Introduction
Delegation is an important process in the healthcare industry because it can allow medical professionals to transfer routine duties to low-task personnel or lead to fundamental problems. The case study by the Nurses Service Organization (NSO, n.d.) is an example of wrongful delegation. I think that the registered nurse (RN) relied on good intentions when she delegated the re-insertion of a gastrointestinal (GI) tube to the certified nursing assistant (CNA). The decision was made so that the patient received timely care, and it is worth acknowledging that the CNA assured her that she was capable of coping with the task. It seems that this information made the RN believe that nothing wrong would happen if GI re-insertion was delegated to the CNA.
Discussion
However, the case study demonstrates that severe problems occurred because the GI tube was wrongfully placed in the peritoneal space, which resulted in peritonitis. Even though the CNA wrongfully re-inserted the GI tube, I believe that the RN should have been held responsible. She was a qualified healthcare worker and was expected to ensure that the patient received adequate care. However, the RN failed to do it because she delegated a task when she was not aware of the CNA’s skills, training, and knowledge. The RN took the CNA’s words for granted, which was a significant mistake. Furthermore, the RN failed to monitor whether the delegated task was correctly implemented because she only reached the patient’s house in a few hours. Thus, the RN should have been held responsible because she violated the accepted delegation rules and procedures, which led to the fact that the low-skilled CNA performed a significant task and caused severe problems. In other words, the RN should not have delegated the task under the stipulated circumstances.
In my practice, I have not experienced any cases when RNs delegated tasks inappropriately. This state of affairs is good since it denotes that medical professionals did not put patients’ health at risk. It is worth admitting that RNs perform many therapeutic interventions and other activities that require specific knowledge, skills, and abilities. That is why it is necessary to ensure that these tasks are not delegated to low-skilled or untrained personnel. I did not face such negative cases, and it can denote that I cooperated with qualified and educated RNs. When these medical professionals understand the importance and potential dangers of delegation, they carefully consider every individual case to make reasonable and correct decisions to provide patients with high-quality care.
Conclusion
The given case study is informative and allows me to learn a few essential lessons. Firstly, RNs need to know the policies and procedures that govern their clinical practice. In this case, medical professionals will be knowledgeable enough to avoid making wrong or harmful decisions. Secondly, RNs should allocate much effort to become familiar with their subordinates’ skills, training levels, and knowledge. A suitable approach is to organize specific training sessions where the unlicensed assistive personnel gain new knowledge and master specific skills. Thirdly, the case study has demonstrated that once a task is delegated, it is a good practice for an RN to monitor whether and how it is completed. This step is essential because the medical professional can identify errors and eliminate them until they hurt patients. These lessons are of significance, and I will apply them to my nursing practice.
Reference
Nurses Service Organization. (n.d.). Nurse case study: Wrongful delegation of patient care to unlicensed assistive personnel. Web.