title: Nurse value-added and patient outcomes in acute care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aims of the study were to (1) estimate the relative nurse effectiveness, or individual nurse value-added (NVA), to patients' clinical condition change during hospitalization; (2) examine nurse characteristics contributing to NVA; and (3) estimate the contribution of value-added nursing care to patient outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic data on 1,203 staff nurses matched with 7,318 adult medical-surgical patients discharged between July 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011 from an urban Magnet-designated, 854-bed teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective observational longitudinal analysis using a covariate-adjustment value-added model with nurse fixed effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were extracted from the study hospital's electronic patient records and human resources databases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nurse effects were jointly significant and explained 7.9 percent of variance in patient clinical condition change during hospitalization. NVA was positively associated with having a baccalaureate degree or higher (0.55, p = .04) and expertise level (0.66, p = .03). NVA contributed to patient outcomes of shorter length of stay and lower costs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses differ in their value-added to patient outcomes. The ability to measure individual nurse relative value-added opens the possibility for development of performance metrics, performance-based rankings, and merit-based salary schemes to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.
authors.affiliation: Division of Systems Leadership and Effectiveness Science, School of Nursing, Department of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 400 North Ingalls Building, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5482.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yakusheva
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lindrooth
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease / Q000451:nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Nurse value-added; nurse education; patient outcomes