how to delegate

i'm going to split this up into 2 parts and hope that this helps you..

if you are sharing an aide with another nurse how do you know what to delegate to them aide without overlaoding them??? and what specifically can you delegate to them...for instance if you have five pt load and so does the other nurse and they all need vitals taken and is/c&db and repositioning??should you delegate all these task to the aide?

the aide is there to assist the nurse. 10 patients is a little much, however its completely do-able. make sure you let the aide know that they can come to you if they need help, or unable to get an assignment done within the needed time frame. is/c&db is to me, more of a nursing task. you need to make sure the is is being used correctly, not the aide. repositioning could be split between the aide and the nurse. say the pt requires repositing q 2 h during a 12 hour shift. the aide can reposition at 8a, 12p, and 4p. you as the nurse then reposition at 10a, 2p, and 6p. this way, you are assessing the skin q 4 hours and not overwhelming the aide.

in one of my health classes we are talking about nursing delagation and time management so we have a project to where we are rn andhave an aide and four pt on a med surg unit and one that has to be admitted...and i dont' know where to start....do i start with the admit first or what???

ok, you have 4 patients. when an admission comes in, that admit is new to your floor and to your care, and you should start with them first, at least a quick visual assessment if you are busy, but have the nurses aide (unless busy with something-then you need to do it) take the vitals. while the aide is getting your vitals, assess your other patients, and pass meds, and then go to the admission paperwork and orders.

i hope this helps you somewhat!

-meghan

Since I don't work medsurg I can't suggest anything about what to delegate to the aides when you share an aide with another nurse, but as for your second question, your admit ALWAYS comes first unless one of your other pts is crashing on you.

I guess it depends somewhat on how much you trust the aide and what the particulars are on any given day but the plan above sounds good to me.

Be flexible. Do NOT expect that the aide is always going to come through for you. You MUST follow up on your own patients. Yes, you should have a plan and try to follow it but I'd be amazed if there were no revisions along the way.

Definition of Nursing: a series of interruptions interrupted by interruptions.

Expect the unexpected. There are lots of surprises, emergencies, regroupings all day every day. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and all that.