The healthcare industry has evolved significantly over the last decade or so, which has resulted in changes in the way nurses interact with their patients. The traditional approach has been replaced by a holistic approach—one in which nurses have to take into account the sum effect of the treatment on a patient’s health rather than treating them symptomatically.

Identifying the specific needs of a patient in order to provide them with holistic care has great carryovers for recovery.

The nursing care plan is part of such an approach, and, therefore, an effective tool that professionals use to bring about positive changes in their patients’ conditions.

Let’s understand the thought behind nursing care plans.

Nursing care plans

Nursing care plans are a great tool for nurses and other medical professionals to follow when administering care to patients. These plans can be tailored to each patient’s needs and cover treatment plans for their specific conditions or illnesses.

They are often used in hospitals and other medical facilities as a way to ensure that everyone involved in the care is on the same page throughout the treatment process.

Family care nurses have also to take into account family history before administering or recommending treatment options. These nurses, credentialed in FNP online programs, are aware that certain diseases require a more broad-based approach than simply treating for symptoms.

A nursing care plan is essentially a blueprint for administering care over time. It will include the goals, objectives, and interventions, needed to avoid any potential risks and complications that might arise during treatment.

This helps ensure that everyone involved knows what they should be doing at each step of the way so that nothing necessary is left out of the patient treatment plan.

Nursing care plans are used by nurses at all levels of experience and education in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare settings.

Care plans stages

Every nursing plan can be customized based on the patient needs as well as the nature of their illness. However, certain elements remain constant in all care plans.

The structure of a nursing plan generally includes assessment, diagnosis, nursing diagnosis, and goals and interventions.

These elements form the different steps that a patient has to go through during the recovery process:

1. Assessment

This is the first step in creating a nursing plan. During this phase, you will assess your patient’s current condition by examining their medical history and conducting tests if necessary.

You should also study their medical charts to get more information on their past treatments. This will give you an idea of how far they’ve come since they were diagnosed with the disease or condition and what challenges they might still face during the recovery process.

2. Diagnosis

After assessing your patient’s health condition, it’s time to make a diagnosis so that you know what kind of treatment would be needed. It also helps in identifying how long it will take before they recover from their illness or injury completely.

3. Planning

During the planning phase, nurses determine which interventions will be most effective for each patient to achieve their goal(s). The medical professionals also select appropriate interventions based on the available resources, such as time, equipment, and supplies needed for treatment/care delivery.

Planning can be divided into two stages:

Immediate (intermediate) care plans: These involve short-term goals and interventions that need to be implemented right away. The goal is to prevent further injury or complications from occurring during recovery while providing comforting measures until a definitive diagnosis is made.
Long-range care plans: Once the immediate needs have been addressed and a definitive diagnosis has been made, long-range plans can be developed with goals that focus on prevention and wellness over time.

4. Implementation

This is where you start implementing the various nursing care plans you have developed in the previous stages. The implementation of these plans can be done in two ways:

The first way is to implement them one at a time. In this case, you will have to go through each plan and assess its effectiveness before moving on to another one. This is not a very effective approach because it takes too much time and effort.

You can also use this method for non-urgent cases where there’s no need for urgency or fast response time.

The second method involves implementing all the plans simultaneously. In other words, you implement each plan at once, so that they complement each other and help achieve better results.

5. Evaluation

It is vital to review progress daily and make changes when necessary. This will help ensure that patients receive safe and effective care throughout their stay in a healthcare facility or home setting. This also gives the opportunity or healthcare workers to assess the flaws in the plans and change accordingly.

Benefits of nursing care plans

The benefits of using nursing care plans include:

Helps in assessing the effectiveness of treatment
Provides a structure for documenting the patient’s care
Provides a communication tool between physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers
Offers continuity of care even after shifts change
Provides holistic care that centers on individual patients
Sets goals for patients too to keep them engaged and motivated for quicker recovery
Reduces workplace stress for nurses and other healthcare professionals as everything is already planned
Saves time and money
Improves healthcare outcomes and a patient experience that benefits the reputation of hospitals/facilities
Improves overall population’s health.

Conclusion

The healthcare facility with a structured plan to take care of their patients will always have an edge over one which does not follow any structure. This is why organizations must look for nursing care plans before taking on any new patient. Nursing care plans or nursing administration, when optimized and in use, can assist with efficiency in any healthcare facility, from hospital to assisted living. Nursing care plans are a systematic approach to information gathering, identifying the unique needs of each patient, and planning an individualized course of care that adheres to the standards set forth by the administration. A structured plan ensures consistency across care delivery teams and follows documented procedures, making it an excellent method for maintaining accountability for the quality of patient care.