The model of nursing care
I observed the team model of nursing in an intensive care unit in a certain hospital. The majority of patients in this unite were facing life-threatening conditions, and thus they needed constant supervision from the nurses and other technical staff members. Care providers in this unit were working in small teams of each responsible for about six or seven patients. The team members were taking instructions from the charge nurse. This leader appeared to know a lot about the patients and the appropriate plans of care. Therefore, she would assign duties to the other nurses and aides in the teams. I also noted that after nurses were assigned duties by the charge nurse, they would delegate some activities to patient care technicians within a specific scope of practice.
The charge nurse would also receive instructions from physicians concerning any form of changes that needed to be effected for improved care for different patients. Such information would be passed immediately to all other involved care providers. The bottom line of operations within this unit was teamwork spirit and collaboration. Every person worked towards ensuring that patients receive quality care by attending to their needs at the appropriate time for convenience and improved outcomes. Finkelman (2016) argues that teamwork plays an important role in the nursing practice to reduce disease morbidity and mortality, ensure better care outcomes, and increase patient satisfaction. The team model of nursing is patient-centered, and thus decisions are made with the patients’ interests and needs in mind.
Scholarly resource related to the nursing care model
Introduction of a Team-based Care Model in a General Medical Unit
Hastings, Suter, Bloom, and Sharma (2016) note that the team-based care model is gaining popularity across different care facilities due to the need to adapt to the changing patient needs and demographics. Rising costs of care and the necessity of providing quality care are some of the issues forcing organizations to look for solutions. According to these authors, this model of nursing allows providers to make staffing changes to address specific issues for improved care delivery (Hastings et al., 2016). For instance, in the hospital where the authors carried out their study, different new care processes were introduced to form a working team of professionals. A registered nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) would assess patients within the shortest time possible after arrival to the facility. After admission, RNs would collaborate with each other at the patients’ bedside, especially during shifts handover for a seamless transition to ensure safety. Additionally, physicians, nurses, and other care providers would make rapid rounds in wards to assess and discuss patient care plans. The study showed that the introduction of a team-based care model in this hospital yielded positive results including improved patient outcomes and satisfaction. Therefore, the team model of nursing is an important approach towards the provision of patient-centered care.
Scholarly resource related to a different nursing care model
Assessing the Application of the Synergy Model in Hematology to Improve Care Delivery and the Work Environment
According to the authors of this article, the Synergy Model for Patient Care seeks to promote patient outcomes by assigning nurses to areas where they are qualified and highly competent (Georgiou, Amenudzie, Ho, & O’Sullivan, 2018). The American Association of Critical Nurses (AACN) created this model to address some of the problems that were being experienced between nurses and critically injured patients. The key aspect of this framework is the linking of patients’ characteristics with nurse competencies for optimal care outcomes. In this case, nurses work to reduce the trajectory of the disease using their expertise in specific areas. In essence, this model is designed to help “healthcare providers prioritize patient care, identify workloads associated with caseloads, provide a systematic approach to rounds and case conferences, train and orientate new staff, make treatment planning decisions, and make real-time care delivery and staffing assignments based on synergy scores” (Georgiou et al., 2018). As such, the goals of this model are geared toward improved patient outcomes, satisfaction, and job retention for nurses.
How the different nursing care model could be implemented
The Synergy Model for Patient Care ensures that patients receive the best available care regardless of the underlying circumstances. Matching patients’ characteristics with nurses’ competencies creates an environment whereby time is saved and resources utilized to the optimal level with improved results. Implementing this model requires creating a system that identifies a patient’s characteristics across the continuum of health and illness. These findings would guide in determining the essential nurse competencies that in synergy with the existing patient needs for optimal care outcomes. Therefore, the selected competent nurse would be required to collaborate with other staff members to recruit resources, develop, integrate, apply, measure, and evaluate different strategies to address all the established needs for a specific patient. Additionally, such nurses should be prepared to respond to patients from diverse populations. Bringing together all these aspects would culminate in improved quality of nursing care, patient safety, and staff satisfaction.
Lessons learned about the two nursing care models discussed
The Team Model of nursing is one of the many frameworks used in the nursing practice for improved care provision. This model requires nurses, physicians, and other staff members to work together as a team towards the realization of the set objectives. The Synergy Model for Patient Care seeks to achieve the same goals but using a different approach. In this case, nurses’ competencies are matched with patients’ characteristics for the achievement of optimal care outcomes. From this assignment, I have learned that the two models could be integrated and used in the same facility. For instance, nurses working under the Synergy Model have to collaborate with other staff members, which is the underlying concept of the Team Model.
References
Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Georgiou, G., Amenudzie, Y., Ho, E., & O’Sullivan, E. (2018). Assessing the application of the Synergy Model in hematology to improve care delivery and the work environment. Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal, 28(1), 13-16. Web.
Hastings, S. E., Suter, E., Bloom, J., & Sharma, K. (2016). Introduction of a team-based care model in a general medical unit. BMC Health Services Research, 16, 245-257. Web.