Editing Management of Care (section)

== High-Yield Summary ==

* Accountability for a delegated task always stays with the delegating nurse.
* Never delegate '''assessment, teaching, evaluation, or judgment''', and never delegate an '''unstable''' patient.
* Assistive personnel do standard, unvarying tasks on stable patients and report data; they do not interpret it.
* The LPN collects data, reinforces teaching, and cares for stable patients with predictable outcomes.
* Prioritize by ABC, then unstable over stable, then acute over chronic, then actual over potential, then Maslow.
* Assess before intervening, except in an immediate life threat with an obvious fix.
* In a disaster, the goal shifts to the greatest good for the greatest number.
* The provider obtains informed consent; the nurse witnesses the signature and verifies understanding, and stops the process if the patient is confused.
* A DNR order limits resuscitation only; all other indicated care continues.
* An advance directive applies only after the patient loses capacity, and the competent patient's current wish always governs.
* Malpractice requires duty, breach, causation, and damages, all four.
* Restraints require a time-limited order, are never PRN, are tied to the movable bed frame with a quick-release knot, and are the least restrictive option that works.
* Do not chart in the medical record that an incident report was filed.
* Never carry out an order believed to be unsafe; clarify, then escalate through the chain of command.