What are nursing interventions?
Nursing interventions are simply any action a nurse performs to help patients reach expected outcomes. Providing physical treatments, emotional support, and patient education are all examples of nursing interventions.
Nurses typically perform these actions as part of a nursing care plan (NCP) to improve the client’s comfort and health.
An NCP is a guide nurses follow to understand the client’s condition and how best to care for them. It ensures consistent client care and clear communication between all members of the client’s health care team.
Nurses develop and follow an NCP as part of the nursing process.
Creating and implementing the plan and updating a client’s record ensures continuity of care for the client.
According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), an NCP consists of five essential steps (ADPIE):
- Assessment: The first step in the nursing process is to collect data about a client’s physical, social, and emotional well-being. This includes gathering information from the client, family members, medical records, and other health care professionals.
- Diagnosis: Based on the collected data, nurses identify potential health problems or risks a client may face. A nursing diagnosis, as defined by NANDA International, helps guide the development of appropriate interventions.
- Planning: Nurses work with the client and other health care team members to develop a care plan addressing identified issues or concerns.
- Implementation: In this step, nurses carry out specific actions to implement the planned interventions.
- Evaluation: Nurses evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and make necessary adjustments to the plan if needed.