UNIT two: STRATEGIES for PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
VII.
COLLABORATION/DELEGA
TION
A. DEFINED
COLLABORATION DEFINED
 Collaboration is defined as two or more people who work
together to solve a common problem and share responsibility
for the process and the outcome
CHARACTERISTICS OF
COLLABORATION
• By combining efforts and sharing professional assets,
information can be pooled to design a comprehensive plan
for the client
• It is essential that each discipline understand and appreciate
each other’s role so that expectations of each other are not
based on stereotyped beliefs
• It means developing a relationship with each other and with
the client
FURTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF
COLLABORATION
 It requires nurses, physicians, and clients to communicate
effectively with each other
 It requires nurses, physicians and clients to view each other
as coming from different perspectives, but having an
important joint influence on client care.
 It requires promoting a sense of mutual respect
COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN NURSES AND PHYSICIANS
• As nurses increase education the knowledge gap decreases
between nurses and physicians, making the nurse-physician
relationship more collegial
• Dependent nursing functions are being replaced by
protocols that can be implemented based on nursing
decisions
• Relationships are more interdependent: nurses and
physicians collaborate with research, case management
DELEGATION DEFINED
• Delegation is defined by the American Nurses Association
as the transfer of responsibility for the performance of a task
from one individual to another while retaining accountability
for the outcome
Responsibility
Authority
DELEGATION
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OUTCOME
RESPONSIBILITY
 Involves reliability, dependability, and the obligation to
accomplish work when an assignment is accepted
 Includes each person’s obligation to perform at an acceptable
level (the level to which the person has been educated)
AUTHORITY
 Occurs when a person who has been given the right to
delegate based on the state nurse practice act and has the
official power from an agency to delegate
LEVELS OF AUTHORITY
LEVEL
AUTHORITY
ONE
Delegate to collect data to simply find out the facts or assess the situation and
report back
TWO
Delegate to collect data and make a recommendation back to the RN
THREE
Delegate to assess the situation, make a recommendation, report back, and then
implement the final RN recommendation
FOUR
Delegate to carry out the task, as he or she believes appropriate
ACCOUNTABILITY
 DEFINED as being responsible and answerable for the
actions or inactions of self or others in the context of
delegation
WHAT IS THE LICENSED NURSE
ACCOUNTABLE FOR?
 NCSBN indicates the licensed nurse is accountable for:
 The quality of nursing care provided
 For recognizing limits, knowledge, and experience
 For planning for situations beyond the nurse’s expertise
 For monitoring changes in a patient’s status
 For noting and implementing treatment for human responses to
illness
 For assisting in the prevention of complications
 For assessing the patient, making a nursing diagnosis, for developing,
implementing and evaluating the patient’s plan of care
 Monitoring more stable patients cared for by LPN and NAP