In the healthcare sector, an effective systematic procedure needs to be done to ensure maximum recovery and care in patients, which is known as the nursing process. It consists of different steps. This nursing procedure is pretty important to guarantee quality care and better outcomes.

In such a process, critical thinking is utilized for recognizing the problem & come up with a good logical solution to solve it. One crucial aspect of this process is that the plan isn’t set in stone. This is meant to be manipulated to better suit the specific patient. 

All the nurses should be able to think need to be able to think critically to develop an appropriate way to correct the issue and communicate the problem with others. Let’s explore the things you need to know about the Nursing Process and its importance:

What is the Nursing Process?

The nursing process is basically a scientific procedure that all nurses utilize to make clinical decisions related to patient-centered care. It is a step-by-step method that actually details the procedure of critical thinking for nurses. This tool is used for the RNs to apply their clinical judgment, actions, and knowledge to offer effective, holistic care to patients. You need to remember the five major components during your nursing school, and it cannot be completely learned through the process of memorization only. Rather, it can be applied through development and practice experience.

History of Nursing Process

In 1955, Lydia Hall was the very first person to make this nursing process after seeing the major need to develop a superb systemized decision-making manner regarding patient care. In addition, Hall became the first Loeb Center director for nursing, where she utilized existing research to provide highly effective treatment that considerably reduced the time patients usually spent in the hospital. Also, she believed in patients setting different goals in their care, concentrating on the concept of patient care. She originally developed three stages that are administration of care, validation, and observation. Nurses use scientific procedures for decision-making.

The nursing process was restructured by Dorothy Johnson in 1959 to include three steps: evaluation, decision, & nursing action. As a revision to her initial theory in 1968, she developed the Behavior System Nursing Model, which uses the most recent research to guide patient care. Patient assessment for disease diagnosis and care planning were key to the Behavior System Model of Nursing. In the last phase of the cycle, the nurse assesses the efficacy of the interventions of the care plan.

The modern nursing procedure was established by Ida Jean Orlando-Pelletier in 1961 when she made the theory of the Deliberative Nursing Process. This theory has five impressive steps & is the basis for the advanced nursing model:

1) Assessment

2) Diagnosis

3) Planning

4) Implementation

5) Evaluation

Now, let’s break down every single step in detail.

1 Assessment

To be able to offer diagnoses, the external factors and patient should be assessed. Listening to the patients and completely understanding their hopes and concerns for treatment should always be the very first step in the process. By doing this, you can boost the chances of reaching the diagnoses, making the right treatment plan that meets the needs of patients, and increasing the quality of care overall.

2  Diagnosis

This is quite an important step. We should consider all the essential external factors of the patients, including physiological, socioeconomic, and environmental aspects, when developing the diagnosis. It can sometimes be challenging, too. But with clinical knowledge and experience, there are exceptional resources available that can assist you. For instance, the NANDA (North American Nursing Diagnosis Association) offers a consistent guide for nursing diagnoses effectively.

3 Planning/Outcomes

Once you have successfully reached the diagnosis, the next step is careful planning. While considering the care approach, it’s pretty important to consider the patient’s external factors and major concerns when setting health goals. You can also use some inclusive resources like Nursing Outcomes Classification, as it can provide you with the insight to know how you need to establish a care plan, especially if you want to achieve your goals.

4  Implementation

The implementation phase includes both indirect and direct patient care, whether that’s educating the patients, checking their vitals, or administering medications. This specific point in the process must follow the care plan actively that was established in the previous step & should work toward accomplishing the health goals of patients.

5 Evaluation

The phase of evaluation must be the direct assessment if the implemented plan of care was super effective & if the intended results were reached. And, if the goals are not perfectly met, you & the patient would re-evaluate as well as adjust the particular care plan.

Purpose of Nursing Process

Everything has a particular purpose, and so the nursing process also has a special aim and purpose. This decision-making procedure permits the nurse to offer effective care by efficiently prioritizing meaningful interventions depending on their clinical diagnosis and assessments of the patient. In the end, the nurse nicely evaluates the success of care to guarantee that proper care is being prioritized.

A nursing diagnosis & care plan are developed based on the nurse’s evaluation of the patient, and this is what the nursing process is all about. Patients get treatment that is tailored to their specific needs with the use of individualized care plans. Therefore, the patient’s stay in the hospital is shortened while their health is improved due to fewer problems.

By establishing measurable, time-bound objectives, the nurse may assess the efficacy of their treatment and make adjustments as needed. The client’s health status is always evolving. Thus the nursing approach is iterative and continual. Nurses will probably not know whether the care they’re giving is effective unless they follow the nursing procedure.