Crafting effective nursing care plans is a cornerstone of quality patient care. For nursing students and seasoned professionals alike, understanding how to develop these plans systematically is crucial. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to writing comprehensive care plans, enhanced with a focus on Nanda Nursing Diagnosis Care Plans Examples. We aim to equip you with the knowledge and resources to excel in care planning, ensuring optimal patient outcomes.
Understanding Nursing Care Plans
A nursing care plan (NCP) is a structured, formal document that identifies a patient’s current health needs and potential risks. It serves as a vital communication tool among nurses, patients, and the broader healthcare team, ensuring consistent and coordinated care to achieve specific health goals. Without meticulous care planning, the quality and consistency of patient care would significantly diminish, potentially leading to fragmented and ineffective treatment.
The process of nursing care planning is dynamic, beginning at the patient’s admission and continuously evolving. It is regularly updated in response to changes in the patient’s condition and the ongoing evaluation of goal achievement. This patient-centered approach is fundamental to excellence in nursing practice, emphasizing individualized care tailored to each patient’s unique circumstances.
Types of Nursing Care Plans: From Standardized to Individualized
Nursing care plans exist on a spectrum from informal mental notes to detailed formal documents.
Informal Nursing Care Plans: These are unwritten strategies existing primarily in a nurse’s mind. They are often based on routine tasks and quick assessments but lack the depth and comprehensiveness of formal plans.
Formal Nursing Care Plans: These are documented guides, either written or computerized, that systematically organize patient care information. Formal plans are further categorized into standardized and individualized approaches.
Standardized Care Plans: Efficiency and Consistency
Standardized care plans are pre-established guidelines developed by healthcare facilities to ensure consistent care for patients with common needs. These plans streamline care for routine conditions, promoting efficient use of nursing time by eliminating the need to create care plans from scratch for every patient with similar needs.
While standardized plans ensure a baseline of acceptable care, they are not designed to address specific patient needs and goals. Instead, they serve as a starting point, a framework upon which to build more personalized care strategies. The examples provided in this guide are primarily standardized care plans, intended to be adapted and individualized for each patient.
Individualized Care Plans: Tailoring Care for Unique Needs
An individualized care plan involves customizing a standardized care plan to meet a specific patient’s unique requirements and objectives. This approach incorporates strategies known to be effective for the individual, ensuring a more personalized and holistic care experience. This tailored approach is crucial for addressing the multifaceted needs of patients, considering their personal strengths, preferences, and goals.
Individualized care plans are also strongly linked to improved patient satisfaction. When patients perceive that their care is specifically designed for them, they feel more valued and understood, enhancing their overall satisfaction with their healthcare experience. In today’s healthcare landscape, where patient satisfaction is a key indicator of quality, individualized care planning is more important than ever.
Tips for Individualizing Nursing Care Plans:
- Detailed Assessment: Conduct a thorough initial and ongoing assessment to identify unique patient needs beyond the standard condition.
- Patient Input: Actively involve patients in the planning process to understand their preferences, goals, and concerns.
- Flexibility: Be prepared to modify the care plan as the patient’s condition evolves or as new needs emerge.
- Holistic Approach: Consider physical, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual aspects of the patient’s well-being.
- Evidence-Based Adjustments: Integrate evidence-based practices that are specifically relevant to the patient’s individual circumstances.
Objectives of Nursing Care Plans
Writing a nursing care plan serves several critical objectives in healthcare:
- Evidence-Based Care: To promote nursing care that is grounded in evidence, creating a comfortable and familiar environment within healthcare settings.
- Holistic Patient Management: To support holistic care, addressing the patient as a whole person—physical, psychological, social, and spiritual—in both disease management and prevention.
- Program Development: To establish structured programs like care pathways and care bundles, which standardize best practices and expected outcomes through team consensus.
- Goal Clarity: To clearly identify and differentiate between broad goals and specific, measurable expected outcomes.
- Communication and Documentation: To streamline and enhance communication and documentation of patient care strategies and progress.
