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The Synergy Model at work in a military ICU in Iraq.

Freyling ME, Kesten KS, Heath J

Tripler Army Medical Center, Surgical Product Line, 1 Jarrett White Road, Honolulu, HI 96859, USA. beth.freyling@us.army.mil

The Synergy Model for Patient Care, developed by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), demonstrates that positive patient outcomes are achieved when patient characteristics are matched with nurse competencies. Through the vivid realities in the daily journal of a military ICU nurse taking care of patients in Iraq, a virtual triad learning experience provided academic, clinical, and personal support. This article describes how effective nursing practice, whether providing direct patient care in the United States or in a military ICU in Iraq, must be centered around the needs and characteristics of patients. Acute and critically ill patients in a military ICU in Iraq have unique needs and require nurses with competent skills to help promote optimal outcomes.

Published 21 January 2008 in Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am, 20(1): 23-9, v-vi.
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