Understanding Assignment in Client Care
Assigned and Delegated Tasks: How These May Differ in Different Settings?
Assignment: Allocation of clients or client care activities among care providers in order to meet client care needs. Assignment occurs when the required care falls within the employing agency’s policies and role descriptions and within the regulated health care provider’s scope of practice. Assignment to unregulated care providers occurs when the required care falls within the employing agency’s policies and role description.
The picture at the right shows an HCA demonstrating deep breathing and coughing, which would be an assigned task.
Responsibilities of the HCA and the Healthcare Professional in Delegated Tasks.
Delegation: Sharing authority with other health care providers to provide a particular aspect of care. Delegation among regulated care providers occurs when an activity is within the scope of one profession and outside the scope of the other profession (includes both the right to order a restricted activity and carrying out the restricted activity).
Delegation to unregulated care providers occurs when the required task is outside the role description and training of the unregulated care provider. (Examples-administering eye drops, applying a RX cream, assisting with medications). The unregulated care provider’s supervisor is responsible and accountable for providing ongoing supervision to assess the unregulated care provider’s ability to perform tasks within the role description. Unregulated care providers are accountable to their supervisor for the satisfactory performance of these tasks.
Delegation is client-specific, meaning that the unregulated care provider must not perform the delegated task with another client unless it is also delegated to the unregulated care provider by a registered nurse.
Reference: https://evolve.elsevier.com/