Analysis of the Thinking Process Involved while Recording Information about the Sense of Touch by Nursing Staff

Abstract

Background and Aims : To examine the actual condition of information gathering and nurses' records and determine the thinking process of nursing staff during the recording of information about the sense of touch.
Methods : The subjects were 28 nurses. Participation observations and inquiries by interviews were carried out, to determine the relationship between the purpose of the nurse touching the body of the patient, as also the process of recording the sense of touch.
Results and discussion : (1) The purposes of touch was classified into 4 groups : “as a part of intentional observation, ” “as an assistant for observation, ” “as a part of nursing care, ” and “as a spontaneous act without giving any thought.” A significant relationship was noted between the part of the body touched and the purpose of touching the patient. (2) The rate of the collected information was 20.0% ; it was the frequency of pulse alone that was recorded at the rate of 100%. (3) There were five steps in the thinking pattern during the process of recording the sense of touch : “evaluation of the sense of touch for clinical information, ” “comparison with past information on the sense of touch, ” “displacement into other data, ” “the order of priority, ” and “record.” The thinking patterns were classified into 10 groups. (4) Three of these patterns showed complete lack of information, but the rest were recorded as information on sense or integrated by integrating the information with other information or utilizing it as an assistant.