Evaluation of Care Plans Made By Nursing First Year Students in Distance Education: Descriptive Study

Purpose: In patient care plans, the accurate expression of nursing diagnoses in line with symptoms–aetiology–diagnosis and the adequate planning of interventions based on the diagnosis are important components of the nursing process. Students are expected to gain the ability to plan care in clinical practice.The aim of this study is to analyse the adequacy of nursing care plans prepared by first-year nursing students who are unable to undertake clinical placements and are continuing their education through distance learning.Methods: The study was planned as a descriptive study.The study was conducted through a retrospective review of 252 care plans prepared by students for three distinct cases assigned by the instructor via the Distance Education system. In the analysis of the data, numbers, percentages, averages and the chi-square test were performed using the SPSS 22.0 software package.Results: The total number of nursing diagnoses evaluated in 252 care plans was 1573. Among the 267 diagnoses in Taxonomy II, 88 different nursing diagnoses are used. It was determined that 72.2% of the diagnostic statements were accurate, 83.1% of the etiologies were appropriate, and 68.5% of the symptoms were considered sufficient. Students documented an average of 3.95±1.68 entries per diagnosis.Conclusion: In conclusion, while the Symptom–Etiology–Problem components of the nursing diagnoses in the care plans were found to be adequate, the average number of planned interventions was observed to be insufficient. It is recommended that care plan evaluations be conducted in a way that provides feedback to individual students.