Question

A nursing student is reporting to the clinical instructor about the care she gave to a client. She states: "The client said his leg pain was back, so I checked his medical record, and he last received his pain medication 6 hours ago. The prescription reads every 4 hr PRN for pain, so I decided he needs it. I asked the unit nurse to observe me preparing and administering it. I checked with the client 40 min later, and he said his pain is going away." The instructor should inform the student that she left out which of the following steps of the nursing process?

A. Assessment
B. Planning
C. Intervention
D. Evaluation

Answer 1

The nursing student omitted the Planning step of the nursing process, which involves formulating goals and identifying intervention strategies before administering medication.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nursing student omitted the Planning step of the nursing process. While they did assess the client's pain, prepared and administered medication, and evaluated the client's response to the pain medication, they did not mention any planning which should include formulating nursing goals for pain management and identifying intervention strategies prior to administering medication.

The nursing process is a critical thinking method used by nurses to ensure quality patient care and includes the following steps: Assessment, Planning, Intervention, and Evaluation.

The student included Assessment (noting the client's pain), Intervention (administering pain medication), and Evaluation (checking if the pain subsided), but did not articulate any Planning phase, which would typically include setting goals and expected outcomes before proceeding with the intervention.