To provide quality patient care over a period of time, nurses need a roadmap that guides their actions and quantifies desired outcomes. As a registered nurse, you will be responsible for creating a plan of care based on each patient’s needs and health goals. A nursing care plan is a formal process that includes six components: assessment, diagnosis, expected outcomes, interventions, rationale, and evaluation. ((Helen Ballantyne, “Developing nursing care plans,” Nursing Standard, Feb. 24, 2016: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26907149/ )) Documenting these steps ensures effective communication between doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals over multiple shifts