What is a Nursing Care Plan?
A nursing care plan (NCP) is a structured, methodical approach used by nurses to pinpoint a patient’s current health needs and anticipate potential risks. It serves as a vital communication tool among nurses, patients, and the wider healthcare team, ensuring everyone is aligned on healthcare goals. The absence of a robust nursing care planning process can compromise the quality and consistency of patient care.
The nursing care planning journey commences the moment a patient is admitted and remains a dynamic process, constantly adapting to changes in the patient’s condition and the outcomes of care evaluations. Delivering care that’s both personalized and patient-focused is the cornerstone of excellent nursing practice.
Types of Nursing Care Plans
Nursing care plans come in two primary forms: informal and formal. An informal nursing care plan is essentially a mental strategy, a nurse’s internal roadmap for patient care. Conversely, a formal nursing care plan is a documented guide, either written or digital, that systematically organizes all aspects of a patient’s care.
Formal care plans are further categorized into standardized and individualized plans. Standardized care plans are designed to address common needs across patient groups, ensuring consistent care for routine conditions. Individualized care plans, on the other hand, are meticulously crafted to meet the specific, unique needs of each patient, going beyond the scope of standardized plans.
Standardized Care Plans
Standardized care plans are pre-established protocols developed by nursing staff and healthcare institutions to guarantee uniform care for patients with similar conditions. They are instrumental in meeting baseline care standards and optimizing nurses’ efficiency by eliminating the need to repeatedly create plans for common patient needs.
It’s important to note that standardized care plans are not designed to address the nuances of individual patient needs or goals. However, they serve as an excellent starting point for creating a more personalized, individualized care plan.
The care plans presented in this guide are standardized, offering a solid framework for developing tailored plans to suit individual patient requirements.
Individualized Care Plans
An individualized care plan involves adapting a standardized plan to align with a patient’s specific needs and objectives, incorporating strategies known to be effective for that particular individual. This approach fosters more personalized and holistic care, better addressing the patient’s unique circumstances, strengths, and goals. Individualized care plans are crucial for delivering patient-centered care.
Moreover, individualized care plans are known to enhance patient satisfaction. When patients perceive that their care is specifically tailored to them, they feel more valued and understood, which significantly boosts their satisfaction with the healthcare experience. In today’s healthcare landscape, where patient satisfaction is a key indicator of quality, this aspect is increasingly important.
Tips on how to individualize a nursing care plan:
- Detailed Assessment: Conduct a thorough initial and ongoing assessment to deeply understand the patient’s unique physical, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual needs.
- Patient Involvement: Actively involve the patient and their family in the care planning process. Their input is invaluable in setting realistic goals and choosing interventions that align with their preferences and values.
- Flexible Goals: While standardized plans provide general goals, tailor these to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound – for each patient.
- Custom Interventions: Select and modify nursing interventions based on the patient’s specific condition, preferences, and available resources. Consider their lifestyle, home environment, and support system.
- Cultural Sensitivity: Adapt care plans to respect and incorporate the patient’s cultural background, beliefs, and practices.
- Regular Review: Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the care plan and adjust it as the patient’s condition changes or as new needs arise. Flexibility is key to individualized care.
- Resource Consideration: Be mindful of the resources available to the patient, both within the healthcare setting and at home, and tailor the plan accordingly.
- Holistic Approach: Ensure the care plan addresses all dimensions of the patient’s health – physical, emotional, social, and spiritual – for truly holistic care.
Objectives
The primary goals of creating a nursing care plan are:
- To advance evidence-based nursing practice and create a comfortable, familiar environment in healthcare settings.
- To promote holistic care, addressing the patient’s physical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions in disease management and prevention.
- To implement structured care programs like care pathways and bundles. Care pathways streamline team efforts to standardize care and expected outcomes, while care bundles focus on best practices for specific conditions.
- To clearly define healthcare goals and expected patient outcomes.
- To enhance communication and documentation within the care plan framework.
- To establish metrics for evaluating nursing care quality and effectiveness.
Purposes of a Nursing Care Plan
Nursing care plans are essential for several key reasons:
- Defining the Nurse’s Role: Care plans clarify the distinct and autonomous role of nurses in addressing patients’ overall health and wellness, beyond simply following physician orders. They highlight the independent contributions of nursing in patient care.
- Guiding Individualized Patient Care: They serve as a detailed roadmap for patient care, enabling nurses to apply critical thinking in developing interventions tailored to each patient’s unique needs.
