In the HESI PDA section, which task requires a professional nurse assessment rather than delegation?

• A. Routine vital signs check
• B. Initial comprehensive head-to-toe assessment and education outcomes
• C. Administer routine meds
• D. Reorganize patient chart

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is understanding which tasks require a nurse’s professional assessment and which can be delegated. The task that truly needs the nurse’s judgment is performing an initial comprehensive head-to-toe assessment and determining education outcomes. This goes beyond ticking boxes; it involves gathering data from multiple body systems, establishing a baseline, recognizing actual or potential problems, prioritizing needs, and shaping an education plan tailored to the patient. All of that requires clinical reasoning, synthesis of information, and planning that only a licensed nurse should do, so it cannot be delegated.

Routine vital signs are standard data collection and can be handled by trained personnel under supervision. Reorganizing the patient chart is administrative work and can be done by support staff. Administering routine medications is a regulated nursing task, often performed under specific protocols by licensed personnel, but it does not involve initiating or adjusting care based on a comprehensive assessment. By contrast, the initial head-to-toe assessment with education planning is the one task that hinges on professional nursing assessment and decision-making.