Principles of Delegation
It would be easier for me to engage in the delegation process, using the principles of delegation, with an aim of ensuring that each of the patients receives the best quality of medical care while in the facility. In addition, these principles will also play a central role in building an environment of trust and confidence between members of the team, thus, allowing them to engage in effective performance.
Determination of Duties to Delegate
The first principle that would apply to the case is a determination of what is to be delegated based on the number of patients that the team would handle at any given period. Potter, Deshields, and Kuhrik (2010) argue that one of the successive elements of delegation is establishing the key delegation duties that the team ought to handle, as this would help establish a better front for efficiency in the delegation process. In this case, the team is handling six patients, highlighted, all of who present varying medical characteristics, which would determine the team member who would be most suitable in handling their medical conditions.
In addition, this principle highlights the need for separation of the team activities into two secondary lists, which are activities that a leader would be able to handle and activities that a leader would need to delegate. Definition of each of these activities would be of value in ensuring that the leader is in a better position to delegate activities that match the experience and qualification of other members of the team. A review of this case study indicates that the patients that I would be able to handle, as a registered nurse (RN), are Mr. C and Ms. B. The main reason for the separation of these patients from the others is due to the complexity of their conditions, which would require a registered nurse.
Determining the right person for a given task
The second principle that would play a central role in defining success in the delegation process is a selection of the right person or individual for a given activity or action depending on his or her qualifications and experience. Curtis and Nicholl (2014) argue that one of the key aspects associated with the delegation of duties that project failure is ineffective matching of individuals to specific duties or actions leading to a situation where such individuals find themselves unable to engage in the actions delegated. Thus, this highlights the need to engage in an in-depth analysis of the individuals as well as the activities delegated in a bid to determining overall success margins for the team.
In this case, the other members of the team are an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) and a licensed practice nurse/licensed vocational personnel (LPN/LVP) each of who possesses varying knowledge levels in handling patients with specific medical conditions or issues. During the delegation process, it would be important for me to match individual patients with personnel that I believe would deliver on the expected responsibilities based on his or her medical experience or current position. Thus, this leads me towards delegating Mr. R and Mr. L to the LPN/LVP and delegation of Ms. J and Ms. S to the UAP, as I believe that this medical personnel would have the expected capacity of abilities to handle each of the patients delegated as part of defining success for the team.
Clarification of Desired Results
The third key principle that would help guide my decision is the classification of desired results based on the delegation of duties for each member of the team. Before engaging in any form of delegation, each of the team members must have a clear understanding of the set goals and objectives for the team, which would determine overall success margins. In addition, each member of the team must have a clear understanding of what is expected of him or her based on the duties or actions delegated. After the initial delegation process, it would be important to engage in a process where each of these team members would have a clarification of the desired results for the team. In the long-term, this would help ensure that the actions that each of the team members adopts, as part of his or her strategy would work towards the achievement of the overall objectives for the team.
Rationale for the Decisions about Delegation
It would be important to establish a rationale for the decisions made to evaluate the viability of the decisions with regard to the set objective of the team, which is to ensure that each of the patients receives the best quality of medical care. Regarding the delegation of duties to the LPN/LVP, one of the key elements considered was the role of an LPN as a clinician focused on providing ‘nursing care.’ Li, Pittman, Han, and Lowe (2017) argue that LPNs play an integral role in medical environments, as they help in conducting accurate assessments, monitoring, and administration of medication to patients based on the instructions provided by a registered nurse. In this case, Mr. R and Mr. L are both patients that would require close monitoring and assessment based on the complexity of their conditions. Therefore, this would help create a front from which me, as the registered nurse, would move towards delegating such duties to the LPN.
Regarding UAP, who operates on an assistive position due to the idea that he or she is unlicensed, the delegation of Ms. J and Ms. S would be the most viable decision based on what is expected a UAP. Li, Pittman, Han, and Lowe (2017) argue that UAPs have an important role in acting as nursing aides, as well as, patient attendants, especially when dealing with cases some of the patients may require training or therapy. A review of the two patients delegated to the UAP indicates that their conditions are not severe when compared to others in the patient list provided, thus, meaning that the UAP would be in a better position to handle these patients effectively. Largely, this would mean that the UAP would act within an assistive position while reporting any notable changes to the registered nurse.
Barriers to Effective Delegation
The first key barrier that would affect my ability to delegate duties effectively is poor communication between me and other members of the team, which would result in a situation of mutual distrust or reduced confidence levels. In any given team setting, communication acts as one of the key determinants of success, as it ensures that each member of the team is able to share his or her strengths and weaknesses for effective delegation. In my case, I believe that this would act as a potential barrier that I must consider as part of my approach to effective delegation of duties. The second key barrier that I would consider is reduced motivation among other members of the team attributed to a poor leadership structure. Reduced motivation would result in a situation where some members of the team would not be willing to engage as part of the team, thus, resulting in failure regardless of the effectiveness of delegation. In most cases, lack of involvement in the leadership process also acts as a determinant of reduced motivation among other members of the team.
Tasks that would be Easiest to Delegate
References
Curtis, E., & Nicholl, H. (2014). Delegation: A key function of nursing. Nursing Management, 11(4), 26-31.
Li, S., Pittman, P., Han, X., & Lowe, T. J. (2017). Nurse‐related clinical nonlicensed personnel in us hospitals and their relationship with nurse staffing levels. Health Services Research, 52(S1), 422-436.
Potter, P., Deshields, T., & Kuhrik, M. (2010). Delegation practices between registered nurses and nursing assistive personnel. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(2), 157-165.
