Developing a patient care model for an integrated delivery system.

An integrated healthcare delivery system requires a consistent patient care delivery model. The authors describe the process used to define common elements of the patient care model. These elements include the roles of chief nurse executives, first-line managers, staff registered nurses, and unlicensed assistive personnel. In addition, the philosophy of nursing and support functions (staff education and nursing dashboard for quality measurement) in place across the system are discussed.     

Understanding RN and unlicensed assistive personnel working relationships in designing care delivery strategies

How a registered nurse and unlicensed assistive personnel partner together has implications for care delivery and, ultimately, patient outcomes. The authors summarize findings from a study that examined the characteristics of registered nurse and unlicensed assistive personnel working relationships and the care delivery practices that influence those relationships. Strategies are recommended for deploying registered nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel to promote collaboration and to improve patient care delivery.     

Legislative connection: summary on the nursing shortage--March 6, 2002

The panel was very well received and very informative to the legislators. The nursing shortage crisis in Colorado was succinctly identified. No single solution will fix the nursing shortage. Replacement of registered nurses by unlicensed assistive personnel, or using licensed personnel with less education, will add to increased patient safety issues, provide fewer learning experiences for nursing students, and decrease job satisfaction for current nurses. If a practice that decreases quality of care is put into law as a "quick fix," that standard is very difficult to change. Legislators must listen to experienced nurses so that the decisions they make on health policy will positively influence the nursing shortage issues.     

Fever management practices of neuroscience nurses, part II: nurse, patient, and barriers.

Fever is frequently encountered by neuroscience nurses in patients with neurological insults and often results in worsened patient outcomes when compared with similar patients who do not have fever. Best practices in fever management are then essential to optimizing patient outcomes. Yet the topic of best nursing practices for fever management is largely ignored in the clinical and research literature, which can complicate the achievement of best practices. A national survey to gauge fever management practices and decision making by neuroscience nurses was administered to members of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses. Results of the questionnaire portion of the survey were previously published. This report presents a content analysis of the responses of neuroscience nurses to the open-ended-question portion of the survey (n = 106), which revealed a dichotomous primary focus on nursing- or patient-related issues. In addition, respondents described barriers and issues in the provision of fever-management care to neuroscience patients. In order to advance national best practices for fever management in neurologically vulnerable patients, further work needs to be conducted, particularly with regard to necessary continuing education for staff, facilitation of interdisciplinary communication, and development of patient care protocols. Neuroscience nurses are in an excellent position to provide leadership in these areas.     

Evaluation of a partnership model of care delivery involving registered nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel

The employment of unlicensed personnel in Canadian acute care hospitals has been undertaken without clear evidence of outcomes for patients, caregivers, and hospital organizations. This quasi-experimental evaluation study was completed in a metropolitan Toronto acute care hospital to examine the effects of a new nursing care delivery system which included unlicensed assistive personnel. Most of the expected benefits of the newly implemented nursing care delivery system did not materialize leading to the conclusion that the employment of unlicensed assistive personnel in acute care hospital systems may not offer additional benefits for patients, caregivers, or hospital organizations. The processes and results of this study provide useful information for nurse administrators who are seeking effective and innovative care delivery systems that are designed to optimize patient, caregiver, and hospital outcomes.     

Delegating vs. dumping: teach the difference

Ensure that nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel have a strong understanding of each other's roles in the patient care team.     

Frequency of oral care and positioning of patients in critical care: a replication study.

BACKGROUND: Oral care and head-of-bed elevation are interventions to decrease risk of aspiration pneumonia in hospitalized patients. In a previous study, nurses' self-reports of how often they performed oral care did not match documented provision of such care. OBJECTIVES: To replicate the original study and estimate instrument reliability. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used, and survey data from nursing personnel and bedside observational data from 9 intensive care units were collected. RESULTS: A total of 181 surveys (47%) were returned, and data were collected from 436 bedsides. Reported frequencies of oral care and use of oral care products differed between nonintubated and intubated patients (P< .001). The mean documented frequency of oral care for nonintubated patients was 1.8 (SD 1.5); self-reported frequency was 3 (SD 2.4). The mean documented frequency of oral care for intubated patients was 3.3 (SD 1.8); self-reported frequency was 4.2 (SD 2.1). Documented oral care frequency differed by unit (P = .006) and intubation status (P < .001). Mean observed head-of-bed position was 38 degrees (SD 24 degrees ) for nonintubated patients and 23 degrees (SD 12 degrees ) for intubated patients (P < .001). Intubation status, but not unit, affected observed head-of-bed position (P < .001). Three survey items had adequate reliability evidence (r = 0.70). Interrater reliability for bedside data collection was 96% or greater. CONCLUSIONS: Despite inadequate estimates of survey reliability, findings generally were comparable to results of the original study; nurses report more frequent oral care than is documented. Intensive care nurses elevate the head of patients' beds in accordance with self-reports.     

Oral care interventions in critical care: frequency and documentation.

