How pre-registration nursing students acquire delegation skills: A systematic literature review

To discover what is known about how nursing students acquire delegation skills.

A systematic search was conducted utilising databases: CINAHL, AMED, MedLine, PsycINFO, Web of Science, PsychArticles, PubMed Central and Science Direct. The objectives were to: conduct a systematic literature review of the available literature on how nursing students acquire delegation skills; to identify factors that promote synthesis of delegation skills into clinical practice and understand how students learn these skills; and to identify any gaps in the literature.

Fifteen papers, which use a range of methodologies, were included in the review. The author identified that acquiring delegation skills is an ongoing process and cannot be fully learnt during a single intervention. Furthermore that there are multiple factors that may promote the acquisition of this skill. These include simulation, clinical practice and theoretical curriculum. Delegation links to other skills such as critical thinking, decision making, prioritisation and communication.

Delegation should not be considered in isolation to these underpinning skills. Furthermore, it is evident that delegation is an often-misunderstood concept and something that newly qualified nurses feel unprepared for. It is therefore vital that preregistration nursing education (as well as other pre- and post-qualification training) incorporate the development of this essential skill.