DELEGATION PAPER

Importance in the Leadership and Management of Delegation

Nikki Thao
California State University, Stanislaus

DELEGATION PAPER

Importance in the Leadership and Management of Delegation

Nurses are busy people; not only do they care for one to four patients, they can
sometimes feel overwhelmed and short on time. Often times, nurses are so busy caring for
patients by themselves, they forget that better patient care incorporates working with other team
members to create a healthier and better environment. This does not only provide quality care for
patients, but also helps the nurses. Effective leadership and management skills do not develop
overnight. In order to improve and excel in these areas, nurses must learn to develop their
knowledge and skills to effectively direct and care for their patients (Knippa et. al, 2011). In
other words, this means using necessary organizational resources and enlisting the help from
other hospital staff members.
Utilizing successful leadership and management skills entails being able to delegate some
of ones assignment onto another member of the health care team. Delegation means being able
to entrust a delegable nursing duty to a person who is qualified and competent to perform the
duty (Goodwin, 2014). Delegation is a powerful tool because there is a limitation to how much
work one person can do by themselves. Nurses have the knowledge, skills, and ability to
organize and oversee the distribution of nursing care, which involves being able to allocate a
nursing task to another person (Goodwin, 2014). Nurse leaders must realize that delegating not
only improves teamwork, but it also demonstrates the effective leadership role of the delegator.
By recognizing the limitations and available resources, nurse leaders can make the best decision
possible when assigning and delegating a task (Knippa et. al, 2011).
An example of a situation where someone delegated a task onto me was when I did my
clinical rotation in the Emergency Department at St. Josephs Medical Center. That day, after
having already discharged three patients, my nurse and I were preparing to take two new
patients. After the initial assessment of the elderly female patient, there was an order to obtain a

DELEGATION PAPER

urine specimen and perform a urine dipstick analysis. While my nurse was getting ready to go
assess the second patient, she delegated me with the task of obtaining the urine specimen. My
task consisted of gathering the necessary items to acquire the urine sample, properly labeling and
dating the sample, assisting the patient into a commode, obtaining the specimen without
contaminating it, and finally, performing a urinal dipstick analysis and also, sending the sample
to the lab.
Before setting out to perform the task, my nurse (the delegator), showed me where I
could gathered my supplies and explained, in detail, how I should obtain the urine specimen
without contaminating the inside container. After my nurse explained about what to do, I
reiterated the steps back to her. I believe the amount of information that I received was sufficient
for me to perform the task. Not only did my nurse made sure that I knew how to obtain the urine
specimen; she helped me in the initial steps to get the patient ready for the urine collection.
Effective delegation can be considered one of the most difficult responsibilities of a nurse
(Weydt, 2010). Nurses decide which patient care interventions are needed and using their
judgment; they assign a qualified individual to perform the task. Delegation is an important skill
as it has an influence on patient outcome and reflects on a nurses ability to apply their leadership
expertise (Weydt, 2010). To apply this skill, five rights of delegation (Knippa et. al, 2011) must
be addressed. The right task refers to identifying the appropriate task to delegate for each specific
individual. In my case, my nurse assigned me to obtain a urine specimen from one of the patient.
The right circumstance means assessing the situation and health status of the patient to see if it is
appropriate for the individual to take on the task. For instance, the patient needed to use the
restroom, so obtaining the specimen was appropriate. The right person refers to the competency
of the delegatee. As a student nurse, I believed I had the necessary nursing skills to obtain the
specimen. The right communication refers to written or oral directions. In this case, my nurse

DELEGATION PAPER

gave me specific directions on how to collect the urine. The right supervision means monitoring
the performance and determining if the task is completed (Knippa et. al, 2011). For example, my
nurse watched as I collected the specimen and assisted me with performing the urine dipstick
analysis. In my situation, all five rights of delegation were met. As the delegator, my nurse
clearly explained the expectations and required follow ups that needed to be address after
obtaining the specimen.
Although my nurse did explain the procedure, I was in charge of collecting the urine
sample. However, she did supervise me on how to perform the urinal dipstick analysis.
Considering that this was the first time that I performed the dipstick test in the hospital, I
believed that having my nurse guide with me step by step directions was appropriate. Not only
was it appropriate, it reassure the nurse that the results were proper. The outcome of the
delegated task was that I was able to acquire a positive result from the dipstick analysis, proper
documentation was noted in the patients chart, and a sample of the patients urine was sent to the
lab for confirmation. One thing that I would do differently next time is to have a handheld copy
of the policy and procedure, on obtaining the urine specimen, available. By doing this, I believe I
would have taken less of my nurses time to reiterate the directions for me because working the
Emergency Department can become hectic and crazy.
Delegation is an important aspect of improving teamwork and demonstrating the ability
to work at a higher level by reinforcing the authority and responsibilities of a nurse (Weydt,
2010). When the appropriate task is accomplished by the qualified personnel, this promotes a
win- win situation for both the delegatee and delegator (Weydt, 2010). When nurses learn to
delegate effectively, they learn to improve and polish their leadership and management skills. By
delegating the appropriate tasks to the qualified person, nurses are able to use their time wisely
and work proficiently to deliver future planning for better patient care.

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References

Goodwin, L. (2014). Patient care models and delegation [PowerPoint. slides]. Retrieved from
https://sites.google.com/site/nurs3320csustan/week-6
Knippa, A., Sommer, S., Ball, B., Churchill, L., Elkins, C. B., Janowski, M., . . . Stacy, B. L.
(2011). Nursing leadership and management (5th ed.). USA: Assessment Technologies
Institute, LLC.
Weydt, A. (2010). Developing delegation skills. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing,
15(2), doi. 10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No02Man01