Educational Interventions to Enhance Delegation Practices Among Nursing Students and Newly Graduated Nurses: A Scoping Review

Aim: To scope international evidence on educational interventions to support delegation practices of nursing students and newly graduated nurses. Design: A scoping review was undertaken following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, reported using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis scoping reviews extension (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. Methods: CINAHL, ProQuest, Medline (Ovid), Scopus, EMBASE, Open grey and grey literature, from January 2014 to September 2024 were searched. Studies in English, empirical, evaluative, and available in full text were included. Results: Eighteen studies were included in this review. Nine papers were evaluative. Fourteen of the papers were American. Educational interventions included role-play, case scenarios and peer learning. Three studies defined delegation, with four aligned to a delegation framework. Three studies were in clinical settings. Conclusion: This review highlighted heterogeneity in educational interventions to support delegation practices. Gaps in the evidence base were highlighted, limited interventions in the clinical setting, absence of evidence underpinning educational effectiveness and minimal long-term follow up. Implications for the Profession: Students and new graduate nurses were able to demonstrate learning after an intervention, highlighting the benefit of case studies, peer learning and simulation. However, the long-term impact is unknown. Interventions need to support theory to practice transition. Professional standards, roles, responsibilities and scope of practice need to be incorporated, and educational interventions should occur more than once to support meaningful and ongoing learning. Impact: This scoping review highlighted variation in delegation educational interventions for nursing students and new graduate nurses, with limited interventions in the clinical setting. Knowledge acquisition regarding roles and responsibilities was not always evident within interventions. Given the evolving context of healthcare practice, interventions aligned to professional standards necessitate supporting the acquisition of knowledge regarding roles, responsibilities and scope of practice of healthcare workers registered nurses delegate too. Patient or Public Contribution: No Patient or Public Contribution.