Every day, nurses from across different medical institutions strive to safeguard the wellbeing of patients. In addition to administering treatment, they are involved in patient education and advocacy. To execute their mandate, nurses rely on various care models. Essentially, these models outline the values and functions that nurses should adopt as they deliver care. Different models are appropriate for different nursing environments and situations. It is important for nurses to select models which are in line with their personal traits and care environment. However, nurses need to remain open to adopt care models which can improve safety and the effectiveness of care.
In her book, Anita Finkelman (2016) examines various care models that nurses use. The synergy model for patient care is among the theoretical models which nurses adopt in their jobs. Basically, this model stipulates that nurses should be assigned roles and deployed to environments that match their competence. Furthermore, this model holds that proper care should be taken to ensure that the skills and competence of nurses correspond to the needs of their patients. The synergy model recognizes that for nurses to effectively deliver care, they need to possess competence. Another issue that this model addresses is the need to ensure that the clinical unit where a nurse works matches his/her competence. It would be unwise to assign a newly qualified nurse to a unit requiring years of experience and high levels of competence.
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As part of this assignment, I observed nurses performing their jobs in a nursing home. The nursing home mostly attends to elderly patients who are dealing with a wide range of health conditions. Apart from delivering treatment to these patients, the nurses in this home are expected to offer company to the patients. During my time at the home, I observed a number of issues which resonate with the synergy model. I noted that the roles that the nurses were assigned corresponded to their age. For example, younger nurses were mostly involved in simple tasks such as receiving patients, administering medication and referring patients to other facilities. On the other hand, elder nurses were responsible for such heavier tasks as monitoring patients with serious illnesses and communicating with the patients’ families. For example, a nurse who has worked at the facility for over 20 years was in charge of 8 patients who were critically ill and whose families had failed to demonstrate support. This nurse was required to ensure that these patients received all the care they needed and that they felt valued, and loved. Upon asking, I was told that the nursing home has adopted some form of the synergy model. This facility matches the competence of the nurses to the assigned roles. The older nurses are more experienced and therefore best placed to handle critical functions. The need to understand how different clinical units leverage their workforce to address the desires and needs of patients is the main force that led me to the nursing home. Furthermore, I accompanied a close friend who visited his grandmother who is a resident at the nursing home.
Finkelman is not the only scholar who has explored the synergy model of care. Scott Swickard, Wendy Swickard, Andrew Reimer, Deborah Lindell, and Chris Winkelman (2014) are other scholars who have examined the impact of the synergy model on healthcare delivery. In their article, they give particular focus to the value that the adoption of this model creates in the transport of patients who require critical care. They lament that most models do little to offer insights on the proper procedures to be followed during patient transfer from one facility to another (Swickard et al., 2014). The synergy model is presented as an appropriate framework that enhances patient safety during transportation. Since it challenges facilities to match patient characteristics and needs to nurse competence, the synergy model ensures that qualified nurses are involved in patient transfers. Overall, Swickard and his colleagues establish that the synergy model enhances patient safety and facilitates the delivery of emergency care to critically-ill patients.
Brigitte Cypress (2013) is another scholar who has offered her thoughts on the impact that the synergy model has on the delivery of medical services. She authored an article which details the results of a study that she conducted. The purpose of the study was to determine the implications that the synergy model presents for healthcare delivery for patients and families. In her discussion, Cypress notes that this model challenges nurses and the larger medical community to encourage families to participate in the healthcare delivery process (Cypress, 2013). It is important to collaborate with families particularly when attending to patients who are critically ill and desperately require family support. Another issue that Cypress addresses is that the synergy model underscores the need for medical institutions to develop programs which promote the emotional and psychological welfare of nurses (Cypress, 2013). Essentially, Cypress recognizes that nurses are unable to deliver quality care unless their mental health and emotional needs are adequately addressed.
