Increasing students' sensitivity to families of children with disabilities.

Families of children with disabilities pose a particular challenge to nurses as each child and family is a unique combination of intellectual, emotional, and medical concerns. The authors describe a project in which families of children with disabilities serve as teachers to baccalaureate nursing students. The goal of the project is to facilitate sensitivity and an understanding of the needs of a child with a developmental disability.

Collaboration in research: testing the PIPC model on clinical and nonclinical outcomes.

This outcomes research used a collaborative framework between a college of nursing and a medical center to test the effects of the Partners in Patient Care delivery model (PIPC) on clinical and nonclinical outcomes. An experimental pretest-postest design was used to compare selected nonclinical outcomes and clinical outcomes of care in two patient units. Results showed that there were significant differences between units in the nonclinical outcomes of nurse satisfaction, salary costs, supply costs, and productivity as measured by documentation time. In addition, there were significant differences in the clinical outcomes of care in terms of patient satisfaction. No significant differences were found in number of falls, medication errors, and intravenous infections; however, when ratios of these indicators were examined in relation to patient days, significant differences in the medication error ratio and the fall ratio were revealed. The results indicate that the PIPC delivery model did have positive effects on patient satisfaction and nurse satisfaction but that there were increased costs and increased time spent in documentation on the pilot unit.

The use of focus groups to assist in the design and implementation of a new nursing practice model.

Focus groups facilitate change in healthcare institutions by providing comparative perceptions of all levels of healthcare staff in the environment, obtaining impressions of new options for healthcare delivery for which no information is available, and stimulating new ideas to improve cost-effective quality care. The authors discuss their experience using this data gathering and evaluation approach during the planning and implementation of a new nursing practice model. Factors to consider when using focus groups are offered, and lessons learned from the experience are presented.

Partners in patient care: measuring the effects on patient satisfaction and other quality indicators.

An experimental pretest/posttest design compared pilot and control nursing units in a medical center in Southwest Florida to assess the effects of a Partners in Patient Care (PIPC) nursing care delivery model on selected quality of care outcomes-patient satisfaction, patient medication errors, falls, and IV infections. There were no significant differences between units in the number of falls, medication errors, and IV infections. When the ratios of these events to patient days were examined, there was a significant difference between the pilot and control units in the medication error ratio and the fall ratio. The results indicate that the PIPC nursing model had a positive effect on patient satisfaction.

Effects of the PIPC model on outcome measures of productivity and costs.

The purpose of this experimental research was to determine the effects of the Partners in Care Practice Model (PIPC) on the outcomes of productivity and costs. Over an 18-month study period, no significant differences were found in costs per patient day between the pilot and control units; however, significant differences were found in actual salaries, amount of time spent in documentation, and supply costs. Differences in costs and productivity reflected increased training costs and costs for additional supplies on the pilot unit.

Team-building process in launching a practice model.

With the growing use of multiple types of nurse extenders in new patient care-delivery models, there is a need not only for outcome research on their design and use but for identification and discussion of effective team-building processes necessary to implementing these models. This article presents an analysis of the interdisciplinary team process and the levels of team building and processes needed at each level to test a new nursing practice model. The team processes included not only those within the medical center but included the collaborative process established between the college of nursing and medical center. Both of these were crucial to a successful change in nursing practice.

Effects of the partners in care practice model on nursing outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of an empirically-designed nursing practice model on the outcome variables of job satisfaction, autonomy, and retention/turnover of nursing staff. After 6 months significant differences were found on the experimental unit in overall job satisfaction, and on the subscales of job satisfaction in task requirements and perception of pay. Significant differences were found between the control and experimental unit on the Job Satisfaction Index subscales of interaction, task requirements, and autonomy. No significant differences were found in retention/turnover of staff between the experimental and control unit.

Analysis of a decade of critical care nursing practice research: 1979 to 1988.

The purpose of this study was to analyze critical care nursing practice research published in leading refereed nursing research journals during the period from 1979 to 1988 to identify knowledge-building methods and research outcomes in critical care nursing. Findings indicate a significant increase in the number of nursing practice research studies published as well as a high percentage of intervention-oriented studies. The results of the study reflect the interest that critical care nurses have in identifying a research-based practice.