Delegation to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel: Spiking IV Fluids

An opinion was requested on the delegation “…to the certified nursing assistant the performance of spiking plain intravenous (IV) fluids for the purpose of setting up a room to receive a patient from surgery, etc.  The RN staff  member would be attaching the fluids to the patient upon arrival to the unit.”

As a guideline to nurses, the Board has issued an advisory opinion statement (AOS #15) entitled Roles of Nurses in the Supervision and Delegation of Nursing Acts to Unlicensed  Personnel, and promulgated Kentucky Administrative Regulation 201 KAR 20:400 that governs the delegation of nursing tasks.  Following review of this question, and the statutes and administrative regulations governing nursing practice, it was the advisory opinion of the Board that a nurse should not delegate the spiking of IV fluids to a certified nursing assistant.