There is no doubt that the synergy model of patient care is among the nursing care models that enhance patient wellbeing while boosting nurse competence. However, there are other models which enable medical institutions to deliver quality care. Patient navigation is among the models that are redefining the delivery of care. This model was the subject of an article that Harold Freeman and Rian Rodriguez (2011) authored. These scholars address how this model is facilitating the treatment of patients with cancer. Particular focus is given to the role that the model is playing in the elimination of such barriers as poverty which hampers access to care for cancer patients. Freeman and Rodriguez identify poor communication and fear of medical practitioners as other barriers that hinder access to quality care (Freeman & Rodriguez, 2011). They assert that the adoption of the patient navigation model holds the key to enhancing access to care. Therefore, nurses who treat cancer patients should collaborate with other stakeholders to eliminate barriers.
Harold Freeman (2012) worked alone to author another article in which he further discusses the patient navigation model. In this article, he gives attention to the benefits that this model presents. According to Freeman, the patient navigation model challenges patients to participate in cancer screening. The model also allows medical practitioners to focus their efforts on such vulnerable patient groups as the poor and those who lack medical insurance (Freeman, 2012). Significant cost savings are another benefit that the patient navigation model presents. While this model is most appropriate for cancer patients, it can also be applied to patient populations which encounter difficulties while attempting to access care.
There is no shortage of care models that nurses and other medical practitioners can use to improve access, quality and the affordability of healthcare. However, some models are better than others. The affordable care organization (ACO) model is among the frameworks which could enable healthcare providers to significantly improve the quality of care. Research has shown that this model allows providers to offer quality care while promoting safety (Colla et al., 2016). Given the numerous benefits that it offers, providers should adopt this model. It is particularly important for firms who treat Medicare patients to incorporate the principles of the ACO model into service delivery. It is true that the ACO model mostly benefits patients. However, one needs to understand that the model presents benefits for healthcare practitioners as well. Jane Nester (2016) penned an article in which she underscores the value of the ACO model. She notes that this model is among the factors that are responsible for improvements in patient satisfaction levels. While it is true that she does not explicitly state that the model promotes staff satisfaction, her discussion suggests that the ACO model leaves practitioners satisfied. When they deliver quality and safe care to their patients, nurses and other practitioners are left with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Therefore, since it promotes the wellbeing of both patients and practitioners, medical institutions should incorporate the ACO model into their operations.
In conclusion, this assignment has offered me the opportunity to gain insights into the impacts that various nursing care models have on healthcare delivery. In particular, I have been able to understand that institutions usually adopt models that match the characteristics of the patient populations whose needs they address. Another insight that I have gained through this assignment is that for most nurses, enhancing patient wellbeing is the priority. The various care models that nurses adopt are all aimed at delivering quality and safe care to patients. This assignment has also allowed me to acknowledge that for effective healthcare delivery, the wellbeing of nurses should also be safeguarded. It is nearly impossible for unwell and dissatisfied practitioners to deliver quality care. There is no question that healthcare delivery systems that are based on established nursing care models are better placed to deliver high quality care. Therefore, medical service providers should ensure that their operations are in line with nursing care models which have been shown to be effective.
References
Colla, C. H., Lewis, V. A., Kao, L., O’Malley, J. A., Chang, C., & Fisher, E. S. (2016). Association between medicare accountable care organization implementation and Spending among clinically vulnerable beneficiaries. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176 (8), 1167-75.
Cypress, B. (2013). Using the synergy model of patient care in understanding the lived Emergency department experiences of patients, family members and their nurses During critical illness: a phenomenological study. Dimensions of critical care nursing, 32 (6), 310-321.
Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and management for nurses: core competencies for Quality care. 3 rd Edition. Pearson.
Freeman, H. P. (2012). The origin, evolution, and principles of patient navigation. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-12-0982
Freeman, H. P., & Rodriguez, R. L. (2011). The history and principles of patient navigation . Cancer, 117 (15), 3539-3542.
Nester, J. (2016). The importance of Interprofessional practice and education in the era of Accountable care. North Carolina Medical Journal, 77 (2), 128-132.
Swickard, S., Swickard, W., Reimer, A., Lindell, D., & Winkelman, C. (2014). Adaptation Of the AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care to Critical Care Transport. Critical Care Nurse, 34 (1), 16-29.