- Quality Measurement: To provide a framework for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of nursing care interventions.
Purposes and Importance of Nursing Care Plans
The purposes of a nursing care plan highlight its indispensable role in patient care:
- Defining the Nurse’s Role: Care plans delineate the distinct and autonomous role of nurses in addressing patient health and well-being, independent of physician directives.
- Guiding Individualized Care: They serve as a personalized roadmap for patient care, fostering critical thinking to develop tailored interventions.
- Ensuring Continuity of Care: Care plans enable consistent, high-quality interventions across different nursing shifts and departments, maximizing treatment benefits for patients.
- Coordinating Healthcare Efforts: They ensure all members of the healthcare team are informed of patient needs and required actions, preventing gaps in care.
- Documentation and Accountability: Care plans accurately document observations, nursing actions, and patient/family instructions, providing evidence of care delivered and meeting legal and professional standards. Proper documentation in the care plan is crucial; if it’s not documented, it’s considered not done.
- Staff Assignment Guidance: They assist in assigning staff based on specific patient care needs, ensuring appropriate skill sets are matched to patient requirements.
- Progress Monitoring: Care plans facilitate the tracking of patient progress, allowing for necessary adjustments to the care strategy in response to evolving health status and goals.
- Reimbursement Justification: Insurance providers utilize medical records, including care plans, to determine coverage and reimbursement for healthcare services.
- Patient Goal Definition: They involve patients in their treatment and care, promoting shared decision-making and enhancing patient engagement.
Key Components of a Nursing Care Plan
A comprehensive nursing care plan typically includes several essential components, all working together to guide patient care effectively. These components are:
- Nursing Diagnoses: Clear statements of patient health problems that nurses are licensed and competent to treat. These are often based on the NANDA-I taxonomy, providing a standardized language for describing patient conditions.
- Patient Problems/Needs: A broader description of the issues the patient is facing, which may encompass medical diagnoses but are focused from a nursing perspective.
- Expected Outcomes: Measurable, realistic goals for patient health improvement, defining what the nurse and patient aim to achieve.
- Nursing Interventions: Specific actions nurses will perform to help patients achieve the expected outcomes.
- Rationales: The scientific reasoning behind each nursing intervention, explaining why it is appropriate and effective for the given nursing diagnosis.
- Evaluation: A process to assess the patient’s progress toward achieving the expected outcomes and the effectiveness of the nursing care plan.
These components are organized into various formats to facilitate clear and efficient communication and documentation.
Care Plan Formats: Structuring Information for Clarity
Nursing care plans can be structured in various formats, commonly organized into columns to present information clearly. The most frequently used formats are three-column and four-column plans, with some agencies also using a five-column format.
Three-Column Format
The three-column format is a streamlined approach, including:
- Nursing Diagnosis: Identifies the health problem.
- Outcomes and Evaluation: Combines desired patient outcomes and evaluation criteria in one column.
- Interventions: Lists the nursing actions to achieve outcomes.
! [3-column nursing care plan format](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/3-Column-Nursing-Care-Plan-Format-copyNCP-2021.png)
Three-column nursing care plan format provides a concise overview of diagnosis, expected outcomes, and planned interventions.
Four-Column Format
The four-column format offers a more detailed structure:
- Nursing Diagnosis: States the nursing diagnosis.
- Goals and Outcomes: Separates goals and specific, measurable outcomes.
- Interventions: Details the nursing interventions.
- Evaluation: Focuses specifically on evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and patient progress.
! [4-Column Nursing Care Plan Format](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/4-Column-Nursing-Care-Plan-Format-2021.png)
Four-column nursing care plan template provides a more granular view, separating goals from outcomes and offering a dedicated evaluation column.
