Delegation for New Nurses

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Who You’ll Hear

Kati Kleber, MSN RN – Nurse educator, former cardiac med-surg/stepdown and neurocritical care nurse, author, and speaker.

Elizabeth Mills, BSN RN CCRN – highly experienced neurocritical care nurse, current Stroke Navigator for a Primary Stroke Center

Looking to prepare for your first nursing job?

The FreshRN® New Nurse Master Class is the first-ever self-guided holistic nurse residency program. This comprehensive program was specifically created for the ambitious newly licensed acute care nurses who want to get ahead of them and build both their confidence and their clinical skills - all while learning how to adjust to the unique lifestyle of a nurse.

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What You’ll Learn

• Observe
• Building Rapport
• Communication

Tip: Try to work as a CNA while in school if possible!

Remember

• The difference between assertiveness and rudeness
• Some CNA’s get bossed around by nurses who do not appreciate them – and that really sucks
• Nursing is a TEAM sport

Observe

• How communication flows on the unit
• How do nurses speak when delegating, how do CNA’s respond?
• Who do you want to emulate? Who do you NOT want to emulate?
• How do you believe the nurses who delegate well got to that point?

Build rapport

• Putting in time to get to know CNA is so incredibly important
• Not only do you need to develop trust in them, they need to develop trust in you
• We must build trust. We must establish a relationship. This is how you not only get people to work with you, you get people to work well with you.

Value the expertise and time of the CNA

• Don’t just dump tasks on people, be considerate of other’s time
• Even if you’re an RN, you’re not above a giving a bath or doing a task they technically can do
• They have their own expertise
• They have their own time management
  • Larger amount of patients, but not as in-depth
  • Working with and balancing multiple nurses
• Be respectful of their time
  • If the patient has to go to the bathroom and you’re in the room, take them. Don’t leave the room to find the CNA to walk the patient to the bathroom (unless you have something you really have to do is waiting)
• Express gratitude for helpful CNA’s
  • An observant, helpful, time-conscious CNA is worth their weight in gold
• When delegating, you must ensure the task is completed appropriately, as you still retain some responsibility

Communication

• Don’t just say room numbers, say patient names and room numbers
• Follow up on delegated tasks; it is your responsibility
• If your level of urgency changes, communicate that – not everyone can sense your new-found level of urgency
• Make friends with your CNA’s, but don’t cross the line where when you’re delegating, they think of it like a favor or an option not to complete the necessary tasks

More resources

• Nursing Delegation – FreshRN Blog
• Delegation Tips for Nurses – FreshRN Blog
• Anatomy of a Super Nurse: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming Nursey See chapter 6
• Developing Delegation Skills – American Nurses Association