- Ensuring Continuity of Care: Care plans facilitate consistent, high-quality care across different nursing shifts and departments. This ensures patients receive continuous benefit from their treatment, regardless of staff changes.
- Coordinating Healthcare Efforts: They ensure all members of the healthcare team are informed about the patient’s needs and the necessary actions, preventing gaps and overlaps in care.
- Comprehensive Documentation: Care plans accurately document observations, nursing actions, and patient/family instructions. Proper documentation within the care plan is crucial for demonstrating that care was provided.
- Facilitating Staff Assignment: They aid in assigning staff with the specific skills required for a patient’s particular care needs, optimizing resource allocation and patient outcomes.
- Monitoring Patient Progress: Care plans enable the tracking of patient progress and allow for necessary adjustments as health status and goals evolve, ensuring dynamic and responsive care.
- Supporting Reimbursement Processes: Insurance providers rely on medical records, including care plans, to determine coverage and reimbursement for hospital care, highlighting the administrative importance of these documents.
- Clarifying Patient Goals: They benefit both nurses and patients by actively involving patients in their treatment and care decisions, fostering a collaborative and patient-centered approach.
Components
A typical nursing care plan (NCP) encompasses several core elements: nursing diagnoses, patient problems, anticipated outcomes, nursing interventions, and rationales. Each component plays a crucial role in structuring and guiding patient care.
Care Plan Formats
Nursing care plans are commonly structured in formats ranging from three to five columns, each designed to organize information effectively. The four-column format is perhaps the most widely used, but variations exist to suit different healthcare settings and preferences.
Three-Column Format
This format consolidates information into three columns: nursing diagnoses, outcomes and evaluation, and interventions. This streamlined approach is useful for experienced nurses or in settings where brevity is prioritized.
Four-Column Format
The four-column format expands on the three-column by separating outcomes and evaluation into distinct columns, enhancing clarity and comprehensiveness. It includes columns for nursing diagnosis, goals and outcomes, interventions, and evaluation, offering a detailed view of the care process.
For practical application, sample templates across different nursing care plan formats are readily available. These templates can be customized and shared, offering a flexible resource for healthcare professionals.
Download: Printable Nursing Care Plan Templates and Formats
Student Care Plans
Student care plans are typically more detailed and extensive than those used by practicing nurses. This is because they serve as a crucial learning tool for nursing students, helping them develop comprehensive care planning skills.
Often, student care plans are required to be handwritten and include an additional column for “Rationale” or “Scientific Explanation.” This rationale column is critical, as it requires students to articulate the scientific principles underpinning each nursing intervention, reinforcing their understanding of the care they plan to provide.
Writing a Nursing Care Plan
Creating an effective nursing care plan involves a systematic, step-by-step process. Here’s a guide to developing a robust care plan for your patients:
Step 1: Data Collection or Assessment
The initial step in crafting a nursing care plan is comprehensive data collection. This involves building a patient database through various assessment techniques, including physical examinations, reviewing health histories, conducting patient interviews, analyzing medical records, and studying diagnostic results. This holistic approach ensures that all relevant patient information is gathered.
A complete patient database encompasses all collected health information. This step is crucial for identifying related or risk factors and defining characteristics that will inform the nursing diagnosis. Many healthcare facilities and nursing schools provide specific assessment formats to guide this process, ensuring consistency and thoroughness.
Critical thinking is paramount during patient assessment. It requires integrating knowledge from various scientific disciplines and professional guidelines to inform clinical judgments. This process is essential for effective clinical decision-making, particularly in complex cases. The goal is to accurately identify patients’ healthcare needs within a supportive environment that values reliable information.
Step 2: Data Analysis and Organization
Once patient data is collected, the next step involves analysis, clustering, and organization. This structured approach is vital for formulating nursing diagnoses, setting priorities, and defining desired patient outcomes. By systematically analyzing the collected data, nurses can identify patterns and draw meaningful conclusions about the patient’s health status.
Step 3: Formulating Your Nursing Diagnoses
Nursing diagnoses are standardized statements that precisely identify and address specific patient needs and responses to both actual and potential health problems. These diagnoses focus on health issues that can be prevented or resolved through independent nursing interventions.
For a detailed guide on formulating nursing diagnoses, refer to this comprehensive resource: Nursing Diagnosis (NDx): Complete Guide and List. This guide provides step-by-step instructions and examples to aid in accurate diagnosis formulation.
