Transparent teamwork: The practice of supervision and delegation within the multi-tiered nursing team

Supervision and delegation are important leadership skills that nurses require when practising within the multi-tiered nursing team. In response to increasing demands globally on healthcare systems, Nursing Assistants are becoming more prevalent members of the nursing workforce in the acute care setting. An exploratory descriptive research design was used to examine supervision and delegation of Nursing Assistants in an acute hospital setting in Victoria, Australia. It was found that supervision and delegation in the context of a multi-tier nursing team required a complex assessment and decision-making process which was influenced by multiple factors. This research promotes developing transparent nursing practices and mutual understanding in the multi-tier nursing team to facilitate effective supervision and delegation based on informed decision-making and culture of openness and trust. Pre-registration education and continuing education and support for nurses are important to build transparent supervision and delegation practices and teamwork, empowering the nursing team to practice to their full scope of practice to provide high-quality patient care.