12 July 2011
Q. I am asking my nurse to write up the notes in the patients' clinical records. Does she need to sign every entry on the record card?
Whilst a signature of a dental nurse indicates her presence on that particular day, it does not necessarily have to be an actual signature; it could just be a note of his or her name.
A signature itself does not necessarily indicate the original source of the information to which it relates because the records entered by the nurse will have been dictated by the dentist and s/he alone will be responsible for verifying the accuracy of what is written.
To sum up then, there is no reason why the name of the nurse should not be recorded on the clinical records, but there is no necessity for there to be a definitive signature.
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