AN INVESTIGATION INTO PRIMARY NURSING AND ITS EFFECT UPON THE NURSINGATTITUDES ABOUT AND ADMINISTRATION OF PRN NIGHT SEDATION

This study aims to explore the administration of pm night sedation by qualified night nurses on primary nursing and team nursing wards using a quasi-experimental design. The purpose of the study was to examine the attitudes of qualified nurses (n=20) about sleep problems in hospi tal and sleep medication and compare these attitudes with behaviour (t he administration of pm night sedation) reporting any differences betw een wards using team and primary nursing philosophies of care. Ten nur ses from team nursing wards and 10 nurses from primary nursing wards w ere interviewed about the amount of night sedation they had administer ed during one night shift. This was followed by a questionnaire aimed at examining their attitudes about sleep and night sedation using seve ral visual analogue scales. Findings proved to be significant in that results confirmed that team nurses gave out almost three times as much pm night sedation as nurses on primary nursing wards and held attitud es that closely correlated with more of a 'medical model' approach suc h as an emphasis on the advantages of night sedation and the need for its continued use in the dinical area.