BACKGROUND: No data have been collected to describe the products, methods, and frequency of oral care needed to reduce dental plaque, oral colonization, and ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients. OBJECTIVES: To describe the frequency of use of oral care interventions reported by nurses in several intensive care units in a large southeastern medical center. METHODS: Staff members completed a written survey describing their oral care practices, and oral care interventions were recorded from the unit's flow sheet for the previous 24 hours for all patients at 5 randomly selected times during 1 month. RESULTS: Most respondents (75%) reported providing oral care 2 or 3 times daily for nonintubated patients, and 72% reported providing care 5 times daily or more for intubated patients. However, oral care was documented on the unit's flow sheet a mean of 1.2 times per patient. Reported use of toothpaste and a toothbrush was significantly greater in nonintubated patients (P < .001), and use of a sponge toothette was significantly greater in intubated patients (P < .001). Nurses' mean rating of oral care priority was 53.9 on a 100-point scale. CONCLUSIONS: Despite evidence that they are ineffective for plaque removal, sponge toothettes remain the primary tool for oral care, especially in intubated patients in intensive care units. Nurses report frequent oral care interventions, but few are documented. Education and focus on good oral care strategies are required; nursing research to delineate the best procedure for all patients in intensive care units is needed.     

Nursing home staffing: is there a nurse in the house?

With an ever-increasing emphasis on cost containment, the health care industry has been expanding its use of unlicensed personnel. The danger of substituting unlicensed assistive personnel for registered nurses threatens the public's ability to secure the full range of nursing care services.     

Movement therapy

Nursing's holistic approach to patient care requires that nurses use interventions that promote holism. Movement therapy is one of a number of possible holistic interventions neuroscience nurses can use. This intervention helps persons to become aware of their bodies and to use the body for expressing inner feelings. Two techniques, creative dance and afspaending, are described along with suggestions for their use with neuroscience populations.     

Describing an episode of home nursing care for elderly postsurgical cancer patients

BACKGROUND: While studies have documented the beneficial effect of home care for cancer patients, the actual interventions implemented during these studies have not been well described. OBJECTIVES: Purposes of this study were to analyze interventions documented in narrative form by advanced practice nurses during a four-week episode of home care and describe intervention type, frequency, range, and variation over time in intervention emphasis and dose intensity. METHODS: Chart audits were performed on records kept for 148 postsurgical cancer patients who were assigned to the experimental group in a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effect of home care on quality of life outcomes (McCorkle et al., 2000). Interventions statements (N = 7,275) were analyzed using Grobe's (1996) Nursing Intervention Lexicon and Taxonomy. RESULTS: Teaching accounted for the highest percentage of interventions documented, followed by provision of psychological support and reassurance, determination of patient needs and nursing care requirements, assessment of current status, and indirect care. Physical care and actions to promote self-care independence were documented least frequently. Differences in nursing care were found by cancer site with the greatest diversity of interventions documented for breast cancer patients. Intervention emphasis and dose intensity varied over time, suggesting that these nurses altered their care in response to the changing needs of their patients. CONCLUSIONS: These nurses responded to complex problems and used a variety of interventions to assist patients and families in management of the illness experience. They also tailored their care to each patient's location along the illness trajectory. These findings provide beginning support for the clinical utility of Nursing Intervention Lexicon and Taxonomy as a way to quantify an episode of nursing care.     

Substitution in nursing practice: clinical, management and research implications

The introduction of market forces into health care delivery systems has had a number of important influences on the roles nurses perform. There have been increasing efforts to find alternative and more cost-effective ways of delivering care. One facet of this situation has been the examination of the roles and responsibilities of registered nurses (RNs) with the view of exploring different ways of using professional skills and determining if RN services are always required. One result of this has been the increased use of unlicensed personnel. The substitution of professional nursing staff by unlicensed personnel has become a major concern for practitioner, manager and client alike. This paper reviews some of the concepts of economic substitution as well as the assumptions advanced for the use of unlicensed personnel in clinical areas as a substitute for nursing services. While there has been increased use of unlicensed staff, the evaluation of clinical outcomes has been poor. This paper reviews primarily the hospital-based evidence about the impact of using unlicensed personnel in practice, and suggests there are methodological problems with the research published to date. Findings suggest that substitute service providers generally 'do no harm'. By contrast, evidence is presented indicating the major contributions nurses make to client care when adopting advanced practice roles (acting as a substitute for other professionals).     

Obese ICU patients: resource utilization and outcomes

This project described prospectively obese, critically ill patients and the resources critical care nurses used to care for these challenging patients. It also examined the relationship between resources used by nurses and patient outcomes, including complications and length of stay. Forty-three participants were enrolled. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) 40 kg/m2 used the majority of equipment and personnel resources and experienced a prolonged length of stay. The most common equipment used was a specialty bed or mattress; the most common complications were related to the pulmonary system. Initial use of multiple resources may indicate a patient at risk for adverse outcomes. Nurses can use findings to anticipate care needs and develop interventions, such as optimal positioning, to avoid adverse outcomes.     

