Need a good Careplan book

nightingale, RN · Jun 3, 2006

If you have to write them out, you may want to consider getting software that is modifiable and one where you can print out. I do not have a recomendation for school but I do use these (still) in my Nursing Practice for some of the Medical Management that I do. Try a search on Google for Internet support. I have had good luck modifying those on RN Central (and they are FREE).

As a new student, you may need Care Plans that are more detailed etc. I hope you find exactly what you need

Good luck to you.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2006

hey, nursecadet. . .one of the things i'm doing over this summer is working on a way to help students develop their care plans for school assignments. i commend you for wanting to work on this yourself over the summer. you need to also take into account what your school and nursing instructors are going to require for care plans. any nursing care plans that you do for nursing school need to be treated no differently than if they were term papers. they will be graded, so it is extremely important that you follow the instructions you will be given regarding putting them together.

one way nursing school care plans differ from the care plans we hospital nurses write is that student care plans, generally, have to include rationales for each of the nursing interventions you have listed. they usually need to be referenced. so, the title of the work and the author of each particular bit of information you list as rationales need to be identified. for that reason you will need a little orificenal of reference books. a nursing care plan book is one. a good fundamentals of nursing textbook is another good reference to have. other references to consider having are a nursing drug reference, a lab and diagnostic test reference, a pathophysiology textbook, and other nursing textbooks. before you buy anything i recommend that you check to see what the required textbooks are for your nursing program. you may be required to buy some of these books anyway from your college bookstore.

the big thing that student struggle with on care plans is the nursing diagnosis. many have trouble determining which nursing diagnoses fit with the data they have collected about the patient. nanda, the north american nursing diagnosis association, a name which you will hear ad nauseum in nursing school, is the official organization that classifies and defines the 172 nursing diagnoses that are currently approved for use. it's hard to find a listing of these as nanda owns the copyright to them and no one is supposed to re-print and distribute them publicly without their permission. you will find them in the nursing care plan books, but to be on the safe side you want to make sure you get the most recently published ones. nanda updated the diagnoses in 2005. here is a link to a slightly older list of the nanda diagnoses organized into 13 groups that were supposed to have been originally based on gordon's 11 functional patterns http://www.nursingstudio.net/2005/03/20/nanda-nursing-diagnoses/

i personally use the current edition of the care plan book done by lynda juall carpenito-moyet which is nursing diagnosis, application to clinical practice, vol. 11. it is over 1,000 pages long and the cost is only $49.95. it was just published in 2005 and includes the most current nanda information. she also has a handbook of nursing diagnosis that is 768 pocket-sized pages that are spiral bound and sells for $34.95. it also comes in a pda version. this nurse has been involved with nanda for many years. the reason i like her longer care plan book is because the beginning sections of it explains nursing diagnosis and the nursing process. i don't think there is any other popular care plan author who has as much knowledge about care plans and nursing diagnosis as ms. carpenito-moyet does from what i am finding. for $19.95 you can purchase a copy of the official nursing diagnoses: definitions and classification 2005-2006 from nanda international. it is a 291 page paperback that includes each of the 172 approved nursing diagnoses, the definition of each diagnosis, it's defining characteristics, and related factors--all the elements that students need to formulate nursing diagnostic statements for care plans. this same information is included in carpenito's books. carpenito's books also include nursing interventions, goals and outcomes.

just a heads up. . .this nursing diagnosis stuff is very challenging information. you can't just read it once and expect to understand it. this is something that has to be read and cogitated on, repeat as many times as necessary. i am developing a worksheet to help students use the data they gather about a patient to determine what nursing diagnoses are going to be appropriate to use.

here are some websites you can visit to look at some sample care plans. care plans are a written reflection of the nursing process (another term you will hear ad nauseum in school):

http://www-isu.indstate.edu/mary/carep.htm - sample care plan for potential for injury (aspiration)

http://www-isu.indstate.edu/mary/carep2.htm - sample care plan for fluid volume excess

http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/archives/carepl-l.html - this is an archives of student nursing care plans at the state university of new york, buffalo. you will need to check out the links to the various care plans to find out what each care plan is about as they are not given in the links.

