What should a nurse do if they find a delegatee is not competent in their current position?

When a nurse discovers that a delegatee is not competent in their current position, the appropriate action is to temporarily lower expectations while addressing the situation. This allows the nurse to safeguard the quality of care being provided to clients by recognizing the limitations of the individual who has been delegated tasks.

By lowering expectations temporarily, the nurse can implement additional support, training, or supervision as necessary to help the delegatee improve their skills and ensure client safety. This approach maintains the integrity of client care while also being considerate of the delegatee's development needs. It emphasizes a constructive response to competency issues rather than punitive or dismissive actions.

Taking on the task themselves or adjusting the quality of client care could undermine the team's functionality and compromise patient safety. Similarly, verbally attacking the delegatee would be unprofessional and counterproductive to fostering a collaborative team environment. Therefore, the most suitable response that balances patient care with the delegation process is to temporarily lower expectations while offering necessary guidance and support for the delegatee to improve.