AIDS: impact on neuroscience nursing practice

Diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) have been recognized as an integral part of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) since the beginning of the epidemic. This large patient population has both major physical problems and severe cognitive disabilities. Professional neuroscience nurses who are knowledgeable about and sensitive to the unique physical and emotional needs of these patients can best serve them. This article presents a care plan and case study with interventions for a patient with nervous system dysfunction attributed to AIDS.     

Perceptions of registered nurses working with assistive personnel in the United Kingdom and the United States

This study examines registered nurse perceptions of their role in acute care hospitals that use nursing care assistants (NCA) and unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). Also studied was registered nurse (RN) satisfaction with nursing care assistants and unlicensed assistive personnel in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA). The purpose of this study is to assist RNs and managers in the re-design of health-care delivery systems by investigating: 1. The differences and similarities of registered nurses in the UK and the USA in the perceptions of changes in the RN role when working with nursing care assistants or unlicensed assistive personnel. 2. The differences between and similarities of registered nurses in the UK and the USA in perceptions of NCA and UAP abilities to perform delegated duties, to communicate pertinent clinical information and to provide more time for professional nursing activities. Registered nurse perceptions in the UK were compared with the findings of a previous study of RN role changes and satisfaction in the USA. Registered nurses in the UK did not perceive a profound change in their role when working with UAP and were more satisfied with their use than were RNs in the USA.     

Unlicensed persons in patient care settings. Administrative, policy, and ethical issues

The current nursing shortage is a supply-and-demand problem. Factors contributing to the shortage include increased hospital use of RNs; decreased nursing school enrollment; increased demand for RNs outside of hospitals in skilled nursing facilities, health maintenance organizations, and home health care programs; noncompetitive salaries; and lack of autonomy. The nursing shortage has triggered the development and implementation of programs to prepare non-nurse bedside technicians to work in partnership with RNs. The functions of these unlicensed persons range from housekeeping, stocking, and clerical responsibilities to several technical treatments that once fell within the role responsibilities of registered or practical nurses. The partnerships between unlicensed persons and RNs in patient care settings have given rise to several administrative, policy, and ethical issues for nurse leaders. An ethical analysis, based on the application of ethical principles and moral dilemmas found in "The Parable of the Sadhu," offers some guidelines to nursing leaders in the administrative and policy decisions inherent in the development and retention of licensed persons in patient care settings. Some conclusions drawn from the ethically based questions are: The acquisition and retention of RNs and other licensed caregivers should take precedence over the development of programs for non-nurse bedside technicians. RNs in partnership with unlicensed persons in patient care settings must know what they can legitimately delegate. The RN has personal responsibility for ensuring optimal standards of nursing practice in the delegation of duties. The partnership between professional nurses and unlicensed persons must be a participative effort, not a manipulative or coercive one. In putting the organizational principle of subsidiarity into practice, decision makers will be able to maintain respect for human dignity and the uniqueness of patients and caregivers as well. The development and retention of unlicensed persons in patient care settings depends on a well-developed personal ethic that needs to be congruent with the mission, philosophy, and codes of ethics of national and local health care organizations.     

Converting to insulin in primary care: an exploration of the needs of practice nurses

BACKGROUND: In order to optimize glycaemic control, substantial numbers of people with type 2 diabetes may require transfer from oral medication to insulin therapy. Although insulin conversion is traditionally a specialist secondary care function, as nursing roles change and expand there is growing pressure for this to be performed within primary care. However, little is known about the potential barriers to such a change, particularly from the standpoint of the frontline staff involved. AIMS: The study aimed to explore the views of practice nurses in the United Kingdom (UK) about converting diabetic patients from oral hyperglycaemic agents to injected insulin within primary care, and to investigate what structures and resources might be useful in supporting such a change. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 practice nurses, and interpreted using content analysis to extract key conceptual themes from the transcribed interview texts. FINDINGS: Most of the nurses felt that converting to insulin in primary care had considerable benefits for patients. However, issues of time, training, confidence about performing the change, and the adequacy of support systems, both for patient and nurse, emerged as the main perceived barriers to performing insulin conversions in primary care. Worries about legal and accountability issues surrounding the nurse prescribing elements were also raised. CONCLUSIONS: Where insulin conversion within primary care is being considered, it is suggested that specific training is provided for practice nurses and general practitioners, protected time is made available, and a team-working approach is fostered to prevent isolation and boost patient support. Formal mentoring or supervision support for practice nurses may also help them to adapt to this new approach. LIMITATIONS: These findings are based on the views of nurses from a single UK locality, and so widespread consultation is recommended before applying them in other settings.     

AIDS: an overview for the neuroscience nurse

Four out of ten acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients develop neurologic complications. Because of the complex nervous system dysfunction experienced by these patients, neuroscience nurses face an extraordinary challenge. To provide care for patients with neurological complications of AIDS, the neuroscience nurse must understand the nature of the disease and its effects on the central nervous system. With this broad knowledge base, effective nursing interventions can be implemented.