ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To examine the relationships among the various times patients wait for health care and patient satisfaction with nurse practitioner (NP) care and the service component of care in a NP developed and managed clinic. DATA SOURCES: Forty-seven patients (78% response rate) responded anonymously to a 15-item questionnaire that measured satisfaction with NP care and an additional 15 items that measured satisfaction with the service component of care. Actual clock times were recorded on a flow sheet that corresponded to the system of care at this clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, there were no statistically significant relationships among various wait times and the measures of satisfaction. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Patient satisfaction with NP care is an important indicator of quality of care. Although satisfaction was not related to wait times, NPs must be respectful of the amount of time that patients wait for health care.
Subject(s)
Nurse Practitioners/standards , Patient Satisfaction , Waiting Lists , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Surveys and Questionnaires , Time FactorsSubject(s)
Community Health Centers/organization & administration , Contract Services/organization & administration , Negotiating , Nurse Practitioners/organization & administration , Nursing Faculty Practice/organization & administration , Private Sector/organization & administration , Humans , Nurse Practitioners/educationABSTRACT
Nursing faculty practice plans need to be inherently flexible to meet the changing needs of nursing schools and the external clients of the practice plans. The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center (UT-Houston) School of Nursing has constructed two integrated models of faculty practice to meet the challenges of change. Our linkage model with outside agencies and our academic nursing center provided in excess of one million dollars of support to the School of Nursing in fiscal year 1992-1993. Flexibility in our linkage model is discussed in such areas as the negotiation process for contracts with outside agencies, methods of payment for services, calculations of cost recoveries, methods of setting consultant rate levels, revisions of fund-disbursement policies, and development of fund-tracking systems. UT-Houston School of Nursing's nursing center model is based on a business plan and was established without outside funding assistance. Over time, the areas of concentration have changed because of changing community needs and market conditions. Its revenues depend on marketing efforts by the clinic staff. Evaluation and outcome research, to be based on computerized financial and patient record information systems, are considered critical elements in maintaining the UT-Houston cutting-edge leadership as an academic nursing center.
Subject(s)
Faculty, Nursing/organization & administration , Nursing Faculty Practice/trends , Academic Medical Centers/economics , Academic Medical Centers/organization & administration , Commerce/economics , Commerce/organization & administration , Humans , Income , Models, Nursing , Models, Organizational , Nursing Faculty Practice/economics , Nursing Faculty Practice/organization & administration , Nursing Service, Hospital/economics , Nursing Service, Hospital/organization & administration , Organizational Innovation , Program Evaluation , TexasABSTRACT
This article describes the process from inception to successful operation of a university-based nurse managed clinic. The article includes information regarding the planning process, method of financing, political strategies for gaining approval, and on-going development of services. Covey's seven habits of highly effective people are used as a framework on which the development and evolution of the clinic are based. The habits are illustrated by relating how services/operation were enhanced and barriers and obstacles were overcome.
Subject(s)
Community Health Centers/organization & administration , Models, Organizational , Nurse Administrators , Nurse Practitioners/education , Nurse Practitioners/organization & administration , Program Development/methods , Schools, Nursing , TexasABSTRACT
In 1988 The University of Texas Houston Health Science Center School of Nursing embarked on the task of developing a nursing center (UTNS). Today the organization is in excellent financial health and its patient population continues to grow. The UTNS model can help nursing centers move forward as a prototype of primary health care delivery.
Subject(s)
Commerce/organization & administration , Community Health Centers/organization & administration , Nursing Care/organization & administration , Program Development , Humans , Models, Nursing , Models, Organizational , Schools, NursingABSTRACT
This study explored the ability of elementary school age children to comprehend six idiomatic expressions. Eighty linguistically normal children, 20 from each of four different grade levels (kindergarten, second grade, fourth grade, and sixth grade) participated as subjects. All of the children completed a task designed to probe comprehension of specific idioms. A short story was presented, after which the subjects were required to identify events in the story, which were described using idiomatic phrases. When examined as a group, comprehension of the idioms studied improved with increasing age. However, when examined individually, performance was found to be highly variable from idiom to idiom. These results are discussed with regard to clinical implications in the assessment and management of language-disordered children.
