Care Plans... Negative Connotation?

[Music in My Heart]

I've just joined a work group in which I'm the only nurse in a group led by and populated mostly by physicians.

At one of our recent meetings, the topic was developing standardized "care plans" for some of our frequent flyers. As the discussion was ongoing, it hit on the role of the nurses in implementing and customizing these care plans and how to engage the nurses to support the strategy.

It occurred to me that the term "care plan" has a very negative connotation for many nurses and that many of us immediately equate a "care plan" to tedious, forced efforts in nursing school (APA, everyone) which we all happily left behind us as we hit the "real world" where they often conflict with the realities of a nursing shift.

In my med-surg days, our care plans were pre-printed templates that the nurses would try to pencil-whip into submission as they could find the time after which they would be relegated to a never-again-to-see-the-light-of-day section of the chart. In the three EDs in which I've worked, we don't even go through the motions.

Anyway, I mentioned to the group what the term "care plan" means in the minds of many nurses and they were surprised. We did ultimately agree that what we're hoping to create -- and ultimately transform into regional tools shared by all of the local EDs who see these same patients -- will be simple, concise, and pragmatic implements to guide the interactions and diagnostic/therapeutic approaches toward these patients from the moment they hit the ED triage desk.

To encourage buy-in from the nurses -- and hopefully avoid the negative connotation held by so many nurses -- we're discarding the term "care plan" in favor of "treatment plan."

So, I'm just wondering... Does the term "care plan" hold a negative connotation for you?

[firstinfamily, RN]

I get frustrated when they do not apply or are not truly practical. I had one middle manager who would come down and "up date" the care plans on my unit. I guess she needed something to do!!! One of her nursing goals was that the patient would be continent 25% of the time. Now how on earth does one measure this??? The goals need to be measureable and the interventions practical. Sometimes they are out of this world!! I think concise, practical, applicable care plans are a great tool. When they are just put in the chart, way in the back where they are not accessible, and no one uses them because they are not practical then I have a problem with care plans. Yes, there is the negative connotation. Treatment plan might actually work!!!