Dedicated educational units

Abstract

N urses, as the largest aggregate of healthcare providers, are in a crucial position to enhance the quality and safety of contemporary healthcare. 1 The knowledge and expertise needed to deliver safe, high-quality care begins at the undergraduate level. Unfortunately, undergraduate nursing educational models haven't been substantially reformed for decades, and the need to redesign nursing education for quality and safety is of paramount concern to the nursing discipline. 2 The dedicated education unit (DEU) evolved as an academic-service partnership model with the potential to enhance the relevance and authenticity of undergraduate nursing clinical experiences. The DEU model involves a restructuring of the partnerships among hospital leaders, direct care nurses, nursing faculty, and nursing students. In the nursing units utilized for this study, college and university nursing faculty are integrated and physically available for oversight, and direct care nurses provide direct supervision and direction of student learning. Each direct care nurse accepts a patient assignment in partnership with two nursing students. Direct care nurses role model and support contemporary nursing practice for the students; faculty role model and support theoretical integration and evidence. The organizational change involved in implementing the DEU, including changing the role of the direct care nurse, requires careful management planning and implementation. 3 Temporary drops in patient satisfaction with the onset of the DEU may occur as direct care nurses expand their roles and duties.Current evidence supports that the DEU experience is beneficial to nursing students, nursing faculty, and nurse preceptors. 4-15 However, little evidence and documentation exist to guide nurse managers and hospital nurse leaders regarding the relationship between the implementation of nursing DEU units and patient satisfaction over time.In this healthcare environment of rising costs, sustainability of the DEU model will be achieved only if additional outcomes can support a financial return on investment and a positive impact on the quality of the patient-care experience. MethodFour nursing DEU units and four matched comparison units were selected from two affiliated, urban tertiary care hospitals in the Northeastern United States (two DEU and two comparison units in each hospital). Comparison units are referred to as "traditional" by welcoming nursing students and faculty but don't involve direct care nurses in educating the students. The traditional nursing units were chosen by a committee of master'sprepared nursing educators employed within the hospitals for the similarities in nurses' ages, patient acuity, and admitting diagnosis.Using the nursing care unit as the level of analysis, nurse sensitive patient satisfaction scores were obtained from the second quarter of 2008 to present. Scores included overall satisfaction,