Time management

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NHS Lothian

Prioritisation

What is the most important?
What is time sensitive?
What is critical?
What to do first and next?

Ask yourself these questions

What will I do first and why?
What is most important to do and why?
What could happen if I don’t do it now?
What is most important to the patient/s?
How are your colleagues, what is their workload at the moment?
Have you communicated with them recently?
Is there anything you can delegate?

Delegation

Delegation is defined as the transfer of authority to a competent, named individual(s), to perform a specific task in a specified situation (NMC 2018).

It is the process by which a person (the delegator) allocates clinical or non-clinical tasks and duties to a competent person (the delegate). The delegator remains accountable for the overall management of care and is accountable for the decision to delegate. All Wales Guidelines for Delegation (2020).

When thinking about delegating a task/activity you should take into consideration the 5 rights of delegation, these should be in conjunction with accountability and responsibility from both the delegator and delegate.