Restructuring the clinical nurse specialist position to a unit-based role

Measurement of Nursing Practice Models Using Multiattribute Utility Theory

Workforce shortages are challenging administrators in the health care environments to examine existing models of providing care. Although characteristics of nursing care delivery contribute in important ways to the success or failure of hospital care, factors common to all practice models have not been identified nor have measurement strategies been designed that assess the impact of care on patient and organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test a measurement model of nursing practice that was developed using multiattribute utility theory. A total of 24 factors identified by expert nurse administrators as being common to all nursing practice models were mathematically formulated into a multidimensional composite index that represented the degree to which a practice model on a nursing unit approached the professional ideal. The index was tested with 298 registered nurses working on 28 medical surgical nursing units in 3 hospitals. The model was evaluated in 2 ways: first by comparing the composite index scores to a qualitative appraisal of the nursing unit's practice model and patient and organizational outcomes. Secondly, individual factors in the model were evaluated in the same manner. While the composite index was not fully validated, there is strength in the evidence of the relationship between individual factors and outcomes. Specifically, factors that addressed interactions among health care team members were most often related to outcomes.

Role of the clinical nurse specialist: an integrative review of the literature

This review of the literature related to the role of the clinical nurse specialist was commissioned by the AACN in order to provide a comprehensive resource for advanced practice nurses. This review provides a historical overview of clinical nurse specialists and some of the gaps or barriers to practice that have been experienced. A summary of these gaps shows that many have repeated themselves over the years. Also provided are potential solutions to facilitate the progression of this role in the future.