Primary nursing: A mode of care or a philosophy of nursing?

Pontin, David

Abstract

An examination of the literature surrounding primary nursing has shown that the term 'primary nursing' is used to mean different things by different authors. This results in a confusing situation where 'primary nursing' is considered by some to mean both a mode of organizing care delivery and a philosophy of nursing. In this paper I argue for a clear separation between the terms which refer to the set of ideas underpinning nursing and descriptions of modes of care. A case is made for using the term 'human centred nursing' to refer to nursing beliefs and 'primary nursing' to refer to the mode of nursing care delivery.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 1999
• Journal: Journal of Advanced Nursing
• Print ISSN: 0309-2402
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2648
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 584-591
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.00926.x
• Keywords: primary nursing, care, philosophy
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1097082
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.00926.x