Prinicples + Legal Aspects of Delegation

Delegation

Delegation means transferring responsibility for performing a task to another person, while remaining the responsible and accountable person (Sullivan & Decker, 1997). The lack of knowledge about appropriate delegation and the legal burdens added by delegation diminish the RNs willingness to delegate. Thus, many RNs continue to do tasks that should or must be delegated to non-RN team members if quality care is going to be delivered in a more economical fashion. The inability to delegate results in RNs spending time carrying out tasks such as patient hygiene, therefore preventing RNs from completing assignments and tasks that cannot be delegated. An RNs time is better spent developing a plan of care, consulting with other healthcare providers, patient teaching, and performing tasks that require higher level skills and knowledge.