Help! Writing my FIRST care plan. Where do I start?!

[FutureSuccessStory19]

Hi, I am attempting to write my first care plan ever, and am SO lost. Could someone break down the steps for me? I have no idea where to start. I know a care plan is basically the nursing process but even after researching a ton online, checking out YouTube videos, and looking through my "Cox's Clinical Applications of NURSING DIAGNOSIS" 5th ed. textbook, there's just something about it that I am just not understanding! And I don't know what. While writing our care plan, we must use Gordon's Functional Health Patterns. For each, we are to come up with a diagnosis, and insert subjective and objective data. Next are our short-term goals, then interventions, rationales for each intervention, and evaluation of the effectiveness of our short term goal.

Also, although I did not mention this in the title. I also have to write a Pathophysiology paper. Again, never have before and am not finding anything online whatsoever with how to write one. I do have templates for both the care plan & path paper, just have no idea where to start......

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

If you do a search for Esme and GrnTea (2 posters who have posted excellent advice on nursing care plans) in the search box and add the term nursing care plan, you will find a wealth of information to help you.

[FutureSuccessStory19]

Thank you for suggestions! However, it is not letting me view any of GrnTea's posts and I am having a hard time finding Esme. I am pretty new to this site so navigating through it is a bit difficult.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Try just nursing care plans in the search bar then. The website servers were recently updated, so that may explain some of the issues.

Ok, here's one of the FAQs from the student section related to nursing diagnosis/care plans.