Background: Experienced nurses in a genitourinary medicine (GUM) department were given further training to enable them to take a medical and presenting sexual history on a patient's first visit to the department. The nurses were also trained to examine and treat male patients, having previously only examined female patients at follow-up clinics. Protocols on the examination of new patients and patient group directions were devised to permit nurses to prescribe certain antibiotics for patients.
Conclusion: The audit examined the care provided by nurses for a sample of 300 patients in a GUM department. The results showed that a variety of conditions were successfully diagnosed and treated by nurses, and that patients, nurses and medical staff were satisfied with the nurse-directed service.