Integrating Orems Self Care Model as A Framework for Standardized Nursing Care Plan Construction: A Quasi Experimental Study

Introduction: Nursing education worldwide strives to develop strategies and methodologies to improve student learning and performance. The most effective and proven way in an actual nursing degree training course is the application of the nursing process and its end product – the nursing care plan (NCP) or care plan. Nursing care plans (NCP) provide a means of communication among nurses, their patients and other health care providers to achieve health outcomes. In its absence, theplanning process, quality, and consistency in patient care will be lost. It is a challenge for nursing students to devise a nursing care plan. A nursing student goes into the process of knowledge acquisition and banking in order to fully understand how to devise an acceptable plan of care.  Nursing process or nursing care plan construction has been identified as the foremost pillar of nursing education and clinical instruction. A plan of care builds the nursing student’s ability to fully integrate concepts acquired during the course of theoretical exposure until the hands-on plan of care is administered to the patient. The study generally aims to improve the quality of student training by enhancing teaching modalities that suit the baccalaureate degree.

Methods: The study is a Quasi-Experimental that utilizes a crossover technique and a retrogressive document analysis. Consecutive sampling was used and the population is N=103 nursing students, 7 nursing care plan templates and 247 nursing care plans. For the data analysis a descriptive Statistics, Percentage & Frequencies, Mean Rating & Mean Average, T-Test &Anova through Pillai’s trace and Bonferroni alpha were utilized.

Results: They reveal that the nursing care plan templates prior to training are not standard and differ in format in each specialization and year level. The results reveal that there were significant differences between the pretest and posttest in assessment [t(51.31)=11.052, p<0.01], nursing diagnosis [t(49.32)=2.564, p=0.013], implementation [t(49.01)=6.507, p<0.01], rationale [t(106)=7.694, p<0.01], evaluation [t(83.89)=6.172, p<0.01]and aesthetic look [t(106)=9.872, p<0.01]. The assessment was seen lowest in all nursing care plan components in both pretest and posttest. A second-year student has shown the most improved performance in all three-year levels. 

Conclusion: In conclusion, there is a need to improve the nursing care plan template and the nursing training in constructing quality nursing care plans. There is a marked improvement in the performance of the nursing students at all year levels after the intervention program adapting Orem’s Theory. Assessment continues to be the weakness of students even after the intervention program has been given. 

Keywords: Nursing care plan; care plan construction; care plan competency; Orem’s theory.