Documentation practices of nurses in long‐term care

• Documentation of nursing care is an important source of reference and communication between nurses and other health care providers. • This article describes a study of the documentation practices of nurses in a long‐term care institution. • Results revealed a number of positive aspects of nurses' documentation practices and areas requiring modification or change which could be facilitated through redesigning the documentation system. • Implications for professional practice are discussed, which include the need for a concise, non‐duplicating system of documentation, and the importance of nursing documentation in support of evidence‐based practice.