Step 4: Setting Priorities
Setting priorities is crucial in nursing care planning, as it involves establishing a sequence for addressing nursing diagnoses and interventions. In this step, nurses collaborate with patients to determine which problems require immediate attention. Diagnoses are typically categorized by priority level: high, medium, or low. Life-threatening issues always take precedence and are classified as high priority.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provides a valuable framework for prioritizing nursing diagnoses. This theory, developed by Abraham Maslow in 1943, organizes human needs into a hierarchical pyramid, starting with basic physiological needs at the bottom and progressing to self-actualization at the top. According to Maslow, basic physiological needs must be met before higher-level needs can be addressed.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in Nursing Priority:
- Basic Physiological Needs: These are the most fundamental needs, including nutrition (food and water), elimination (toileting), airway management (suctioning), breathing support (oxygen therapy), circulation maintenance (pulse monitoring, cardiac monitoring, blood pressure management), sleep, sexual health, shelter, and exercise. In a clinical setting, ensuring these needs are met is paramount.
- Safety and Security Needs: Once physiological needs are addressed, safety and security become priorities. This includes injury prevention (using side rails, call lights, practicing hand hygiene, implementing isolation protocols, suicide precautions, fall prevention measures, car seat safety, helmet use, seat belt use), fostering a trusting and safe environment (establishing therapeutic relationships), and patient education (on modifiable risk factors for stroke, heart disease, and other conditions).
- Love and Belonging Needs: Addressing social and emotional well-being is the next level of priority. This involves fostering supportive relationships, mitigating social isolation (addressing bullying), employing active listening and therapeutic communication techniques, and supporting healthy sexual intimacy.
- Self-Esteem Needs: Focus shifts to the patient’s sense of worth and accomplishment. This includes promoting community acceptance, supporting professional achievements, fostering a sense of control and empowerment, and encouraging acceptance of one’s physical appearance.
- Self-Actualization Needs: The highest level, self-actualization, involves creating an empowering environment that supports spiritual growth, encourages understanding diverse perspectives, and helps patients reach their full potential.
Learn more about it here.
When setting priorities, nurses must consider the patient’s health values, beliefs, available resources, and the urgency of the situation. Involving the patient in this process is crucial for fostering cooperation and ensuring the care plan is patient-centered.
Step 5: Establishing Client Goals and Desired Outcomes
After prioritizing nursing diagnoses, the next step is to collaboratively set goals and desired outcomes for each priority with the patient. Goals or desired outcomes articulate what the nurse aims to achieve through nursing interventions. These goals are essential for guiding intervention planning, evaluating patient progress, and motivating both the patient and the nursing team by providing a sense of accomplishment.
Typically, one overarching goal is established for each nursing diagnosis. The terms “goal outcomes” and “expected outcomes” are often used interchangeably in clinical practice.
According to Hamilton and Price (2013), effective goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-oriented. This SMART framework ensures that goals are well-defined and achievable.
- Specific: Goals should be clear, significant, and directly relevant to the patient’s needs and conditions.
- Measurable or Meaningful: Measurable goals allow for objective progress monitoring and confirmation of goal achievement.
- Attainable or Action-Oriented: Goals should be challenging yet achievable, promoting patient motivation and success.
- Realistic or Results-Oriented: Goals must be realistic, considering the patient’s current condition, available resources, and potential limitations.
- Timely or Time-Oriented: Each goal should have a defined timeframe, providing a sense of urgency and structure to the care plan.
Hogston (2011) proposes the REEPIG standards to ensure high-quality care plans. REEPIG stands for Realistic, Explicitly stated, Evidence-based, Prioritized, Involve, and Goal-centered.
- Realistic: Goals and interventions must be feasible given the available resources and patient circumstances.
- Explicitly stated: Care plans should be clear and unambiguous, leaving no room for misinterpretation of instructions.
- Evidence-based: Nursing interventions should be supported by current research and best practices.
- Prioritized: The care plan should clearly address the most urgent patient needs first.
- Involve: Planning should be a collaborative process involving the patient and all relevant members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team.
- Goal-centered: All planned care should directly contribute to achieving the set patient goals.
Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
Goals and expected outcomes must be both measurable and patient-centered. They are formulated to focus on problem prevention, resolution, and rehabilitation. Goals are categorized as short-term or long-term, depending on the timeframe for achievement. In acute care settings, short-term goals are more common due to the immediate nature of patient needs. Long-term goals are typically used for patients with chronic conditions or those in long-term care facilities.
- Short-term goal: Describes a change in patient behavior or status expected within a short period, usually hours to a few days.
