Nurse mentor system cuts costs, boosts quality of patient care.

A new approach to patient care, which combines the mentor concept used in industry and the team concept used in traditional health care delivery systems, is helping to solve one hospital's problems of a chronic regional shortage of registered nurses, regularly rising costs, lack of recognition for individual interpersonal and clinical expertise, and the lack of an ongoing staff development program. The nurse mentor at Children's Hospital of San Francisco acts as a patient advocate and also counsels, teaches, coaches, supports, promotes, and inspires the members of her primary nursing team.