Nurse-led intermediate care: an opportunity to develop enhanced roles for nurses?
Nurse-led intermediate care: an opportunity to develop enhanced roles for nurses?
BACKGROUND: Nurse-led intermediate care units are being set up across the UK primarily as potential solutions to hospital bed crises.
AIMS: This paper draws on data collected as part of a comprehensive evaluation of one 10-bedded nurse-led unit (NLU) located in the South of England. It explores the potential for enhanced nursing roles provided by such units by focusing on the views of NLU nursing staff and other professional groups within the Hospital Trust where the unit is located.
METHODS: A total of 38 in-depth audio-taped qualitative interviews were conducted with NLU nursing staff and with a range of other professional groups (managers, acute ward nurses and doctors).
FINDINGS: These data indicated that models of nurse-led postacute care do provide opportunities for nurses to develop enhanced nursing roles in which care associated with concepts of therapeutic nursing can be provided. However, even though the nurses derived satisfaction from their work on the NLU this model of care was seen by junior and middle grade nurses and other professional groups as being of low status. In contrast to senior nurses' views, they did not equate work on the NLU with the continuing professionalization of nursing. Senior nurses viewed the route to developing nursing on the NLU as involving nurses as doctor substitutes (extended roles) rather than as working in separate but complementary therapeutic domains (enhanced roles).
CONCLUSIONS: NLUs provide opportunities for nurses to develop enhanced roles in which they can work autonomously in providing elements of therapeutic nursing aimed at improving patient outcomes at discharge. However, education, training and leadership will be needed to ensure that such opportunities are well understood and are optimized to the benefit of nurses and their patients
nurse-led care, intermediate care, professionalization, enhanced roles, extended
813 - 821
Wiles, R.
5bdc597b-716c-4f60-9f45-631ecca25571
Postle, K.
faefe534-eca1-4657-9bdd-22f861635fc5
Steiner, A.
5edd1b04-ec65-44e8-8f09-11553a02f0bb
Walsh, B.
5818243e-048d-4b4b-88c5-231b0e419427
2001
Wiles, R.
5bdc597b-716c-4f60-9f45-631ecca25571
Postle, K.
faefe534-eca1-4657-9bdd-22f861635fc5
Steiner, A.
5edd1b04-ec65-44e8-8f09-11553a02f0bb
Walsh, B.
5818243e-048d-4b4b-88c5-231b0e419427
Wiles, R., Postle, K., Steiner, A. and Walsh, B.
(2001)
Nurse-led intermediate care: an opportunity to develop enhanced roles for nurses?
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34 (6), .
(doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01812.x).
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Nurse-led intermediate care units are being set up across the UK primarily as potential solutions to hospital bed crises.
AIMS: This paper draws on data collected as part of a comprehensive evaluation of one 10-bedded nurse-led unit (NLU) located in the South of England. It explores the potential for enhanced nursing roles provided by such units by focusing on the views of NLU nursing staff and other professional groups within the Hospital Trust where the unit is located.
METHODS: A total of 38 in-depth audio-taped qualitative interviews were conducted with NLU nursing staff and with a range of other professional groups (managers, acute ward nurses and doctors).
FINDINGS: These data indicated that models of nurse-led postacute care do provide opportunities for nurses to develop enhanced nursing roles in which care associated with concepts of therapeutic nursing can be provided. However, even though the nurses derived satisfaction from their work on the NLU this model of care was seen by junior and middle grade nurses and other professional groups as being of low status. In contrast to senior nurses' views, they did not equate work on the NLU with the continuing professionalization of nursing. Senior nurses viewed the route to developing nursing on the NLU as involving nurses as doctor substitutes (extended roles) rather than as working in separate but complementary therapeutic domains (enhanced roles).
CONCLUSIONS: NLUs provide opportunities for nurses to develop enhanced roles in which they can work autonomously in providing elements of therapeutic nursing aimed at improving patient outcomes at discharge. However, education, training and leadership will be needed to ensure that such opportunities are well understood and are optimized to the benefit of nurses and their patients
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Published date: 2001
Keywords:
nurse-led care, intermediate care, professionalization, enhanced roles, extended
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Local EPrints ID: 18106
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/18106
ISSN: 0309-2402
PURE UUID: 1bfc7fbf-3bb5-4ee8-bffd-73ab6e3b9291
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Date deposited: 27 Oct 2005
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:00
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Author:
R. Wiles
Author:
K. Postle
Author:
A. Steiner
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