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Difficulty: EasyAssignment, Delegation and Supervision

A registered nurse (RN) on a medical-surgical unit is planning care for a client who is two days postoperative following an appendectomy. The client's condition is stable. Which of the following tasks is most appropriate for the RN to delegate to an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)?

  1. Obtaining the client's routine morning vital signsAnswer
  2. B
    Assessing the client's surgical incision for signs of redness or drainage
  3. C
    Providing the client with discharge instructions regarding home wound care
  4. D
    Evaluating the effectiveness of the client's oral pain medication

Answer

Obtaining the client's routine morning vital signs.
Delegating the collection of routine vital signs on a stable client is within the scope of practice for an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). The RN retains the responsibility to analyze these vital signs, but the task of gathering the data is appropriate to delegate.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the client's condition.
The client is two days postoperative and stable.
Delegation decisions depend on the stability and acuity of the client.
2
Review the scope of practice for a UAP.
UAPs can perform routine, non-invasive tasks such as taking vital signs on stable clients.
Ensures tasks are delegated to personnel with the appropriate training and legal authority.
3
Evaluate the options against nursing delegation principles.
Assessment, teaching, and evaluation (EAT) are RN-only responsibilities. Only obtaining vital signs is a delegable task.
National guidelines prohibit delegating clinical judgment to unlicensed personnel.

Key Concept

Delegation of routine care to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Assignment, Delegation and Supervision

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