Nursing Care Plan as Teaching Learning and as a Patient Care Tool: Patient or Paper Centered

Abstract

This qualitative-descriptive study was conducted to determine the use and effectiveness of Nursing
Care Plans among student nurses and their clinical instructors of Northern Luzon Adventist College, Artacho, Sison, Pangasinan. The participants were assigned in Ilocos Training Regional Medical Center (ITRMC), San Fernando, La Union, Region I Medical Center (RIMC), Dagupan City, and in Manaoag Community Hospital, 7-3 and 3-11 shifts. Individual interview and observation in the different clinical areas and shifts were conducted as well as projective exercise particularly sentence completion. Purposive comprehensive sampling was utilized. The findings of the study reveal that for the clinical instructors, NCPs were used to evaluate students’ performance, but they find less time for other activities due to the bulk of NCPs that has to be checked and also it resulted to boredom while checking. To the student nurses, it resulted to better patient outcome, making them feel sense of fulfillment and develop their skills in writing, thus becomes the basis in obtaining higher or lower grades. Student nurses also used NCPs as their evidence that they rendered care to patients. However, they also make use of NCPs to other patients with the same problem resulting to a non- personalized care. It has also a physical and mental effect to them especially if they don’t know how to manage their time that will mean less time to other activities. With these findings, the use of NCP as a teaching-learning tool and as a patient care tool appears not to be taking its due course in the clinical practice as evidence by the result of both on the clinical instructors turf as well as students perception.