A nurse’s responsibilities include coordinating patient care, which often necessitates delegating duties, tasks, and responsibilities to others in the health care community. Delegation is a learned skill that needs to be rehearsed and practiced in order to be effectively implemented.

Delegation begins with a primary focus of insuring that patient safety is maintained while delivering cost effective care based upon the skill level of other staff involved. Effective delegation needs to be protective of patients while optimizing outcomes.

As defined by the National Council of State Boards in Nursing (NCSBN), delegation is the transference of authority to perform a selected nursing task in specific situations to a competent individual. This authority needs to be delegated along with the ability to direct others. The purpose is to get a job done in an efficient way, while utilizing appropriate resources.

Nurses are often in a position to be legally liable for not only his/her actions but for the overall direction of patient care, especially on a nursing unit or in a home care environment. Nurses are responsible for including the initiation and follow through of the nursing process. This includes following the state nurse practice act, organizational policies, and ethical models of behavior.

Responsibility is defined in this chapter requiring reliability, dependability, and an obligation to accomplish work. Authority is described as an individual who has been given the right to delegate. This often involves assignment making, which is the process to delegate duties and aspects of care to individuals.

Responsibility of health care team members and delegation suggestions are outlined. The five rights of delegation emphasized are: right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction and communication, and the right supervision and evaluation.