Q. What is my accountability and what should I consider if I am supervising or providing guidance and direction to assistive care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic?
A. As needs in the health system increase, employers may rely on assistive care providers to help care for clients. Individuals hired into these roles may have varying backgrounds in health care and employers may have current employees in similar or different roles temporarily work in this capacity. They may also have their existing assistive personnel perform new or additional tasks.
As a nurse, use your professional nursing judgment to make decisions in the best interest of clients when supervising or providing guidance and direction to assistive care providers during the pandemic. You are accountable for the client’s care plan. This means that you are responsible to set the direction, assign the care or tasks and follow up to make sure they are completed. Consider the needs of the client, the capacity of the care provider, the context, circumstances and available resources as you do this work.
Consider the following if you are working with assistive care providers with varying health care background:
- Determine how much direction and support is needed. Ask the care provider questions about their experience in this role to help you assess their capacity. Direction and support may vary between care providers and over time.
- Assign care or tasks based on the needs of the client and the care provider’s capacity.
- Provide instruction and guidance about the specific care or tasks that the care provider will be required to perform as needed.
- Set clear parameters for the care provider’s care or tasks (e.g., ‘do not remove any dressings or bandages when you are bathing a client’) and expectations, especially around communication (e.g., ‘please stop what you are doing and inform me or another nurse immediately if the client feels warm or feverish to you’).
- Depending on the circumstances and situation of the pandemic, you may be required to document the care delivered by the care provider. If this is the case, use the provider’s first initial and last name in your note (e.g., ‘Personal care provided by M. Smith’).
- Follow your employer’s policies.
