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Leadership and Management for Nurses, 3e (Finkelman)
Chapter 15 Delegation for Effective Outcomes
1) Which issues should the nurse manager consider related to delegation? Select all that apply.
1. Delegation is a simple task assignment.
2. The manager retains accountability for the project.
3. Someone else will have the responsibility and authority to do the task.
4. The employee has the appropriate authority to act alone.
5. The manager must supervise every portion of the task.
2) The nursing student has developed a poster presentation regarding delegation. Which
statement, made by this student, would be evaluated as correct?
1. There is a sharing of authority between the person delegating the work and the person who
accepts the delegation.
2. The nurse retains accountability for nursing work assigned to others.
3. Employers decide which work the nurse can delegate and should document this list in the
nurse's job description.
4. The nurse who delegates work should dictate exactly how the work should be accomplished.
3) The nurse determines that one of the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) working with her
patients does not follow safety precautions when ambulating patients. What should the nurse
consider before acting on this knowledge? Select all that apply.
1. The tasks performed by UAPs must conform to hospital policy and procedure.
2. The nurse must act as a patient advocate.
3. The nurse should follow the UAP job description as written by the hospital's administration.
4. If the nurse's supervisor tells the nurse to delegate this task to the UAP, the nurse is still
accountable for errors made by the UAP.
5. The nurse is accountable only for the work personally performed.
4) Select the option that best illustrates a situation in which the person has responsibility.
1. The nursing assistant made an error while measuring vital signs.
2. The manager made an assignment and then influences the work done.
3. The team leader is deciding whether to delegate a task to a UAP.
4. The nurse has started intravenous lines several times and offers to do so for a less experienced
5) Select the option that best illustrates a situation in which the person has accountability.
1. The nurse made a medication error.
2. The nurse has more time for other activities.
3. The nurse manager assigns a team leader a new nurse in orientation.
4. The nurse practitioner prescribes medication to a patient prior to discharge.
6) What action should be taken by the nurse who is preparing to delegate a task?
1. Assess the documentation that will need to be completed regarding the task.
2. Review of all the patients' charts on the team.
3. Review the complexity and skill required to perform the task.
4. Ask the patient if having someone other than the nurse provide care is acceptable.
7) Which activities are appropriate for the nurse to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel
(UAP)? Select all that apply.
1. Diabetic diet teaching
2. Postoperative wound care
3. Sterile dressing change
4. Routine vital signs
5. Hygienic care
8) The nurse finds it necessary to monitor the progress of a task delegated to a UAP. What
intervention is appropriate in this situation?
1. Tell the UAP, "I am not certain you can do this task."
2. Intervene only if it becomes absolutely necessary.
3. Plan to choose a more senior UAP for the task next time.
4. Plan to delegate only to those who are well experienced with the task next time.
9) The nurse is planning care for a group of patients and is deciding upon which activities to
delegate to an experienced UAP. Which activities should the nurse plan to do, rather than
delegate to the UAP? Select all that apply.
1. Helping the patient get up in the chair at bedside.
2. Feeding a patient who had a cerebral vascular accident 3 years ago.
3. Monitoring an intravenous line for infiltration.
4. Monitoring vital signs on a newly admitted patient who is diagnosed with myocardial
infarction.
5. Deciding to use an as needed order to administer an over-the-counter medication for a patient
complaint of a headache.
10) Which option reflects a barrier to effective delegation by the nurse?
1. Trying to do everything for the patients
2. Trying to empower staff
3. Providing feedback to staff
4. Little need to delegate
11) One of the patients on a nurse's team has become very ill and is requiring more of the nurse's
time than was anticipated. The nurse must delegate some patient care activities in order to have
time to care for this critically ill patient. Which activity can this nurse only delegate to another
nurse?
1. Assessment of a newly admitted patient.
2. Checking the blood pressure of a patient who had blood pressure elevation yesterday.
3. Helping a patient with a shower.
4. Delivering a specimen to the lab.
12) Which activity illustrates the nurse manager's effective supervision of an assignment?
1. The manager communicates the assignment to the staff.
2. The nurse understands the UAP's scope of practice.
3. The nurse manager visits the patients on the team.
4. The nurse is told to care for a team of patients.
13) Select the options that illustrate guidelines for consistency in effective delegation. Select all
that apply.
1. Be fair about unpleasant activities.
2. Give only indirect care tasks.
3. Indicate priorities.
4. Be sure directions are clear.
5. Be positive about assignments.
14) Which option reflects a key legal issue related to delegation?
1. Laws regarding nursing and delegation are very specific in each state's Nurse Practice Act.
2. The nursing board of each state regulates nursing practice, including issues of delegation.
3. Nurses are protected by their job descriptions and what it says about delegation.
4. Safe nursing practice regarding delegation is governed by the hospital board of practice.
