The nurse is responsible and accountable for individual nursing
practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks
consistent with the nurse’s obligation to provide optimum patient care
4.1 Acceptance of accountability and responsibility
4.2 Accountability for nursing judgment and action
4.3 Responsibility for nursing judgment and action
4.4 Delegation of nursing activities
4.1 Acceptance of accountability and responsibility
Individual registered nurses bear primary responsibility for the nursing care
that their patients receive and are individually accountable for their own practice.
Nursing practice includes direct care activities, acts of delegation, and other
responsibilities such as teaching, research, and administration. In each instance,
the nurse retains accountability and responsibility for the quality of practice and
for conformity with standards of care.
Nurses are faced with decisions in the context of the increased complexity and
changing patterns in the delivery of health care. As the scope of nursing practice
changes, the nurse must exercise judgment in accepting responsibilities, seeking consultation,
and assigning activities to others who carry out nursing care. For example,
some advanced practice nurses have the authority to issue prescription and treatment
orders to be carried out by other nurses. These acts are not acts of delegation. Both
the advanced practice nurse issuing the order and the nurse accepting the order are
responsible for the judgments made and accountable for the actions taken.
top
4.2 Accountability for nursing judgment and action
Accountability means to be answerable to oneself and others for one’s own actions.
In order to be accountable, nurses act under a code of ethical conduct that is
grounded in the moral principles of fidelity and respect for the dignity, worth, and
self-determination of patients. Nurses are accountable for judgments made and
actions taken in the course of nursing practice, irrespective of healthcare organizations’
policies or providers’ directives.
top
4.3 Responsibility for nursing judgment and action
Responsibility refers to the specific accountability or liability associated with the
performance of duties of a particular role. Nurses accept or reject specific role
demands based upon their education, knowledge, competence, and extent of experience.
Nurses in administration, education, and research also have obligations
to the recipients of nursing care. Although nurses in administration, education,
and research have relationships with patients that are less direct, in assuming the
responsibilities of a particular role, they share responsibility for the care provided by those whom they supervise and instruct. The nurse must not engage in practices
prohibited by law or delegate activities to others that are prohibited by the
practice acts of other healthcare providers.
Individual nurses are responsible for assessing their own competence. When
the needs of the patient are beyond the qualifications and competencies of the
nurse, consultation and collaboration must be sought from qualified nurses, other
health professionals, or other appropriate sources. Educational resources should
be sought by nurses and provided by institutions to maintain and advance the
competence of nurses. Nurse educators act in collaboration with their students to
assess the learning needs of the student, the effectiveness of the teaching program,
the identification and utilization of appropriate resources, and the support needed
for the learning process.
top
4.4 Delegation of nursing activities
Since the nurse is accountable for the quality of nursing care given to patients,
nurses are accountable for the assignment of nursing responsibilities to other nurses
and the delegation of nursing care activities to other healthcare workers. While
delegation and assignment are used here in a generic moral sense, it is understood
that individual states may have a particular legal definition of these terms.
The nurse must make reasonable efforts to assess individual competence
when assigning selected components of nursing care to other healthcare workers.
This assessment involves evaluating the knowledge, skills, and experience of
the individual to whom the care is assigned, the complexity of the assigned tasks,
and the health status of the patient. The nurse is also responsible for monitoring
the activities of these individuals and evaluating the quality of the care provided.
Nurses may not delegate responsibilities such as assessment and evaluation; they
may delegate tasks. The nurse must not knowingly assign or delegate to any member
of the nursing team a task for which that person is not prepared or qualified.
Employer policies or directives do not relieve the nurse of responsibility for making
judgments about the delegation and assignment of nursing care tasks.
Nurses functioning in management or administrative roles have a particular
responsibility to provide an environment that supports and facilitates appropriate
assignment and delegation. This includes providing appropriate orientation to staff,
assisting less experienced nurses in developing necessary skills and competencies, and
establishing policies and procedures that protect both the patient and nurse from the
inappropriate assignment or delegation of nursing responsibilities, activities, or tasks.
Nurses functioning in educator or preceptor roles may have less direct relationships with patients. However, through assignment of nursing care activities
to learners they share responsibility and accountability for the care provided. It
is imperative that the knowledge and skills of the learner be sufficient to provide
the assigned nursing care and that appropriate supervision be provided to protect
both the patient and the learner.
top
« Provision 3 | Provision 5 »