Primary nursing: a mode of care or a philosophy of nursing?
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.
Pontin
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Institute of Health Studies, University of Plymouth, Somerset Centre, Taunton, England. dpontin@plymouth.ac.uk
D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D009736:Nursing Process; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States