The organization of nursing care in acute care hospitals is increasingly challenging. The traditional models of primary, team and functional nursing, or even total patient care and combinations thereof, are insufficient in today's complex healthcare environments. Patient units in acute care are now characterized by extremely ill patients who require high levels of technical and assessment skills on the part of nurses; significant numbers of novice nurses who do not have these skills but must be integrated into these units; student nurses who require mentoring from experienced nurses; lack of continuity in patient assignments; short lengths of stay on any given unit, hindering nurses' ability to develop relationships and to negotiate patient participation in care decisions; 12-hour shifts that test nurses' energy and enthusiasm; lack of technology to support nurse-to-nurse and interprofessional communication within and across shifts; and increased pressure for evidence-based and outcomes-oriented practice so that individuals and cohorts of patients achieve the highest possible outcomes of care. And these are just a few of the pressures confronting the average unit.
Dorothy Pringle, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership
[full article is available by clicking on the title above]
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
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