Sarah Yandell, RN, a staff nurse on the medical-surgical floor of a large hospital, has just finished receiving report from the RN on the previous shift.

Scenario:

Sarah Yandell, RN, a staff nurse on the medical-surgical floor of a large hospital, has just finished receiving report from the RN on the previous shift. As Sarah looks over her assignments for the day, she sees that the nurse manager has scheduled an LPN to float over from the postpartum unit. Sarah is assigned to supervise the LPN and orient her to the unit. Sarah also has a nursing assistant, with whom she has worked closely for longer than 8 months, assigned to work with her. Sarah reviews the tasks that must be accomplished for her seven assigned patients. Three patients are receiving intravenous antibiotics and need laboratory results monitored. A newly diagnosed diabetic patient will be discharged tomorrow and needs blood glucose monitoring as well as patient education about diabetes management. Two postoperative patients need dressing changes and assistance with ambulating. A post-cerebrovascular accident (CVA) patient with stable vital signs was just transferred from the medical intensive care unit and needs a nursing assessment and a care plan. The routine activities of patient assessments, updating care plans, taking vital signs, assisting with each patient’s personal hygiene, giving scheduled and PRN medications, passing meal trays, stocking supply carts, and answering call lights also must be accomplished during the shift. In addition to all of these tasks, Sarah knows that she will have to spend time orienting the LPN to the unit.

Sarah feels comfortable having the nursing assistant take vital signs, do blood glucose monitoring, providing personal hygiene and stocking the supply carts. Sarah, the LPN, and the nursing assistant decide as a group to answer the call lights and pass the meal trays so no one person is responsible for all patients for those duties. Sarah divides the patients between herself and the LPN as follows: The LPN will take care of the 2 post-operative patients and the diabetic patient as he is stable and getting ready for discharge. Sarah will take care of the other 3 patients plus the patient who is post-CVA. Sarah asked the LPN to follow up on her 3 patients’ laboratory results and give the doctors those results during rounds so that Sarah can give the patients their IV medications.

At the end of the shift Sarah, the LPN, and the nursing assistant congratulate themselves on working together as a team and getting all the tasks completed.

Answer the following questions:

1. Identify the correct steps in delegation, including the follow up and responsibilities of all parties involved.

2. How are delegation and supervision in the case study different from, or similar to, standards described in your textbooks Leading and Managing in Nursing (6th ed.) and Contemporary Nursing (6th ed.).

3. Would you delegate differently, or similar to, the delegation in the case study? Elaborate.

4. What harm could, or did, occur to the patient in the case study?

Submission Requirements:

Submit your response to the instructor.

* Citation style: APA

* Length: 2–3 pages

Evaluation Criteria: The short answer rubric will be used to evaluate this assignment. In addition to the rubric, you will be evaluated on the following criteria:

* Did you identify the correct steps in delegation?

* Did you include the follow up and responsibilities of all parties involved?

* Did you compare delegation and supervision in the case study with the standards provided in your textbook?

* Did you explain how you would have delegated similar to, or different from, the case study?

* Did you identify the harm that did or could occur to the patient in the case study?

* Did your response meet the page number requirement?

* Did you submit the paper formatted in APA style?

* Did you use correct grammar and spelling?