A nurse is assigned five patients on a medical surgery floor. There are two LPNs and one nursing assistant also working the shift. Which of the following interventions are appropriate to delegate to the supportive nursing staff? Select all that apply.
A. auscultating breath sounds on a 70-year-old client with emphysema
B. changing bed linens on a 44-year-old client while he is in radiology for an MRI
C. assisting a 83-year-old client with history of unstable gait to the restroom
D. administering Lovenox (Enoxaparin) to a 56-year-old recovering from a stroke
E. taking vital signs on a 65-year-old client whose blood pressure was last 80/46

Nurses frequently delegate tasks to ensure proper care of their patients. The key to proper delegation is to consider the five “rights”: right task, right person, right circumstance, right communication, and right supervision. These remind the nurse to only delegate activities for stable patients to staff that are properly trained to perform them. In the delegation tasks above, a nurse must not delegate assessment or administration of medications, as these are tasks outside of the LPNs’ and medical assistant’s scopes of practice. The client with the low blood pressure would be considered unstable and should be assessed directly by the nurse. Assisting the client with unsteady gait to the restroom and changing bed linens are appropriate actions to delegate to the assistive staff.