thors of Effective Nursing in Management indicated, "a system needs to be cost effective and realistic in regard to available staff and must give nurses maximum recognition and autonomy" (Sullivan, Decker, 1992).
             The first method, the Case method, also commonly referred to as 'total care' is one of the earliest models developed (Hamilton, 1992). This method involves the assignment of responsibility for one or more patients to one nurse. The nurse is accountable for the comprehensive care of the assigned patients during the entire shift. The duties include assessing patient needs, constructing care plans, formulating diagnoses, implementing care and evaluating the effectiveness of that care (Hamilton, 1992). For all cases, the assigned nurses report to a head nurse who is ultimately responsible for making assignments, supervising activities on the unit, and reporting to their supervisors (Kozier, Erb, Olivieri, 1991).
             As with any method of patient care, there are obviously advantages and disadvantages to the case nursing assignment system. There is an advantage for staff nurses because, with case nursing, they are able to gain a holistic view of the patients. Furthermore, the members of nursing management are able to match patient needs with caregiver abilities. For those reasons, the model supports many aspects of the themes of traditional nursing. However, one disadvantage to the system is that there is no assurance in continuity of care from day to day. Another major disadvantage at a least from a professional point of view, arises when highly skilled nurses are forced to perform unskilled tasks that quite often prove to be very time consuming (Hamilton, 1992). These aspects of the system compromise the intimacy and holism that are at the core of nursing (McCloskey, Grace, 1994).
             Even though the case method is still used in some settings, it is not one of the most popular. It was actually, for the most part deemed...