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The American Association Of Critical Care Nurses

Decent Essays
The American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) developed a model that explicates the bedside nurse practice. The goal of this model was to explain what skills or competencies were brought to the overall patient care by nurses when meeting the needs of the patient and their families (Hardin, 2013; McEwen, 2014b). The Synergy Model for Patient Care is a middle range nursing theory. Classification The AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care falls in the middle range nursing theories classification. According to McEwen (2014a) middle range nursing theories can be found in between abstract theories and concrete theories because they are specific. Middle range nursing theories have the ability to be operationally defined with a view into…show more content…
They needed a shift from a “body-system disease framework to a more holistic model that articulated both the art and science of contemporary critical care nursing practice” (Curley, 2007b, p. 255). The model is seen as rooted in the practice of nursing as explained by Virginia Henderson, known for her Nursing Need Theory (Curley, 2007a). According to Henderson (1960): Nursing is primarily assisting the individual (sick or well) in the performance of those activities contributing to health or his recovery (or to a peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will, or knowledge. (as cited in Cox, Cline, & Reed, 2007, p. 93) Components There are five assumptions that guide the AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care, additionally, there are a total of 16 concepts consisting of eight patient characteristics and eight nurse characteristics or competencies both leveled from 1 to 5. According to Curley (2007a), “The synergy that occurs within the relationship is unique to the profession and mutual in effect as it not only benefits patients, but it calls attention to therapeutic patient-nurse relationships that serve to sustain nurses within the profession” (p. 3). The AACN lists the five assumptions regarding nurses, patients, and their families that guide the Synergy Model • “Patients are biological, psychological, social, and spiritual entities who present at a particular developmental stage. The whole patient (body, mind, and spirit)
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