The Synergy Model as a Framework for Nursing Rounds

The process of nursing rounds provides critical care nurses with opportunities to exchange ideas with each other and to formulate the nursing plan of care. During these rounds, the nurse facilitator can use the Synergy Model as a framework for dialogue. Guided by the Synergy Model, nurses can articulate their patients’ and families’ characteristics and identify their own nursing competencies. This article will describe the Synergy Model and will demonstrate, through a case study, how the Synergy Model can be used during nursing rounds.

The Synergy Model maintains that when a nurse’s competencies are driven by the needs and characteristics of the patient and family, improved outcomes will result for the patient, the family, and the healthcare system itself.

Eight identified need s and characteristics can describe a holistic picture of the patient and family. Each characteristic is conceptualized on a continuum so that the patient can be described as...