DELEGATION

DELEGATION

Introduction

There is a tremendous increase in the need for health care services prompting a need for more assistive personnel. The nurse should be equipped with delegation skills to ensure increased effectiveness in nursing care delivery. The state of New York defines delegation as the process of transferring professional responsibility in the performance of tasks or activities to another individual who is qualified in training, experience, and licensure to perform it. In the 21^st century, the nurse should possess the ability to delegate, assign, and supervise tasks.

The nursing practice act in New York allows nurses to delegate tasks provided; there is adequate medical and nursing supervision. The Act states the laws and regulations to minimize risks resulting from incompetence by ensuring that patients receive high quality and safe care (Russell, 2016). The nurse is expected to be aware of the laws and regulations and also the changes being made to the nurse practice act to ensure that they evolve with the Scope of practice (Davies & Fox-Young, 2018). The Scope of practice states the tasks to be delegated that a healthcare provider is deemed competent to perform. The delegation must be consistent with the state’s practice acts, organizational policy, and nursing standards of practice.

  Delegation case scenario

In the case scenario, the RN delegated a task of removing an IV line from a patient (Mr. Cooper) to a senior student, sally, since he was being discharged. Sally confirmed having removed IV lines before and accepts the task; he removes the IV line and escorts the patient away without being supervised.

According to the definition of delegation in New York, it is clear that the nurse did not delegate any task the task effectively, and there was no adequate medical staff to supervise the student. Although the student accepts the task and confirms having done similar procedures, the nurse does not explain the procedure to the student, and neither does she follow up to ensure that patient safety was guaranteed. The delegation process did not adhere to the nursing practice acts because the student does not own a license or adequate training to perform the task. The RN did not see off the patient herself; hence there is no surety that the IV line was removed effectively.

Comparison with another state’s definition of delegation

In the state of Arizona, delegation is defined as the process whereby an RN retains accountability, both training, and documentation, over a delegated task to ensure that health care is delivered effectively ant patient safety is maintained and to ensure positive patient outcomes (Halcomb, 2015).  Compared to the New York definition, it does not state that the RNs must be adequate and that the delegatee must be supervised. The delegation is not only limited to those qualified, experienced, and licensed nurses, but the delegating nurse retains accountability over the tasks they delegate. The nurse does not need to supervise the assistant nor transfer any responsibility since they have already been trained to perform the task.

Comparing and contrasting the case scenario with a case scenario in my nursing practice

In my nursing practice, the nurse on duty allocates duties to student nurses and delegates the entire total care of that patient to them. The students are encouraged to seek clarification in whatever they do not understand. The nurse also supervises procedures the students conduct for the first time. Moreover, the nurse is entirely responsible and accountable for the care of the patient. I have also delegated tasks several. On one occasion, I transferred blood transfusion tasks to a newly employed nurse, which she agreed. Later on, I enquired about the vital signs of the patient, and she reported having not done them. Therefore, I told her to do so and explained the rationale. Luckily enough, there was no blood reaction, and I learned it is good to offer guidance rather than assuming that since they are licensed nurses, they are aware of all procedures.

Compared to the state’s case scenario, here duties where delegated directly to the assistive nurses, and necessary guidance is offered and is according to the Scope of practice. The nurse does not transfer any authority and accepts accountability for the outcomes of patient care. The similarities are that the nurses are accountable for the delegated tasks, and delegation is governed by the states scope of practice and nurses’ practice act. Besides, delegation is aimed at providing effective, quality, and safe care by minimizing the gap between the nurse-patient ration.

In conclusion, the delegation of tasks is acceptable, and the right process should be adhered to. The principles of delegation and nursing practice guide on what tasks should or no be delegated. The nurse leader should ensure that delegation is used effectively, safely, and ethically by ensuring that the right process of delegation is followed and being implemented according to the Scope and standards of nursing practice (Hudspeth, 2017). The five rights (right task, person, circumstances, proper direction, and correct supervision) should be followed to ensure errors and risks are minimized (Russell, 2016). The nurse should grant the right amount of authority and responsibility in the accomplishment of the delegated task and should be ready to accept accountability over the outcomes.

Reference

Davies, E., & Fox-Young, S. (2018). Validating a scope of nursing practice decision-making framework. International journal of nursing studies, 39(1), 85-93.

Halcomb, E. J., Davidson, P. M., Daly, J. P., Griffiths, R., Yallop, J., & Tofler, G. (2015). Nursing in Australian general practice: directions and perspectives. Australian Health Review, 29(2), 156-166.

Hudspeth, R. (2017). Understanding delegation is a critical competency for nurses in the new millennium. Nursing administration quarterly, 31(2), 183-184.

Potter, P., Deshields, T., & Kuhrik, M. (2017). Delegation practices between registered nurses and nursing assistive personnel. Journal of nursing management, 18(2), 157-165.

Russell, K. A. (2016). Nurse practice acts guide and governs nursing practice. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 3(3), 36-42.