As a full time, registered nurse, I observed many different types of practices. For this assignment I have chosen to reflect on my past observations of Team Nursing. In Team nursing, the RN, the CNA, OR UAP's has direct contact with the patients as well as the family. It is important for the team to be efficient in four different areas (Finkelman, 2016). Area number one, the team has to be understanding where the patient is physically as well as being compassionate and understanding where they are mentally. Number two, this team has to be aware and able to comprehend and carry out treatment plans that are initiated from doctors. Number three, this team has to be able to adjust and adapt quickly to the high turn-over rate in patients. Number four, they must possess the ability to communicate on a high and efficient level with other colleagues across the board as for communication is not an option it is essential in this model. There are many benefits using the team nursing model. Understanding that health care professionals do not individually care for the patient but more so by caring for the patient as a multidisciplinary team (Maryville, 2017). In healthcare we face many challenges during our shift for multiple hours. This can increase high stress levels which result in potential burn out for the nurse. Using the team nursing model can prevent possible burn out for the team as well as improve patient and staff satisfaction for the unit. Nurses who present satisfaction of their job deliver efficient care, while revealing that teamwork is also closely related with increased job satisfaction rates. Teamwork has also shown that it increases professional accountability. For example, before our shift we utilize "huddles" which the team leader from day shift gives night shift a report on the unit. This enhances accountability by providing a detailed summary on information, patient complaints, or incidents that occurred that day. Having a team that is attentive to detail as well as having attentive superiors can increase accountability while establishing communication between colleagues. Utilizing the Team Nursing model is vital in the health care field, which has an impact on patient outcomes.
In the nursing field there are many different ways to learn, hands on and observational learning are my two favorite learning styles by far. On this particular day I observed my unit go above their normal nurse, and nursing care partner (NCP) ratio. Dealing with many high-risk patients can became exhausting and frustrating for the unit. On this particular day we had to deal with a disgruntled and delusional patient suffering from a new onset of dementia. This patient became combative, started screaming and started to throw objects around her room. This patient became fully out of control causing us to call a cold silver which involves security. Because of the unit being over their patient ratio, the nurse was very fortunate for other coworkers offering to help deescalate the situation as team. It is vital in nursing for the team to collaborate efficiently amongst each other. A few things I learned from this situation, it's not how fast you respond it's how you respond, and the importance of having a trustworthy team. When they initiated the cold silver response, the team responded rapidly but more importantly the team was calm and remained professional to the patient regardless of the patient's state of mind. While having a team that is consistent as well as a collaborating with each other efficiently, this enhances positive and safe outcomes for the patients. Knowing that my team works with each other positively never leaves a doubt on my mind for the shift.
Working as a Registered Nurse I've had the experience to work with a variety of different nursing models. In the past I previously worked for a convalescent center where functional nursing was exhibited. Functional nursing can lead to many disadvantages. This model can result in poor developed relationships amongst patients and staff, and poor communication and collaboration being delivered (Kalish, 2012). There is a dramatic difference between functional nursing and team nursing. In functional nursing when dealing with a patient you are assigned a specific role. Working under a functional nursing model, many assignments are specifically assigned to staff with one sole responsibility. Such as a medication nurse who only administers medications to patients. A wound care treatment nurse deliverer's wound care to patients as assigned. A certified nursing assistant who delivers patient care such as bathing, feeding the patient, and activity of daily livings (ADL's). However, this can be a major disadvantage leaving the impression on staff that certain responsibility only belongs in certain places. On the other hand, we have Team Nursing, this model differs from functional nursing in many ways. One of the main ways are that the load of responsibility is shared amongst the team instead of being individually assigned. This allows for the team to be more effective and having more resources at disposal (Cioffi, 2009). In my past experience dealing with both models, I highly prefer the Team Nursing model. Team nursing should be encouraged as well as being implemented through all facilities. Working with a team that can be consistent, trustworthy and dependable enhances the quality of care being delivered as well as creating a stress-free environment for staff and patients.
In health care many approaches are being utilized to improve the quality of care being delivered in our facility. One model that would drastically improve the quality and efficiency of care at my facility would be the Inter-professional Practice Model. This model focuses on the importance of efficient collaboration, effective communication, education, and integration of care in professions. Embracing the concept of collaboration between different levels of the interdisciplinary team is vital for each professional to understand how their interactions can affect other professionals around them. Understanding how your actions affect others around you brings stronger unity and enhances positive synergy to improve the quality of care.
Communication is extremely important when communicating nurse to nurse, but in my experience, it has been devalued when communicating from physician to nurse. If my healthcare organization was to adopt this model it would greatly improve the communication relationship between colleagues. This model focuses on the multi-dimensional approach. I strongly agree with this approach because in healthcare there is never one magic answer to any one problem. The health care industry is rapidly changing and improving, and this is why continuing education is strongly encouraged. We as professionals dealing in the business of life or death, it is vital that we stay up to date with our skills and knowledge in what it takes to save lives. By continuing education this enhances the quality of care being delivered while focusing on improving positive outcomes for the patients. In the Inter-professional Practice Model, as a health care employee we must understand that physicians cannot deliver all care and education to their patients. It is our duty to integrate the education and care to the patient to improve the quality of outcome as well as improving patient satisfaction. We must understand how each decision is determined in how the decision effects everyone in the interdisciplinary team. If we were to implement this model this would drastically improve our communication, relationships amongst all staff members, quality of care for the patient, and overall effectiveness as a health care organization. Safety is the top priority factor in health care. Many methods of approaches are being used to improve or enhance safety for the patient as well as staff. This model improves safety by empowering team members while having everyone take personal ownership of the task at hand. While collaborating with all coworkers it minimizes the gap in communication allowing change to happen quicker and more effectively. Which in return should decrease or reduce readmission rates for the hospital. The inter-professional practice model has many advantages to improve the quality of care while integrating the care throughout health care professionals. Implementing this model can improve overall patient satisfaction scores, help reduce readmissions rates preventing the hospital from being penalized, enhancing the quality of care being delivered to our patients, as well as solely focusing on the staff moral and collaboration in the team.
Any of these models can greatly impact in health care organizations. The Team Nursing model focuses on completely sharing the responsibility throughout the unit. Functional Nursing can have a both negative and positive impact. The positive impact would be reducing the amount of errors because task is independently carried out by one position. One negative impact can be by having health care individually solely focus on one task versus encouraging team work. The inter-professional Practice Model works extremely well when collaboration is being held on all levels, encouraging education, communication, building team relationships, and improving patient staff satisfaction scores. Overall each health care organization will have to collaborate with one another out to conclude which Nursing model will work best for their facility and environment for the staff and patient.