A nurse is delegating care for a group of four clients. Which of the following tasks should the nurse delegate to an assistive personnel (AP)?

Delegation in nursing requires assigning tasks based on the legal scope of practice, matching client stability with the specific skill level of assistive personnel. Unlicensed staff are restricted to non-invasive, routine tasks that require zero independent clinical judgment or complex interpretation. Activities involving medication administration, complex sterile wound care, or clinical education remain the sole legal responsibility of licensed nurses. A. Administer oral PRN pain medication to a client who has arthritis: Medication administration requires comprehensive assessment of pain scores, evaluation of potential side effects, and post-intervention efficacy reviews. These critical components demand advanced clinical judgment and pharmacological knowledge. Assistive staff lack the legal licensure to distribute prescription substances. B. Obtain a daily weight on a client who has heart failure: Measuring body mass using a standardized scale is a highly prescriptive, non-invasive procedural task requiring no clinical interpretation during execution. It provides essential objective data that the nurse subsequently analyzes to evaluate fluid retention. It represents an appropriate task for unlicensed personnel. C. Reinforce teaching the use of an incentive spirometer to a postoperative client: Providing or reinforcing clinical education involves assessing patient understanding, correcting technique, and evaluating respiratory compliance. These interventions form part of the nursing care plan and require professional communication. Educational reinforcement cannot be assigned to non-licensed staff. D. Irrigation and perform a dressing change for a client who has a pressure injury wound: Managing deep tissue injuries involves sterile technique, anatomical assessment of wound beds, and monitoring for signs of systemic infection. These technical steps require professional evaluation of tissue viability and healing progress. Invasive wound care requires licensed nursing expertise.