Concept Maps?

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Our nursing school started concept mapping 2 years ago. I was wandering if anyone else has to do these, and if so...any help would be great. I honestly thought they are the same thing as a care plan...but in our school we have to do both.

What is the web site that you are referring to for concept mapping? I am trying to learn more about it.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Cardiac.

They're talking about doing them in our school and our clinical instructor had some of us do them. I can see positives and negatives in both standard Care Plans and the Concept Maps.

She didn't give us any specific template to use so I went on Excel and used the drawing toolbar to make the boxes and arrows and so forth. It worked out pretty well for me.

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

try inspiration it's a great program i used it for all my concept maps and got always a A .... i'm sorry i don't have the web site .. but if you type in

inspiration .. you should be able to pull it up

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

here is the website for inspiration software: http://www.inspiration.com/

concept maps can also be created on microsoft visio software and on microsoft powerpoint if it has the correct template added to it.

mosby has this cd program you can purchase: mosby's nursing concept map creator by giddens and kennedy for about $30. if i recall, you have a choice of shapes you can use for your boxes. i don't much care for the colors--too pastel for me. i've created all kinds of pictures in excel and word using the drawing toolbar. there are a number of shapes in that toolbar that you can create and then just type text inside them. you can connect the shapes with lines and lines with arrows that are on the same toolbar. the nice thing about using excel is that it will automatically reduce everything to fit on one page when you format it to print.

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I would love the website! I really don't understand how to get started doing them. Could you send me a private message.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

all you do is click on the link and it will take you to the website. read the directions on how to use the software. there is a new sticky on the nursing student assistance forum on care maps:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f205/care-maps-225330.html. there are links there to information on what a concept map is and how to put one together. if you are being required to do this for school, you should also have class notes on how your instructors want you to set your concept maps up. didn't they give you a template to use as an example?

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A million thanks for your help!! Take care!!

quote=twinbee25;1626206]I am surprised they didnt give you an visuals or samples. We have had to do concept maps all through nursing school. Our school at least gave us forms to follow.

This last semester they added an addendum for us to do. Though hard at first, we finally got it down. I am sharing a concept map from my 3rd semester, and also a concept map with accompaning addendum from this past semester.

hope this helps!

p.s. I blacked out any possible identifying facts.

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HI, Kathleen here, 2nd semester RN, BSN and I too am having issues with concept maps. Ours require different shapes, colors and different colored lines pointing to the different colored shapes. We are not expected in 3211 to put Nursing Outcomes, but interventions and evaluations on what happened after we intervened. We have to do five nursing dx for each pt and some of us did not get so (I don't want to say lucky, but we did not have pts with 5, most were with just 3) we kind of had to fish 3 out of NANDA and hope they meshed with the RN's and LPN's on the floor's Dxs. Does anyone have experience with this. I have two semesters left...if I can complete these concept maps....hee hee and I know these are not going away. I would like to get a grasp on them.

Thanks so much in advance for any help

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

i did all my concept maps with the shapes and colors with a program called inspiration.. it's free and you can google the program and download it. i had alot of fun doing those concept maps.. just download inspiration and plug in the info you need in the squares and circles and alot of other fun shapes ,, i got A's on all my concept maps because of inspiration.. you'll love it.. keep me posted

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

oh sorry i didn't realize i posted twice to this .. lol...

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

hi, kdragonsoul19, and welcome to allnurses! :welcome:

this is an older thread and i hope you did look at some of the links and files that were posted on it to help you out. a concept map is just another physical way of presenting (documenting) the nursing process (problem solving process). there is now a sticky thread on the nursing student assistance forum that has a better collection of weblinks and examples of concept maps that you can explore. you are still writing a care plan, but are just presenting it is a concept map or care map format is all. here is a link to that thread you will want to look at:

there is also information on writing care plans on these two threads:

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I have a concept map due on a specific concept. I was thinking of doing acute pain. I am just starting nursing school and I am in foundations about 2 weeks before clinicals. We have to conduct a comprehensive review of the pathophysiology and patient care related to the concept, prioritize the data and determine what will be included on the map. Any ideas?

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