In the case study, three principles of the delegation were violated: the right person, the right task, and the right directions and communication. Both the principle of the right task and right person were violated in the sense that the nurse did not consider the knowledge, expertise, and confidence of the delegate while delegating various tasks to the unlicensed staff. The American Nephrology Nurses’ Association provides that nursing care activity that requires knowledge and expertise that is obtained after completion of a nursing education program or specialized skill should not be delegated (O'keefe, 2014). In the case study, the unlicensed nurses reported being assigned tasks that they could not perform. Therefore, the nurse violated the principle of the right person and the right task in this case.
The unlicensed staff could have advocated for herself by explaining to the charge nurse that she lacked the skills needed to perform the delegated tasks. Besides, she could have explained to the charge nurse that she would not be responsible for the outcome of her performance of such tasks since it is the responsibility of the charge nurse to assess various circumstances under which delegation should be conducted. Since the charge nurse is the registered nurse, she is accountable for the following: nursing process, patient safety, appropriate delegation of tasks, and patient assessment (O'keefe, 2014).
If I were working with the charge nurse, I would have been assertive in explaining the tasks I could accomplish and those I could not. I would also have reminded her of her responsibility and the need to safeguard the patient considering that it is my duty too to prevent any adverse event.
References
O'keefe, C. (2014). The authority for certain clinical tasks performed by unlicensed patient care technicians and LPNs/LVNs in the hemodialysis setting: a review. Nephrology nursing journal, 41(3), 247.
