FNCP
FNCP
These characteristics are based on the concept Desirable Qualities of a Nursing Care Plan
of planning as a process. There are specific qualities of a nursing care
1. The nursing care plan focuses on plan which help to maximize its effectiveness.
actions which are designed to solve or 1. It should be based on clear explicit
minimize existing problem. The plan is a definition of the problems.
blueprint for action. The core of the
plan are the approaches, strategies, A good nursing plan is based on a
activities, methods, and materials which comprehensive analysis of the problem
the nurse hopes will improve the situation. The main as well as contributory
problem situation. causes of the health conditions or problem
2. The nursing care plan is a product of a should be identified.
deliberate systematic process. The
2. A good plan is realistic. It can be
planning process is characterized by
implemented with reasonable chance
logical analyses of data that are put
of success. This feasibility of the plan is
together to arrive at rational decisions.
related to the quantity and quality of
The interventions the nurse decides to
resources required in its
implement are chosen from among
implementation.
alternatives after careful analysis and
3. The nursing care plan is prepared
weighing of available options.
jointly with the family. This is
3. The nursing care plan, as with all other
consistent with the principle that the
plans relates to the future. It utilizes
nurse works with and not for the family.
events in the past and what is
4. She involves the family in determining
happening in the present to determine
health needs and problems in
establishing priorities in selecting 4. Continuity of care is facilitated using
appropriate courses of action, nursing care plans. Gaps and
implementing them, and evaluating duplications of services are bound to
outcomes. Through participatory occur in settings where there is
planning the nurse makes the family frequent turnover of staff or when
feel that the health of its members is a several health workers are providing
family responsibility and commitment. care to the same family.
5. The nursing care plan is most useful in 5. Nursing care plans facilitate the
written form. It is a means of coordination of care by making knowns
communication not only among nurses to other members of the health team
but also between nurses and other what the nurse is doing. Coordination of
members of the health team. care prevents fragmentation of services
Moreover, it is impossible for a nurse to and increases the efficiency of health
keep many nursing care plans in her service delivery system.
mind and remember the safest points
STEPS IN DEVELOPING A FAMILY NURSING
of care. Written plans also serve as
CARE PLAN
useful administrative device for
evaluating staff performance and the The assessment phase of the nursing process
quality. generates the health and nursing problems
which become the bases for the development
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING CARE.
of the nursing care plan. The planning phase
Little and Camevali (1969 pp. 2-5) discuss the takes off from there.
importance of nursing care plans.
Developing a family care plan involves many
1. They individualize care to clients steps. Generally, a plan consists of the
whether an individual patient, the following:
family or the entire community clients
1. The prioritized conditions or problems
are different from each other in order
2. The goals and objectives of nursing care
to be appropriate, nursing care should
3. Th plan of intervention and
suit and be unique to a particular
4. The plan for evaluating care
client.
Planning facilitates the delivery of the The various steps in developing the family
most appropriate care by considering nursing care plan correspond with the above
the uniqueness of each client. components. Figure 2 shows a schematic
2. The nursing care plan helps in setting presentation of the nursing care planning
priorities by providing information process.
about the client as well as the nature of
his problems. From the available data It starts with a list of health condition or
the nurse sets her priorities for care. problems prioritized according to the nature,
3. The nursing care plan promotes modifiability, preventive potential, and
systematic communication among salience.
those involved in the health care effort. The prioritized health condition or problems
It defines the problems and details of and their corresponding nursing problems
the nursing interventions to resolve become the basis for the next step which is the
them.
formulation of goals and objectives of nursing the identified health conditions/ problems into
care. priorities. Balon and Maglaya (1990) devised a
tool called Scale for Ranking Health Conditions
The goals and objectives specify the expected
and Problems According to Priorities. This tool
health/ clinical outcomes, family responses,
aims to objectivize priority setting. These are
behavior, or competency outcomes.
four criteria for determining priorities among
The next step is selection of appropriate health conditions or problems. These include:
nursing interventions. It focuses on alternatives
1. Nature of the condition or problem
and decision on appropriate intervention
presented- categorized into wellness
measures based on the specific objectives
state potential health threat deficit and
formulated.
foreseeable crisis.
The interventions specify the nursing actions to 2. Modifiability of the condition or
help the family eliminate the barriers to the problem- refers to the probability of
performance of health tasks or the underlying success in enhancing the wellness state,
causes of non- performance of expected health improving the condition, minimizing,
tasks. alleviating, or totally eradicating the
problem through intervention.
These interventions include family focused 3. Preventive potential- refers to the
alternatives or strategies to help members nature and magnitude of future
recognize/ detect health problems or problems that can be minimized or
opportunities to enhance wellness state or totally prevented if intervention is done
condition, monitor, eliminate, control, and on the condition or problem under
manage health problems or enhance wellness consideration.
condition. The method of nurse- family contact 4. Salience- refers to the family’s
and the resources needed are specified in this perception and evaluation of the
step to ensure that the necessary preparation is condition or problem in terms of
done to achieve the objectives of care. seriousness and urgency of attention
The last step is the development of the needed or family readiness.
evaluation plan. It specifies the criteria or The experienced nurse practitioner can
outcomes as explicit measures that determine determine priorities among health condition or
achievement of formulated objectives. This problems utilizing her judgement on all these
close relationship between the evaluation plan four criteria without necessarily going through
and the formulated goals and objectives the process of scoring.
explains the broken line between the two boxes
in figure 2. The arithmetic computations utilized in the
scale can however guide the students or new
PRIORITIZING HEALTH PROBLEMS practitioners who still need to gain the skill in
After the assessment phase, the nurse may deciding which factors have more weight over
realize that the family is faced with number of others.
health and nursing problems which cannot be The computations help systematize priority
taken up all at the same time considering the setting by determining a specific score for each
available resources of both the family and the problem on the list. The nurse considers several
nurse. Considering the situation, she can rank
factors to be objective in the decision- making The nurse considers the availability of the
process when setting priorities. following factors in determining the
modifiability of a health condition or problem:
Scoring