Every manager or employee has objectives they are to achieve delegated to them by their seniors. Delegation is a process of getting things done in an administrative setting by tasking each staff with a responsibility, as noted by Allan (2016). In a health care setting, nurses are authorized to assign certain health care tasks to helpers who are competent and qualified. The helpers are supposed to ascertain every patient’s safety, welfare, and health while performing the tasks delegated to them. Delegation assists registered nurses in avoiding unnecessary tasks that other practitioners can handle while at the same time retaining accountability for health care and the outcomes. As patient’s complexity is increasing, nurses should critically think to determine the competence, type of care, and circumstance that is going to be handled by which assistive caregiver.
Nurses at times over delegate, under delegate, or refuse to adhere to delegations given by their superiors. Under delegation, is when a nurse delegates a task to an assistive caregiver but ends up performing based on assistants are not competent enough to perform it. For instance, a nurse tasks their assistant in administering drugs to a patient, but the nurse ends up doing it out of doubts that the assistant will not administer the right dosage. Over delegation is when a nurse delegates the tasks they are supposed to perform to others ( Cipriano, 2010) . For example when a nurse asks their assistant to do a wards rotation on their behalf, excusing it with having other duties thus very busy. Nurses also refuse to perform tasks delegated to them by their superiors. For example, when a doctor instructs a nurse to clean a patient's wound and the nurse ignores the task.
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Nurses who under delegate should couch their assistants to perform tasks as required if they don’t trust them. Every nurse should clearly know the tasks they are supposed to perform themselves to avoid over delegation. Additionally, nurses should be at the disposal of their superiors and perform tasks legitimately delegated to them. Nurses should be aware of the tasks they have the authority to delegate to their assistants (Stanley, 2016). Disciplinary actions should be taken against nurses as well as to all medical practitioners who knowingly wrongfully delegate tasks. Proper delegation helps avoid conflicts arising as a result of who is supposed to do what.
References
Allan, H. T., Magnusson, C., Evans, K., Ball, E., Westwood, S., Curtis, K., ... & Johnson, M. (2016). Delegation and supervision of healthcare assistants’ work in the daily management of uncertainty and the unexpected in clinical practice: invisible learning among newly qualified nurses. Nursing Inquiry , 23 (4), 377-385.
Cipriano, P., (May 31, 2010) "Overview and Summary: Delegation Dilemmas: Standards and Skills for Practice" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 15, No. 2, Overview.
Stanley, D. (Ed.). (2016). Clinical leadership in nursing and healthcare: Values into action . John Wiley & Sons.
