In this article we describe the results of a comparative study focusing on the evaluation of nursing documentation before and after an educational intervention. An additional aim is to report the results of a comparison between quality measurements of nursing documentation using the examination instruments NoGA© and Cat‐ch‐ing© and, against this background, to recommend an instrument for future examinations. The educational intervention was directed towards nurses at Helsingborg hospital/health care district. The intervention, which comprised supervision, group sessions, lectures and field trips, covered a period of two years and was built on a learning model. In all, the data material examined included 515 nursing records collected from 52 units. The study reports on a comparison of the examination results from four different clinics for the years 1994 and 1997. The results show a statistically significant difference between the four clinics before the intervention, a difference that disappeared after the intervention. Furthermore, the results show a statistically significant improvement in documentation after the intervention. For future examinations, it is recommended that the examination instrument Cat‐ch‐ing© should be used and that methods for examination of the content of the documentation must be developed.