http://www.cnsonline.org/www/archive/ms/ms-07.txt - sample care plan for an ms patient

http://www.csufresno.edu/nursingstudents/fsnc/nursingcareplans.htm - this page of links will allow you to view three sample care plans (activity intolerance, functional incontinence, and knowledge deficit) along with a printable template for the care plan. the lower part of this page has nursing care plan guidelines, information for putting together a care plan. from california state university at fresno.

http://nursesintraining.8m.com/cp_copd.htm - sample care plans for a patient with copd from the nurses in training web site

http://www.csufresno.edu/nursingstudents/fsnc/nursingcareplans.htm - nursing care plan guidelines for students as fresno state. also includes links to three sample care plans to look at on activity intolerance, functional incontinence, and knowledge deficit. there are also care plan templates there.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Jun 4, 2006

I was required to have one of Carpenito's books in school. While you can't argue with her experience, the frustrating thing was the inclusion of multiple diagnoses that were not yet approved on the NANDA list. However, those items were marked with an asterisk at least.

TRINI_RN · Jun 5, 2006

Thank you all so much for your wonderful information. I will be getting my booklist for school tomorrow. As soon as I see what they require I'll be able to figure out which careplan book I should use. Daytonite, you gave me enough info to keep me busy for at least a week! Thank you.

blue heron · Jun 5, 2006

Nursecadet, the book that saved my butt on Care Planning is Concept Mapping: A critical-thinking approach to care planning by Pamela McHugh Schuster, 2002, F. A. Davis Company, Philadelphia. I did not understand the process until I read this book. I had looked at other ones, that were highly recommended, but this is the one that makes sense to me. I also use Nursing diagnoses cards, 10th Edition, by Cynthia M. Taylor and Sheila Sparks Ralph, 2003, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Springhouse, PA. The thing I really like about these, is they're in the format of recipe cards, and it is easy to pull a few out to take with you if needed. I find that I have never used one of these care plans entirely, but they have a great format and are a great example to follow.

As to what other posters have said, I agree with it all. As to referencing your interventions and rationales, I have used research articles as well, and recieved excellent marks. That also shows Evidence Based Practice, on your part.

Hope some of this helps, and all the best to you.

ms mimi · Jun 6, 2006

the one that i used for first semester was:

Doenges, Nurse's Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Interventions, & Rationales 9th edition

it was smaller than the others (easily carried around for clinicals) and cheaper too. i dont know about anyone else but it got the job done.

TRINI_RN · Jun 6, 2006

I got my booklist for 1st semester and they do not require a care plan book. Is that odd? Here's my list:

Springhouse Nurse's Drug guide

Handbook of laboratory and diagnostic tests (Kee)

Mosby's Dictionary; Medical nursing and allied health

Fundimentals of nursing (Kozier, 7th)

I aso bought the following on my own:

Saunder's comprehensive Nclex review (RN)

Fluid and electrolytes made incredibly easy

ms mimi · Jun 7, 2006

i have the kozier 7th ed, its a pretty good book. it is very general. a careplan book wasn't on our list either but we all ended up buying one anyway, that is if you will be doing careplans. the books are a big help because they guide you in the right direction when picking a diagnosis and interventions.

TRINI_RN · Jun 7, 2006

thanks mimi and blue_heron. I just want to be as prepared as I can be, but with so many choice I feel lost:lol2:. I'm going to research the books recommended and call the school to get thier feedback.

trustsupplyguy · Jun 7, 2006

Like many nursing students, I found care plans to be very confusing so I purchased several books and studied the subject.

I found three keys to writing a good care plan:

1) the medical diagnosis

2) the clinical signs and symptoms (s/s) you observe are the basis for all NANDAs

3) understand what the NANDA (official nursing diagnosis) is really all about

Most care plan books let you look up a medical diagnosis and find related NANDAs. This a good first step. Next you need to really understand the NANDAs in order to pick the right one. This is where many books fall short.

The "Handbook of Nursing Diagnosis" by Carpenito is excellent in this regard. The author is THE expert on NANDAs, as evidenced by the fact that she is often quoted by other authors. This book is a small, concise book (the author also has a larger book, do NOT get it) that is excellent in describing the subtle differences between similar NANDAs. I use this book to confirm that the NANDA I picked is appropriate for the s/s I observed in clinical.

At this point I can usually write my nursing diagnosis. Let's say it's Ineffective Airway Clearance R/T excessive mucus production AEB productive coughing and rhonchi (congested lung sounds).

