Nursing care models worksheet: observed and alternative
A Week 5 worksheet completed on a supplied template, requiring you to read Finkelman pages 111 to 116, observe staff delivering nursing care in a practice setting, identify and evidence the care model you observed, summarise one scholarly resource on that model and one on a different model, explain how the different model could be implemented to improve quality, safety and staff satisfaction, and summarise what the experience taught you.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 13, 2026
Observe first, then name it
Nine numbered steps make this look like a reading exercise, but only one of them sends you anywhere. Step three asks you to observe staff delivering nursing care, and step four asks you to be specific about what you observed: who was doing what, when, how, and what led you to identify that particular model. Everything else is scaffolding around that observation. Students who complete this worksheet from the textbook alone produce a competent summary of team nursing and lose most of the available marks, because the worksheet is not testing whether you can define a model. It is testing whether you can recognise one running in front of you on a real unit. Go to the setting first, watch a shift or part of one, write down what you actually saw, and only then open Finkelman. The reading tells you what to call it, which is the order the steps quietly imply.
Identification has to be evidential rather than declarative, and this is the single place where the marks concentrate. Writing that the unit uses team nursing is an assertion. Writing that one registered nurse held accountability for twelve patients while directing two assistants who took observations and provided personal care, that she checked and countersigned their entries, and that assignments were made by geography rather than acuity, is evidence from which a reader can identify team nursing without being told. Build the identification the same way a diagnosis is built, from findings to conclusion. The features that distinguish the models from one another are who holds accountability, how work is divided, whether the assignment follows the patient or the task, and how continuity is maintained across shifts. Note each of those, then name the model. If what you saw does not match any model cleanly, say so and say which two it sits between.
The two scholarly resources have genuinely different jobs and the steps separate them for that reason. Step five wants a resource on the model you observed, which should tell you something the observation could not, such as what the model does to missed care, to nurse-sensitive outcomes, or to the ratio of direct to indirect care time. Step six wants a resource on a different model, which is your evidence base for the recommendation that follows. Neither should be the textbook, and neither should be a nursing website summarising the models, since the requirement is a scholarly resource. Summarise each in your own words with enough detail that a reader knows the design, the setting and the finding, not just the conclusion. A one-line summary reading that the study found primary nursing improves satisfaction does not show that you read it. Name the journal and the year as well, so the marker can see the evidence is current.
Step seven is the recommendation and it asks for specificity twice over, which most worksheets do not deliver. Discussing a different model in the abstract is easy; explaining how it could be implemented on the unit you actually watched is not. Say what would change about the assignment sheet, about handover, about who countersigns, about the skill mix required on a night shift, and about what the model asks of the charge nurse that the current one does not. Then address all three outcomes the prompt names, because quality, safety and staff satisfaction do not always move in the same direction. Primary nursing tends to improve continuity and satisfaction while demanding a richer skill mix than many units can staff. Naming that trade-off is the analysis. A recommendation that costs nothing and improves everything is the sign of a proposal nobody has thought through. Say plainly what the unit would lose as well as what it would gain.
On execution, the assignment states you are required to complete it using the template, so the template's headings are the structure and you should not write a flowing essay across them. The purpose statement adds one element the steps do not repeat, which is collaboration with a nurse leader to identify opportunities for improvement, so frame the recommendation as something you would take to a leader rather than something you would impose. Keep the setting and the staff de-identified throughout; you are describing a real unit and real people, and no marker needs the name of either. Finkelman pages 111 to 116 are the assigned pages and should be cited where they support the model definitions, with the two scholarly resources carrying the evidence. Close the summary in step eight with what the observation changed about your view, not with a restatement of the definitions.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Identify a nursing care delivery model from observed practice rather than from definition.
- 02Evidence the identification through accountability, work division and continuity.
- 03Summarise scholarly resources with design, setting and findings intact.
- 04Propose a different model with concrete operational changes.
- 05Address quality, safety and staff satisfaction as separate outcomes.
- 06Frame improvement as collaboration with a nurse leader.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
Important information for writing discussion questions and participation Hi Class, Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts. Contact me if you have any questions. Important information on Writing a Discussion Question Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article. Include in-text citations in your response Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information Follow APA-7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week. Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references) Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count. Follow APA 7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points. Here are some helpful links Student paper example Citing Sources The Writing Center is a great resource Welcome to class Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to. I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. 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A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week. I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01The completed Nursing Care Models Worksheet template.
- 02A specific description of the care delivery observed, including who did what, when and how.
- 03Identification of the model observed, with the reasoning that led to it.
- 04A summary of one scholarly resource on the observed model and one on a different model.
- 05An explanation of how the different model could improve quality, safety and staff satisfaction.
- 06A closing summary of what the experience taught you about the two models.
Working through the template's steps
The practice setting
Where the observation took place, in de-identified terms, and over what period.
What was observed
Who did what, when and how, recorded before any model was named.
Identifying the model
Accountability, division of work, assignment basis and continuity, leading to the name.
Scholarly resource on the observed model
Design, setting and findings, and what it adds beyond the observation.
Scholarly resource on a different model
The evidence base for the model you will recommend.
Implementing the different model
Concrete changes to assignment, handover, skill mix and leadership on the observed unit.
Quality, safety and staff satisfaction
Each outcome addressed separately, including any trade-off between them.
Summary of the experience
What the observation changed about your view of the two models.
Two resources with two different jobs
Recommended databases
- Finkelman, Leadership and Management for Nurses, pages 111 to 116
- CINAHL
- PubMed
- Your school's nursing databases
Search sequence
- 1.Record the observation before reading, so the reading does not shape what you think you saw.
- 2.Read the assigned pages to match observed features to model names.
- 3.Search for a study of the observed model that reports an outcome, not a description of it.
- 4.Search separately for a study of the model you intend to recommend.
- 5.Check whether either study's setting resembles the unit you observed, and say so if it does not.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
Five Rights of Nursing Delegation
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Delegation is the mechanism that distinguishes the models from each other, and the purpose statement names it directly.
- 02
Nursing Shortage
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Staffing pressure is the reason units adopt one model rather than another, and it constrains what you can recommend.
- 03
Change Management In Health Care
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Support for the implementation half of step seven, where a model change has to be proposed to a nurse leader.
- 04
Standards and Evaluation of Healthcare Quality, Safety, and Person-Centered Care
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Separates quality and safety as measured constructs, which the prompt asks you to address alongside staff satisfaction.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Completing the worksheet from the textbook without observing a practice setting.
- Asserting the model rather than evidencing it from what was observed.
- Using the textbook or a nursing website as one of the two scholarly resources.
- Summarising a study's conclusion without its design, setting or sample.
- Discussing the alternative model in the abstract instead of on the observed unit.
- Treating quality, safety and staff satisfaction as one undifferentiated outcome.
- Writing a continuous essay instead of completing the required template.
- Naming the facility or identifying individual staff members.
Submission checklist
- The supplied worksheet template is used and every heading is completed.
- Finkelman pages 111 to 116 have been read and are cited where relevant.
- The observation records who was doing what, when and how.
- The model is named after the evidence, not before it.
- Accountability, work division and continuity are each addressed.
- One scholarly resource covers the observed model, and it is not the textbook.
- A second scholarly resource covers a different model.
- Each summary states design, setting and findings.
- The implementation proposal names concrete changes to the observed unit.
- Quality, safety and staff satisfaction are addressed separately.
- Any trade-off in skill mix or staffing is acknowledged.
- The setting and staff are de-identified.
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Written by
Aaron Bishop
MA, Education
assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines
Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.
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PhD, Rhetoric & Composition
Argumentation and thesis development
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