Delegation is the key for head nurses and future leaders in order to guarantee productive outcomes. The use of delegation in nursing management can solve many issues including nurse shortages. Aim: This study aimed to assess head nurses' preparedness regarding delegation and its relation to their competency at Abu Kabir Central Hospital. Design: A descriptive design was utilized in this study. Setting: This study was conducted at Abu Kabir Central Hospital affiliated to ministry of health. Sample: A convenient sample was utilized with 70 head nurses was used in the present study. Tools of data collection: A self-administered questionnaire was used in this study. The questionnaire divided into two parts: Head Nurses' preparedness to delegate questionnaire and head nurses' competency to delegation questionnaire. Results: Indicated that (74.3%) of the studied Head nurses had Satisfactory level for preparedness to delegation, while (67.1%) of the studied Head nurses had Satisfactory level of competency to delegation. Conclusion: There was statistically significant and positive correlation between Head nurses' preparedness to delegation and competency. Recommendations: Head Nurses require approach to education specially designed to improve knowledge and expertise in the preparation of delegation, so leadership and management should include delegation as essential factor of Head Nurse's ongoing education deeds. Conducting a study about factors affecting head nurses’ competences.

Preparedness, Delegation, Competency, Head Nurses