Why Delegation Is So Important to the Healthcare Industry
In today’s world there are many issues that face nurses like appropriate patient care, workplace issues, ethical problems and so on. The one issue that gets neglected is the issue of delegation. According to the American Nurses Association as stated by Anthony & Standing (2008) the definition of delegation is “The transfer of responsibility for the performance of an activity from one individual to another while retaining accountability for the outcome.” Delegation is such an important issue that it needs to be addressed because it has a direct effect on patient care and their overall health. Nurses often times do not address this because they don’t view it as important as giving medications
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By letting me know this ahead of time it allows me to practice and learn about the skill of delegation early. So that when I get out on my own I know the issue exists and how I as nurse can contribute to helping this issue improve. If I can master this skill when I enter the workplace, then when new nurses or nurses that have been there a while I can help them with delegation so that it creates a better environment for all. So by realizing that delegation has just as much importance as my other skills I think it will create better outcomes for my patients, hospital and …show more content…
This is a skill that’s going to take time and patience to learn. As stated by Curtis & Nicholl (2004) “Delegation is not a mysterious art but a management function that can be learned and improved with practice.” Delegation may feel like it is a small task that can be ignored but it can only be ignored for so long before patients, families and staff start to suffer. Again by having awareness and education about what delegation can do for us and for our patients it will greatly improve and eliminate the bad outcomes that come from ineffective delegation. Also I think with effective delegation there could be improvement in communication with doctors and that in return could produce some very amazing results for the healthcare industry. Improving delegation just might be the key that we need to unlock the door that will allow us to provide healthcare to all instead of the ones we can fit in hospitals and who can afford healthcare. I think if we achieve effective delegation then patients, their families, supervisors, friends, coworkers and especially ourselves will see improvement in not just nursing but the overall healthcare
Nurses have a considerable amount of responsibility in any facility. They are responsible for administering medicines and treatments to there patient’s. While caring for there patients, nurses will make observations on patient’s health and then record there findings. As well as consulting with doctors and other healthcare professionals to plan proper individual patient care. They teach their patients how to manage their illnesses and explain to both the patient and the patients family how to continue treatment when returning home (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014-15). They also record p...
One of the many challenges in being a nurse is demonstrating the professional responsibilities of ones own practice in order to provide proper care to the patients and their families. It is crucial that nurses are in a healthy mental and physical state in order to provide adequate care for the patient. An example of Standard 1, professional responsibility and accountability, Indicator
The American Nurses association defines delegation as, ‘The transfer of responsibility for the performance of a task from one individual to another while retaining accountability for the outcome’ (Saccomano, 2010, p. 523). When delegating to staff or members of your team, it is important that it is used appropriately and within the proper guidelines. It is common to see RNs delegating in the hospital setting to the LVN or nursing assistant, however, the RN must know the limitations and what is within their scope of practice. Unfortunately, even if the nurse uses these guidelines, conflict can still occur with other staff making the process more difficult. Having the responsibility to delegate, especially as a new registered nurse, can be daunting,
Delegation as defined by the American Nurses Association (2005) is the ability to handover responsibility for the performance of a duty from one person to ano...
To delegate duties to a unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP), raises concerns and challenges for a registered nurse (RN) in maintaining a safe, quality nursing care environment (Mueller & Vogelsmeier, 2013). This motivates the author (as a novice nurse in the near future) to choose the topic of “Responsibility Versus Accountability” in order to get acquainted with the application of an appropriate nursing delegation in the practice. This information will aid the author to be an effective advocate to her clients in her nursing service especially in a situation that the application of an appropriate delegation process will be required. Understanding the impacts of the concepts of responsibility and accountability in depth with relation to the delegation process, may help the author to be well-informed and facilitated enough to apply delegation in her nursing practice without any hesitation.
