What additional information would be important for the RN to know when making daily patient care assignments? Why is this information pertinent to the RN?
QUESTION
What additional information would be important for the RN to know when making daily patient care assignments? Why is this information pertinent to the RN?
Choose at least two leadership concepts that are important to embrace when working with other healthcare providers. How do these concepts impact interprofessional collaboration?
Identify two tasks that can be assigned to a licensed practical nurse, and two tasks that can be assigned to unlicensed assistive personnel. What is the nurse’s responsibility in assigning these tasks?
ANSWER
Optimizing Patient Care Assignments and Enhancing Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare Settings
Introduction
Daily patient care assignments are a crucial aspect of a registered nurse’s (RN) role in healthcare settings. To ensure efficient and effective care delivery, the RN must consider various factors when making these assignments. Additionally, embracing leadership concepts and understanding the scope of practice for different healthcare providers plays a vital role in promoting interprofessional collaboration. This essay discusses the additional information important for RNs when making patient care assignments, explores two essential leadership concepts for working with healthcare providers, and identifies tasks suitable for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and unlicensed assistive personnel (UAPs).
Additional Information for Daily Patient Care Assignments
When making patient care assignments, the RN should consider the following information to optimize care delivery
Patient Condition and Acuity: Understanding the severity of a patient’s condition and their level of acuity is crucial in determining appropriate care assignments. Patients requiring intensive interventions or close monitoring may require assignment to experienced or specialized nurses (Clarke, 2008).
Staff Competencies and Skills: Assessing the competencies and skills of healthcare providers is essential to match their abilities with patient needs. This helps ensure that tasks are assigned to individuals who are qualified to perform them safely and effectively.
Continuity of Care: Considering the continuity of care is important, especially when patients are admitted for an extended period. Assigning the same nurse to a patient whenever possible promotes familiarity, trust, and continuity, which can enhance patient outcomes.
Nurse-to-Patient Ratio: Understanding the nurse-to-patient ratio is crucial for workload distribution. Striving for a balanced ratio allows nurses to provide adequate attention, respond promptly to emergencies, and prevent burnout, ultimately improving patient care.
Leadership Concepts for Interprofessional Collaboration
Interprofessional collaboration is vital in healthcare settings to ensure comprehensive and patient-centered care. Two important leadership concepts that foster collaboration among healthcare providers are:
Effective Communication: Effective communication is the cornerstone of collaboration. It involves active listening, clear and concise expression of ideas, and respectful dialogue (O’Daniel, 2008). By fostering open communication channels, healthcare providers can exchange information, clarify expectations, and address concerns, leading to improved collaboration and patient outcomes.
Shared Decision-Making: Shared decision-making involves involving all relevant healthcare providers in the decision-making process (Elwyn et al., 2012). It encourages the contribution of diverse perspectives and expertise, leading to better-informed decisions and increased ownership of outcomes. By embracing shared decision-making, healthcare providers can foster collaboration, build trust, and enhance patient care.
Assigning Tasks to LPNs and UAPs
Assigning tasks to LPNs and UAPs is a common practice to optimize nursing resources. The nurse’s responsibility in assigning these tasks includes:
LPN Tasks: LPNs have a broader scope of practice compared to UAPs and can perform tasks such as medication administration, wound care, and data collection. The nurse must ensure that LPNs are adequately trained and competent to perform these tasks safely. Regular communication and supervision are crucial to maintain quality care and ensure compliance with established protocols.
UAP Tasks: UAPs, such as nursing assistants or patient care technicians, have a more limited scope of practice and can assist with activities of daily living, vital signs monitoring, and basic patient care (Elwyn et al., 2012). It is the nurse’s responsibility to assign appropriate tasks to UAPs based on their training and competence level. Supervision, clear instructions, and ongoing evaluation are necessary to maintain patient safety and quality of care.
Conclusion
Making patient care assignments requires RNs to consider various factors, including patient condition, staff competencies, continuity of care, and nurse-to-patient ratios. Additionally, embracing leadership concepts like effective communication and shared decision-making promotes interprofessional collaboration, leading to enhanced patient care outcomes.
References
Clarke, S. P. (2008, April 1). Nurse Staffing and Patient Care Quality and Safety. Patient Safety and Quality – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2676/
Elwyn, G., Frosch, D. L., Thomson, R., Joseph-Williams, N., Lloyd, A., Kinnersley, P. R., Cording, E., Tomson, D., Dodd, C. M., Rollnick, S., Edwards, A., & Barry, M. J. (2012). Shared Decision Making: A Model for Clinical Practice. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 27(10), 1361–1367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-012-2077-6
O’Daniel, M. (2008, April 1). Professional Communication and Team Collaboration. Patient Safety and Quality – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2637/

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