Order your essay today — written by real experts, guaranteed plagiarism-free, and ready to impress your professor!
Discussion: Week 8
According to Koutoukidis, Stainton, and Hughson (2012), delegation refers to the process of transferring the authority and responsibility of an activity to a capable individual. The delegator is accountable for the delegation decision and monitoring the outcome of the delegated task. On the other hand, the delegate is responsible for performing the assigned task or procedure. Delegation in nursing concerns the delivery of indirect care. A nurse will delegate a caregiving task to another competent healthcare worker. The delegating nurse defines the care activity, sets the expectations, monitors the delivery of care and provides feedback to the delegate.
The NCSBN suggests five rights of delegation. First, the right task concerns determining the task that a nurse can delegate. Secondly, the right circumstances concerns determining the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of the individual at the time of delegating a task. Thirdly, the right person concerns determining whether the delegate has the knowledge, skills and experience required to perform a task safely and effectively. Fourthly, the right directions and communication concern the delegator giving the delegate clear directions and instructions. Finally, the right supervision concerns the delegator guiding and evaluating the delegate’s performance (Sorrentino & Remmert, 2013). Less experienced delegates require considerable supervision, especially when performing complex tasks.
According to Levett-Jones and Bourgeois (2011), the three models of patient care are the primary nursing, team nursing and task-oriented nursing models. The primary nursing model emphasizes the continuous delivery of individualized care over the duration of care. Normally, one nurse cares for the patient and delegation occurs when the nurse is off duty. The model of team nursing emphasizes the delivery of care by a team of nurses. A nurse team leader oversees the activities of the nursing assistants. The task-oriented nursing model emphasizes the assignment of specific tasks related to the care of a group of patients.
