is anyone else frustrated with care plans?

[cschmill]

okay, i know they are important, but what is with all the care plans in school. especially since they are for the most part computer generated anymore. one click to print and then check all that apply for the patient. i know that the interventions may need to be more personalized than what are on the premade plans, but what is the use of wasting time on writing them from scratch? does anyone else find this frustrating?

[michar]

Frustrating? Yes.

Not important? No.

Anytime you have to do a lot of any one thing it is usually because it is very important.

[llg, PhD, RN]

You do a lot of them in school to teach you thought process involved in planning nursing care. After you graduate, you can have the luxury of using tools to help you (such as computerized templates). But as a student, your goal is to learn to think through the process and to demonstrate that you know the process so well that it has become automatic.

Frustrating, yes.

Important, yes.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Creating care plans from scratch forces you to think about you should be doing for your patient. IMHO, this is an important skill to learn as it's really about prioritization. I don't find care plans to be all that difficult, of course, I've only had 1 patient so far. Next week I get 2, so we'll see if my opinion changes. I use Doenges Pocket Guide to NDX (version 10). It's great, pretty much spells out what you need to do. My CI is excellent as well, which really helps.

Same thing with narrative notes. It'll be much easier to chart online than write 'em out as they having us doing now. Although I do have a tendency to start my narrative notes with "Dispatched for...."

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Care plans are what define and demonstrate our profession as nurses. They are a proclamation of our critical thinking skills. Spit on them if you feel you must, but I am personally offended. I spend a great deal of time and effort helping students here on the forum figure out the enigma of learning how to write a care plan. I do it because I want to help. I do it because I know that getting a passing grade depends on their understanding of the nursing process. I do it because it's a positive use of my time. They are a great tool to help learn more about pathophysiology of diseases, their treatment and nursing management. And, if anyone ever reaches the point of knowing everything, then they have the right to stand before us all and say the process is trash and a waste of time, but not before then. Do you think it was easy for me to learn to write care plans? I had just as many problems learning how as many of you students have? That puts me in a very good position to understand some of your frustrations and help you.

A computer didn't write those computer generated care plans that you, cschmill, talk about. A real nurse(s) wrote them. I was once on a care plan committee that wrote some of those pre-made care plans that helped everyone get through their work days much faster. I volunteered for the committee in order to better understand the care plan process. Please don't disrespect the work of people who do this. They do it for the benefit of all their colleagues and deserve thanks rather than scoffs. Those hard efforts make all our jobs easier, including yours cschmill.

As I recently posted on a thread, Medicare requires that nursing care plans are to be part of patient's charts. That's federal law and can be found in Title 42 of the Medicare Conditions of Participation for Hospitals. If you happen to find yourself working in a hospital that doesn't take on Medicare patients or have JCAHO accreditation then you'll probably never have to worry about writing a care plan. However, in this day and age it's highly unlikely.

[scaredofshots]

It is my care plan for myself: Here goes:nurse:

Nursing diagnosis: Hopelessness r/t prolonged activity restriction

creating isolation, long-term stress, perception of demands that

overwhelm personal resources.

Outcomes: I will verbalize feelings, Make positive statements (e.g., "I can pass nursing school" or "I will study all the material

for this exam and be prepared for the next test") ,Sleep appropriate

length of time for my age and health needs, Initiate activity.

Nursing Interventions: Monitor and document the potential for

suicide. Assess for signs and symptoms of depression, and use humor as

appropriate.

Teaching:Teach the use of stress-reduction tecniques, relaxation, and imagery. Encourage family to express love, concern, and encouragement

and allow to express and verbalize feelings.:rotfl:

[michar]

Although I do have a tendency to start my narrative notes with "Dispatched for...."

Me too!

I've also signed nursing notes H. Lastname EMT-I

I also will say I thought I wouldn't have to worry about prioritization. ABC's are easy.

Ya, that one was funny when I got into pass off and no one was having a hard time breathing or bleeding all over the place.