- Long-term goal: Specifies an objective to be achieved over a longer duration, typically weeks to months, focusing on sustained improvement.
- Discharge planning: Primarily involves setting long-term goals to ensure continued restorative care and problem resolution after hospital discharge, often through home health services or other referrals.
Components of Goals and Desired Outcomes
Well-defined goals and desired outcome statements typically include four key components: a subject, a verb, conditions or modifiers, and a criterion of desired performance.
- Subject: The subject is usually the patient but can also be a part of the patient (e.g., leg, wound) or a patient attribute (e.g., temperature, pain level). Often, the subject is implied to be the patient unless otherwise specified (e.g., family, caregiver).
- Verb: The verb specifies the action the patient is expected to perform, learn, or experience (e.g., “will demonstrate,” “will verbalize,” “will maintain”).
- Conditions or modifiers: These clarify “what, when, where, or how” the behavior is to be performed, adding context to the goal.
- Criterion of desired performance: This is the measurable standard for evaluating performance, indicating the level at which the patient will perform the specified behavior. This component is optional but highly recommended for clarity and measurability.
Tips for Writing Effective Goals and Desired Outcomes:
- Frame goals and outcomes in terms of patient responses, not nurse activities. Start each goal with “Client will […],” focusing on patient behavior and outcomes.
- Avoid stating goals as what the nurse hopes to achieve; instead, focus on what the patient will accomplish.
- Use observable and measurable terms for outcomes. Avoid vague language that requires subjective interpretation.
- Ensure desired outcomes are realistic, considering the patient’s resources, capabilities, limitations, and the care timeline.
- Verify that goals are compatible with other healthcare professionals’ therapies to ensure a cohesive care approach.
- Ensure each goal is derived from only one nursing diagnosis to facilitate care evaluation and ensure interventions are directly related to the diagnosis.
- Confirm that the patient considers the goals important and values them, enhancing patient cooperation and engagement in the care plan.
Step 6: Selecting Nursing Interventions
Nursing interventions are specific actions that nurses perform to help patients achieve their goals. Interventions should be chosen to address the root cause (etiology) of the nursing diagnosis. For risk diagnoses, interventions should aim to reduce or eliminate risk factors. While interventions are identified during the planning phase of the nursing process, they are actually implemented during the implementation phase.
Types of Nursing Interventions
Nursing interventions can be categorized as independent, dependent, or collaborative, reflecting the scope of nursing practice and teamwork in healthcare.
- Independent nursing interventions are actions nurses are authorized to initiate based on their professional judgment and skills. These include ongoing assessments, emotional support, comfort measures, patient education, physical care, and referrals to other healthcare providers.
- Dependent nursing interventions are carried out under the orders or supervision of a physician. These typically involve medication administration, intravenous therapy, diagnostic tests, specific treatments, dietary orders, and activity or rest prescriptions. Nurses are also responsible for assessing patients and providing explanations when implementing these orders.
- Collaborative interventions are actions nurses undertake in partnership with other healthcare team members, such as physicians, social workers, dietitians, and therapists. These interventions are developed through consultation to integrate diverse professional perspectives and expertise.
Effective Nursing Interventions Should Be:
- Safe and appropriate for the patient’s age, health status, and overall condition.
- Achievable with the available resources and within the given timeframe.
- Consistent with the patient’s personal values, cultural background, and beliefs.
- Aligned with other therapies the patient is receiving to ensure coordinated care.
- Grounded in established nursing knowledge, clinical experience, and relevant scientific principles.
Tips for Writing Nursing Interventions:
- Date and sign the care plan. Dating is crucial for tracking the plan’s timeline for evaluation and future revisions. The nurse’s signature establishes accountability for the plan.
- Nursing interventions should be specific, clear, and begin with an action verb that indicates the nurse’s intended action. Action verbs should be precise, and qualifiers specifying how, when, where, frequency, and amount should provide context and detail. Examples: “Educate parents on proper temperature measurement and when to report changes,” or “Assess urine for color, volume, odor, and turbidity every shift.”
- Use only standard abbreviations that are approved and recognized by the healthcare institution to ensure clarity and avoid miscommunication.
Step 7: Providing Rationale
Rationales, or scientific explanations, are essential for student care plans. They explain the scientific basis for each nursing intervention, linking the intervention to underlying pathophysiological and psychological principles.
Rationales are typically included in student care plans to help students connect theoretical knowledge with practical application. They are less commonly found in care plans used by practicing nurses but are invaluable for educational purposes.
