Nurses can’t always be around. That’s why it’s so important for caregivers to be able to take on daily responsibilities involving the well-being of their patients. In order to meet these needs, many caregivers choose to go the extra mile by training to complete nurse-delegated healthcare tasks in addition to their typical responsibilities.
Nurse delegation helps save a nurse time and allows the client to receive daily care from one person. If you are already a home care aide (HCA) or certified nursing assistant (CNA), you may find that new career opportunities open up after training for nurse delegation.
What is Nurse Delegation?
Nurse Delegation is a program under Washington State law which allows a caregiver to complete tasks that would otherwise be handled by a nurse. A Registered Nurse Delegator (RND) must delegate each client care task to the caregiver.
Nurse delegation generally occurs in community settings where certified caregivers perform daily care-related tasks for clients. These settings could include adult family homes, assisted living facilities, residential programs for people with developmental disabilities, or a client’s home.
Caregivers who are already certified as a Home Care Aide (HCA-C) or CNA can complete training and an exam to receive a nurse delegation certificate. After obtaining this certificate, a caregiver can perform nurse delegation tasks.
Sunrise offers core and diabetes nurse delegation training for caregivers on a self-study basis.
What Types of Tasks Can be Delegated?
Most daily care tasks fall under the scope of nurse delegation. A Registered Nurse Delegator (RND) can delegate the administration of most medications, non-sterile dressing changes, ostomy care, urinary catheterization, blood glucose monitoring, and gastrostomy feedings to a caregiver.
What Tasks Cannot Be Delegated?
There are some tasks that a registered nurse (RN) cannot delegate to a caregiver. Tasks that are not eligible for nurse delegation include central line maintenance, sterile procedures, medication administration by injection (with the exception of insulin injections), and any task which requires nursing judgment.
What is the difference between Nurse Delegation and Nurse Delegation Diabetes Focus?
The Nurse Delegation core course covers the basics of nurse delegation. This includes how the delegation process works, which tasks must be delegated by an RN, and other general knowledge required to complete nurse delegated tasks.
Sunrises’ Nurse Delegation Diabetes Focus course builds upon the principles learned in the Nurse Delegation Core training. This course focuses on giving insulin and delves into the specifics surrounding diabetes.
Am I Eligible to Train for Nurse Delegation Certification?
Most students will need to be either Home Care Aide Certified (HCA-C) or a CNA. Feel free to ask our friendly office staff with any further questions on this matter.
Once I get delegated on a task by the RN, is that good for every future client I have that needs this task?
No. The Nurse Delegator will need to delegate you specifically to each client and to each task.
Where Can I Take Nurse Delegation Classes?
Sunrise offers both the Nurse Delegation and Nurse Delegation Diabetes trainings as convenient self-study courses, which works perfectly for busy schedules. There is one workbook for each topic, which you would read and use to fill out exercises.
After taking the classes, you will need to pass a written exam for each topic to receive the certificate(s). We offer nurse delegation testing in both our Everett and Mt. Vernon locations. Testing is currently offered every other Friday at 9 am, and test dates show on our monthly calendars.
Do I Have to Enroll in Both Nurse Delegation & Nurse Delegation Diabetes at Once?
No. Students can certainly take both the nurse delegation core and nurse delegation diabetes focus at one time, but they don’t have to. They may also choose to do the Nurse Delegation core training first and later come back to enroll in Nurse Delegation Diabetes training.
How do I Enroll for the Nurse Delegation Caregiver Training?
Simply enroll in person or over the phone for your self-study course by paying for the course and selecting your test date. Join 20+ other students this month to learn nurse delegation skills through Sunrise.
You can reach us at 425-212-4210 for Everett or 360-755-3801 for Mt. Vernon. We look forward to helping you with your training!
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