Delegation

Question 1

What is delegation #1?

What is delegation #2?

Answer 1

Handing off tasks to competent staff in order to get the job done

Assigning routine tasks of things that the manager doesn’t have time for

Question 2

T/F

Delegation can help a unit as a whole

Answer 2

True. It can increase productivity but also helps employees grow.

Question 3

Delegation strategy part 1

Answer 3

Plan ahead.

Identify what skills the task needs, and find someone who fits that description.

And then you need to communicate the end goal to them.

Question 4

Delegation strategy part 2

Answer 4

Empower the delegate, and tell them the set deadline.

Monitor & provide guidance for them too.

Make sure to evaluate their performance and reward the accomplishment.

Question 5

What document can you refer to when trying to understand what you can legally delegate?

Answer 5

Nurse practice act - it gives guidelines to RN’s about what they can delegate to LPNs and what their practice is as well as for CNA/PTC.

Question 6

T/F

There aren’t rules about the degree of supervision used when delegating a task

Answer 6

False.

The nurse practice act goes into the supervision required for the task. It is meant to lower risk.

Question 7

What does “restriction of the word nurse” mean?

Answer 7

It means the only people in a certain state that can be called a nurse are RN’s and LPN’s. Not cna or ptc.

Question 8

Underdelegating

Who is it common in?

Answer 8

When the manager makes the false assumption that someone doesn’t have the capability to do something correctly or they don’t trust them enough

Common for new nurse managers

Question 9

Overdelegating

Answer 9

The manager can over-burden the staff
Often because the manager is insecure about their own ability to complete a task
- make sure to be aware of other’s workloads

Question 10

Improper delegating

Answer 10

Delegating things to people who don’t have the ability to accomplish the goal
- be aware of skills and abilities of the staff

Question 11

T/F

Telling the CNA to pass meds is a form of improper delegating

Answer 11

True.

The CNA doesn’t have the license to pass meds

Question 12

Five rights of delegation

Answer 12

1. Right task
2. Right circumstances
3. Right person
4. Right direction/communication
5. Right supervision

Question 13

Right task

Answer 13

Can this task be done for this patient?

You don’t wanna give someone a task to pass a beta blocker if the patient isn’t even a HTN patient

Question 14

Right circumstances

Answer 14

Do you have the right setting, resources, or the relevant factors for the job to be done?
If you tell a cna to give someone a bed bath, make sure they have the towels to do it and that the patient didn’t already get one.

Question 15

Right person

Answer 15

Make sure the delegated task is delegated to the right staff member and for the right patient

Question 16

Right supervision

Answer 16

Don’t let a PCT be the witness for a nurse trying to waste meds….

Question 17

Right direction/communication

Answer 17

Clear, concise description of the task including limits and expectations
- give good direction

Question 18

T/F

It is seen as unprofessional to say no to your manager when they delegate a task to you

Answer 18

False.

It is acceptable to say no if you must

Question 19

T/F

There are set standards for unlicensed assistive personnel

Answer 19

False. No license or scope of practice.

Which is why accountability falls on the nurse

Question 20

Potential costs of delegating tasks to UAP?

Answer 20

Liability for negligence increases - the RN can delegate, but they are still accountable for the screw up.

Question 21

What does the RN need to know before they delegate a task to UAP?

Answer 21

Job description
Knowledge base
Demonstrated skills - can they do the skill?

Question 22

T/F

If an UAP is given a delegated task and does harm, they have no accountability.

Answer 22

False. They will have personal accountability (could be fired) but they do not have legal accountability (so they won’t be sued).

Question 23

Is it inappropriate for a manager to ask if a staff member is capable of a task?

Answer 23

No. Managers should always ask staff if they are capable BUT also observe that they are capable.

Question 24

What is the most common reason for staff to be resistance to delegation?

Answer 24

When they feel the manager is not considering their perspective
Or they feel like things have been over-delegated.

Question 25

Elements that affect delegation in transcultural work areas

Answer 25

Communication
Space
Social organization
Time 
Environmental control
Biological variations

Question 26

Elements that affect delegation in transcultural work areas: communication

Answer 26

Dialect, volume, touch, context of speech

• giving a task in a softer tone can make it sound not as important

Question 27

Elements that affect delegation in transcultural work areas: space

Answer 27

Give personal space to staff members.

Question 28

Elements that affect delegation in transcultural work areas: social organization

Answer 28

Work may not be the number one value for people. Maybe they care about other things going on in they rlives

Question 29

Elements that affect delegation in transcultural work areas: Time

Answer 29

past - preserving the past and maintaining what’s here

future - wants to be visionary and make changes

Question 30

Elements that affect delegation in transcultural work areas: environmental control

Answer 30

Perception of having control in the environmental ; fate, love, destiny

Question 31

Elements that affect delegation in transcultural work areas: biological variations

Answer 31

Bio social differences between ethnic groups. psychological and even diseases

Question 32

What are LPN’s allowed to do?

Can LPN’s do an assessment?

Answer 32

Foley catheter
Oral meds
Injections
Some IV meds (but not all) 
But, a hospital doesn't have to give them the right to do those things. 

LPN’s can do a focused assessment but not the initial general , full work up.

Question 33

Can LPN’s educate patients?

Answer 33

Nope they cannot. That is RN’s job always.

- they can reinforce it