Unlicensed Assistive Personnel role of the Registered Nurse. What does your State Board of Nursing say about Unlicensed Assistive Personnel and their role, and the role of the Registered Nurse?
Describe the responsibilities of the Registered Nurse when delegating patient care tasks.
How does the ICU environment differ from a general medical-surgical unit as far as assigned responsibilities for Unlicensed Assistive Personnel?
The professional registered nurse is the primary nursing care giver and is critical to achieving the most optimal outcomes for women and newborns. AWHONN recognizes that unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) also known as nursing assistive personnel (NAP) can contribute as members of the healthcare team under the direction of the professional registered nurse, who is ultimately responsible for the coordination and delivery of nursing care to women and newborns.
When UAPs/NAPs participate in direct care, the professional registered nurse is the primary nursing care giver and is critical to achieving the most optimal outcomes for women and newborns. When UAPs/NAPs participate in direct care, parameters for educating and supervising these nursing support personnel must be in place. Parameters should include:
Defining UAPs/NAPs as unlicensed personnel who are not professional registered nurses but who are accountable to and work under the direct supervision of a professional registered nurse to implement specifically delegated patient care activities
Evaluation of an individual state’s/province’s current nurse practice act to ensure that UAP/NAP job descriptions and delegated activities are consistent with established rules and regulations•
Written job descriptions that clearly delineate duties, responsibilities, qualifications, skills, and supervision of UAPs/NAPs
UAPs/NAPs be readily identifiable by the patient as non-licensed•
Competence-based performance expectations and systems for ongoing performance appraisals•
Orientation and education of UAPs/NAPs, including didactic content as needed and appropriate for the clinical setting, knowledge evaluation, and clinical skills verification consistent with performance expectations and role responsibilities•
Clearly defined written parameters to ensure that all UAPs/NAPs are supervised directly by and responsible to professional registered nurses•
Monitoring and evaluation of UAPs/NAPs adherence to patient care guidelines and effect on patient outcomes