By Lara Pickford-Gordon Tuesday, May 13 2008

While Trinidad and Tobago has a chronic shortage of registered nurses, an attorney yesterday suggested that nurses can refuse to delegate duties to subordinate staff if “tasks cannot be safely delegated.”

Presenting the topic “Delegation and the Nurse/Effective Supervision” at the TT Registered Nurses Association International Nurses Day Symposium at Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s, Lennox Marcelle reminded nurses they had to be careful delegating work because they retained responsibility and accountability for “the total nursing process” and the outcomes which occur.

“Somebody may say nurses need to be flexible but nurses need to be careful because in the modern world you will not escape punishment if you should make a mistake,” he said.

After delegating duties, the nurse can be held liable and face penalties from the Nursing Council or through court action.

Putting the issue in the context with shortages of equipment and personnel, Marcelle said, “As much as you are helping out, kill someone’s child or mother, everybody will forget you were helping out.”

He said nurses should document everything and notify their employer and the Nursing Council about the refusal.

Marcelle said he was not telling nurses to keep refusing to work but they should “take in front” and “cover” themselves by advising the authorities about shortcomings they faced while trying to perform their duties. He said nurses should not wait until a crisis developed.

Marcelle said his statement may be controversial in the context of healthcare in TT, where conditions were not ideal but priorities must be established. Marcelle said a dispute mechanism should be established by the council or employer to deal with cases where nurses provided a rationale for not delegating or performing specific tasks.