Cooperative care: an application of Orem's self-care theory

Cooperative Care provides acute care patients the opportunity to function with maximum autonomy during all or part of their hospitalization. Based on the self-care theory of Orem, it enables patients and their families to have increased participation in the health care process. Nursing care is available but the role is primarily that of educator and skilled observer as the patients and families assume responsibility for activities of daily living. This paper describes the Cooperative Care Unit at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont (MCHV).