Delegation

hello everyone,

im a second year student and i am having trouble with delegation and responisibility questions. im doing a case study where i am a charge nurse and when returing from dinner (3-11 shift) i am presented with the following informations. all the other rn's are busy but i have myself, a ward clerk and aiv certified lpn at hand.

i have 6 patients and here are their situations:

1. mr. murphy's iv has infiltrated. she is behind in her iv fluids and she has missed her 6 pm antibiotics. i know that the infusion should be stopped, iv discontinued and sterile dressing applied to the site after cafeul inspection to determine the extent of the infiltration. then i know that the iv should be started in a new site. now my question would be what do i do about the missed antibiotics and loss of time with the iv fluid? i know i would assigned the lpn for this task.

2. a visitor has fainted. i would assign the lpn to assist this patient. i would have him check the person's airway, breathing and circulation. if necessary, begin rescue breathing and cpr. loosen tight clothing around the neck, keep the person lying down for at least 10 - 15 minutes, preferably in a cool and quiet space, if vomiting has occurred, turn the person onto their side to prevent choking, raise the person's feet above the level of the heart (about 12 inches). the ward clerk should not be assessing somebody who is potentially in cardiac or respiratory arrest.

3. the public tiolet is overflowing and waste is pouring out rapidly. this is a biochemical hazard and immediately needs to be taken care of. i just do not know who i would assign this to. the warrd clerk?

4. three patients have not recieved their dinners trays and it is now 7pm. i believe the task would be assigned to the ward clerk.

5. the or has just called and they are on their way to take mr. smith for a cardiac catherization. his preoperative meds have not been givien. the charge nurse would take this task. we havent reached the cardiac lectures yet, and im not able to find anything similar to this in my text but i would imagine you have to tell the or to wait since you may need to oder the pre-op med. im not sure how this situation would ne handle. any help?

lastly, dr. russo is waiting to discuss a medication error that was made two weeks ago. the charge nurse would have to handle this task. why? because she oversees the nursing staff on the floor.

as for list each in order or priority..i believe it would be ..

fainting (#2), the or (#5), iv (#1), the toilet (#3), dinners (#4), and dr. russo (#6)

would that be correct??

thank you in advance,

mimi