The nursing process

As a nursing assistant, you will be heavily involved in client care and the nursing process. The best practice is to focus on the client’s needs which is why it is called client-centered care.

Clients are considered active participants in their care. They are informed, involved in all decisions, and are encouraged to ask questions. Their preferences and values should always be respected.

The nursing process is a systematic guide nurses use to provide the best care for their clients. It consists of five steps: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation.

In the first step, Assessment, the nurse collects and analyzes information about the client. The nursing assistants contribute to this step with the observations they made during client care.

There are two types of information: subjective and objective. Subjective information is usually collected from the client. So, Subjective information is what clients Say, like, “I’ve been feeling more tired lately,” or, “The pain in my leg is really bad.

Like an 8 out of 10.” Objective information is measurable, like the client’s height, weight, vital signs, and so on. Keep in mind that the pain scale is a subjective measure because it’s something the client reports and not something you can objectively measure or observe.

In the next step, Diagnosis, a nursing diagnosis is made based on the collected information and the client’s problem. The third step, Planning, is about setting goals for the client and planning nursing interventions to reach these goals.

A client care conference is organized so you and other members of the healthcare team can share information about the client. The fourth step, Implementation, involves performing planned interventions.

As a nursing assistant, the nurse will assign you to perform tasks related to these interventions, like turning a client over in bed to prevent pressure ulcers or helping them with bathing. In the final step,

Evaluation, the effectiveness of the nursing care plan is measured and evaluated. This is another step where the information and observations you recorded come in handy.