Record keeping is an essential part of nursing practice with clinical and legal significance. Good quality record keeping is linked with improvements in patient care, while poor standards of documentation are regarded as contributing to poor quality nursing care. The quality of nursing documentation has consistently been found to be failing to meet recommended standards. This article will provide an overview of the literature on record-keeping practice and examine what makes good quality record keeping and the factors that prevent nurses from achieving good documentation standards. This article will also look at ways that documentation standards can be improved and the impact that accountability has on the record-keeping practices of nurses.

Nurses need to be aware of their professional, legal and ethical responsibilities towards patients. Male nurses in particular face problems in their practice as a result of their gender and the stereotypes associated with male nurses. Such stereotypes can act as a barrier to their duty of care. This article examines the challenges associated with male nurses carrying out intimate, physical care. It discusses the ethical, legal and professional issues that male nurses should consider in relation to maintenance of patient dignity during nursing care provision, particularly in relation to female patients.

Nurses need to be aware of their professional, legal and ethical responsibilities towards patients. Male nurses in particular face problems in their practice as a result of their gender and the stereotypes associated with male nurses. Such stereotypes can act as a barrier to their duty of care. This article examines the challenges associated with male nurses carrying out intimate, physical care. It discusses the ethical, legal and professional issues that male nurses should consider in relation to maintenance of patient dignity during nursing care provision, particularly in relation to female patients.