Elizabeth Franco
University of Phoenix
NUR 482 Nursing Leadership and Management in Health Care

Delegation is the act of appointing a person to perform an act in your stead where both parties are still accountable for the action taken. This helps to unburden registered nurses (RN) from having to accomplish all necessary tasks on their own allowing the RNs to accomplish more. It is important that when an RN delegates a responsibility to someone else that the person assigned the task are qualified and properly trained to perform that task. There are two common ways to determine who a task should be delegated to. The first is to match a staff member’s job description to the task at hand. The other is commonly referred to as scope of practice, or matching a person’s expertise to the patient’s needs. Delegating responsibility not only makes it possible for more tasks to be completed but maintains the involvement of the entire staff so that everyone feels needed. Basically delegation comes down to the five rights of delegation which are the right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction and right communication.
There are many aspects of determining if delegation is appropriate or not. First a mutual respect must be developed between the RN and their helpers. This is achieved through the personalities of the RN and their helpers, communication style and skills and cooperation. It is important when an RN is delegating tasks that they use critical thinking skill in making their decisions. The first consideration is if a patient’s status is safe enough for the person to carry out the task. This is to ensure the health of the patient in the event that the patient’s health takes a turn for the worse. Next it is important that the RN understand the legal authority to delegate to other qualified individuals. The RN must also take into account the competence of assistive caregivers when making delegation decisions. In determining whether or not delegation is appropriate it is also important to take into consideration the job description as well as a staff member’s expertise. This helps to make sure that there is a qualified person who is capable of doing the task. Finally it is necessary that for a task to be delegated that appropriate supervision is available during implementation of the task to ensure accountability. All of these factors are important in determining if delegation is appropriate or inappropriate from the legal aspect to the competence of the caregiver to the patient’s status. This is where the RN’s critical thinking skills come into use to make that determination. To make delegation effective it is important to understand and undertake the proper steps in order to achieve the best results. First the person in charge of delegating the task must know and understand the task at hand. Second is to have the end result or desired outcome in mind. Next is to find the right person to delegate the task to. Once this person is chosen it is important to share with them the desired results for the task they are being given. After the person understands what is expected it is then important to help them understand why the task they are about to do is important. By understanding the importance of the task the person is then given a sense of purpose. It is also important for the person undertaking the task to understand the advantage of them doing the task rather than the person in charge doing it. The next step is to discuss how the task is going to get done. This is to make sure that the person doing the task is competent and able to complete the task. It is then necessary to determine a time frame for the task to be completed in. By doing this the person delegating the task can be certain that the task will be completed in a timely fashion. After discussing all the different steps with the person who will be doing the task it is important to reconfirm that everything is understood. The final step to effective delegation is for the supervisory personnel to follow up with the assistive caregiver in order to ensure accountability. Following these steps will ensure that the proper person for the job is chosen and that the necessary task will be completed correctly and quickly.
There are many barriers to delegation but three of the main ones are poor partnerships between the RNs and the assistive caregivers, unhealthy attitudes in the workplace, and the view of the RN that “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Poor partnerships shows that for some reason the people working in the same are not working together. The best way to overcome this barrier is to open lines of communication which can then lead to mutual respect among coworkers. Unhealthy attitudes will always affect the way people work together especially when it comes to delegating tasks. Many times a person’s “bad” attitude comes from something that has happened outside of the workplace. The best way to overcome this barrier is for people to leave their personal lives outside of the workplace or, since that is not always possible, to recommend counseling if necessary. The third barrier is probably the most difficult. Many people in supervisory roles, such as RNs, are under the mistaken impression that they are the only ones who can do the job properly and are therefore unwilling to delegate any tasks to anyone else. The best way to get past this barrier is for the RN to get to know their fellow workers. By doing this they will begin to develop a mutual respect and knowledge of their coworkers. By knowing the coworkers the RN will then learn that there are others who are competent and qualified for the necessary jobs.