Decision tree for delegation to nursing assistive personnel
Source: Adapted from National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2006). Joint statement on delegation. Retrieved December 2007 from www.ncsbn.org/Joint_ statement.pdf
● The right direction and communication requires the delegator to give clear, concise description of the task as well as describe the objectives, the limits, and the expectations as a result. The delegate should be able to recognize that the patient is responding as expected.
● The right supervision includes monitoring the delegate, evaluating the person’s perfor- mance, giving feedback as required, and intervening if necessary. The delegator remains responsible for the patient’s care regardless of who performs it.
Also the National Council of State Boards of Nursing decision tree can help guide nurses’ decisions about delegation. (See Figure 10-1.)
The Delegation Process The delegation process has five steps as shown in Table 10-2.
1. Define the task. Delegate only an aspect of your own work for which you have responsibil- ity and authority. These include:
• Routine tasks • Tasks for which you do not have time • Tasks that have moved down in priority