Next I will have to develop nursing interventions and their rationales. For this step I turn to other books, since Carpenito is weak in this area. The books I turn to include:

Nursing Diagnosis Handbook by Ackley & Ladwig. My program requires this book. It lists many interventions, and provides rationales as well. It is very comprehensive, but the main problem with this book is it's poor explanation of the NANDAs (but I use Carpenito for that).

Other good books are Nursing Care Plans by Gulanick & Myers (good explanations of NANDAs, plain language, very good interventions, however it has a few ommissions / errors so I wouldn't use this as my only book), and Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual by Sparks & Taylor.

One book I do NOT find helpful is Nurse's Pocket Guide by Doenges & Moorhouse. It's interventions are often not very real world, and I found my teachers dinging me for this.

For example, under Ineffective Airway Clearance the first intervention Doenges lists is "Position head midline with flexion appropriate for age/condition." Say what???

The first intervention Gulanick & Myers give is "Assess airway for patency." This is much more appropriate, since my teachers emphasize that at least one intervention must always be an assessment. If the airway is not patent, you have an emergency on your hands, and your actions will be guided accordingly.

The first intervention Ackley & Ladwig give is "Auscultate breath sounds." This is also an assessment, so it is appropriate. However, Gulanick & Myers is even better, since if the patient's airway is blocked you wouldn't waste time auscultating breath sounds.

The first intervention Sparks & Taylor give is "Assess respiratory status." Good, but vague.

Hope this helps in your quest!

TRINI_RN · Jun 8, 2006

Like many nursing students, I found care plans to be very confusing so I purchased several books and studied the subject.
I found three keys to writing a good care plan:
1) the medical diagnosis
2) the clinical signs and symptoms (s/s) you observe are the basis for all NANDAs
3) understand what the NANDA (official nursing diagnosis) is really all about
Most care plan books let you look up a medical diagnosis and find related NANDAs. This a good first step. Next you need to really understand the NANDAs in order to pick the right one. This is where many books fall short.
The "Handbook of Nursing Diagnosis" by Carpenito is excellent in this regard. The author is THE expert on NANDAs, as evidenced by the fact that she is often quoted by other authors. This book is a small, concise book (the author also has a larger book, do NOT get it) that is excellent in describing the subtle differences between similar NANDAs. I use this book to confirm that the NANDA I picked is appropriate for the s/s I observed in clinical.
At this point I can usually write my nursing diagnosis. Let's say it's Ineffective Airway Clearance R/T excessive mucus production AEB productive coughing and rhonchi (congested lung sounds).
Next I will have to develop nursing interventions and their rationales. For this step I turn to other books, since Carpenito is weak in this area. The books I turn to include:
Nursing Diagnosis Handbook by Ackley & Ladwig. My program requires this book. It lists many interventions, and provides rationales as well. It is very comprehensive, but the main problem with this book is it's poor explanation of the NANDAs (but I use Carpenito for that).
Other good books are Nursing Care Plans by Gulanick & Myers (good explanations of NANDAs, plain language, very good interventions, however it has a few ommissions / errors so I wouldn't use this as my only book), and Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual by Sparks & Taylor.
One book I do NOT find helpful is Nurse's Pocket Guide by Doenges & Moorhouse. It's interventions are often not very real world, and I found my teachers dinging me for this.
For example, under Ineffective Airway Clearance the first intervention Doenges lists is "Position head midline with flexion appropriate for age/condition." Say what???
The first intervention Gulanick & Myers give is "Assess airway for patency." This is much more appropriate, since my teachers emphasize that at least one intervention must always be an assessment. If the airway is not patent, you have an emergency on your hands, and your actions will be guided accordingly.
The first intervention Ackley & Ladwig give is "Auscultate breath sounds." This is also an assessment, so it is appropriate. However, Gulanick & Myers is even better, since if the patient's airway is blocked you wouldn't waste time auscultating breath sounds.
The first intervention Sparks & Taylor give is "Assess respiratory status." Good, but vague.
Hope this helps in your quest!

Wow! Thank you soooo much, its nice to hear what you like and don't like about each book, that helps me very much. I should be calling the school soon to find out if they require a certain one later in the program, that way I'll know what I need to suppliment with. Thanks again.