Running Head: DELEGATION

Delegation Paper
Maneet Kaur
California State University, Stanislaus

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Delegation
Introduction

Delegation is a common occurrence in the healthcare profession, that if not done

appropriately can do a lot more harm than good. As nurses we are expected to take care of not
only all aspects of our patients but be able to effectively manage that which we have delegated to
other personnel. Delegation is a term that explains a situation that involves two individuals in
which a task is handed over to the other to be completed. There are also certain rights of
delegation that if followed will produce a successful handover between the two individuals and
make the experience positive overall. When delegated a task is also imperative for the individual
being delegated upon, delegatee, to speak up and communicate with the nurse or the delegator in
order for the process to be successful When the communication is not clear between the
individuals is when tasks delegated can have a negative outcome.
Definition
According to Yoder-Wise (2015) the definition of delegation is the transfer of
responsibility for the performance of a task from one individual to another while retaining the
accountability for the outcome. In this definition the both the delegator and the delegatee are
responsible for the outcome and must communicate. The delegator must access if the individual
they are giving the task is appropriate to take on the accountability and give the appropriate
supervision in order to ensure the best outcome. There are also five distinct rights of delegation
that help determine the overall success of the handover. They include the right task,
circumstance, person, communication, supervision, and evaluation. The right task determines if it
is appropriate for this task to be delegated in the first place by the institution and in the scope of

DELEGATION

practice. The right circumstance involves if the task can safely be executed and with the
appropriate materials. The right person determines if the delegatee is willing and has the
knowledge required. The right communication is the dialogue between the two individuals, in
terms of what is required for the task and if assignment is understood. The right supervision and
evaluation is if the delegatee provides the feedback when appropriate and the delegators job to
make sure the patient is evaluated throughout the task. There are situations in which most of the
rights are fulfilled and some are not. (Yoder-Wise, 2015)
Situation
During clinical rotations as a Nursing Student, I was delegated a task by my primary
nurse that during the time I was very excited to take on. During the day, one of the patients that
my nurse was taking care of was scheduled for a beside bone biopsy. This patient was not one of
the ones that I was taking care of, but the nurse asked if I wanted to assist the doctor for this
procedure. The patients that I was in charge of where all caught up on their daily activities and
medications, so I took the opportunity and attended the bedside procedure. The nurse told me to
help the doctor and to view what happens during this procedure. The doctor was very
enthusiastic about teaching me the about procedure, since it was my first time seeing this done
and new to what was required in the assistance. Prior to starting the procedure, the doctor
explained what was required on my part. He was surprised that I had no idea what to do, I did
explain that I was a student but I had knowledge on sterile fields and general idea of the
procedure. I also followed his lead and helped him collect the bone and fluid from the patient for
lab testing. When he was done, I started to help him clean up and he told me that I was done and
that I could leave. I then went back to the primary nurse and told her the procedure was over. The
outcome resulted in the nurse being upset for lack of clean up and leaving the doctor.

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Analysis of Rights

In terms of the five rights of delegation, the task was for the right person and was within
my scope of practice as a nurse, however I was not a nurse at this time but a student. Therefore I
required the supervision of my nurse during the procedure. The primary nurse was present during
the beginning and left in about a five minutes though she did check in occasionally. The
circumstance was for the nurse taking care of the patient undergoing the procedure, for me this
was not followed since I had no knowledge of this patient since I was not taking care of this
patient during my rotation that day. The next right was communication, in terms of what is
required during this biopsy. The primary nurse only told me to help the doctor but gave me no
direction in what to follow for before, during, and after the procedure. Although I did ask and
was given the basics of assisting in the procedure and did communicate when the procedure was
complete. She was also very light on the supervision and when she evaluated the result was upset
that I did not clean up post procedure.
Reflection/Summary
If this scenario had happened again, there were many things that would have been done
differently. I would have asked for more explanation from the nurse since I received too little,
this was something imperative for the success of the task. That would have made me feel more
comfortable with the procedure and the primary nurse as well. I would also have asked for more
supervision from the nurse. This would have also helped to avoid the post procedure lack of
clean up, since I was not aware that it was my duty to clean-up and collect the specimen since the
doctor was going to take it with him. Also I needed to be more active and have spoken up when I
was not full prepared for this. In summary, delegation happens between two people and cannot
have an effective outcome without the completion of the five rights and without appropriate

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communication. In the situation described communication was a major issue between the
individuals, something that could be improved upon for future delegation issues.

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Reference

Yoder-Wise, P. (2015). Leading and Managing in Nursing. (6th Ed.). St. Louis, MO:
Elsevier/Mosby.