Help! I Have to Write a Nursing Care Plan and I Have No Idea How!

Regardless of the particular college or university, all nursing students will need to write several nursing care plans during their time in school. Put simply, a nursing care plan is just that: a plan of action, tailored to a specific individual, that addresses specific needs. Such needs are usually medical in nature, such as how the patient can manage her diabetes on a fixed income, but they can also encompass other aspects of the patient's life, such as mental health and spirituality.

Different institutions have different formats for such plans, but they generally include the following sections: The problem to be addressed; the goals for the patient; a step-by-step approach to solving the problem and achieving the goals; and a space that allows for notes to be made as the patient progresses through the steps of the plan. Some nursing plans also include information about other health professionals the patient may need to see.

It's critical for students to learn how to write such plans in college, because they will have to create them when they become nurses in the so-called real world. Yet they can be incredibly difficult. Often the student is simply presented with a fictional case history and a template and told to go from there. How can the student adequately create a step-by-step plan to assist this patient?

That is where model papers can come in handy. Students can greatly benefit from a model paper which demonstrates what a typical nursing care plan should look like, custom-written to suit their school's needs. Using this model, they can create their own plans, both for that given assignment and also into the future.

If you are a nursing student, don't blow off this particular assignment. It's too important. Get help if you need it, but be sure you learn how to write a solid nursing care plan. You will appreciate it in the future.