Delagation Tips

The general guidelines of delegation are:

• Primary concern is to make sure that the patient is safe
  
• You must know the job descriptions and abilities of the healthcare personnel and subordinates who you supervise
  
• You must know facility policies and procedures
  
• You must delegate tasks to those who you know are capable of performing what you are assigning them to do
  
• You base tasks that you delegate to others on your knowledge of the state nurse practice act, facility policies and facility job descriptions.
  
• Give directions for the task that are clear in order to avoid misunderstandings
  
• Give a deadline when you expect the task to be completed
  
• Ask the person to repeat back instructions to verify they have the directions correct if you suspect they do not understand what you are asking them to do
  
• Follow-up to make sure the task was completed correctly and by the deadline in order to evaluate the performance of the task (this is your supervision function)
  
• Provide praise when tasks are done well and within deadlines; provide feedback and criticism when necessary
  
• Assign same tasks to the same individuals if possible