Nursing Process Introduction
Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN)
Learning Objectives
- Use the nursing process to provide client care
- Describe components of a client-centered plan of care
- Differentiate priorities of client care
- Describe the roles of the RN, LPN/VN, and UAP in providing client care
Have you ever wondered how a nurse can receive a quick handoff report from another nurse and immediately begin providing care for a client they previously knew nothing about? How do they know what to do? How do they prioritize and make a plan?
Nurses know how to analyze pertinent information and use the nursing process as a critical thinking model to guide client care. The nursing process becomes a road map for the actions and interventions that nurses implement to optimize their clients’ well-being and health. This chapter will explain how to use the nursing process as standards of professional nursing practice to provide safe, client-centered care.
Learning Activities
(Answers to "Learning Activities" can be found in the "Answer Key" at the end of the book. Answers to interactive activities are provided as immediate feedback.)
1. Review the following case studies regarding nurse liability associated with inappropriate delegation:
- Nurse Case Study: Wrongful delegation of patient care to unlicensed assistive personnel
- Nurse Video Case Study: Failure to assess and monitor
Reflective Questions: What delegation errors occurred in each of these scenarios and what were the repercussions of these errors for the nurses involved?
2. The RN is delegating tasks to the LPN/VN and AP on a medical-surgical unit. Using the columns as reference, indicate where delegation errors occurred using the 5 Rs of delegation.
| Right Person | Right Task | Right Circumstance | Right Direction and Communication | Right Supervision and Evaluation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directs the AP to assess the pain level of a client who is post-op Day 3 after a hip replacement and report back the finding. | |||||
| Directs the LPN to give 1 mg IV push morphine to a patient who is 2-hours post total left knee replacement and ensure documentation. | |||||
| Assigns the AP to collect blood pressures on all clients on the unit by 0800. Assumes the AP will report back any abnormal blood pressures. | |||||
| Directs a new AP to ambulate a patient who is post-op Day 2 from a shoulder replacement who needs the assistance of one person and an adaptive walker. The AP voices concerns about never having used an adaptive walker before. The RN directs the AP to get another AP to help. |
Test your knowledge using this NCLEX Next Generation-style Case Study. You may reset and resubmit your answers to this question an unlimited number of times.[1]
