Commitment to patient care: an exploratory study among registered nurses in Bophutatswana

In this second article on the commitment to patient care the methodology and results of the study are briefly described and discussed. The research method was a non-experimental qualitative survey, using several data-gathering methods such as semi-structured interviews with registered nurses and patients, the examination of nurses' and patients' records and non-participant observations. Although the responses of nurses and patients indicated that both groups considered commitment to be essential to patient care, the examination of patient records, nurses' evaluation reports and observations showed lack of commitment in practice. Various reasons for this are explored and recommendations made.