Introduction/Background
Delegation is a process in the field of medicine that involves a nurse directing another individual to perform a nursing task. The process of delegation involves two individuals: a delegator who is a licensed nurse and a delegatee who may be an assistive personnel (Potter et al., 2010). The delegator must ensure that the delegatee is competent and supervised enough to perform a nursing task effectively. In addition, the delegator is always responsible and accountable for the overall outcomes of the delegated nursing tasks.
Role of the Nurse
The role of the nurse in such a situation is that he/she should have performed the task himself/herself or delegated the administration of pain medication to another licensed charge nurse who is authorized or competent to perform nursing tasks that comply with the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) and the standards of nursing practice. The charge nurse should also consider the condition of the patient before administering or delegating the task of administering pain medication to some other charge nurse, the availability of resources, the complexity of the task, and regulations as well as organizational policies before making a delegation decision.
Ethical Dilemma in the Present Scenario
In the present case, the ethical issue that may arise in the nursing delegation is the potential harm to the patient’s health, safety, and overall well-being. The nursing assistant is not supposed to administer pain medication because it is a complex and critical nursing task that requires effective assessment, evaluation, and documentation of the process. It is not a simple routine task that can be delegated to a nurse assistant who does not have enough knowledge, skill, and authority to perform it. Delegating such a task can pose serious harm to the patient’s health, safety, and overall well-being thus violating the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) and the code of ethics for nurses. Therefore, the charge nurse is acting unethically, unprofessionally, and irresponsibly while compromising the quality of care and the risk to the patient’s health.
Purpose of the Paper
The main purpose of the paper is to analyze the ethical dilemma of delegating a nursing assistant to administer pain medication to a patient using critical thinking and ethical reasoning skills.
References
Potter, P., Deshields, T., & Kuhrik, M. (2010). Delegation practices between registered nurses and nursing assistive personnel. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(2), 157–165.
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