For practical use, you can download and customize these templates:
Download: Printable Nursing Care Plan Templates and Formats
Student Care Plans: Detailed Learning Tools
Student care plans are significantly more detailed than those used by practicing nurses. They are designed as learning exercises to deepen understanding of the nursing process. Typically, student plans are handwritten and include an additional column for “Rationales” or “Scientific Explanation” after nursing interventions. These rationales provide the scientific basis for each intervention, linking nursing actions to underlying principles of health and disease.
! [Student Nursing Care Plan Format](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Student-Nursing-Care-Plan-Format-copy.jpg)
Student nursing care plans are designed to be comprehensive, including rationales for each intervention to enhance learning and understanding of care planning principles.
Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Nursing Care Plan
Developing a nursing care plan is a systematic process that follows several key steps, ensuring thorough and patient-centered care.
Step 1: Comprehensive Data Collection and Assessment
The initial step is to gather a comprehensive patient database using various assessment techniques and data collection methods. This includes:
- Physical Assessment: Hands-on examination to assess the patient’s physical health status.
- Health History: Gathering information about the patient’s past and present health conditions, medications, and treatments.
- Patient Interview: Direct communication with the patient to understand their symptoms, concerns, and perspectives.
- Medical Records Review: Examination of the patient’s medical chart for existing diagnoses, treatments, and progress notes.
- Diagnostic Studies: Reviewing results from laboratory tests, imaging, and other diagnostic procedures.
This client database encompasses all pertinent health information collected. During this phase, nurses identify related or risk factors and defining characteristics that will inform the nursing diagnoses. Many institutions and nursing schools provide specific assessment formats to guide this process.
Critical thinking is paramount in patient assessment. It involves integrating knowledge from various sciences and professional guidelines to make informed evaluations. This process is crucial for complex clinical decision-making, aiming to effectively identify patient healthcare needs within a supportive environment and using reliable information.
Step 2: Data Analysis and Organization
Once data collection is complete, the next step is to analyze, cluster, and organize the collected information. This involves:
- Identifying Patterns: Recognizing trends and groupings of data that indicate potential health issues.
- Clustering Data: Grouping related cues together to form meaningful categories.
- Analyzing Discrepancies: Investigating any inconsistencies or gaps in the data.
This structured analysis helps in formulating accurate nursing diagnoses, prioritizing patient needs, and setting realistic desired outcomes.
Step 3: Formulating NANDA Nursing Diagnoses
Nursing diagnoses, especially those based on the NANDA-I framework, provide a standardized method for identifying and addressing specific patient needs and responses to health problems. These diagnoses are clinical judgments about individual, family, or community experiences/responses to actual or potential health problems/life processes. They are health problems that nurses are qualified to treat independently.
For a detailed guide on formulating nursing diagnoses, refer to: Nursing Diagnosis (NDx): Complete Guide and List. This resource offers a comprehensive overview of the process and provides numerous nanda nursing diagnosis examples to guide your practice.
Examples of NANDA Nursing Diagnoses:
- Acute Pain: Unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.
- Example Care Plan: Acute Pain and Pain Management
- Impaired Physical Mobility: Limitation in independent, purposeful physical movement of the body or one or more extremities.
- Example Care Plan: Impaired Physical Mobility & Immobility
- Risk for Infection: Vulnerable to invasion and multiplication of pathogenic organisms, which may compromise health.
- Example Care Plan: Risk for Infection & Infection Control
- Deficient Knowledge: Absence or deficiency of cognitive information related to a specific topic.
- Example Care Plan: Deficient Knowledge & Patient Education
- Anxiety: Vague uneasy feeling of discomfort or dread accompanied by an autonomic response.
- Example Care Plan: Anxiety & Fear
These nanda nursing diagnosis examples are starting points. Each must be tailored to the specific patient, considering their unique defining characteristics and related factors.
Step 4: Prioritizing Nursing Diagnoses
Setting priorities involves ranking nursing diagnoses to address the most critical needs first. This step requires collaboration between the nurse and patient to decide which problems require immediate attention. Diagnoses are typically categorized into high, medium, and low priority. Life-threatening issues always receive the highest priority.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a useful framework for prioritizing nursing diagnoses. Developed by Abraham Maslow in 1943, this hierarchy ranks human needs from basic physiological needs to self-actualization. Basic needs must be met before higher-level needs can be addressed.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in Nursing:
- Physiological Needs (High Priority): These are fundamental for survival.
- Examples: Breathing, circulation, nutrition, hydration, elimination, sleep, pain relief.
- Nursing interventions targeting airway, breathing, and circulation (ABCs) are always top priority.
- Safety and Security Needs: Focus on physical and emotional safety.
- Examples: Preventing injury, infection control, patient safety measures, creating a trusting environment.
- Interventions include fall precautions, medication safety, and ensuring a safe environment.
- Love and Belonging Needs: Relate to social connection and support.
- Examples: Fostering supportive relationships, addressing social isolation, therapeutic communication.
- Nursing actions include facilitating family visits and creating a supportive atmosphere.
- Self-Esteem Needs: Involve feelings of confidence and achievement.
- Examples: Promoting patient independence, recognizing accomplishments, supporting body image.
- Interventions include encouraging self-care and providing positive feedback.
- Self-Actualization Needs (Lowest Priority in Acute Care): Focus on personal growth and reaching one’s full potential.
- Examples: Facilitating spiritual growth, empowering patients, supporting personal goals.
- Often addressed in long-term care or rehabilitation settings.
! [Henderson’s 14 Needs & Maslow’s Hierarchy](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Hendersons-14-Needs-as-Applied-to-Maslows-Heirarchy-of-Needs.jpg)
Virginia Henderson’s 14 Needs applied to Maslow’s Hierarchy, illustrating how basic physiological needs must be addressed before higher-level needs can be met. Learn more about it here.
Patient values, beliefs, available resources, and the urgency of the health problem are also crucial factors in setting priorities. Involving the patient in this process enhances cooperation and ensures patient-centered care.
Step 5: Establishing Client Goals and Desired Outcomes
After prioritizing nursing diagnoses, the nurse and patient collaborate to set goals for each priority diagnosis. Goals or desired outcomes describe the expected changes in patient health status as a result of nursing interventions. They provide direction for planning interventions, serve as benchmarks for evaluating patient progress, and motivate both the patient and nurse by providing a sense of accomplishment.
! [Desired Goals and Outcomes Examples](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Desired-Goals-and-OutcomesNCP-2021.png)
Examples of well-written goals and desired outcomes, demonstrating how they are formatted to be specific, measurable, and patient-centered.
For each nursing diagnosis, an overarching goal is established. The terms “goal outcomes” and “expected outcomes” are often used interchangeably.
Effective goals should be SMART:
- Specific: Clearly defined and focused.
- Measurable: Quantifiable and able to be tracked.
- Attainable: Realistic and achievable for the patient.
- Relevant: Aligned with patient needs and priorities.
- Time-bound: Include a timeframe for achievement.
Additionally, using the REEPIG standards ensures high-quality care planning:
- Realistic: Achievable with available resources.
- Explicitly Stated: Clear and unambiguous.
- Evidence-Based: Supported by research.
- Prioritized: Addressing the most urgent needs first.
- Involved: Including patient and multidisciplinary team input.
- Goal-Centered: Directly contributing to goal achievement.
Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
Goals can be classified as short-term or long-term:
- Short-Term Goals: Achievable over a short period, typically hours to days, often focusing on immediate needs in acute care settings.
- Long-Term Goals: Achievable over weeks or months, common for patients with chronic conditions or in long-term care facilities.
- Discharge Planning Goals: Long-term goals related to continued care after discharge, such as home health or rehabilitation.
Components of Goals and Desired Outcomes
Well-formulated goal statements include four components:
- Subject: Usually the patient (often implied).
- Verb: Action the patient will perform.
- Conditions/Modifiers: Context of the behavior (what, when, where, how).
- Criterion of Desired Performance: Standard for evaluation (optional but enhances measurability).
! [Components of Desired Outcomes and Goals](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Components-of-Desired-outcomes-and-goals.png)
Components of well-defined goals and desired outcomes, highlighting the subject, verb, conditions, and criteria that make goals effective.
Tips for Writing Goals and Desired Outcomes:
- Frame goals in terms of patient responses, not nurse activities (e.g., “Patient will…” not “Nurse will…”).
- Focus on patient actions, not nurse hopes.
- Use observable, measurable terms, avoiding vague language.
- Ensure outcomes are realistic for the patient’s situation and timeframe.
- Align goals with other healthcare therapies.
- Each goal should correspond to only one nursing diagnosis for clear evaluation.
- Ensure goals are important and valued by the patient to promote cooperation.
Step 6: Selecting Nursing Interventions
Nursing interventions are the specific actions nurses perform to help patients achieve their goals. Interventions should be aimed at addressing the etiology of the nursing diagnosis or reducing risk factors for potential problems. This planning step identifies and outlines interventions that are implemented in the subsequent “implementation” phase of the nursing process.
Types of Nursing Interventions
Nursing interventions can be categorized as:
! [Types of Nursing Interventions](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Types-of-Nursing-InterventionsNCP-2021.png)
Types of nursing interventions: independent, dependent, and collaborative, each playing a crucial role in comprehensive patient care.
- Independent Interventions: Actions nurses are licensed to initiate based on their professional judgment.
- Examples: Patient education, emotional support, ongoing assessment, comfort measures.
- Dependent Interventions: Actions requiring a physician’s order or supervision.
- Examples: Medication administration, IV therapy, implementing prescribed treatments.
- Collaborative Interventions: Actions carried out in coordination with other healthcare team members.
- Examples: Consulting with physical therapists, dietitians, social workers.
Effective nursing interventions should be:
- Safe and appropriate for the patient’s age, health, and condition.
- Achievable with available resources and time.
- Consistent with patient values, culture, and beliefs.
- Aligned with other therapies the patient is receiving.
- Based on nursing knowledge, experience, and relevant scientific principles.
Tips for Writing Nursing Interventions:
- Date and sign the care plan to ensure accountability and track planning timelines.
- Interventions should be specific and start with an action verb, clearly stating what the nurse will do. Include qualifiers detailing how, when, where, and how often the intervention should be performed.
- Example: “Educate patient on medication side effects before each dose.”
- Use only accepted abbreviations within the institution to maintain clarity and avoid errors.
Step 7: Providing Rationales
Rationales are the scientific explanations that justify each nursing intervention. They explain why a particular intervention is chosen, linking it to pathophysiological or psychological principles. Rationales are particularly emphasized in student care plans to help learners connect theory to practice.
! [Nursing Interventions and Rationale Example](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Nursing-Interventions-and-Rationale.png)
Example of nursing interventions paired with rationales, showing the scientific basis for each action in a care plan.
Step 8: Evaluation of the Care Plan
Evaluation is an ongoing, planned process to assess the patient’s progress toward achieving the set goals and to determine the effectiveness of the nursing care plan. It is a critical phase of the nursing process that dictates whether interventions should continue, be modified, or be discontinued.
Step 9: Documentation
The final step is to document the care plan according to hospital policy, making it part of the patient’s permanent medical record. This ensures that all healthcare providers have access to the plan and can contribute to consistent patient care. Documentation formats may vary by institution and educational program, but most follow a structured approach aligning with the steps of the nursing process.
Nursing Care Plan Examples and Resources
To further assist in care plan development, here is a categorized list of nursing care plans and nursing diagnoses, providing practical nanda nursing diagnosis care plans examples:
(List of care plans from original article, same categories and links)
Basic Nursing and General Care Plans
| Basic Nursing & General Care Plans |
|---|
| Acute Confusion (Delirium) and Altered Mental Status |
| Acute Pain and Pain Management |
| Activity Intolerance and Generalized Weakness |
| Cancer (Oncology Nursing) |
| Caregiver Role Strain and Family Caregiver Support Systems |
| Chronic Confusion (Dementia) |
| End-of-Life Care (Hospice Care or Palliative) |
| Fall Risk and Fall Prevention |
| Fatigue and Lethargy |
| Geriatric Nursing (Older Adult) |
| Grieving and Loss |
| Hypothermia and Cold Injuries |
| Hyperthermia (Fever) |
| Impaired Swallowing (Dysphagia) |
| Insomnia and Sleep Deprivation |
| Prolonged Bed Rest |
| Risk for Injury and Patient Safety |
| Self-Care and Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) |
| Surgery (Perioperative Client) |
| Systemic Lupus Erythematosus |
| Total Parenteral Nutrition |
Surgery and Perioperative Care Plans
| Surgery and Perioperative Care Plans |
|---|
| Amputation |
| Appendectomy |
| Cholecystectomy |
| Fracture UPDATED! |
| Hemorrhoids |
| Hysterectomy |
| Ileostomy & Colostomy |
| Laminectomy (Disc Surgery) |
| Mastectomy |
| Subtotal Gastrectomy |
| Surgery (Perioperative Client) |
| Thyroidectomy |
| Total Joint (Knee, Hip) Replacement |
Cardiac Care Plans
| Cardiac Care Plans |
|---|
| Angina Pectoris (Coronary Artery Disease) |
| Cardiac Arrhythmia (Digitalis Toxicity) |
| Cardiac Catheterization |
| Cardiogenic Shock |
| Congenital Heart Disease |
| Decreased Cardiac Output & Cardiac Support |
| Heart Failure UPDATED! |
| Hypertension UPDATED! |
| Hypovolemic Shock |
| Impaired Tissue Perfusion & Ischemia |
| Myocardial Infarction |
| Pacemaker Therapy |
Endocrine and Metabolic Care Plans
| Endocrine and Metabolic Care Plans |
|---|
| Addison’s Disease |
| Cushing’s Disease |
| Diabetes Mellitus (Type 1, Type 2) UPDATED! |
| Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) and Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Nonketotic Syndrome (HHNS) |
| Eating Disorders: Anorexia & Bulimia Nervosa |
| Fluid Volume Deficit (Dehydration & Hypovolemia) |
| Fluid Volume Excess (Hypervolemia) |
| Gestational Diabetes Mellitus |
| Hyperthyroidism |
| Hypothyroidism |
| Imbalanced Nutrition (Malnutrition) |
| Obesity & Overweight |
| Thyroidectomy |
| Unstable Blood Glucose Levels (Hyperglycemia & Hypoglycemia) |
| Acid-Base Imbalances |
|---|
| Metabolic Acidosis |
| Metabolic Alkalosis |
| Respiratory Acidosis |
| Respiratory Alkalosis |
| Electrolyte Imbalances |
|---|
| Calcium (Ca) Imbalances: Hypercalcemia and Hypocalcemia |
| Magnesium (Mg) Imbalances: Hypermagnesemia and Hypomagnesemia |
| Potassium (K) Imbalances: Hyperkalemia and Hypokalemia |
| Sodium (Na) Imbalances: Hypernatremia and Hyponatremia |
Gastrointestinal
| Gastrointestinal Care Plans |
|---|
| Appendectomy |
| Bowel Incontinence (Fecal Incontinence) |
| Cholecystectomy |
| Constipation |
| Diarrhea Nursing Care Plan and Management |
| Cholecystitis and Cholelithiasis |
| Gastroenteritis |
| Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) |
| Hemorrhoids |
| Hepatitis |
| Ileostomy & Colostomy |
| Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) |
| Intussusception |
| Liver Cirrhosis |
| Nausea & Vomiting |
| Pancreatitis |
| Peritonitis |
| Peptic Ulcer Disease |
| Subtotal Gastrectomy |
| Umbilical and Inguinal Hernia |
Hematologic and Lymphatic
| Hematologic & Lymphatic Care Plans |
