Prioritizing

Priority is going to be based on the patient's nursing assessment. There is no set rule to priority. Do you have a rationale for why you've chosen your priority diagnosis?

So my friend and I are working on care plans and we are arguing about prioritizing. Let me know if this is correct:

1.Imbalanced nutrition: less than body requirements

2. Constipation

3. Activity intolerance

4. Risk for falls

5. Risk for loneliness

Please and thank you!

What semester are you? What care plan resource are you using?

It is difficult to answer this correctly because prioritization depends on the assessment of the patient, If the patient isn't eating because she is ill and complaining of nausea wouldn't nausea be a better priority diagnosis?

NANDA-IDefinition: A subjective, phenomenon of an unpleasant feeling in the back of the throat and stomach, which may or may not result in vomiting

Defining Characteristics: Aversion to food; gagging sensation; increase in salivation; increase in swallowing; nausea; sour taste

All care plans are based off the assessment of the patient. It is the recipe card on how to care for the patient so that the next nurse will know what to look for and treat the patient.

Thank you for replying!

I prioritized her imbalanced nutrition due to the week I assessed her she wasn't eating d/t being sick with the flu and her being nauseous every time she ate

Her constipation (chronic) because shes on narco

(the risk fors I know are right.. its just the first two that I find difficult prioritizing)

When you look at NANDA it gives you the definition of all the diagnoses and the related to that you look for. Constipation has two definitions....acute and chronic. If this patient has been sick with the flu....does she have a fever? Is she drinking enough with the nausea? What is her hydration status? Is she orthostatic ?

Your patient is going to continue to have an imbalanced nutrition until you cure/treat her nausea which makes nausea the priority diagnosis.

See how the assessment can change what is important? What is the patient assessment?