Total Patient Care Case Study

Case method (total patient care)

The case method, or the patient's total care method, of providing nursing care is the oldest method of providing care to a patient. This model should not be confused with the management of nursing cases. The premise of the case method is that a nurse gives total attention to a patient throughout the work period. This method was used at the time of Florence Nightingale when patients received total attention in the home. Currently, total patient care is used in intensive care settings where a nurse provides total care to one or two critically ill patients. Nursing educators often select this method of care when students take care of patients. There are variations of the case method, and it is possible to identify

One disadvantage of functional team nursing is the fragmentation of care. The physical and technical aspects of care can be fulfilled, but psychological and spiritual needs can be overlooked. Patients are confused with so many different care providers per shift. These different staff members can be so busy with their assigned tasks that they may not have time to communicate with each other about the patient's progress. A modification of functional nursing was designed to improve patient satisfaction. the care of others became the seal. The functional model of nursing is a method of providing patient care whereby each licensed and unlicensed staff member performs specific tasks for a large group of patients. These tasks are determined in part by the scope of the practice defined for each type of caregiver. For example, the RN should be responsible for all evaluations, although the LPN / LVN and the UAPs can collect data that can be used in the evaluation. With respect to treatments, an RN can administer all medications intravenously (IV) and make admissions, one LPN / LVN can provide treatments, another LPN / LVN can administer all oral medications, one assistant can perform all the tasks of hygiene and another assistant can take all the signs (Figure 13-2). This division of aspects of care is similar to the assembly line system used by the

The team leader must have excellent communication, delegation and conflict management skills, strong clinical skills and effective decision-making skills to provide a "team" work environment for members. The team leader must be sensitive to the needs of the patient and, at the same time, attentive to the needs of the personnel providing direct care (Moore, 2004). When the team leader is not ready for this role, the team's method becomes a miniature version of the functional method and the potential for fragmentation of attention is