|---|
| Anaphylactic Shock |
| Anemia UPDATED! |
| Aortic Aneurysm |
| Bleeding Risk & Hemophilia |
| Deep Vein Thrombosis |
| Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation |
| Hemophilia |
| Kawasaki Disease |
| Leukemia |
| Lymphoma |
| Sepsis and Septicemia |
| Sickle Cell Anemia Crisis |
Infectious Diseases
| Infectious Diseases Care Plans |
|---|
| Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (HIV Positive) |
| Acute Rheumatic Fever |
| Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever |
| Herpes Zoster (Shingles) |
| Influenza (Flu) |
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis |
| Risk for Infection & Infection Control |
Integumentary
| Integumentary Care Plans |
|---|
| Burn Injury |
| Dermatitis |
| Herpes Zoster (Shingles) |
| Pressure Ulcer (Bedsores) |
| Wound Care and Skin/Tissue Integrity |
Maternal and Newborn Care Plans
| Maternal and Newborn Care Plans |
|---|
| Abortion (Termination of Pregnancy) |
| Cervical Insufficiency (Premature Dilation of the Cervix) |
| Cesarean Birth |
| Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip |
| Gestational Diabetes Mellitus |
| Hyperbilirubinemia (Jaundice) |
| Labor Stages, Induced, Augmented, Dysfunctional, Precipitous Labor |
| Neonatal Sepsis |
| Perinatal Loss (Miscarriage, Stillbirth) |
| Placental Abruption |
| Placenta Previa |
| Postpartum Hemorrhage |
| Postpartum Thrombophlebitis |
| Prenatal Hemorrhage |
| Preeclampsia and Gestational Hypertension |
| Prenatal Infection |
| Preterm Labor |
| Puerperal & Postpartum Infections |
| Substance (Alcohol and Drug) Abuse in Pregnancy |
Mental Health and Psychiatric
| Mental Health and Psychiatric Care Plans |
|---|
| Alcohol Withdrawal |
| Anxiety & Fear |
| Anxiety and Panic Disorders |
| Bipolar Disorders |
| Body Image Disturbance & Self-Esteem |
| Impaired Thought Processes & Cognitive Impairment |
| Major Depression |
| Personality Disorders |
| Schizophrenia |
| Sexual Assault |
| Substance Dependence and Abuse |
| Suicide Behaviors |
Musculoskeletal
| Musculoskeletal Care Plans |
|---|
| Amputation |
| Congenital Hip Dysplasia |
| Fracture UPDATED! |
| Impaired Physical Mobility & Immobility |
| Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis |
| Laminectomy (Disc Surgery) |
| Osteoarthritis |
| Osteogenic Sarcoma (Osteosarcoma) |
| Osteoporosis |
| Rheumatoid Arthritis |
| Scoliosis |
| Spinal Cord Injury |
| Total Joint (Knee, Hip) Replacement |
Neurological
| Neurological Care Plans |
|---|
| Alzheimer’s Disease UPDATED! |
| Brain Tumor |
| Cerebral Palsy |
| Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke) UPDATED! |
| Guillain-Barre Syndrome |
| Meningitis |
| Multiple Sclerosis |
| Parkinson’s Disease |
| Seizure Disorder |
| Spinal Cord Injury |
Ophthalmic
| Ophthalmic Care Plans |
|---|
| Cataracts |
| Glaucoma |
| Macular Degeneration |
Pediatric Nursing Care Plans
| Pediatric Nursing Care Plans |
|---|
| Child Abuse |
| Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate |
| Dying Child |
| Febrile Seizure |
| Hospitalized Child |
| Hydrocephalus |
| Otitis Media |
| Spina Bifida |
| Tonsillitis and Adenoiditis |
Reproductive
| Reproductive Care Plans |
|---|
| Cryptorchidism (Undescended Testes) |
| Hysterectomy |
| Hypospadias and Epispadias |
| Mastectomy |
| Menopause |
| Prostatectomy |
Respiratory
| Respiratory Care Plans |
|---|
| Airway Clearance Therapy & Coughing |
| Apnea |
| Asthma UPDATED! |
| Aspiration Risk & Aspiration Pneumonia |
| Bronchiolitis UPDATED! |
| Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) UPDATED! |
| Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) UPDATED! |
| Croup Syndrome |
| Cystic Fibrosis UPDATED! |
| Epiglottitis |
