A nurse is caring for a client who was admitted for treatment of a wound. Which of the following tasks should the nurse delegate to an assistive personnel?

Rationale:
A. A client with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) receiving continuous IV insulin requires critical care knowledge and frequent titration of insulin and electrolytes, which a labor and delivery (L&D) float nurse may not be familiar with. This patient is high acuity and should not be assigned to a float nurse unfamiliar with ICU-type care.

B. A client who is 1 hour postoperative following a hysterectomy is a stable post-surgical patient with routine post-operative needs, such as monitoring vital signs, assessing the surgical site, managing pain, and assisting with mobility. This level of care is within the competence of an L&D nurse who has experience with post-surgical and postpartum care, making it the safest assignment.

C. A client with new-onset chest pain and continuous cardiac monitoring requires immediate assessment and advanced cardiac care. This is high acuity and could require rapid interventions, making it unsafe for a float nurse unfamiliar with cardiac care.

D. A client who has just returned from surgery following a tracheostomy placement requires airway management skills, suctioning, and monitoring for respiratory complications, which are beyond the routine experience of an L&D float nurse. This assignment would be unsafe.

Rationale:

A. Do not place a copy of the incident report in the client’s medical record. The incident report is a risk management tool and is separate from the client’s chart. The medical record should document factual information about the event and the client’s response, but not the report itself.

B. Obtaining an order from the provider to complete the report is unnecessary. Completing an incident report is a nursing responsibility and does not require provider authorization.

C. Include the time the medication error occurred. Accurate documentation of when the error happened is critical for understanding the sequence of events and for investigation by risk management.

D. Identify the medication name and dosage administered. Specific details about the drug, dose, route, and circumstances of the error are essential components of the incident report to allow proper review and prevention of future errors.

E. Do not make a personal copy of the incident report. Incident reports are confidential legal documents. Personal copies could create liability issues and are not part of standard practice.