TY - JOUR
T1 - Delegation in long-term care
T2 - Scope of practice or job description?
AU - Corazzini, Kirsten N.
AU - Anderson, Ruth A.
AU - Rapp, Carla Gene
AU - Mueller, Christine
AU - McConnell, Eleanor S.
AU - Lekan, Deborah
PY - 2010/5/1
Y1 - 2010/5/1
N2 - This article presents a qualitative, descriptive study of how registered nurses (RNs) (N=33) in leadership roles in institutional, long-term care settings delegate care. Findings from this study include both the strategies and processes these nurses used for delegating care and also their perceptions of barriers to effective delegation and potential benefits of delegation. Nurses reported two key approaches to delegation, including the “follow the job description†approach, which emphasized adherence to facility-level roles and job descriptions, and the “consider the scope of practice†approach, which emphasized consideration of multiple aspects of scope of practice and licensure along with the context of care. While the former approach resulted in more clarity and certainty for the RN, the latter facilitated a focus on quality of resident-care outcomes as linked to the delegation process. Perceived barriers to effective delegation were comparable among RNs using either approach to delegation, and almost all RNs could describe benefits of delegation for long-term care. Future directions regarding delegation in long-term care settings are disclosed.
AB - This article presents a qualitative, descriptive study of how registered nurses (RNs) (N=33) in leadership roles in institutional, long-term care settings delegate care. Findings from this study include both the strategies and processes these nurses used for delegating care and also their perceptions of barriers to effective delegation and potential benefits of delegation. Nurses reported two key approaches to delegation, including the “follow the job description†approach, which emphasized adherence to facility-level roles and job descriptions, and the “consider the scope of practice†approach, which emphasized consideration of multiple aspects of scope of practice and licensure along with the context of care. While the former approach resulted in more clarity and certainty for the RN, the latter facilitated a focus on quality of resident-care outcomes as linked to the delegation process. Perceived barriers to effective delegation were comparable among RNs using either approach to delegation, and almost all RNs could describe benefits of delegation for long-term care. Future directions regarding delegation in long-term care settings are disclosed.
KW - Delegation
KW - Licensed practical nurses
KW - Long-term care
KW - Nurse practice acts
KW - Nursing assistants
KW - Nursing homes
KW - Professional nursing practice
KW - Qualitative research
KW - Quality of care
KW - Registered nurses
KW - Scope of practice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77957991370&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77957991370&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No02ManO4
DO - 10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No02ManO4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77957991370
VL - 15
JO - Online Journal of Issues in Nursing
JF - Online Journal of Issues in Nursing
SN - 1091-3734
IS - 2
ER -