Dr. DM and class-
The theory I have chosen to explore for this week is the AACN’s Synergy Model for Patient Care
as I feel it would be useful to implement in the ED, which is where I currently work and where I
plan to stay after obtaining my NP.
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses developed and debuted the Synergy Model for
Patient Care in 1996 with the intentions of it being a new way of viewing nursing skills as well
as a way to assess those skills through various certifications (AACN, n.d.). The premise behind
the model was to develop a framework that would guide the meeting of patient needs by utilizing
the competencies of the nurse in order to provide complete and holistic patient care with an
improvement in overall patient outcomes (AACN, n.d.). The central idea of the model was that
the need of the patient is what drives the nurse-patient relationship, and the competencies of the
nurse must stem from those patient needs causing a matching in the characteristics of the patient
and nurse, or a synergy of sorts (AACN, n.d.). The model covers eight patient characteristics and
eight nurse competencies. The patient characteristics include resiliency, vulnerability, stability,
complexity, resource availability, participation in care, participation in decision making, and
predictability. The nurse competencies include clinical judgement, advocacy and moral agency,
caring practices, collaboration, systems thinking, response to diversity, facilitation of learning,
and clinical inquiry (AACN, n.d.). The patient characteristics and the nurse competencies are all
ranked by levels (1-5) and the best possible care and outcomes stem from a relationship where
the nurse is able to operate on the same level or higher than the patient. An example would be
when an unstable patient with multiple comorbidities is placed in a room that is assigned to a
new graduate in the ED setting. While the nurse may be a “good” nurse, the lack of experience
and the complexity of the patient will not create the synergistic environment needed to promote
This study source was downloaded by 100000849044796 from CourseHero.com on 06-23-2022 14:01:28 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/94584294/Week-4-Discussion-Postdocx/
The theory I have chosen to explore for this week is the AACN’s Synergy Model for Patient Care
as I feel it would be useful to implement in the ED, which is where I currently work and where I
plan to stay after obtaining my NP.
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses developed and debuted the Synergy Model for
Patient Care in 1996 with the intentions of it being a new way of viewing nursing skills as well
as a way to assess those skills through various certifications (AACN, n.d.). The premise behind
the model was to develop a framework that would guide the meeting of patient needs by utilizing
the competencies of the nurse in order to provide complete and holistic patient care with an
improvement in overall patient outcomes (AACN, n.d.). The central idea of the model was that
the need of the patient is what drives the nurse-patient relationship, and the competencies of the
nurse must stem from those patient needs causing a matching in the characteristics of the patient
and nurse, or a synergy of sorts (AACN, n.d.). The model covers eight patient characteristics and
eight nurse competencies. The patient characteristics include resiliency, vulnerability, stability,
complexity, resource availability, participation in care, participation in decision making, and
predictability. The nurse competencies include clinical judgement, advocacy and moral agency,
caring practices, collaboration, systems thinking, response to diversity, facilitation of learning,
and clinical inquiry (AACN, n.d.). The patient characteristics and the nurse competencies are all
ranked by levels (1-5) and the best possible care and outcomes stem from a relationship where
the nurse is able to operate on the same level or higher than the patient. An example would be
when an unstable patient with multiple comorbidities is placed in a room that is assigned to a
new graduate in the ED setting. While the nurse may be a “good” nurse, the lack of experience
and the complexity of the patient will not create the synergistic environment needed to promote
This study source was downloaded by 100000849044796 from CourseHero.com on 06-23-2022 14:01:28 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/94584294/Week-4-Discussion-Postdocx/
