Nursing Interventions w/ Rationales

[tavo_80816]

Im a first semester nursing student and I barely got my first pt. in clinical...I had a older man with a CC of dificulty with urination and a Dx of UTI.

Part of my paperwork is to list the Nursing Interventions with Rationales (Include: Assessment, Therapeutic, and Teaching Interventions. Incorporate all appropriate medications in this section.)

I kinda don't understand what this means...if any one out there can help me out a bit that would be appreciated....thanks.

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

Okay I'll give you a few examples. An assessment-type of intervention for this patient would be to assess the urine output. Note the quantity and characteristics of the urine. All rationale means is reason. The rationale or reason for assessing urine output is so that you know how well the kidneys are functioning and the characteristics of the urine tells you many things. Is it dark or light? This is called concentration. Concentrated urine may mean he's not getting enough fluids. Is it clear or cloudy? Cloudy urine often indicates infection. Is there an odor? Again, foul-smelling urine indicates infection. There is a lot you can learn about a patient just by looking at their urine! Assessment is such a big part of what nurses do.

A therapeutic intervention may be giving the patient plenty of PO (by mouth) fluids, rationale is to help flush out the bladder. A teaching intervention is to teach the patient about the importance of drinking plenty of fluids, rationale is so that he may help be in control of his health. You see, it is pretty simple once you get the concept, just try not to make it more difficult than it really is :)

Your intervention section of your careplan tells people what you will be doing with your patient. The rationale behind your interventions says WHY you do those things, the why behind things is a very important part of being a nurse. Depending on your careplan book, many if not all of your rationales should be supported by research, this says that there are scientific reasons why nurses do what we do, even if they seem very simple to outsiders.

I know it seems confusing now, but by next semester you will have a better grasp of what the nursing process is all about, and by the time you graduate you will be using the nursing process constantly without even realizing it. Have fun in your first clinical!!

[tavo_80816]

Thanks! That really helps me understand it clearly...I think your right about what you said, I think I was making it harder than it really was and that was what was confusing me...sometimes the simple answer is the best answer.

[tachybradyRN]

Kozier's textbook of Fundamentals of Nursing was a godsend in finding rationales for my interventions in first semester. Second semester, I've used Brunner and Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing and again, lots of great resources for rationales. You can find rationales in your textbook listed like this: For a patient at risk for infection, meticulous handwashing is important because blah blah blah..

INTERVENTION: Perform meticulous handwashing.

RATIONALE: blah blah blah.

[imanedrn]

Don't you have a class where an instructor teaches you how to write your interventions & rationales? At my school, we did. I can't imagine trying to come up with that stuff without ever being taught how! It was hard enough to understand WITH an explanation!

[tachybradyRN]

I didn't have a class on learning how to write them. We had to just wing it, and pick it up as we went along.

[ontocrna]

google ackley and ladwig careplan constructor