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Nursing Professional Practice Model

What is a Professional Practice Model (PPM)?

A professional practice model describes how registered nurses practice, collaborate, communicate and develop professionally to provide high-quality care. It defines what is important to RNs and drives current and future nursing practice at University of Miami Hospital and Clinics (UMHC)/UHealth.

Why Do We Need a Professional Practice Model?

  • To ensure that consistency is maintained in the professional practice of nursing throughout the organization, regardless of the unit, setting or functional role of the nurse (i.e. direct care, charge nurse, nurse specialist, manager, researcher, nurse practitioner, etc.).
  • The model promotes continuity, consistency and a common way of describing and understanding UMHS/UHealth Nursing wherever nursing is practiced.
  • By defining the components of the UMHC/ UHealth Nursing PPM, the description of the foundation of professional nursing practice.

The Framework of Our PPM Guides the Nursing Strategic Plan By:

  • Recognizing our core values, mission and vision
  • Defining the components of nursing practice in the delivery of nursing care
  • Supporting nurse-driven delivery of patient care through shared governance and active participation in unit-based and hospital-wide Professional Practice Councils (Core Councils)
  • Identifying the nursing theories that provide structure for decisions and practice for the professional nurse
  • By maintaining the PPM, we achieve optimal patient outcomes and pillars of excellence

PPM Explanation. What Does it All Mean? The Anchor and the Helm/Wheel

The UMHC/UHealth Nursing PPM, as depicted by an anchor and ship’s helm/wheel, is the schematic representation of the framework for patient care, nursing practice and relationships. The anchor represents our theme, Anchored to Excellence, and it reflects a practice environment built on a foundation of shared governance. The PPM provides a blueprint for the delivery of patient care and illustrates the alignment and integration of nursing practice with the mission, vision, philosophy and values of nursing at UMHC/ UHealth and the elements include:

  1. The self, patients, families and community
  2. Relationship-based nursing care
  3. Healing culture
  4. Bell of hope and healing
  5. Professional values of care, compassion, wisdom, love and excellence
  6. Nursing theories
  7. Transformational leadership
  8. Shared governance
  9. Evidence-based practice
  10. Interprofessional collaboration
  11. Pillars of excellence
  12. Mind, body and spirit
  13. Lotus
  14. Anchor of Excellence

Transforming Nursing Practice Anchored for ExcellenceThe wheel has a stable center connecting to multiple spokes.

The center of the wheel represents the focus of our care of self, the patient, family and community.

The inner spokes depict our core values: care, compassion, wisdom, love and excellence. The delivery of compassionate, evidence-based patient care enhances the professional status for nurses, improves communication between nurses and other healthcare colleagues and guides the hospital’s research and educational goals.

The smaller circle represents how the care is delivered through relationship-based care and promotes a healing culture.

The larger circle represents the nursing theories and models that provide structure for decisions and practice, provides nurses with clarity of purpose and strengthens professional identity:

  1. Transformational Leadership
  2. Shared Governance
  3. Evidence-Based Practice — promotes the collection interpretation and integration of valid, important and applicable patient-reported, clinician-observed and research-derived evidence
  4. Madeleine Leininger — Transcultural Nursing Care Theory
  5. Interprofessional Care model is an evidence-based approach for integrating health services.
  6. Jean Watson — Caring Science Theory

The outside spokes represent the pillars of excellence:

  • People
  • Service
  • Finance
  • Quality
  • Growth

All Nurses Should Understand and Be Able to Articulate This Model and How It Applies to Their Practice