Question

Difficulty: MediumClient Care Assignments and Collaboration

A healthcare team on a medical-surgical unit is dividing responsibilities for the upcoming shift. Connect each specific client care activity to the team member whose role and legal scope of practice best aligns with the duty.

  • Establishing outpatient community resources and home care services for a client approaching discharge.Case Manager
  • Completing the initial comprehensive admission assessment for a client presenting with an acute asthma exacerbation.Registered Nurse (RN)
  • Administering a scheduled oral analgesic to a hemodynamically stable client recovering from an appendectomy.Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse (LPN/VN)
  • Emptying a closed-wound drainage device and documenting the collected volume for a postoperative client.Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP)

Answer

The Case Manager handles discharge resource coordination, the RN performs the initial comprehensive assessment, the LPN/VN administers the scheduled medication, and the UAP empties the drainage device.
Safe delegation requires understanding the legal scope of practice for each team member. The RN handles complex, unstable situations and initial assessments. The LPN/VN manages stable clients with predictable outcomes and administers routine medications. The UAP performs standard, repetitive tasks that do not require nursing judgment, such as emptying drains. Case managers facilitate interdisciplinary coordination and post-discharge needs.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze each clinical task to determine its complexity, stability, and required level of clinical judgment.
Identified the need for advanced assessment, routine medication, standard procedures, and multidisciplinary coordination.
Delegation and assignments must adhere to the legal boundaries defined by the Nurse Practice Act.
2
Match the task requiring the highest level of clinical judgment and initial care planning to the RN.
The initial comprehensive admission assessment is assigned to the RN.
The RN is responsible for initial baseline assessments and formulating the care plan.
3
Identify the task suitable for a licensed practical nurse.
Administering a scheduled oral analgesic to a stable client is assigned to the LPN/VN.
LPN/VNs care for stable clients and perform routine nursing tasks like oral medication administration.
4
Identify standard, unchanging tasks for delegation to assistive personnel.
Emptying the drainage device is assigned to the UAP.
UAPs handle routine hygiene, ambulation, and measuring standard intake and output.
5
Assign the system-level coordination task to the appropriate multidisciplinary team member.
Outpatient resource coordination is matched with the Case Manager.
Case managers specialize in continuum of care and community resource allocation.

Key Concept

Scope of practice and safe delegation principles
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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