NCSBN and ANA issue joint statement
on Nursing Delegation
CHICAGO – The National Council of State Boards of
Nursing (NCSBN) and the American Nurses Association (ANA) have issued a
joint statement on delegation designed to reinforce that delegation is
an essential nursing skill and to support the practicing nurse in using
delegation safely and effectively.
The escalating shortage of nurses, greater acuity of
patient illnesses, technological advances and increased complexity of
therapies contribute to today’s current chaotic and multifaceted health
care environment. The recognition that registered nurses (RNs) need to
work effectively with assistive personnel and the abilities to delegate,
assign, and supervise are critical competencies for the 21 st
century nurse led both NCSBN
and the ANA to separately adopt papers on delegation in 2005. These
delegation papers were conceptually similar thus providing the impetus
for NCSBN and ANA to approach this important topic from both regulatory
and professional practice positions and work toward a joint statement
that distills the best work of both organizations and advances the
common ground between the two.
NCSBN and the ANA recognize the following policy
considerations:
State nurse practice acts
define the legal parameters for nursing practice. Most states
authorize RNs to delegate.
There is a need and a place
for competent, appropriately supervised nursing assistive personnel
in the delivery of affordable, quality health care.
he RN assigns or delegates
tasks based on the needs and condition of the patient, potential for
harm, stability of the patient’s condition, complexity of the task,
predictability of the outcomes, abilities of the staff to whom the
task is delegated, and the context of other patient needs.
All decisions related to delegation and
assignments are based on the fundamental principles of protection of
the health, safety and welfare of the public.
To support nurses in making decisions
related to delegation both organizations have developed resources
designed to make the delegation process easier to understand and
utilize. Two such resources are the "ANA Principles of Delegation" and
NCSBN’s "Decision Tree on Delegation" that reflects the four phases of
the delegation process.
Both NCSBN and the ANA believe that
mastering the skill and art of delegation is a critical step on the
pathway to nursing excellence and, when used appropriately, can result
in safe and effective nursing care. As a nursing shortage of epic
proportions looms, delegation becomes an even more vital tool that can
free the RN to attend to more complex patient care needs; develop the
skills of nursing assistive personnel; and promote cost containment for
health care organizations.
The National Council of State Boards
of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) is a not-for-profit organization whose
membership comprises the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the
District of Columbia and four United States territories. Mission: The
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), composed of Member
Boards, provides leadership to advance regulatory excellence for public
protection.
The American Nurses Association (ANA)
is the only full-service professional organization representing the
nation's 2.9 million registered nurses through its 54 constituent member
nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by
fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of
nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of
nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health
care issues affecting nurses and the public.
The
joint statement on nursing delegation may be found here.
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