Published
I haven't found a care plan book worth using because of the way our care plans have to be done. I ended up using my Med-Surg book for the majority of the ones I have done. I did check several out of the library and they just weren't much help...they didn't apply to my patient, etc. Anyway, maybe the thought that it will get quicker for you will help some? The first care plan I did took me about...oh gosh, I don't know maybe 10 hours. Now it takes me about 4 hours and my instructor seems to like what I am doing (the one I spent forever on had a TON of red writing on it...seems like everything I did was wrong on that one).
We do Mind Maps for care planning in my program. It's awful! We have to draw pictures---(I want to be a nurse, not an artist).
Then you think about the fact that you'll never have time to actually do all this mess when you actually work on a floor.
As for a care plan book, I use a Mosby book. Nursing Diagnosis Handbook: A Guide to Planning Care. The authors are Ackley and Ladwig. The ISBN # is 0-323-01459-3
You can order it from Textbooks.com
Hope that helps.
What I have found helpful when doing the dreaded care plans last year was to save all the meds that I wrote up throughout the year, all of the pathophysiology on the computer. As far as the Nursing Dx, we used the one by Cox. Really for that, we just looked up a certain diagnosis that we thought could be pertinent for that patient, and then made up the interventions out of our heads. The reason being is because the instructors wanted us to be able to come up with what we would do from our brains and not a book. It is hard, at first, but after time, it will become easier. What all does your care plans have to consist of? Ours was all of the patient's meds (lots of typing there) patho, pertinent medical history, labs (yuck!), and then client data sheets. I would normally spend about 12 hours doing them.
Here are some links that might be of help to you. Good luck!
Care Plan resource from Indiana University
Links to Nursing Care Plans and Case Studies
http://www.iun.edu/~libemb/nursing/careplan.htm
Care Plans.com
Problem Statements - Alphabetical Listing
http://www.careplans.com/pro/pages/problemlist.asp
Introduction to Care Plan Writing
This page is designed to be a general introduction to writing a nursing care plan (NCP) for students preparing for the CPNE. I realize many students pursuing their nursing degrees through Regents are not nurses and are not familiar with careplan writing. This is designed to be a very basic introduction to help assist these students. This page will give you the "main ideas" behind NCPs and NDx (nursing diagnoses) and to provide an orientation to using the recommended handbook for use at the CPNE.
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/8971/careplan.html
Links to Nurses Care Plans and Case Studies
Lots of links here for resources, care plans and other material. Great site!
http://www.iun.edu/~libemb/nursing/careplan.htm
Maternal/Newborn Plans of Care: Guidelines for Individualizing Care by Marilynn E. Doenges, Mary Frances Moorhouse
Book is highly recommended. May want to read about it and check other places to purchase book
Nurses In Training-Care Plans
Wonderful site listing links for care plans by disease or problems. Great info here!
http://nursesintraining.8m.com/careplan.htm
RN Central- Care Plans
Are you a student in need of some ideas for your care plans? Are you required to use standardized care plans at work and need some ideas? If you answered yes then this is the place for you! These are only suggested, pre-defined care plans. You may copy, save, print and modify them in any way you wish.
http://www.rncentral.com/careplans/contents.html
Resource for Assorted Care Plans
Lots of links here for resources, care plans and other material. Great site!
https://allnurses.com/_Miscellaneous_Resources/Nursing_Care_Plans/
The book I find myself using most often is a small paperback called "Nurse's pocket Guide", Diagnoses, interventions and rationales by Marilynn E Doenges and Mary Francis Moorhouse (7th edition was in 2000). Most of the interventions are not specific, so I have to make it appropriate for my patient by looking up info in the Med/Surg text, but it gives me a lot of good ideas and I sometimes combine interventions from different dx if they apply.
I like some of the sites listed above also, but in my program we have to cite references for the interventions and rationales, and it can only be from an approved source. (Basically only the texts that they have required for the course, hmmmm, do I smell $$ for the college bookstore behind that policy or what?)
Good luck, and it does get easier once you get used to doing them, but I will be glad if I never see another care plan book once I graduate.
suki616
14 Posts
Oh Man!
I'm about to get started on my second one. Last week it took me 9 hours to finish one! So tedious too! I was wiped out and my back hated me.
I need a good care plan book to go by.
Does anyone recommend one. I have one but it's not as good as I'd like it to be!