The role of the nurse in screening asymptomatic male and female patients in a sexual health clinic.
We allocated 278 patients, who said they were asymptomatic and agreed to be randomized to a nurse or doctor clinic, to appointments using a random number system. In all, 35 patients did not attend and 16 were excluded because they did not meet the entry criteria. We used a screening protocol which excluded microscopy from the immediate assessment of patients. The outcome measures were completeness of documentation, proportion of patients accepting HIV tests, infections detected and patient satisfaction. Overall, 3% of items were not completed by doctors and 6% by nurses. HIV tests were carried out on 65% of patients who saw a doctor and 52% who saw a nurse. Thirteen infections were detected by doctors and 27 by nurses. No new cases of gonorrhoea, syphilis or HIV infection were identified. Eighty-eight patients completed a questionnaire after their attendance. Almost all patients were very satisfied with the service and most were prepared to see a nurse on a subsequent visit. We concluded that there are few differences between the performance of doctors and nurses in routine screening of asymptomatic patients.
Munday
P E
PE
Watford Sexual Health Centre, Watford General Hospital, Vicarage Road, Watford WD18 0HB, UK. pat.munday@whht.nhs.uk
Allan
A
A
Hearne
S
S
Gubbay
A
A
D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010819:Physician's Role; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology