Anybody here NOT do care plans?

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

Apparantly, my program is doing away with the traditional care plan, starting this fall. They believe there are better ways for us to learn the info without all the paperwork and lack of sleep. Sounds good, but I'm a little skeptical. Does anybody else here not have to do care plans? If so, then what DO you do? The instructor that was telling me about this teaches OB, and she gave me a run-down of some of the changes they might make there. She said that instead of every student getting one patient, that some students will be assigned to a nurse and shadow her, participate in the assessments, etc. Another group of students will be in charge of handing out meds to several patients. And so forth. I know that our local university doesn't do careplans anymore, either, but I'm not sure what they do. This sounds like it could be a really good thing, but at the same time, I'm afraid of what they will replace care plans with!

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Hi there, I've heard from a person currently in the nursing program I'll be starting next Jan that instead of care plans we do mega care plans (less often though). They can range from 20-40 pages in length.

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Specializes in IMCU.
Hi there, I've heard from a person currently in the nursing program I'll be starting next Jan that instead of care plans we do mega care plans (less often though). They can range from 20-40 pages in length.

OMG I would rather stick needles in my eyes than do a 40 pg care plan.

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I think this is absolutely fabulous. Yes, I do care plans all day, in fact, but they are nothing like the ones in school and are more to satisfy State than actually drive care. Every nurse know that a COPDer has "impaired gas exchange" and "ineffective airway clearance" and what to do for him.

Your program is actually focusing on clinical skills rather than torture. Consider yourself lucky to have a nursing faculty that cares more about your nursing knowledge than teaching you nonsense.

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Hi there, I've heard from a person currently in the nursing program I'll be starting next Jan that instead of care plans we do mega care plans (less often though). They can range from 20-40 pages in length.

Ug. We have careplans week to week and for the last 2 classes a mega care plan as well, worth a test grade. Not fun. Especially when we are inthe middle of trying to study for critical care tests

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I wish we didn't have to do care plans or at least not as many as are required by my school. I spend an outrageous amount of time on care plans.

The theory behind care plans is okay in the beginning, but it gets to a point where it becomes ridiculous.

I think you will learn the skills, theory, and rationale without having your hands ache from writing and/or typing.

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Awesome! I personally think it's a good idea. Careplans are such a waste of time!

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Specializes in interested in NICU!!.

WOW-this sounds exciting as I've heard what care plans are and the TIME it takes to make one! I'm happy because I go to the same Nursing school the OP goes to. so to the OP, how did you hear about it? I haven't heard anything, but thanks for sharing!

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.
WOW-this sounds exciting as I've heard what care plans are and the TIME it takes to make one! I'm happy because I go to the same Nursing school the OP goes to. so to the OP, how did you hear about it? I haven't heard anything, but thanks for sharing!

Chapis, I heard this directly from an OB instructor. BUT one of my friends was talking to a different instructor yesterday, and was told that it will be different for each level. It sounded like the Level I careplan, where you first learn to do them, won't change that much. Which sucks for everybody heading to Level I! But at least it will get better, theoretically. I still don't know much about it. My friends said that concept maps were mentioned, which just remind me of the horrid cluster pages we had to do in care plans. Hopefully it won't be bad, and I won't be wishing we could have the old careplans back! LOL

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Specializes in ICU/ER/L&D.

My students are assigned BRAIN sheets, which are front/back 1 page care plans. They identify the top ten interventions and rationale, patho, pharm and considerations, relevant lab and considerations, teaching needs, etc. It is very abbreviated.

They also must give report, practice placing a "call" to a physician, make a concept map, and give two oral care plans. I find that ridiculously long care plans are unrealistic and have little to do with current practice. I would rather they spent the time understanding the relationship between patho and interventions, meds, etc. I want them to move to a point that by graduation, they feel comfortable managing a normal patient load, albeit with reinforcement from myself and the primary nurse.

If you completely bog students down with paperwork, they don't have enough time to sleep, eat, and let the knowledge they've acquired assimilate into their brains, lol. It also sets a bad precedent to expect excessively long care plans that require the student to perform without adequate rest. This is how we come by the assumption that it is ok to work a 12 -hours shift without peeing or eating. We teach students that they are not deserving of any free time or rest. I don't believe that's acceptable. That said, my standards are quite high for clinical performance. I am not content to not challenge students to learn as much as they can.

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