Patient history taking

摘要

Reading the learning zone article on taking a patient history encouraged me to reflect on this core clinical skill. I have worked in a variety of different areas of nursing since I qualified as a nurse more than ten years ago, and taking a patient history is a skill that is applicable to all areas of nursing.I agree with the notion that nurses are perhaps less comfortable with the idea of formally taking a patient history while acknowledging that patient assessment is integral to providing effective nursing care. I am aware of the importance of taking a detailed patient history, but viewed it as an activity performed by medical colleagues and usually performed during patient admission.