The nurse care planning process is an important aid in the treatment of patients. In turn it creates a systematic care plan approach which with the inclusion of other health care professionals allows the patients the best route to full fitness.
When used effectively, the nursing process offers many advantages:
It’s patient-centred, helping to ensure that your patient’s health problems and his response to them are the focus of care.
It enables you to individualise care for each patient.
It promotes the patient’s participation in their care, encourages independence and concordance and gives the patient a greater sense of control – important factors in a positive health outcome. (See Putting the ‘P’ in planning.)
It improves communication by providing you and other nurses with a summary of the patient’s recognised problems or needs.
It promotes accountability for nursing activities, which in turn promotes quality assurance.
It promotes critical thinking, decision-making and problem-solving.
It’s outcome-focused and encourages the evaluation of results.
It minimises errors and omissions in care planning.