Communication Breakdown And Effective Nursing Delegation Principles (Essay Sample)

Topic: Communication Breakdown and Effective Nursing Delegation Principles Name Institutional Affiliation While on night duty I had a misunderstanding with a colleague. A patient missed to get an injection that was administered after every 8 hours. Routinely when shift occurs written and oral instructions are handed over. My colleague briefed me on various conditions of patients admitted clearly. We took a random check to establish the accuracy of the handover notes. I was satisfied and went ahead with my duties. The following day my supervisor came along for routine check up. A patient was asked if he had received his injection of which he objected. I was summoned and bitterly accused of negligence. It was embarrassing when I asked my colleague who had handed over to me firmly insisted that she had instructed me. We engaged in a bitter altercation. It was the worst communication breakdown I have ever faced. Communication style we engaged in was very aggressive. It was an ugly verbal exchange. Differences in values was the determining factor. My colleague was overly arrogant and did not want to own up. It was a case of superiority complex. Definitely it was an action through the irrational ego. Efforts were put into place to resolve such misunderstanding that can threaten the working environment and too be precarious to patients. The measure that was put into place was to write customized notes to specific patients and any other information that is deemed necessary. Loopholes for speculation and misunderstanding were sealed permanently. Its very effective and successful no such case has popped up again. Delegation is vital in management of time and overall productivity of the whole health institution. For any nursing delegation to be effective the nurse must determine in her mind clearly how can delegation be done, when can it be done, where it should be done and last but paramount who should be delegated to, does it need a trained and licensed person or any support staff can handle the issue. Effective nursing delegation entails shifting responsibilities from one nurse to another nurse but still remaining accountable to the outcome. In this example all the delegation principles were put into consideration a follows:- Delegation time was appropriate. All required diagnosis on the patient were conducted, recommendations and prescription made. Patients condition is given a priority, a clear dichotomy was established between nursing and non nursing responsibilities. Appropriate Person for the job was identified. The person who was given the role had all the required skills to handle the condition. Since it was a health conditio...