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Running Head: Delegations and Lessons 1
Running Head: Delegations and Lessons 1
admitted that it was not my fault. After talking with the doctor, the nurse administered the
antibiotic intramuscularly and then sent the patient home. Although the situation was easily
adjusted, the slight miscommunication resulted in the patient receiving an additional poke that
could have been avoided. Fortunately, this was the only inconvenience to the patient and no
serious harm or damage was done.
When assessing this situation using the five rights of delegation, at least one of these
rights was not carefully observed. The nurse did delegate the right task; the removal of an IV is
an appropriate task for me. She did use the right circumstance; the patient was stable and the task
was not complex. The nurse did delegate to the right person; I am more than capable of removing
IVs. The error lies in the right communication. Although a verbal communication of this
delegation is appropriate, the information that was exchanged was incorrect. The problem does
not lie in the amount of information given, but rather in the accuracy of the information.
Assessing the use of the right supervision is a little more complex. This task did not necessarily
require direct supervision by the nurse, but it would have prevented the error. All in all, the
miscommunication led to the intervention being implemented on the incorrect patient.
In order to prevent this issue from occurring in the future, I now double check the
patients orders in the computer for myself before completing an intervention. This is something
that would have prevented the error. As the delegator, it may have been appropriate to use the
patients name rather than the room number, which may have been less likely to be confused. It
also may have helped to make sure that the task being delegated was given full attention during
communication in order to decrease confusion or mistakes.
Overall, following the five rights of delegation is important when assigning tasks to
colleagues. I have learned to take responsibility into my own hands and to assure that I am
providing the right interventions to the appropriate patients, at the correct time. I have also
learned to speak up for myself when I feel that one or more of the five rights are not being
followed, when I am delegated a task. Delegation is key to a high functioning team, but
appropriate and accurate delegation is what leads to excellent patient care.
References