Fernandez, Jaysha

NURS 362
23 January 2015
Delegation
Delegation, as defined by Sommers, is the process of transferring the authority and
responsibility to another team member to a complete a task, while retaining accountability.
(2013) This is an important aspect of nursing. Nurses still take full responsibility for the outcome
of the task, making certain that the delegatee can handle the task given. It may just seem like the
nurse is just putting the work on someone else, but there are many more aspects that fall into
delegation.
For example, medication administration is an important aspect of nursing. Nurses are
responsible for knowing the medication, the side effects, the mechanism of action and any
contraindications or interactions of this drug. Also, before administering the medication, there
are the five rights that need to be checked: right patient, right time, right does, right route and
right medication. Now, a nurse would not be delegating administration of medication to an
unlicensed personnel; however, delegation also comes with five rights, which include: the right
task, the right supervision, right person, right direction/communication, right time (Anthony &
Vidal, 2010). Basically, comparing the two, it seems like medication administration is just as
important as delegation, as they both come with a set of rights.
As I learned, delegation is a responsibility, that I may have taken for granted. As a nurse
aide, sometimes I think, why cant the nurse do it? However, after reading and participating in
clinical, I understand the workload that a nurse has and realize that I was chosen to be delegated
because the nurse trusts me with the task. Delegation requires critical thinking by the RN
(Cherry & Jacob, 2008) and I couldnt agree more with this statement. I didnt really think about
the fact that the RN still obtains the accountability, therefore; the RN needs to think who to

delegate to or they might suffer for a mistake that they didnt necessarily do. Before, I thought
nurses just didnt want to do aid work, but now I realize that being delegated is an honor.

Reference

Anthony, M., Vidal, K., (May 31, 2010) "Mindful Communication: A Novel Approach to
Improving Delegation and Increasing Patient Safety" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues
in Nursing Vol. 15, No. 2, Manuscript 2.
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. (2008). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends & management (4th ed.).
St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby/Elsevier
Sommer, S. (2013). Nursing leadership and management: Review module (Edition 6.0. ed.).
Leawood, KS: Assessment Technologies Institute.