A disadvantage of Functional Nursing is:

• A. Fragmentation of nursing care.
• B. Highly personalized patient care.
• C. Strong accountability.
• D. Clear communication.

Answer: (A)

Functional nursing assigns tasks to different staff members instead of having one nurse oversee all aspects of a patient’s care. The key drawback of this approach is fragmentation of nursing care: care becomes a sequence of separate tasks rather than a cohesive, coordinated plan for the whole patient. When multiple people handle different duties, it’s easy for important changes in condition to be missed, assessments to lack continuity, and plans to feel disjointed. Handoffs between workers can blur accountability and create communication gaps, leaving the patient with a sense of fragmented attention rather than consistent, personalized care. In contrast, care models that emphasize ongoing, integrated attention—where one nurse or a small team consistently follows the patient—tend to offer more holistic, continuous care. Accountability and communication are typically clearer in those setups.