title: Implementing fundamental care in clinical practice.
abstract: Modern healthcare environments are becoming increasingly complex. Delivering high-quality fundamental care in these environments is challenging for nurses and has been the focus of recent media, policy, academic and public scrutiny. Much of this attention arises from evidence that fundamental care is being neglected or delivered inadequately. There are an increasing number of standards and approaches to the delivery of fundamental care, which may result in confusion and additional documentation for nurses to complete. This article provides nurses with an approach to reframe their thinking about fundamental care, to ensure they meet patients' care needs and deliver holistic, person-centred care.
authors.affiliation: Adelaide Nursing School, University of Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feo
authors.affiliation: Adelaide Nursing School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Conroy
authors.affiliation: Adelaide Nursing School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alderman
authors.affiliation: University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kitson
keywords: Fundamentals of Care Framework; communication; essential nursing care; fundamental care; nurse-patient relationship; nursing process; person-centred care