ABSTRACT
It is probably fair to say that, of all the clinical, administrative and professional activities that nurses are involved in, the process of writing and maintaining effective clinical records is the one most fraught with problems but the one which few nurses ever really give any serious thought to once they have achieved their registration. Something carried out so repetitively ceases to attract much attention because it lacks stimulation. It is a little like the first time we buy a new personal fragrance, it smells wonderful and we wear it all the time. After a while we put more and more on because we cannot smell it ourselves, whereas others who come into contact with us are overpowered by it. Nurses who read clinical records for the first time often see things that the experienced writer has missed during their production, and writers would probably be annoyed at having their mistakes pointed out to them.
