Omar Perez-Sandoval

Nursing 362 Leadership

Professor Taylor
1/23/15

Delegation Summary

With recent changes in National Healthcare Policy and an economic environment that has
seen shrinking resources and increased demands for services in healthcare settings, Delegation
has become an even more important nursing skill to utilize in patient care. The Hawaii Nurse
Practice Act defines Delegation as a registered nurse may delegate nursing care tasks, functions,
and activities to unlicensed assistive personnel in a manner that is appropriate to the level of
knowledge and skill of the unlicensed assistive personnel; provided that the delegation of tasks,
functions, and activities complies with applicable federal and state laws. The Hawaii Nurse
Practice Act further states when delegating a task, function, or activity, a delegating nurse shall
use the NCSBN delegation decision making process as a model for decision making and shall
consider and carefully analyze: patient needs and circumstances, qualifications of the proposed
delegatee, the nature of the delegating nurses delegation authority set forth in this chapter, the
delegating nurses personal competence in the area of nursing relevant to the task, function, or
activity to be delegated, and the protocols contained in NCSBN documents, including but not
limited to the Five Rights of Delegation, Delegation Decision Making Tree, and the Continuum
of Care Framework (Hawaii Revised Nursing Practice Act, retrieved 1/23/15). These are the
basic foundation that nurses have followed in the past to guide them in delegating tasks to
Licensed Practical nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel. With recent changes in policy in

Medicare reimbursement and public reporting of hospital performance, right communication and
direction in delegating tasks have become even more important in providing client care that is
safe, efficient, and effective.
This point is clearly made in the article written by Anthony and Vidal titled Mindful
Communication: A Novel Approach to Improving Delegation and Increasing Patient Safety that
states that of the five rights of delegation, the right communication and direction is the
cornerstone of delegation and may be arguably the most instrumental in shaping quality and
safety outcomes. It further goes on to elaborate that right communication and direction is defined
as being clear and concise in defining how the delegated task is to be done and the timing and
nature of observations to be made ( Anthony & Vidal, 2010). If information is not
communicated in a timely fashion, then its value is lost and becomes irrelevant to the current
situation. Poor outcomes also occur if the meaning of the information is not clearly understood
and communicated by both the nurse and unlicensed personnel.
Weydt (2010) makes several suggestions in developing delegation skills in his article
Developing delegating skills published on the Online Journal of Issues In Nursing. He states that
trust is important in developing healthy team relationships. He also recommends consistency in
patient assignment and partnering staff to care for the same group of patients. Building
delegation skills also involves the registered nurse knowing their state practice act, continuing
expansion of knowledge through continuing education, and participating in simulation exercises
that teach and demonstrate delegation competency.
In conclusion, reading this article has given me a better understanding and appreciation
for the delegation process in nursing. Delegation is a process that involves trust and

responsibility that is both allocated and accepted. It involves teamwork by all parties that
benefits client care and maximizes available resources. As nurses, delegation should be based on
sound judgment and critical thinking skills rather than a task oriented decision. Utilizing staffing
strengths and expertise to meet patient needs is essential for sound delegation. It is also important
to communicate clearly what is asked to be done and the time frame needed for the task to be
completed. Delegation also provides an opportunity where registered nurses can focus on more
patient care involving client assessment, care coordination, and teaching.

Very Nice! Full amount of points 100%

You write very nicely

References

Anthony, M., Vidal, K., (May 31, 2010) "Mindful Communication: A Novel Approach to
Improving Delegation and Increasing Patient Safety" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in
Nursing Vol. 15, No. 2, Manuscript 2.
http://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/files/2013/08/hrs_pvl_457.pdf
Weydt, A. (2010). Developing delegation skills. Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing, 15(2), 1.
doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No02Man01