nursing care plan, a plan, based on a nursing assessment and a nursing diagnosis, carried out by a nurse. It has four essential components: identification of the nursing care problems or nursing diagnoses and statement of the nursing approach to solve those problems; statement of the expected benefit to the patient; statement of the specific actions by the nurse that reflect the nursing approach and achieve the goals specified; and evaluation of the patient’s response to nursing care and readjustment of that care as required. The nursing care plan is begun when the patient is admitted to the health service, and, after the initial nursing assessment, a diagnosis is formulated and nursing orders are developed. The goal of the process is to ensure that nursing care is consistent with the patient’s needs and progress toward self-care. A written nursing care plan should be a part of every patient’s chart. See also diagnosis, nursing assessment, nursing diagnosis, nursing orders, problem-solving approach to patient-centered care.
