Clinical meaning
The Registered Nurse holds authority to delegate tasks to RPNs/LPNs and unregulated care providers while retaining accountability for patient outcomes. Delegation is guided by the Five Rights: right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction, and right supervision. The charge nurse assigns patients to RNs and RPNs based on acuity, complexity, and required scope of practice. Nursing judgment, initial assessments, care planning, and evaluation cannot be delegated. Understanding delegation frameworks accounts for 15-25% of licensing exam questions.
Exam relevance
Risk factors: - Delegating nursing judgment or clinical decision-making to unlicensed personnel - Assigning unstable patients to providers with insufficient scope - Failing to provide clear direction and expected outcomes when delegating - Inadequate supervision of delegated tasks - Not following the chain of command when refusing an unsafe assignment
Diagnostics: not specified.