Nursing Care Delivery Model
One of the main tasks of nursing teams’ leaders is to provide consistently high-quality patient care. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to adhere to a specific work strategy so that the level of medical services delivery could be sufficiently high. As a nursing concept that may be relevant in this case, a team model can be introduced that involves the division of employees into separate groups for the allocation of duties and control over individual units. Such an approach to care delivery may be effective and useful if the process of its implementation in practice meets proper conditions and principles.
It is not enough to divide a team into groups and entrust its participants with the implementation of specific tasks. As Reiss-Brennan et al. (2016) note, the strategy of the team-based model may be “organized around the primary care physician and monitored by the operations manager” (p. 827). It means that responsible employees should monitor the implementation of care delivery in a specific medical setting and adjust the work process without distracting personnel. Each member of the staff is to receive appropriate job descriptions and be aware of the degree of individual responsibility.
According to Reiss-Brennan et al. (2016), the contribution of employees can be significant if assigned tasks are carried out competently. It is not necessary to recruit a large staff if group members are not able to implement the provisions of a care plan correctly. Therefore, in a team nursing environment, responsible persons are to be appointed to monitor the work of colleagues and make competent recommendations. In this case, the quality of care for each patient will be high, and the management will be able to count on successful work outcomes.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Model
The selected team nursing model of care has a number of distinctive features and, in particular, advantages. At the same time, as in any concept, some nuances exist that may affect the work process adversely. When considering the benefits of such a model, it can be noted that “the team works collaboratively with shared responsibility” (King, Long, & Lisy, 2015, p. 130). This feature allows the management to allocate the load on the staff evenly.
Another advantage is employees’ increased attention to each individual patient. As King et al. (2015) remark, nurses are in close contact with those who need help, and comprehensive care is carried out, which has a positive effect on both the physical and emotional state of wards. Finally, this model contributes to the convenience of performance control. If responsible persons monitor the care process in each group, it is easier for the management to draw up a work plan and not be distracted by additional difficulties. Therefore, all these advantages explain the relevance of this model in nursing practice.
However, some disadvantages can also be mentioned when evaluating the concept. For instance, according to Deravin, Francis, Nielsen, and Anderson (2017), some stress outcomes may occur while implementing the model into practice due to increased requirements for nurses’ responsibilities. Also, the risk of conflicts among colleagues increases since many tasks are to be solved jointly, and the personal opinions of individual team members may not coincide.
Another potential disadvantage is the limited list of responsibilities, which hampers the natural process of nurses’ education in the process of work. However, despite these shortcomings, the nursing care model in question is a valuable mechanism if it is implemented correctly.
References
Deravin, L., Francis, K., Nielsen, S., & Anderson, J. (2017). Nursing stress and satisfaction outcomes resulting from implementing a team nursing model of care in a rural setting. Journal of Hospital Administration, 6(1), 60-66. Web.
King, A., Long, L., & Lisy, K. (2015). Effectiveness of team nursing compared with total patient care on staff wellbeing when organizing nursing work in acute care wards: A systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 13(11), 128-168. Web.
Reiss-Brennan, B., Brunisholz, K. D., Dredge, C., Briot, P., Grazier, K., Wilcox, A.,… James, B. (2016). Association of integrated team-based care with health care quality, utilization, and cost. JAMA, 316(8), 826-834. Web.