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Advancing nursing practice with a unit-based clinical expert
1University of Texas-Houston, School of Nursing, Houston 77030, USA.
Image--The Journal of Nursing Scholarship
|January 1, 1996
Summary
Expert and nonexpert nurses exhibit distinct practice patterns influencing patient outcomes. Expert nurses, acting as catalysts, facilitate the advancement of nonexpert nursing practice through "catalyzed conversion."
Area of Science:
- Nursing Practice
- Patient Outcomes
- Qualitative Research
Background:
- Critical care nursing practice and its impact on patient outcomes are complex.
- Understanding the nuances between expert and nonexpert nursing is crucial for quality improvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore distinct practice patterns between expert and nonexpert critical care nurses.
- To investigate the relationship between nursing practice and patient outcomes.
- To understand how nurses advance their practice.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative field research utilizing participant observation and unstructured interviews.
- Grounded theory approach with constant comparison method.
- Study conducted in a medical critical care unit with 27 nurses and 31 patients.
Main Results:
- Significant differences identified in expert versus nonexpert nursing practice.
- The theory of "conversion" explains practice advancement in nonexpert nurses.
- Expert nurses act as catalysts for nonexpert practice development, termed "catalyzed conversion."
- The concept of "presence" differentiated nurses within the clinical context.
Conclusions:
- Expert and nonexpert nursing practices yield different patient outcomes.
- "Conversion" is a key mechanism for change in nonexpert nursing practice.
- Unit-based expert nurses can enhance patient-focused care.