Nursing Leadership Strategies for Implementing Nursing Full Scope of Practice into Acute Care Team-Led Healthcare Settings

Abstract

The nursing new model of care was introduced in Nova Scotia as an innovative cost-efficient measure to integrate registered nurses (RN) and licensed practical nurses (LPN) in a unified strategy as a team-led holistic initiative to produce best patient outcomes. Such an approach to reorganizing nursing practice necessitates RNs to work to their full scope of practice. Working to full scope has been interpreted by tasks nurses perform and not what professional regulatory bodies dictate. There is increased RN-LPN tension when LPNs are working to full scope and tasks overlap, a pay differential still occurs. Working to full scope has implications for nursing leadership to sustain healthy work environments. The incentive driving creation of innovative nursing practice models is to contain costs as well as promote retention and recruitment of nurses in acute care [1]. Research has only recently addressed the question of the impact of the models' effects on patient outcomes [2].