While the project was called Strengthening Hospital Nursing, much of it went beyond what has been thought of as the traditional role of nursing. Even so, the results resonate for nurses, according to study directors. The coordination of care, increasingly important in these times of managed care, is managed by nurses, even though physicians issue orders.
Nurses are the ones who touch all the disciplines.
At some institutions in the study, a nurse who takes care of a patient in an inpatient setting also follows the patient home to provide care there. This grant has clearly demonstrated that time and time again, if they do it in a collaborative mode, they will be more efficient and more effective with higher levels of satisfaction for the patient, the families, and professionals.