Nursing Shortage, An Essential Aspect Of The Nursing...

Due to the current worldwide nursing shortage, delegation is an essential aspect of the nursing profession. Delegation provides a way in which professionals can assign other employees tasks both to decrease workload and increase satisfactory patient care. However, many individuals within the healthcare system, including myself, do not fully understand the concept or importance of delegation. After doing my research, I have gained a new perspective of delegation, and some of the issues involved. There are many actions being taking to educate students as well as professionals of the true meaning of delegation and what all it entails. There are many misconceptions regarding delegation, and it is critical that all healthcare personnel†¦show more content†¦Among many of the misunderstandings of delegation, Standing and Anthony (2008) found that when unlicensed assistive personnel are asked to perform a task within their job description, that this is still considered delegation. I now know that when I am a nursing professional, I am still delegating even if the skill is within the individual’s scope of practice. One thing that I have learned in researching nursing delegation is that it is the responsibility of the registered nurse to assure that personnel are properly trained and fully understand the tasks in which they are being assigned. Research by Jones (1996) supports â€Å"A clear definition of the work to be done will reduce the chances of confusion and ensure that there is no doubt about who is responsible for specific jobs.† I assumed that a nursing manager or supervisor would be responsible for ensuring an unlicensed assistive personnel be properly trained, and though this is true, it is important for all registered nurses to assure proper training has been achieved for the safety of the patients. Better patient care will be delivered if the delegated tasks are performed safely and correctly. In addition, it is important to know what can and cannot be delegated based on an individual’s job description. Standing and Anthony (2008) found â€Å"Nurses are clearly accoun table and responsible for errors of planning, for example, delegating to UAP an activity that