring intake and output. What the nurse needs to understand is that there is a fine line between being a leader and delegating tasks. A nurse cannot delegate every task and still call themselves a leader. For example, medication administration cannot be delegated to a certified nursing assistant (CNA). The key thing for the nurse leader to remember is that, even though they are delegating the task, the nurse is ultimately the one held responsible for the patient’s care (Saccomano & Pinto-Zipp, 2011, pg. 523). To avoid any potential issues, it is imperative that, before delegation, the nurses ensures that the person to whom the task is being delegated

Shared governance is a professional model for nurse management which leads to nurse autonomy, empowerment, job satisfaction and improved patient outcomes. Research show nurses want a professional, autonomous environment for practice that recognizes the value of its nurses, and allow greater control over the practice environment. Proximity to job and monetary gain was listed as less important.