Running head: DELEGATION 1

Delegation Paper

Lauren T. Kalanta

California State University, Stanislaus

December 2nd, 2016

Delegation Paper
DELEGATION 2

Within the nursing profession, there needs to be a balance between responsibility and

delegation. Quality leaders utilize the aspect of delegation to take care of patients, to manage

research, and to perform daily tasks. Delegation can be defined as a multifaceted decision-

making process in which leadership skills are developed through critical judgment (Yoder-Wise,

2014). This decision making process needs to be performed while adhering to five certain rights

in order to maintain proper function. The five rights of delegation include delegating the right

task under the right circumstances to the right person using the right directions/ communication

with the right supervision/ evaluation. In a situation in which I was delegated to, the five rights

were key elements to either my success or failure.

Delegation to a Student

While working in a skilled nursing facility as a certified nurse assistant (CNA) student,

my duties included taking vital signs, feeding, dressing, bathing, changing, setting up medical

equipment, and much more. Due to lack of staffing, the facility had a theme of poor stress

management and exhaustion. Many of the CNAs were more than happy to delegate tasks to

students and many of the students were willing to perform these tasks. Unfortunately, the

delegators did not fully follow the five rights of delegation. On a particular day, I was in the

cafeteria feeding a patient when a CNA approached me and delegated a task to me. He told me to

immediately transfer a patient from chair to bed using a Sara lift. After providing the room

number and very few details, he promptly left. I finished feeding my current patient and hurried

to find the delegator in order to gain more information. I explained to him that I had never used a

lift before and that I will be needing supervision. He became frustrated with the fact that I was

inexperienced and quickly explained how to operate the piece of equipment. I quickly took notes
DELEGATION 3

and listened to his explanation before he left again, leaving me without supervision. Feeling

apprehensive, I headed towards the delegated room. Upon entering, I discovered that the patient

was obese and non-ambulatory. After finding the lift, which was not in the patient's room, I

attempted to transfer the patient. I attached all pieces of equipment properly but still did not feel

comfortable operating the lift entirely myself. In order to maintain patient safety, I called my

instructor into the room and, together, we correctly handled the situation. Fortunately, the patient

was safely transferred and I gained my first experience using a lift.

Five Rights

In terms of the five rights, proper delegation was not achieved. When the CNA made the

decision to delegate the task of using a lift on a patient, he did not correctly follow the five rights

and did not provide me with enough information to properly carry out the task. The CNA was

correct in delegating the task to a student but was not correct in delegating the task without

assistance or explanation to an inexperienced student. The circumstance was correct since the

patient needed to be transferred and the CNA was busy helping another patient but he did not

utilize proper communication or supervision. An inexperienced student should be supervised

when utilizing any type of new skill. I did not receive enough information and was not

supervised in any form during the task. The lack of supervision was not appropriate to my task

and abilities. The outcome was positive to the patient but was poor for the facility because it

added more stress to the already stressful environment.

If given the opportunity to change the situation, I would have suggested different options

to the delegator. First, I would have explained that I was inexperienced and asked for either him

or my instructor to accompany me. Secondly, I would have asked for more information and

greater details about the patient and the equipment. Lastly, I would have made suggestions to the
DELEGATION 4

delegator, rather than telling him that he was wrong in order to avoid conflict. By being my own

advocate, I would be able to guide my delegator to adhere to the five rights while maintaining

patient safety.

References

Yoder-Wise, P. (2014). Leading and managing in nursing. (6th ed.) Elsevier Mosby: St. Louis.