Nursing Care Plan Considerations Consider the hierarchy of needs.
Nursing Care Plan Considerations
Consider the hierarchy of needs.In any care setting, there are often competing priorities that nurses must handle. When deciding on how to prioritize care needs for patients, a useful framework to organize care is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.5 The highest priority needs are at the bottom of the pyramid and include physiological needs such as air, nutrition, and sleep. The nurse must prioritize physical needs over those closer to the top of the pyramid, such as the need for a sense of connection.
Creating SMART Goals
S.M.A.R.T. goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. SMART goals are helpful in care planning because they increase the likelihood that the goal created will be practical and achievable. Conversely, goals that are too vague or not realistic are less likely to be achieved, which can discourage the goal-setter. Specific Specific goals are not overly broad. A shared goal of “walking more” is not specific. However, “Walk three laps of the unit 3 times a day” is specific. Measurable Related to being specific, there should be some way to measure whether the goal has been met or is at least progressing. There should be a benchmark that signals that the goal has been met. Benchmarks could be behavioral, physical, or expressed by the patient. Attainable Goals might take work to meet, but attainable goals are within reach. Goals that are too difficult or require multiple steps to reach are more likely to discourage rather than encourage.Realistic An achievable goal is also realistic. Attainable goals are possible to meet, while realistic goals take into consideration the context and potential barriers to meeting the goal.
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