Firstly, Nurses must develop the right communication tools when dealing with their patients. For example most nurses do bedside reporting, before they change their shift in the morning, therefore they would be relaying information to the other nurse about the patient they dealt with during the night. The nurse that is going off shift would give a report to the incoming nurse in the presence of the patient. He or she has to discuss the condition of the patient, medications and the procedures so the next nurse would be on the same level. Most nurses in the General Hospital do their reporting by the bedside of their patients.
nursing assistants. All the delegation needs to be within the scope of practice. The registered
In Nursing, there will always be instances where the patient's nurse needs to advocate for their patient. There are numerous reasons why a nurse would advocate for their patient ranging from getting the doctor to change the patient’s orders, helping the patient’s treatment team understand what it is the patient is requiring for the day, to expressing the patient’s last wishes before death. In every situation, the nurse should do what is in the patient’s best interest. Tomajan (2012), “Advocacy skills are the ability to successfully support a cause or interest on one’s own behalf or that of another. Advocacy requires a set of skills that include problem solving, communication, influence, and collaboration”(p. 2). With those skills, the nursing staff will be able to work together to advocate for their patients. Along with those skills, nurses need to keep in mind the three core attributes that are: safeguarding patients’ autonomy; acting on behalf of patients; and championing social justice in the provision of health care. (Bu & Jezewski, 2006)
Delegation is the being able to pass the responsibility or authority to another person. This act of delegation is important in the outcome of patient care (Yoon,2016). As discussed to be able to have well developed leadership and management skills a good aid of communication has to be developed. In the workplace environment being able to effectively delegate without having appropriate communication skills therefore emotional intelligence the ongoing care of the patient can be threatened and errors can occur. However, being able to effectively do so enable the patient outcomes to be achieved ( Wong,2013). These skills aid in importance as newly graduate nurses receive student nurses to mentor and supervise. Being able to supervise and manage a student nurse contains having a well-developed leadership and management skills ( Jones,2013). The role of a mentor includes assessing and evaluating the students’ performance, providing supervision and having accountability of the students action( royal college of nursing, 2007). This role a graduate nurse must have an area of leadership and management skills. As If these skills aren't developed the student nurse not only will lack mentorship but also the lack of guidance and supervision can impact on the patients care (
The American Nurses Association (ANA) developed a foundation for which all nurses are expected to perform their basic duties in order to meet the needs of the society we serve. The ANA “has long been instrumental in the development of three foundational documents for professional nursing; its code of ethics, its scope and standards of practice, ands statement of social policy.” (ANA, 2010, p. 87) The ANA defined nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” and used to create the scope and standards of nursing practice. (ANA, 2010, p. 1) These “outline the steps that nurses must take to meet client healthcare needs.” () The nursing process, for example, is one of the things I use daily. Other examples include communicating and collaborating with my patient, their families, and my peers, and being a lifelong learner. I continually research new diagnoses, medications, and treatments for my patients. As a nurse of ...
Autonomy is a principle that allows a patient or authorizing agent to make decisions regarding healthcare decisions without any outside influence (Burkhardt & Nathanial, 2014, p.440) As the nurse, it is important to understand
Emotional intelligence allows nurse leaders to become high-performing professionals with critical thinking and effective decision-making skills. Delegation involves the communication of a delegator to assign a work related task within the employee’s scope of practice in order to achieve a common goal. Delegation is a skill that considers whether the person is right for the task, if communication and direction are clear and effective regarding the assignment, ensures the task is within the person’s scope, and safeguards that the task will be appropriately supervised. (Yoder-Wise, 2015, p.
They care and nurture patients back to health so they can develop and perform as highly as possible. Nurses must be willing to take the time to listen carefully to other staff members and patients for mutual respect and trust to evolve. Nursing leaders influence and motivate subordinates by building relationships and further developing the practice skills of individual team members. A Servant Leader makes sure the needs of the individual team members are addressed and any conflicts are dealt in way that enhances professional competency among nurses. Recognition that servant leadership advocates a more group-oriented approach to analysis and decision making helps to strengthen the organization and improve the healthcare community (Murphy,
Autonomy is identified as another professional value and one that the nurse must possess. Autonomy is the right to self-determination. Nurse’s respect the patient’s right to make a decision regarding their healthcare. Practical application includes, educating patients and their families on their choices, honoring their right to make their own decision and stay in control of their health, developing care plans in collaboration with the patient (Taylor, C. Lillis, C. LeMone, P. Lynn, P,
There are many themes that present in literature about delegation. American Nurses Association(ANA) defines delegation as the transfer of responsibility for the performance of a task from one person to another. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing(NCBSN) defines delegation as transferring to a competent individual the authority to perform a selected nursing task in a selected situation. I think delegation is a skill that needs to get proficient. Kleinman and Saccomano(2006) state that the nurse must be taught delegation skills, both in academic and clinical settings. The use of unlicensed assisted personnel(UAP) or licensed practical nurse(LPN) is essential in todays health care because of the increased acquity of patients and increased custom-service approach.