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Description of the Agile Team Model
The Agile Team (AT) model is an innovative model that can be implemented in acute care delivery to improve the quality of care offered. This is a model that has been introduced as a replacement for a model that was referred to as the Total Patient Care (TPC) model. The TPC model involved an individual nurse taking up several roles when on duty (Fuller & Drenkard, 2011). The nurse would handle all the care procedures, which included the administration of drugs and documentation, among other services, during their shift. The nurse would carry out these procedures alone or they would be assisted by unlicensed personnel. This model had a number of limitations, which resulted in the Agile Team Model as a replacement.
The AT model involves three caregivers who work as a team. The team handles about 10 to 12 patients (Fuller & Drenkard, 2011). The care providers are bedside caregivers, but they can be accompanied by one or more professional nurses. It should be noted that the composition of the team may vary depending on various factors. For instance, the team may comprise one nurse and two bedside care providers. It can also consist of one bedside care provider and two nurses, or all the three team members could be registered nurses at all times. The model is effective because it allows balanced staffing and improved care to the patients. The model can be highly effective in a health care setting that is led by nurses, as the nurse leader can supervise all the processes to ensure quality is observed. It is a model that can allow continuity of care across settings, because the different teams in a health care organization, for instance, can work in liaison (Joel, 2013). Consequently, care providers can continue even when one or more nurses are away. The model can facilitate the use of technology, as one of the bedside care providers can be a specialist in technology and assist in providing any technology-related services (Kelly, 2012). It is also cost-effective. Moreover, the fact that the team composition can be varied means that the costs can change to enhance its effectiveness.
Development/Implementation Team for the Agile Team Model
Implementation of the model would take a bit of time because it would require an introduction so that the nurses and the rest of the personnel become familiar with it. In organizing the team, the available personnel would be categorized based on the specialization of each person (Medinilla, 2014). The number of nurses available would be divided according to the total number of patients available so that each nurse would be assigned an equal number of patients. Each nurse would then be given two bedside care providers. The bedside care providers would be divided based on their areas of specialization. Therefore, in case there would be technology specialists, each nurse would be assigned one of the specialists. There would be another care provider who would attend to the general care procedures (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation & Institute of Medicine, 2011). The person who would be in charge of the technical equipment would also assist in documentation, as well as any other services as they would be assigned by the nurse in their team. This would be highly effective because the nurse would focus on diagnosing and providing medication and the necessary care to ensure that the patient recovers fast and fully (Derby & Larsen, 2009). The nurses would be relieved of most of their duties, thus they would be able to specialize more in nursing the patient (Kelly, 2012). The new model would be cost-effective because the quality of care offered would be of higher value in relation to the traditional model. Technology would be applied more frequently and widely, thereby reducing the general costs of the acute care department. Technology would also facilitate innovation as the technical person would not have overwhelming duties, thus they would specialize in just one or a few technologies.
Evaluation of the Agile Team Model
It would be important to evaluate the model after its implementation to determine its effectiveness. A number of outcomes would be measured in order to determine the effectiveness of the model. First, the general reduction of ER costs would be evaluated. A reduction in the costs would mean that the model is effective. The recovery time a patient takes would also be measured. The model should help in reducing the recovery time. The level of satisfaction of the patients, as well as the staff satisfaction, is another factor that would be measured to evaluate the models effectiveness. The level of satisfaction would be measured through the feedback collected in a number of ways, such as interviews and questionnaires, among others.
References
Derby, E., & Larsen, D. (2009). Agile retrospectives: Making good teams great. Raleigh, NC: Pragmatic Bookshelf.
Fuller, J., & Drenkard, K. (2011). Transformational models of nursing in acute care. In Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine, Institute of Medicine, The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health (pp. 414-417). Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
Joel, L. A. (2013). Advanced practice nursing: Essentials for role development. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co.
Kelly, P. (2012). Nursing leadership & management. Clifton Park, NY: Cengage Learning.
Medinilla, A. (2014). Agile Kaizen: Managing continuous improvement far beyond retrospectives. Berlin, Germany: Springer
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation & Institute of Medicine (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press.
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