Delegation and assignment: one-page sheet

Rules of thumb

• ·Assess, teach, evaluate and anything needing nursing judgement stays with the RN or the nurse who owns the plan.
• ·Stable client with a predictable outcome: appropriate for the PN.
• ·Unstable, new or changing client: the RN.
• ·Unlicensed assistive personnel: hygiene, feeding without swallowing risk, ambulation, I&O, vital signs on stable clients.
• ·You can delegate a task. You cannot delegate accountability.

The five rights

1. 01

   Task

   Routine and within scope.

2. 02

   Circumstance

   The client is stable and the setting fits.

3. 03

   Person

   Trained and competent for this task.

4. 04

   Direction and communication

   What to do, what to report, by when.

5. 05

   Supervision and evaluation

   You follow up and give feedback.