Integrated primary nursing: a care delivery model for the 21st-century knowledge worker

Care delivery models are an integral component for delivering patient care. Although models may be abstract, nursing care delivery models need to be evolving and reality-based, as they serve to organize the allocation of nursing resources. How nursing resources are allocated is associated with patient and professional RN satisfaction, RN perceived autonomy, and quality outcomes. Care delivery models must be evolving within today's dynamic healthcare environment and must be structured within the context of a professional practice model. At the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, a Magnet-designated organization, a blend of traditional primary nursing and the updated relationship-based care has been developed and actualized. This model, Integrated Primary Nursing, exists within the framework of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Nursing Excellence in Professional Practice. The coalescence of the 2 has yielded a care delivery model for the 21-st century RN knowledge worker.