A model for patient-centred nurse consulting in primary care

A model for patient-centred nurse consulting, developed in the context of secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, is reported in this article. The model was created in the absence of any existing model for nurse consulting. Heart disease clinics are increasingly being used to implement the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease and it is anticipated that this model will be of practical use to nurses running these clinics. The model consists of eight steps, broadly following the chronology of the consultation. Each step contains a question for the nurse to ask him/herself and a task to complete. The model was developed as part of a research project on the influence of customized computer software used on nurse consultations with patients with heart disease.