nurses' station

nurses' station,

an area in a clinic, unit, or ward in a health care facility that serves as the administrative center for nursing care for a particular group of patients. It is usually centrally located and may be staffed by a unit secretary or clerk who assists with paperwork, telephone, and other communication. Before going on duty, nurses usually meet there to receive daily assignments, review the patients' charts, and update the files. In a critical care unit, the nurses' station may also contain panels of visual display terminals that allow centralized monitoring of many patients and computer terminals that allow access to information in the patients' records or to a databank of clinical information. In other parts of a hospital, the nurses' station is equipped in any of various ways appropriate to the care of the patients in that area or unit.