Step 8: Evaluation
Evaluation is a continuous, planned, and purposeful process to assess a patient’s progress toward achieving the set goals and to determine the effectiveness of the nursing care plan. It is a critical component of the nursing process, as it guides decisions about whether to continue, modify, or terminate specific nursing interventions.
Step 9: Putting it on Paper
The documented care plan becomes an integral part of the patient’s medical record, accessible for review by all members of the healthcare team. Different nursing programs and healthcare facilities may have specific formats for care plans, but most are structured to systematically follow the steps of the nursing process. A five-column format is commonly used in educational settings to provide a comprehensive structure.
Nursing Care Plan List
This section provides an extensive list of sample nursing care plans (NCP) and nursing diagnoses for a wide range of diseases and health conditions, categorized for easy navigation.
Basic Nursing and General Care Plans
These are miscellaneous care plan examples that are broadly applicable and don’t fit into specific disease categories:
| 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
These care plans are designed for patients undergoing surgical interventions:
| 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
These nursing care plans address various conditions of the cardiovascular system:
| 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
These nursing care plans focus on disorders of the endocrine system and metabolic imbalances:
| 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 Care Plans
These care plans cover disorders of the gastrointestinal and digestive system:
| 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 Care Plans
These care plans are related to the hematologic and lymphatic systems:
| 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 Care Plans
These NCPs are for communicable and 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 Care Plans
These cover disorders and conditions affecting the integumentary system:
| Integumentary Care Plans |
|---|
| Burn Injury |
| Dermatitis |
| Herpes Zoster (Shingles) |
| Pressure Ulcer (Bedsores) |
| Wound Care and Skin/Tissue Integrity |
Maternal and Newborn Care Plans
These nursing care plans focus on the care of pregnant mothers and newborns, covering maternity and obstetric nursing:
| 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 Care Plans
These care plans are designed for mental health and psychiatric nursing:
| 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 Care Plans
These care plans relate to the musculoskeletal system:
| 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 Care Plans
These nursing care plans (NCP) are for disorders of the nervous system:
| 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 Care Plans
These care plans relate to eye disorders:
| Ophthalmic Care Plans |
|---|
| Cataracts |
| Glaucoma |
| Macular Degeneration |
Pediatric Nursing Care Plans
These nursing care plans (NCP) are for pediatric conditions and diseases:
| 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 Care Plans
These care plans are related to reproductive and sexual function disorders:
| Reproductive Care Plans |
|---|
| Cryptorchidism (Undescended Testes) |
| Hysterectomy |
| Hypospadias and Epispadias |
| Mastectomy |
| Menopause |
| Prostatectomy |
Respiratory Care Plans
These care plans are for disorders of the respiratory system:
| 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 Care Plans
These care plans are related to kidney and urinary system disorders:
| 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
Enhance your nursing care planning skills with these recommended books and resources:
Disclosure: Affiliate links from Amazon are included below at no extra cost to you. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase. For more details, please see our privacy policy.
Ackley and Ladwig’s Nursing Diagnosis Handbook: An Evidence-Based Guide to Planning Care
Highly recommended for its evidence-based approach to nursing interventions. This handbook offers a simple, three-step system for client assessment, nursing diagnosis, and care planning. It provides clear instructions on implementing care and evaluating outcomes, enhancing diagnostic reasoning and critical thinking skills.
Nursing Care Plans – Nursing Diagnosis & Intervention (10th Edition)
This comprehensive guide includes over 200 care plans based on the latest evidence-based guidelines. The new edition features ICNP diagnoses, care plans addressing LGBTQ health issues, and electrolyte and acid-base balance.
Nurse’s Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions, and Rationales
A quick and essential reference tool for identifying accurate diagnoses and planning effective patient care. The 16th edition includes the most current nursing diagnoses and interventions, with an alphabetized list covering over 400 disorders.
Nursing Diagnosis Manual: Planning, Individualizing, and Documenting Client Care
This manual helps you identify interventions to plan, personalize, and document care for more than 800 diseases and disorders. It uniquely offers subjective and objective data for each diagnosis, clinical applications, prioritized actions with rationales, and documentation guidelines.
All-in-One Nursing Care Planning Resource – E-Book: Medical-Surgical, Pediatric, Maternity, and Psychiatric-Mental Health
Features over 100 care plans for medical-surgical, maternity/OB, pediatrics, and psychiatric and mental health settings. Its focus on interprofessional “patient problems” improves patient communication skills.
References and Sources
Explore these recommended readings and sources for further understanding of nursing care plans:
