👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-08-23🏷️ Management of Care🔖 Free to read, print, and share
Also known as: delegation · assigning tasks · who can do what · RN LPN UAP delegation
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent Delegation Principles on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
📌 Rule
5 rights: task, circumstance, person
RN: assess, teach, evaluate, plan
Never delegate the unstable pt
📌 Lpn
Stable pts, meds (most), wound care
No IV push, no first dose
📌 Uap
ADLs, vitals, I&O, ambulate
Stable, predictable, routine only
📌 Avoid
Don't delegate evaluation of teaching
📚 Delegation Principles — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what must be reported, and what to teach.
Delegation is transferring responsibility for a task to a competent person while the RN retains accountability for the outcome. The RN cannot delegate the nursing process steps that require clinical judgment: assessment, analysis, planning, evaluation, and teaching. Safe delegation follows the Five Rights (right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction/communication, right supervision) and matches stable, predictable, routine tasks to the appropriate licensed or unlicensed staff.
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Key points
Understand these first
The RN never delegates assessment, evaluation, nursing judgment, the initial teaching, or care of an unstable/unpredictable patient.
LPN/LVNs can perform many stable tasks: administering most medications, routine dressing changes, tube feedings, and monitoring stable patients, but not IV push in many states, blood administration, or initial assessment.
UAP/assistive personnel handle stable ADLs and basic data collection: bathing, feeding, ambulating, vital signs, intake/output, and positioning.
Tasks delegated to UAP must be standardized, predictable, and have a known outcome with no need for nursing judgment.
The Five Rights of Delegation are right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction/communication, and right supervision.
Accountability for the outcome stays with the delegating RN even after the task is delegated.
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Nursing priorities
What to do, in order
Assess patient stability and complexity first; keep unstable, newly admitted, or unpredictable patients and any first-time teaching for the RN.
Match the task to the scope and competency of the person (RN, LPN/LVN, or UAP).
Give clear, specific directions including what to do, expected outcomes, limits, and when to report back.
Supervise, follow up, and verify the task was completed correctly and the patient's outcome.
Evaluate the patient's response; the RN retains accountability regardless of who performed the task.
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Red flags — report now
Escalate immediately
Never delegate assessment, evaluation, teaching, or care of an unstable/unpredictable patient to an LPN or UAP.
Do not delegate a task that exceeds the delegatee's legal scope of practice or documented competency.
If a delegatee reports an abnormal finding or change, the RN must reassess; the UAP cannot interpret findings.
The RN cannot transfer accountability by delegating; an unsafe delegation that harms a patient is the RN's responsibility.
❓ Delegation Principles: NCLEX FAQs
What are the priority nursing interventions for Delegation Principles?
Assess patient stability and complexity first; keep unstable, newly admitted, or unpredictable patients and any first-time teaching for the RN. Match the task to the scope and competency of the person (RN, LPN/LVN, or UAP). Give clear, specific directions including what to do, expected outcomes, limits, and when to report back. Supervise, follow up, and verify the task was completed correctly and the patient's outcome.
What are the warning signs of Delegation Principles a nurse must report?
Never delegate assessment, evaluation, teaching, or care of an unstable/unpredictable patient to an LPN or UAP. Do not delegate a task that exceeds the delegatee's legal scope of practice or documented competency. If a delegatee reports an abnormal finding or change, the RN must reassess; the UAP cannot interpret findings. The RN cannot transfer accountability by delegating; an unsafe delegation that harms a patient is the RN's responsibility.
What do I need to know about Delegation Principles for the NCLEX?
The RN never delegates assessment, evaluation, nursing judgment, the initial teaching, or care of an unstable/unpredictable patient. LPN/LVNs can perform many stable tasks: administering most medications, routine dressing changes, tube feedings, and monitoring stable patients, but not IV push in many states, blood administration, or initial assessment. UAP/assistive personnel handle stable ADLs and basic data collection: bathing, feeding, ambulating, vital signs, intake/output, and positioning. Tasks delegated to UAP must be standardized, predictable, and have a known outcome with no need for nursing judgment.
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Quick Tip
The RN never delegates assessment, evaluation, nursing judgment, the initial teaching, or care of an unstable/unpredictable patient.