title: Taking control of information.
abstract: WHAT NURSING is and what nurses do can only be drawn from the information that they share in clinical communication. The information that surrounds the core of formal, organisational information is the informal 'professional' information of nursing. There is increased attention to information systems of paper and technology to meet accountability obligations and legal requirements. Much of the information attributing to the nurse's professional role is carried around 'in the head' with the result that nursing's professional information is either 'head held' or recorded on subsidiary notes. These issues give rise to challenges for nurse managers and leaders who could argue that the profession does need its informal information which should be captured within the organisation's system.
authors.affiliation: At School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Wolverhampton.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ballard