Organizing Patient Care Overview

A caregiving method where one nurse is responsible for all aspects of a patient's care during a shift.

Nurses take full responsibility for assigned patients' needs during their shift, sometimes called the 'case method'.

A structure in patient care where a charge nurse supervises caregivers attending to patient needs.

Nursing approach where work is divided into tasks (ex: administering medication, wound care), often assigned by task rather than patient.

A structure in patient care where different roles (med nurse, treatment nurse, CNAs) focus on specific tasks, supervised by a charge nurse.

Functional nursing's advantage of completing tasks quickly and efficiently.

Functional nursing's potential disadvantage of fragmented care, potentially overlooking patient needs.

A nursing care model where a team of licensed and unlicensed personnel collaborates to care for patients under the direction of a professional nurse.

A nursing care model that divides a nursing unit into smaller sections/modules, each with its own team of nurses and other healthcare staff responsible for patient care within that module.

A nursing model where one primary nurse is assigned to oversee a patient's entire stay, creating and coordinating care plans with other nurses and staff.

A population-based healthcare approach focusing on managing common, high-cost chronic illnesses with maximum efficiency, from prevention to treatment, across care settings.

A professional nurse who plays a key role in disease management programs, coordinating care and treatment for a group of patients.

Experienced nurses with graduate degrees, providing clinical leadership, outcome-based practice, quality improvements, creating micro-systems, and addressing health needs of individuals and families in all healthcare settings.

The process of recruiting, selecting, orienting, and promoting personnel development, aligned with organizational goals.

The elements influencing the nursing staff needed, such as the availability and source of nursing pools.

Prioritizing employee retention can reduce the facility's need to spend on recruitment.

Satisfied employees recommending the organization is a great way to build a strong employee pool.

Economic conditions affect nursing shortages. Good economy = more demand, leading to shortage. Bad economy = less demand, resulting in fewer shortages.

A diverse nursing staff (gender, culture, age, ethnicity) helps meet diverse patient needs and brings varied perspectives.

Lack of diversity among healthcare workers can contribute to health inequalities among patients from diverse groups.

Using a team approach in interviews helps create more objective evaluations.

Interviews can be influenced by interviewer biases.

Dress neatly and professionally for an interview.

Researching the organization and preparing for questions is crucial for a strong interview.

Be punctual for interviews.

Maintain polite and respectful behavior during the interview (e.g., eye contact, posture, personal items).

Making a favorable initial impression on interviewers during the interview is important.

Federal law prohibits interviewers from asking about age, date of birth, religion, marital status, children, race/ethnicity, sexual preference, financial status, or nationality.

Organizations where collective learning, shared vision, and positive change create benefits for both individuals and the organization.

A model with key characteristics including systems thinking, personal mastery, team learning, mental models, and shared vision.

A structured method focusing on knowledge and skills for a specific purpose.

Formal and broad scope learning, beyond specific application.

The methods, practices, and techniques for teaching adults to help adults learn and improve using experiential approaches.

Methods and practices used in teaching children, using a more directive style.

Learning by interacting with others, through direct experience and observation.

Adult learning theory focusing on self-directed learning, respect, and practical application.

Creating a climate of openness, valuing adult experiences, and engaging adults in evaluating their progress for optimal learning and development.

A manager helping an employee learn effective time management strategies.

Individuals guiding others, often professionally, using educational methods for role clarity.

Difficulties in creating nursing schedules due to fluctuating patient needs and expertise requirements.

Staffing decisions made by a central office or staffing agency, often promoting consistent policy application.

Staffing decisions made by unit managers, offering more flexibility and autonomy, but demanding consistent policies.

Various approaches to hiring, including different shift lengths, agency nurses, and self-scheduling options.

A calculation showing how many nursing hours are allocated per patient within a specific 24-hour period.

Increased nursing care hours and a favorable staffing mix (more RNs) typically lead to better patient outcomes.

Adults learn best through experiences, mistakes are valuable learning opportunities. Value and acceptance of their experience is key.

Adults are most motivated to learn when they see a clear need. A problem often triggers this need.

Understanding why someone needs to learn something and the value for the individual or employee is crucial.

Grouping pieces of information together. This helps people remember more complex ideas.

Learning the behaviors, values, and attitudes specific to a role or workgroup.

Adapting to new values, skills, or expectations when a role or work context changes.

Experienced employees whose behavior provides guidance and inspiration for others.

Experienced professionals who actively guide and support learners, particularly new employees.

A relationship focused on enabling someone to reach optimal performance. It involves empowerment and behavior adjustments.

Barriers that can hinder adult learning, including institutional issues, time constraints, self-confidence, situational factors, family reaction, and individual obstacles.

Strengths that promote adult learning readiness, including internal drive, self-direction, prior learning experience, knowledge, and specific skills/traits.

One nurse is responsible for all aspects of care for a group of patients during their shift.

Nursing approach where work is divided into tasks (tasks like meds, treatments).

Can be challenging if the nurse lacks knowledge or skill to meet patient needs.

Efficient completion of tasks, clear responsibilities.

Potential for fragmented care, overlooking patient priorities.

A lack of enough qualified nurses to meet the needs of patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused more nurses to retire earlier than planned.

An increasing number of older nurses in the workforce.

The number of students studying nursing.

A lack of qualified nursing teachers.

The process of finding and attracting potential employees.

Keeping employees with the organization.

Strategies for attracting potential employees (ads, career days, etc).

Elements influencing recruitment success (money, reputation, location).

Times when patient volume reaches its highest point.

Times when employee departures commonly occur, for example after a period of high workload or stress.

Keeping employees in the workplace

Happy employees recommending the company

Economic conditions affect nursing shortages

Diverse staff (gender, culture, etc.) meets patient needs better

Lack of staff diversity can hinder patient care quality

Multiple interviewers reduce bias

Interviewer opinions affect the interview process

Neat, professional clothing for interviews

Researching the company to show interest

Arriving on time for the interview

Proper conduct during the interview

Initial positive impression given during the interview

Federal law prohibits asking about age, date of birth, religion, marital status, children, race/ethnicity, sexual preference, financial status, or nationality during job interviews.

Organizations where collective learning, shared vision, and positive change create benefits for both individuals and the organization.

A model with core concepts including systems thinking, personal mastery, team learning, mental models, and shared vision to build learning organizations.

A structured method focused on knowledge and skills for a specific purpose, typically for immediate application.

Formal and broader scope learning, beyond specific application, often aiming for deeper understanding and critical thinking.

The methods, practices, and techniques for teaching adults, emphasizing self-directed learning and applying previously learned concepts to new situations.

Methods and practices used in teaching children, using a more directive style.

Learning by interacting with others, through direct experience and observation.

Adult learning theory focusing on self-directed learning, respecting adult experience, and applying learning in practical situations to achieve specific goals.

Adults learn best through experiences, mistakes are valuable learning opportunities; their experiences must be valued and accepted.

Adults are most motivated to learn when they see a clear need, often triggered by a problem.

Understanding why someone needs to learn something and the value for the individual or employee is crucial.

Grouping pieces of information together to improve memory; improves recall of complex information.

Learning the behaviors, values, and attitudes specific to a role or workgroup.

Adapting to new values, skills, or expectations when a role or work context changes.

Experienced employees whose behavior provides guidance and inspiration for others.

Experienced professionals who actively guide and support learners, particularly new employees.

A relationship focused on enabling someone to reach optimal performance; involves empowerment and behavior adjustments.

Barriers that can hinder adult learning, including institutional issues, time constraints, self-confidence, situational factors, family reaction, and individual obstacles.

Strengths that promote adult learning readiness, including internal drive, self-direction, prior learning experience, knowledge, and specific skills/traits.

The proportion of licensed nurses (RNs and LVNs) and unlicensed assistive personnel (CNAs/NAPs) working at a given time.

The numerical relationship between the number of staff and patients.

Rules and procedures related to staffing, scheduling and rotations.

Staff members on a unit commit to covering absences themselves, avoiding pulling staff to a closed unit when patient census is low.

Having the right number of nurses with the right skills to care for patients, ensuring manageable workloads.

Lowering the number of hours dedicated to patient care.

Negative consequences or complications experienced by patients, often linked to factors like decreased staffing.