Nurse delegation — what it is and when you need it

Certain nursing tasks (like insulin injection or blood glucose testing) may only be done by an HCA when an RN has currently delegated that task to YOU for THAT specific client — informal training or 'the nurse showed me once' is not delegation.

1. 1You must first complete DSHS Nurse Delegation Core training (and the Diabetes module for insulin).
2. 2An RN must assess the client and formally delegate the specific task, to you specifically, for that client.
3. 3Delegation is task-, client-, and person-specific and must be current — it expires and must be renewed by the RN.
4. 4If any of those pieces is missing, do not perform the task. Tell your supervisor and the delegating nurse.

Performing a nursing task without current delegation puts the client at risk and can cost you your credential. When asked to do something like this, the safe answer is: 'I need to check my delegation before I can do that.'