Using NANDA Defs. and Class. manual for care plans?

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2007

i'm assuming that you are talking about nanda-i nursing diagnoses: definitions & classification 2007-2008 that is published by nanda international. yes, i have a copy and i refer to it all the time when i am answering questions about care plans and nursing diagnoses. you will see me reference it often in my posts. the cost of this book is $24.95 and you can order it directly from nanda. their website is http://www.nanda.org/html/nursing_diagnosis.html. the book is not that large and will fit in your pocket. it is only 343 pages and it has bare bones information. it has all the current 188 diagnoses, their definitions, related factors/risk factors and defining characteristics. that's it. it does not have any of the noc or nec information.

as someone who is new at learning to diagnose you should be using some kind of reference to make sure you are diagnosing correctly. medical students do. i am very much aware that many students and nurses like to use nursing diagnosis handbook: a guide to planning care, 7th edition, by betty j. ackley and gail b. ladwig because it has a cross index in the front of it that will give you a potential list of likely

"appropriate" nursing diagnoses for "symptoms, problems, clinical state, [medical] diagnoses, surgeries, and diagnostic testing". that's all fine and good because it can save a person a lot of hunting around. however, i've been answering nursing diagnosis and care plan questions for a long time now on allnurses and the one thing that i see time and time again is that people do not understand how you choose a diagnosis in the first place. it is based upon the patient's signs and symptoms (nanda calls them defining characteristics) and this comes from your assessment of the patient. if that is ignored, the care plan is going to fall apart no matter what nursing diagnosis you use. you need those signs and symptoms because they are what your goals and nursing interventions are ultimately based upon. if you don't "get" that, then you don't "get" what a care plan is. and, a care plan is nothing more than the physical writing down of the problem solving process. that's all it is.

now, from many of your other posts i have the impression that you are very detail oriented person. there are two books that you can get that have goals and interventions listed in them. a group of professors at the university of iowa have made huge lists of what they believe are all the possible nursing goals and interventions. nanda has linked them to their nursing diagnoses and many authors of care plan books include some, but not all, of these linkages. these two books are:

nursing outcomes classification (noc), third edition, by sue moorhead, marion johnson and meridean maas. runs $49.95.
nursing interventions classification (nic), by joanne mccloskey mccloskey dochterman, gloria m. bulechek, gloria m. bulechek. runs $49.95.

then, a care plan book of care plans by medical diagnosis will be helpful. still, these care plan books only include care plans for the most common medical diseases. they won't help you if you get a patient with polio or plain old dehydration. that's why you have to understand how a nursing diagnosis is determined in the first place.

am i making sense?

turbohound · Oct 20, 2007

Hey Zen,

Check this out, it's a Careplan Constructor.

http://www1.us.elsevierhealth.com/Evolve/Ackley/NDH7e/Constructor/index.php

It'll help you put the right pieces in the right places. There are a few of these out on the net.

Enjoy :)

Jamie2887 · Oct 21, 2007

I see there have been a few threads recently on care plans, at least one of which I myself had a question about.
So I've been wondering - instead of just taking pot-shots in the dark whenever I make a care plan - or at least so that I could have what I assume would be the most authoritative source to check my final draft against - anyone out there think it's worth having a copy of the NANDA-published Nursing Diagnoses: Definitions and Classifications 2007-2008 manual? Does anyone out there have this book, and if so, do you feel that it's helped you?
Thanks,
the Jedi.

Jedi, I have TONS of nursing books, including 3 Dx ones, and a care plan one, among about 5 NCLEX, and various other things, if you ever want to take a look at some let me know and i'll bring them to class or we can meet at a library or something, that way you know what your buying and if it'll help. I could probaly start my own library, letting people check them out and all, LOL.