Overview of the Nursing Process

This lesson is gonna be a quick overview of the nursing process. We’re gonna do a lesson on each element of the nursing process, but this one’s just really kind of a quick overview to give you an idea of what is going on.

So the nursing process is a way to provide care for our patients, and really a good way to think of it is kind of a modified scientific method. We all remember the scientific method from back in elementary school and stuff. The nursing process is really kind of a modified scientific method. It’s really kind of a method to consistently and uniformly provide care to our patients. No matter how many patients you have, no matter how many shifts you work, no matter where you work, this is a way that we can provide care to our patients that’s uniform and consistent.

So what is the nursing process. Now again, you might see AAPIE or APIE, but we’re gonna talk about ADPIE. ADPIE, just pretend like you gotta a big piece of pie, and we want to add pie to it, okay? So the first part is access. With access what we’re doing here is we’re collecting data, alright. We’re collecting objective and subjective data. Remember, we’re gonna talk about each element of the nursing process in individual lessons, so make sure you check out those lessons, but with accessing, we’re collecting data. This is our time to look at everything to find all the information that we can. We’re like little detectives right here. We’re looking for a objective and subjective data.

During the diagnosis phase, realize this is not a medical diagnosis. We’re not giving a diagnosis of meningitis or something like that. This is not a medical diagnosis. Basically, this is what we suspect is going on with the patient, and in this phase, we’re also anticipating what care might be given to the patient. Then during the planning phase, this is what you plan to do for you patient. What will you do? What are you gonna do?

You’ve collected all your data. You’ve said what you think is gonna happen. So what are you gonna do for the patient? Then during the implementation phase, you do it. You’ve got your plan altogether, now in implementation, you do it. Go do something. Then during the evaluation phase, does it work? Did you get all the data you needed? Did you make the right diagnosis here? Was your plan accurate? And did you do the right thing?

Now this is a cyclical process. Then you go back up here to access again. Diagnose, plan, then evaluate. Did it work? Then you back and do it again. Alright. This is something that’s going to happen over and over again. We also talk about this in our test taking course. I would recommend you go in there and watch those videos because we talk about how to answer questions on the nursing process, but here we’re gonna talk about how to use it in your practice as a nurse.

So then we gotta prioritize. With prioritization in nursing, we’re really trying to gather data as quickly as we can. Get as much data as we can as quickly as possible. We’re trying to determine the needs of our patients. Now there’s two different pieces with this. We want to determine the needs of individual patients. So what are the needs of my patient in room 301? What are their needs? Okay, and then we can use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. And we can say here’s their needs. They got two physiological needs. They got one safety need, and we start to focus and prioritize our focus and care that way.

Then we also look at the needs between our multiple patients. So if I have five patients, and in bed one, they got a safety need. Alright. So bed one’s got a safety need. The bed three has a physiological need. Their airway is compromised. So I’m looking at my needs with my individual patient, them alone, but then I’m looking at my needs with all of my patients. I really recommend you go check out the prioritization lesson in the fundamentals course. I think that will help you dive in a little bit more there. We go into that a bit more.

So critical thinking. What is critical thinking? And again, we have a whole lesson on critical thinking in module five of fundamentals. So make sure you check out the critical thinking lesson, but I’m gonna give you a quick overview of critical thinking. With critical thinking, we’re recognizing problems as quickly as possible. We’re gathering all of our information as efficiently as we can. We evaluate all possible outcomes, and all possible solutions. So outcomes and solutions.

And then we implement care with the best possible outcomes in mind. Once we recognize the problem, we gather information. We evaluate possible solutions. We implement with the best possible outcomes in mind. Again, make sure you check out the lesson on critical thinking.

Now a big part of the nursing process is learning to think like a nurse. The nursing process in totality is thinking like a nurse, realizing this is a complex process, and that it’s very cyclical. Alright. We have a whole lesson here on thinking like a nurse. I’d really check that out where we really go into what you should kind of see when you walk into a patient’s room. What your day should look like. How you should understand the process of being a nurse and working as a nurse.

So this is a complex process. ADPIE is the framework to thinking. Access, diagnose, plan, implement, evaluate. We’ll go over each of these pieces individually, and then you gotta prioritize your care. And you have to think very critically. Always remember that this is a very cyclical process. As you work through this process, you’re gonna go back around and start over. It doesn’t end. You don’t go in, do the nursing process, and then you’re done with your shift. It continues to repeat. It’s a cyclical process, and it’s very fluid as you’re going.

So some nursing concepts to think about here are professionalism. This is part of our professional work, and then clinical judgment. This is a way we can think and judge in a clinical setting.
So key points are gather data, make sure you’re gathering all the data you can, make sure you’re gathering as quickly as you can, you’ll quickly gather data through ADPIE, access, diagnose, plan, implement, and evaluate. Realize this is a multilayer process. You got your nursing process. You got critical thinking, and then you’re trying to think like a nurse and realizing this is cyclical. This is something that’s going to continue to repeat.

It’s a developed process with time. Realize that critical thinking doesn’t have to happen today. As you begin to work on the floor, as you begin to have experience with different patients, critical thinking will develop as you go, and as you use these frameworks. And then realize that this is all part of thinking like a nurse. The culmination of all these different things, so the ADPIE of critical thinking, really play into thinking like a nurse. Don’t be too hard on yourselves. Realize this is something that will grow with you, and that you’ll grow into. And these are frameworks to help you develop those skills.

Alright, guys. I hope that helps. I hope that kind of gives you a quick overview. Again, we’re gonna dive into each of these individually, but make sure you check out all the resources, all the other lessons that will help you get each of these topics in more depth. Alright. Now go out and be your best selves today. Happy nursing.