Which statement describes a drawback of the Functional Nursing Model?

• A. It leads to holistic continuity of care
• B. It can lead to fragmentation of care
• C. It requires no coordination
• D. It ensures single accountability

Answer: (B)

Functional nursing divides care into tasks assigned to different staff by function (for example, one group handles medications, another handles dressing changes, another does vitals) rather than having one caregiver oversee all aspects of a patient’s care. The key drawback here is fragmentation of care. Because multiple people focus on specific tasks and hand off to one another, there isn’t a single, continuous point of coordination guiding the whole patient experience. This can break the sense of a cohesive care plan, lead to communication gaps, and make it harder to see the patient’s overall needs and progress. In contrast to setups that emphasize a continuous, holistic approach by a primary nurse or team, functional nursing distributes responsibility in a way that can erode continuity.