Well, the staffing pattern in nursing homes is usually considered "team nursing", but what you saw was the way that bad teams function.

There are other staffing patterns out there, but if your only exposure to the nursing profession was in long-term care, then you haven't seen the things that a well-functioning team can do. I used to see it when I worked L&D in a large public teaching hospital, and we would have an emergency come in late at night. Everybody flew into action, and everyone knew their role. Some ERs and ICUs also have developed these cohesive teams.

thanks
Ginger Snap, sorry to not get back to you and your reply sooner then today! That's nice to hear, meaning a team approach to patient care does exist! Ideally, it is probably something all desire to see, but in an imperfect world, it is something for which to move toward. Thanks again for the comment..
David