[§457-7.5]  Delegation.  (a)  A registered nurse may delegate nursing care tasks, functions, and activities to unlicensed assistive personnel in a manner that is appropriate to the level of knowledge and skill of the unlicensed assistive personnel; provided that the delegation of tasks, functions, and activities complies with applicable federal and state laws; and provided further that the practice-pervasive functions of assessment, evaluation, and nursing judgment shall not be delegated.

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 457-7.5

  • NCSBN: means the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 457-2
  • Nurse: means a person licensed under this chapter or a person who holds a license under the laws of another state or territory of the United States that is equivalent to a license under this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 457-2

     (b)  The delegating nurse is responsible for individually assessing the patient and the situational circumstances and for ascertaining the competence of the delegatee before delegating any task, function, or activity.  The delegating nurse shall supervise, monitor, evaluate, and follow-up on instructions to a delegatee after delegating any task, function, or activity.  The delegatee shall assume liability for accepting the delegation and for the delegatee’s own actions in carrying out the delegated task, function, or activity.

     (c)  When delegating a task, function, or activity, a delegating nurse shall use the NCSBN delegation decision-making process as a model for decision-making.  The delegating nurse shall consider and carefully analyze:

     (1)  Patient needs and circumstances;

     (2)  Qualifications of the proposed delegatee;

     (3)  The nature of the delegating nurse’s delegation authority set forth in this chapter;

     (4)  The delegating nurse’s personal competence in the area of nursing relevant to the task, function, or activity to be delegated; and

     (5)  The protocols contained in NCSBN documents, including but not limited to:  Five Rights of Delegation, Delegation-Decision Making Tree, and The Continuum of Care Framework.