NCLEX Question of the Day – Friday, June 12, 2026

Today’s NCLEX question focuses on Leadership, specifically safe delegation and supervision. This skill matters in real nursing because the charge or primary nurse often has to decide not just what needs to be done, but who should do it. Good delegation protects patients, uses the team well, and helps the nurse keep attention on the clients who need clinical judgment most.

Clinical Scenario

You are the RN on a busy medical-surgical unit during the day shift. You are caring for four clients and working with one licensed practical nurse (LPN) and one unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP).

Your clients are:

• A 68-year-old client admitted last night with community-acquired pneumonia who is receiving IV antibiotics and now reports new confusion and restlessness. Oxygen saturation has dropped from 95% to 89% on 2 L nasal cannula.
• A 54-year-old client 2 days after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy who needs discharge teaching about wound care, activity limits, and when to call the surgeon.
• A 73-year-old client with heart failure who has a prescription for routine morning oral medications and a scheduled dry weight.
• A 47-year-old client with stable type 2 diabetes who needs a pre-lunch finger-stick glucose check and tray setup.

The UAP has completed morning vital signs on the stable clients. The LPN has worked on the unit for 3 years and is competent with routine medication administration and reinforced teaching.

The Question

Which task is most appropriate for the RN to delegate to the LPN at this time?

Answer Choices

1. Assess the client with pneumonia who has new confusion and a lower oxygen saturation
2. Provide discharge teaching to the post-op client going home today
3. Administer the routine oral morning medications to the client with heart failure
4. Evaluate the diabetic client’s response to the pre-lunch glucose result after tray setup

Correct Answer

C. Administer the routine oral morning medications to the client with heart failure

Detailed Rationale

This question is testing whether you can separate stable, predictable tasks from tasks that require initial assessment, teaching, or evaluation. The LPN is generally appropriate for clients with expected findings and routine care. The RN keeps responsibility for unstable clients and any situation that calls for nursing judgment.

The client with heart failure is stable and needs routine oral medications plus a scheduled daily weight. Routine medication administration for a stable client fits the LPN role in most settings. This task is predictable, follows an established plan of care, and does not require the RN’s first-line clinical judgment in the same way the other options do.

Even when delegating this task, the RN still remains accountable for supervision. That means the RN should make sure the LPN knows the client’s current status, which medications are due, and what findings to report right away. For example, if the client becomes dizzy, has a low blood pressure before antihypertensives, or gains weight unexpectedly, the LPN should notify the RN promptly.

At the same time, the RN should prioritize the client with pneumonia. New confusion, restlessness, and a drop in oxygen saturation are red flags for worsening hypoxia or sepsis. That client needs prompt RN assessment. The RN should assess airway, breathing, lung sounds, work of breathing, mental status, and response to oxygen. The RN may need to raise the head of the bed, verify oxygen placement, increase support per orders or protocol, and notify the provider or rapid response team depending on severity.

The RN also needs to keep teaching and evaluation tasks. Discharge teaching is not just reading instructions. It requires assessing readiness to learn, identifying gaps, tailoring instructions, and confirming understanding. Evaluation of a client’s response to a blood glucose result also requires interpretation and nursing judgment, especially if the result is abnormal or the client’s intake changes.

The safest delegation choice is the one that matches the LPN’s scope and keeps the RN free to assess and manage the unstable client first. That is why option C is the best answer.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

A. Assess the client with pneumonia who has new confusion and a lower oxygen saturation

This is not appropriate to delegate to the LPN because it requires an initial assessment of an acute change. New confusion plus hypoxia can signal rapid deterioration. The RN must assess first, identify priorities, and decide what action is needed.

B. Provide discharge teaching to the post-op client going home today

Initial discharge teaching belongs to the RN. Teaching requires the nurse to judge what the client understands, what barriers exist, and whether the client can safely manage care at home. An LPN may reinforce teaching after the RN has already completed it, but should not perform the full initial discharge teaching in this situation.

D. Evaluate the diabetic client’s response to the pre-lunch glucose result after tray setup

Evaluation is an RN function. It involves interpreting the blood glucose result, comparing it with the client’s usual pattern, reviewing symptoms, and deciding whether follow-up is needed. A UAP may obtain the finger-stick in some settings, but the RN is responsible for evaluating what the result means for care.

Key Takeaways

• Delegate stable, routine, predictable tasks to the LPN.
• Keep unstable clients, new assessments, initial teaching, and evaluation with the RN.
• Watch for words like new, change, confusion, and drop in oxygen saturation. These usually point to RN priority.
• Delegation does not remove RN accountability. The RN must still supervise and follow up.

What you’d do on shift:

• See the unstable pneumonia client first and perform a focused respiratory and mental status assessment.
• Delegate routine oral medications for the stable heart failure client to the LPN.
• Ask the UAP to assist with nonjudgmental support tasks such as tray setup and obtaining routine weights if allowed by policy.
• Return to complete discharge teaching yourself and evaluate learning before the post-op client leaves.

Quick Practice Extension

Try these follow-up questions to apply the same idea:

1. A UAP reports that a stable post-stroke client now has trouble holding a spoon with the unaffected hand. What should the RN do first?
2. Which task could the RN delegate to the UAP for a client admitted with gastrointestinal bleeding who is now stable: obtaining orthostatic vital signs, assessing stool color, teaching fall precautions, or assisting with hygiene?

When NCLEX asks about delegation, do not focus only on who is “allowed” to do a task. Focus on the client’s stability, whether the findings are expected, and whether the task needs assessment, teaching, or evaluation. That approach will help you choose the safest answer under pressure and in real practice.

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