Staffing, skill mix and the model of care

Aims and objectives: The study aimed to explore whether nurse staffing, experience and skill mix influenced the model of nursing care in medical-surgical wards. Background: Methods of allocating nurses to patients are typically divided into four types: primary nursing, patient allocation, task assignment and team nursing. Research findings are varied in regard to the relationship between these models of care and outcomes such as satisfaction and quality. Skill mix has been associated with various models, with implications for collegial support, teamwork and patient outcomes. Design: Secondary analysis of data collected on 80 randomly selected medical-surgical wards in 19 public hospitals in New South Wales, Australia during 2004-2005. Methods: Nurses (n = 2278, 80·9% response rate) were surveyed using The Nursing Care Delivery System and the Nursing Work Index-Revised. Staffing and skill mix was obtained from the ward roster and other data from the patient record. Models of care were examined in relation to these practice environment and organisational variables. Results: The models of nursing care most frequently reported by nurses in medical-surgical wards in this study were patient allocation (91%) and team nursing (80%). Primary nursing and task based models were unlikely to be practised. Skill mix, nurse experience, nursing workload and factors in the ward environment significantly influenced the model of care in use. Wards with a higher ratio of degree qualified, experienced registered nurses, working on their 'usual' ward were more likely to practice patient allocation while wards with greater variability in staffing levels and skill mix were more likely to practice team nursing. Conclusions: Models of care are not prescriptive but are varied according to ward circumstances and staffing levels based on complex clinical decision making skills. Relevance to clinical practice: Variability in the models of care reported by ward nurses indicates that nurses adapt the model of nursing care on a daily or shift basis, according to patients' needs, skill mix and individual ward environments. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Prehospital transdermal glyceryl trinitrate in patients with ultra-acute presumed stroke (RIGHT-2): an ambulance-based, randomised, sham-controlled, blinded, phase 3 trial

Background High blood pressure is common in acute stroke and is a predictor of poor outcome; however, large trials of lowering blood pressure have given variable results, and the management of high blood pressure in ultra-acute stroke remains unclear. We investigated whether transdermal glyceryl trinitrate (GTN; also known as nitroglycerin), a nitric oxide donor, might improve outcome when administered very early after stroke onset. Methods We did a multicentre, paramedic-delivered, ambulance-based, prospective, randomised, sham-controlled, blinded-endpoint, phase 3 trial in adults with presumed stroke within 4 h of onset, face-arm-speech-time score of 2 or 3, and systolic blood pressure 120 mm Hg or higher. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive transdermal GTN (5 mg once daily for 4 days; the GTN group) or a similar sham dressing (the sham group) in UK based ambulances by paramedics, with treatment continued in hospital. Paramedics were unmasked to treatment, whereas participants were masked. The primary outcome was the 7-level modified Rankin Scale (mRS; a measure of functional outcome) at 90 days, assessed by central telephone follow-up with masking to treatment. Analysis was hierarchical, first in participants with a confirmed stroke or transient ischaemic attack (cohort 1), and then in all participants who were randomly assigned (intention to treat, cohort 2) according to the statistical analysis plan. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN26986053. Findings Between Oct 22, 2015, and May 23, 2018, 516 paramedics from eight UK ambulance services recruited 1149 participants (n=568 in the GTN group, n=581 in the sham group). The median time to randomisation was 71 min (IQR 45–116). 597 (52%) patients had ischaemic stroke, 145 (13%) had intracerebral haemorrhage, 109 (9%) had transient ischaemic attack, and 297 (26%) had a non-stroke mimic at the final diagnosis of the index event. In the GTN group, participants’ systolic blood pressure was lowered by 5·8 mm Hg compared with the sham group (p<0·0001), and diastolic blood pressure was lowered by 2·6 mm Hg (p=0·0026) at hospital admission. We found no difference in mRS between the groups in participants with a final diagnosis of stroke or transient ischaemic stroke (cohort 1): 3 (IQR 2–5; n=420) in the GTN group versus 3 (2–5; n=408) in the sham group, adjusted common odds ratio for poor outcome 1·25 (95% CI 0·97–1·60; p=0·083); we also found no difference in mRS between all patients (cohort 2: 3 [2–5]; n=544, in the GTN group vs 3 [2–5]; n=558, in the sham group; 1·04 [0·84–1·29]; p=0·69). We found no difference in secondary outcomes, death (treatment-related deaths: 36 in the GTN group vs 23 in the sham group [p=0·091]), or serious adverse events (188 in the GTN group vs 170 in the sham group [p=0·16]) between treatment groups. Interpretation Prehospital treatment with transdermal GTN does not seem to improve functional outcome in patients with presumed stroke. It is feasible for UK paramedics to obtain consent and treat patients with stroke in the ultraacute prehospital setting. Funding British Heart Foundation