The registered nurse is caring for multiple clients on a medical-surgical unit and has finished the morning assessment. Which task is appropriate for the nurse to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel?

Question

The registered nurse is caring for multiple clients on a medical-surgical unit and has finished the morning assessment.  Which task is appropriate for the nurse to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecbb05_cb8a_1f07_b433_69c8fe6e1b83_MD0009_00 Delegation is the process of transferring responsibility of performing a task while maintaining the ultimate responsibility for the action and its outcome. The registered nurse (RN) should take into account the five rights of delegation (right task, right person, right circumstances, right communication/direction, and right supervision/evaluation) and the scope of practice when deciding which tasks to delegate. The unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) can assist clients out of bed or to the bathroom, assist with activities of daily living, and position clients. The RN is responsible for assessing the client and adhering to the nursing process. (Option A) Debridement of a wound involves removing debris or dead tissue to convert contaminated wounds into clean wounds so that normal healing can take place. Dressing (eg, collagenase) changes for debridement require sterile technique; UAP can change dressings only for chronic wounds using clean technique. (Option C) The UAP can elevate the head of the bed when a client receives enteral nutrition to prevent aspiration. However, feeding through a gastrostomy tube cannot be delegated to the UAP as it requires assessment of tube placement and aspiration of gastric residual volume. (Option D) Offering orange juice is an intervention for treating hypoglycemia that is outside the UAP's scope of practice. The UAP should report the blood glucose level to the RN so that the RN can first reassess the client for accompanying symptoms of hypoglycemia; these would require RN assessment and interpretation before intervention. Educational objective: The registered nurse may delegate components of care but not parts of the nursing process itself (eg, assessment, planning, evaluation, nursing judgment).

The Registered Nurse Is Caring for Multiple Clients on a Medical-Surgical