COMMENTS, CRITIQUE, AND INSPIRATION THE DISAPPEARANCE OF “ONE-TO-ONES” IN ACUTE PSYCHIATRIC CARE

Abstract

Do you remember “one-to-ones” in acute care? A “one-to-one” (not to be confused with “one-on-one,” an individual staff member who closely monitors a patient at all times) is a concept that may be unfamiliar to nurses who entered acute care psychiatric/mental health nursing within the past 10-15 years. One-to-ones are uninterrupted, lengthy, individual sit-down nurse-patient interactions. These one-to-ones were once an expected, necessary aspect of psychiatric/mental health nursing practice. Acute care psychiatric/mental health nurses were supposed to have at least one, one-to-one interaction daily with each patient he or she was assigned to. Nurses who worked in psychiatric settings when this was the norm and continue work in acute care now know that one-to-ones have all but disappeared.