| Hemothorax and Pneumothorax UPDATED! |
| Ineffective Breathing Pattern (Dyspnea) |
| Impairment of Gas Exchange |
| Influenza (Flu) UPDATED! |
| Lung Cancer UPDATED! |
| Mechanical Ventilation |
| Near-Drowning |
| Pleural Effusion |
| Pneumonia |
| Pulmonary Embolism |
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis |
| Tracheostomy |
Urinary
| Urinary Care Plans |
|---|
| Acute Glomerulonephritis |
| Acute Renal Failure |
| Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) |
| Chronic Renal Failure |
| Hemodialysis |
| Nephrotic Syndrome |
| Peritoneal Dialysis |
| Urolithiasis (Renal Calculi) |
| Urinary Elimination (Urinary Incontinence & Urinary Retention) |
| Urinary Tract Infection |
| Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR) |
| Wilms Tumor (Nephroblastoma) |
Recommended Resources for Nursing Care Planning
Enhance your nursing care planning skills with these recommended books and resources:
Disclosure: The following are affiliate links from Amazon. We may earn a small commission if you purchase through these links.
Ackley and Ladwig’s Nursing Diagnosis Handbook: An Evidence-Based Guide to Planning Care
! [Ackley and Ladwig’s Nursing Diagnosis Handbook](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Ackley-and-Ladwigs-Nursing-Diagnosis-Handbook-An-Evidence-Based-Guide-to-Planning-Care.jpg)
This handbook offers a three-step system for client assessment, nursing diagnosis, and care planning, emphasizing evidence-based interventions.
Nursing Care Plans – Nursing Diagnosis & Intervention (10th Edition)
! [Nursing Care Plans – Nursing Diagnosis & Intervention](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Nursing-Care-Plans-E-Book-Nursing-Diagnosis-and-Intervention.jpg)
Features over 200 care plans with the latest evidence-based guidelines, including ICNP diagnoses and plans for LGBTQ health issues.
Nurse’s Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions, and Rationales
! [Nurse’s Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions, and Rationales](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Nurses-Pocket-Guide-Diagnoses-Prioritized-Interventions-and-Rationales-.jpg)
A quick-reference tool for accurate diagnoses and efficient care planning, updated with the latest nursing diagnoses and interventions.
Nursing Diagnosis Manual: Planning, Individualizing, and Documenting Client Care
! [Nursing Diagnosis Manual: Planning, Individualizing, and Documenting Client Care](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Nursing-Diagnosis-Manual-Planning-Individualizing-and-Documenting-Client-Care-.jpg)
Provides interventions for over 800 diseases and disorders, with clinical applications, prioritized actions, rationales, and documentation sections.
All-in-One Nursing Care Planning Resource – E-Book: Medical-Surgical, Pediatric, Maternity, and Psychiatric-Mental Health
! [All-in-One Nursing Care Planning Resource – E-Book](https://nurseslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/All-in-One-Nursing-Care-Planning-Resource-E-Book-Medical-Surgical-Pediatric-Maternity-and-Psychiatric-Mental-Health-.jpg)
Includes over 100 care plans across medical-surgical, OB, pediatrics, and psychiatric settings, focusing on interprofessional patient problems.
By mastering the principles and steps outlined in this guide, and by utilizing the provided nanda nursing diagnosis care plans examples and resources, nurses can significantly enhance their care planning skills. Effective care plans are not just documents; they are dynamic tools that drive quality patient care, improve communication, and ensure positive health outcomes.
References and Sources
(Same references and sources as original article)
