Information needed to support knowing the patient.
Published
Journal Article
"Knowing the patient" is an essential element of nursing practice. Despite a key finding in prior studies, few scholars have directly inquired about the meaning of knowing the patient with nurses. We aimed to describe the meaning of knowing the patient and investigate how nurses obtain the information needed to support knowing the patient. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted with 12 nurses caring for pediatric patients on intensive care units. Nurses described knowing the patient as knowing clinical and personal information for individualized care. Verbal, paper-based, and electronic information sources were used to gather information needed to know the patient. The use of a paper-based supportive tool was the most valuable information source for nurses to know their patients. Future studies must further investigate the use of these paper-based tools and offer electronic solutions to support nurses in knowing their patients.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Kelley, T; Docherty, S; Brandon, D
Published Date
- October 2013
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 36 / 4
Start / End Page
- 351 - 363
PubMed ID
- 24169113
Pubmed Central ID
- 24169113
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1550-5014
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0161-9268
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1097/ans.0000000000000006
Language
- eng