Hospital nurses' perceptions of discharge planning for medical patients

Hospital nurses' perceptions of discharge planning were investigated through semi-focused interviews conducted with 12 nurses who worked in five medical wards of a large, metropolitan, teaching hospital. The findings revealed that the nurses' perceptions of discharge planning were influenced by their work experience, their knowledge of patients, the priority they gave to patients' needs, their understanding of the discharge planning process and their awareness of community resources. The nurses' role in discharge planning was not clearly delineated and their involvement in the process was inhibited by organisational factors such as short hospital stays and high patient turnover.