Methods

Aims and objectives The study aimed to explore whether nurse staffing, experience and skill mix influenced the model of nursing care in medical-surgical wards. Background Methods of allocating nurses to patients are typically divided into four types: primary nursing, patient allocation, task assignment and team nursing. Research findings are varied in regard to the relationship between these models of care and outcomes such as satisfaction and quality. Skill mix has been associated with various models, with implications for collegial support, teamwork and patient outcomes. Design Secondary analysis of data collected on 80 randomly selected medical-surgical wards in 19 public hospitals in New South Wales, Australia during 2004-2005