Description of a nurse practitioner inpatient service in a public teaching hospital.

A new nurse practitioner service at a public teaching hospital received patients from internal medicine teaching services. To determine the characteristics of the patients, the ratings by the residents, and the professional team costs, the authors performed a case-series study of the first 248 patients. Transferred patients had conditions that necessitated long hospitalizations, most frequently cerebrovascular accident, dementia, and pneumonia. Housestaff rated the service positively. Estimated professional costs were similar to teaching service costs after 15 months. The nurse practitioner inpatient service effectively cared for internal medicine patients with long lengths of stay and received favorable housestaff ratings.