What you have been practising
Answer a moment and the technique you used — or the trap you walked into — is named here.
Empathy is unlimited; the meal plan is not. The single most common nursing error on an eating disorder unit is negotiating at the table. The plan is decided with the team before the meal, so that nothing has to be argued during it.
Delegation at the table
Ten tasks on a behavioural unit at lunchtime. Which may go to assistive personnel, and which stay with the registered nurse?
Then tell them exactly what to report to you immediately
Delegation transfers the task, never the accountability. Name the triggers out loud at the start of the shift:
- Any heart rate below the ordered threshold
- Syncope or near-syncope, including on standing
- Observed or suspected vomiting, in or out of the bathroom
- Refusal of the meal or of the supplement
- Any statement about self-harm or about wanting to die