Proper Delegation: The Nurse’s Responsibility
Every field of occupation requires each position to operate under a variety of different tasks and responsibilities. Depending on the work that is to be completed, sometimes, delegating certain tasks to those who are well-trained and competent to finish it plays a major role ensuring what needs to get done is completed. In the nursing field, registered nurses are tasked with many responsibilities that need to be finished in order to guarantee that patients are getting the quality care they need and are healing effectively. Part of the responsibilities of a nurse is to delegate tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAPs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs). In order to properly delegate tasks to these workers, the registered nurse needs to follow the five rights of delegation provided by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) (n.d.): (a) right task, (b) right circumstance, (c) right person, (d)
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The nurse failed to assign the appropriate task and person to the case. The LPN floated from an obstetric unit to the surgical unit. The nurse should have first determined if the LPN had any surgical or medical background along with assessing the understanding of wound care before allowing the LPN to care for the patient. Also, the RN failed to assign to communicate to the LPN that the patient may need wound care. Prior to assigning the LPN, the nurse could have assessed the LPN’s knowledge and history of wound care. She could have taught the LPN how to perform a wound dressing and have the LPN demonstrate to ensure that the LPN understands. Lastly, the nurse should have evaluated the patient and their understanding of wound care to ensure that the patient is appropriately caring for their wound at home. This circumstance could have been avoided if the nurse took the appropriate measures to guarantee that the patient would not come back to the