Delegation

• Basic personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming)

• Vital signs monitoring

• Assisting with mobility

• Feeding assistance (non-complex diets)

• Basic specimen collection (non-invasive, like urine samples)

• Simple wound care (changing non-sterile dressings under supervision)

• Environmental care (making beds, cleaning equipment)

• Data reporting (observations, patient complaints, or changes to the nurse)

Tasks Delegable to UAPs:

• Assessments and nursing judgments

• Administering medications or IV therapy

• Wound care requiring sterile technique or assessment

• Any task involving complex decision-making

• Patient education or counseling

• Care for unstable or complex patients

• Tasks requiring evaluation of patient response

• Invasive procedures

• Developing or modifying care plans

Tasks NOT Delegable to UAPs:

• Provide care for stable patients with predictable outcomes

• Administer medications

• Perform basic assessments and report changes

• Assist with wound care, including sterile dressing changes

• Collect specimens and perform routine lab tests

• Implement (NOT create) nursing care plans as directed

• Monitor patient responses to treatments

• Provide basic patient education under supervision

Tasks an RN Can Delegate to an LVN:

• Assessments needing RN judgment, intervention, referral, or follow-up

• Creating nursing care plans

• Assigning tasks and evaluating client responses

• Responsibility for health teaching

• Dose calculation

• Medications via non-permanent tubes

• Receiving/requesting verbal or phone orders for Med admin

• Administering initial medication doses

Tasks RNs Cannot Delegate to LVNs:

No

Can a LVN delegate a task to a UAP in Texas?