Achieving quality and fiscal outcomes in patient care: the clinical mentor care delivery model.

Contemporary patient care requires sophisticated clinical judgment and reasoning in all nurses. However, the level of development regarding these abilities varies within a staff. Traditional care models lack the structure and process to close the expertise gap creating potential patient safety risks. In an innovative model, senior, experienced nurses were relieved of direct patient care assignments to oversee nursing care delivery. Evaluation of the model showed significant impact on quality and fiscal outcomes.