What’s in a name? When it comes to nursing care, quite a lot

Knowing nurses’ names can help foster therapeutic relationships, promote person-centred care, boost staff morale and improve patient support and safety

What’s in a name? A famous question. Anyone familiar with Romeo and Juliet might recall that Shakespeare has Juliet suggest that names are irrelevant. Not so. Names can be very important, indeed, so much so that two of our evidence & practice articles emphasise the positive aspects of knowing nurses’ names – both for patients and their nurses.

• RELATED: Introducing a named nurse model of care in a community nursing service

Introducing a named nurse model of care in a community nursing service describes the benefits of giving responsibility for a small group of patients to a named community nurse. It can help to promote person-centred care, improve patient safety, and foster therapeutic relationships, and for nurses to boost job satisfaction and morale, and aid workforce retention.

Health visiting pilot monitored parents’ mental health after birth of a rainbow baby

Continuing the theme, Supporting previously bereaved parents following the birth of a rainbow baby: a health visiting pilot details a service evaluation of a health visiting pilot where a named health visitor is given the task of monitoring parents’ mental health and providing trauma-informed parenting support. The results were good with all the parents involved saying that they found the pilot beneficial and supportive.

• RELATED: Supporting previously bereaved parents following the birth of a rainbow baby: a health visiting pilot

Exploring nurses’ experiences of caring for people who inject drugs with a physical health condition: an integrative literature review is not name-focused but does identify gaps in current practice and highlights the areas where better education and training are needed.

• RELATED: Exploring nurses’ experiences of caring for people who inject drugs with a physical health condition: an integrative literature review

Patients knowing nurses’ names and nurses receiving better training are a part of the picture, a means to an end. What all three clinical articles have in common is overcoming obstacles and highlighting the goal of providing high-quality, compassionate, person-centred care – which is something nurses in all primary care settings are well placed to deliver.

Esmerdis Berelian is editor of Primary Health Care