Fear of liability.
Some individuals are not risk takers and shy away from delegation for this reason. There are risks associated with delegation, but the delegator can minimize these risks by following the steps of delegation. A related concern is a fear of being blamed for the delegate’s mistakes. If the delegator selected the task and delegate appro- priately, then the responsibility for any mistakes made are solely those of the delegate; it is not necessary to take on guilt for another’s mistakes.
Review the five rights of delegation and the decision tree for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing as well as the state’s nurse practice act and the organization’s policies. RNs often fear blame from management if something goes wrong when a task has been delegated to an LPN or UAP, but those fears can be relieved if state law, organi- zational policies, and job descriptions are followed.