A study protocol to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the Clinical Nurse Leader Care Model in improving quality and safety outcomes

AIMS: Patients are harmed or die every year because of unsafe, inappropriate or inadequate healthcare delivery. Registered Nurses are a recognized patient safety strategy. However, variability in research findings indicate the relationship is not as simple as “more nurses=better outcomes.” Hence, currently there exists no evidence‐based frontline nursing care model. One emerging model is the Clinical Nurse Leader care model. DESIGN: This Hybrid Type II Implementation‐Effectiveness study will evaluate the effect of the care model on standardized quality and safety outcomes and identify implementation characteristics that are sufficient and necessary to achieve outcomes. METHODS: This study leverages a natural experiment in 66 clinical care units in nine hospitals across five states in the United States that have implemented the Clinical Nurse Leader care model. RESULTS: Findings will elucidate Registered Nurse's mechanisms of action as organized into frontline models of care and link actions to improved care quality and safety.