Care plan books..yes or no?

[LaBellaVita]

I'm getting ready to start nursing school in September, and have purchased all my required textbooks. They had two books on our book list that were recommended but not required, one of which is a "how to write a care plan" book. In your experience did you find a book like this as a must have? Thought and opinions appreciated, thanks!

[AliNajaCat]

I used an older version. My clinical instructor was actually the one to recommend it. It allows you to look up a disease process and see what nursing dx are most likely to apply to that disease process, along with appropriate goals, nursing interventions, and rationales for everything. It was a lifesaver and timesaver for care planning. I felt like it was laid out in a way that was super easy to understand, much more so than the "recommended" text that my school suggested.

This is fine if you think all that nurses do is dependent on the medical diagnosis. And that none of your patients will ever, ever have something going on that isn't related to the medical diagnosis, so you don't even look for it or plan to do something about it as a nurse, just "pick" a nursing diagnosis without doing a lick of assessment, because, well, it was in the book under Diabetic care plans.

Woe betide the student who thinks like this.

NANDA-I 2015-2017, and read the first section aimed at students. It will open your eyes.

[NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN]

This is fine if you think all that nurses do is dependent on the medical diagnosis. And that none of your patients will ever, ever have something going on that isn't related to the medical diagnosis, so you don't even look for it or plan to do something about it as a nurse, just "pick" a nursing diagnosis without doing a lick of assessment, because, well, it was in the book under Diabetic care plans.

Woe betide the student who thinks like this.

NANDA-I 2015-2017, and read the first section aimed at students. It will open your eyes.

Lol. Wow. Assume much? Did I say anywhere that I just randomly choose diagnoses? I actually don't even use my care plan book anymore (I'm going in to my final semester--YAY!), because honestly, diagnoses pop into my head all over the place as I assess, review labs, etc, and interventions now flow naturally almost without conscious thought. And most of the time, they are RC or risk-for diagnoses and interventions.

However, for first, and even some of second semester, when it was all brand new, it was super helpful to see it laid out, how to come up with a diagnosis, how to format a measurable goal, see how certain diagnoses applied to disease processes, understand the rationale for the suggested interventions, etc. I never randomly grabbed a diagnosis that didn't fit the patient's assessment/labs, etc. I could see how some people might take advantage of that type of book, but I have a curious mind, I'm always asking why, always assessing, reassessing, evaluating, and changing my plan, and that care plan book was a great tool to help me learn how to put it all together. I felt like the rationales taught me so much as far as the purpose and importance of care planning in the first place.

But way to assume, judge, and generalize. I stand by my suggestion. Care planning books do have their place when utilized appropriately.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

It was required for us and I used it a lot. We spent SO much time writing care plans that first year. Now you just click click click and create them

[AceOfHearts<3]

The book that I was told to get was a lifesaver. I used some of the "premade" careplans, but I also used them to give me ideas for ones I created specifically for my patients. There were some books I got for school that I never used, the Nursing Care Plans book by Gulanick and Myers was one of the most useful ones. Once I got more used to careplans I was also able to google for more ideas, but the book was a timesaver. IMO you don't want to be in a time crunch and needing the book but you don't have it, which happened with some of my classmates.

[Graduatenurse14]

Don't waste your money since you can Google them. They are the ridiculously dumb wastes of time that I can't believe are still done today.

The concept isn't bad but the torturous way of having to do them is out-dated. Being able to think through the process and key interventions is very good but the false language is crazy to work with and isn't used in real life. Ever.

There are 1,000 more things that schools could be teaching that will actually help someone take care of a patient.

I had to create long lesson plans when I was in school getting my Education degree and they never helped me be a better teacher and we didn't even use a false language!