Setting priorities is component of which step of nursing process?

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, PB B.Sc Nursing Entrance-2024

Explanation

The nursing process consists of five steps: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADPIE).
Planning is the third step, where the nurse organizes the care plan.
A key activity within the planning phase is setting priorities, which involves ranking nursing diagnoses based on urgency and importance.
This step logically follows diagnosis (identifying problems) and precedes implementation (acting on the plan).

Option A: Assessment is the first phase of the nursing process. Its primary purpose is to gather, organize, and validate patient data, not to set priorities for care.
Option B: Diagnosis is the second phase. It involves analyzing the assessment data to identify the patient's health problems and formulate nursing diagnoses. While this step identifies the problems that need to be prioritized, the actual act of ranking them occurs in the planning phase.
Option D: Implementation is the fourth phase, where the nurse carries out the interventions that were decided upon during the planning phase. Action is taken based on the priorities that have already been set.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Knowing Nursing Process Steps (ADPIE) helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
Effective priority setting is a critical skill for nurses to ensure patient safety and manage time efficiently, especially when caring for multiple patients with complex needs.
Nurses often use frameworks like the ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) or Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to prioritize. Life-threatening problems (e.g., impaired gas exchange) are always the highest priority.
What if? A stable postoperative patient suddenly develops chest pain and difficulty breathing. The nurse must immediately re-prioritize. The new, high-priority nursing diagnosis becomes 'Impaired Gas Exchange' or 'Decreased Cardiac Output', taking precedence over previous priorities like 'Acute Pain' or 'Risk for Infection'.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key terms in the question: 'setting priorities' and 'nursing process'.
Recall the five steps of the nursing process using the mnemonic ADPIE: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation.
Think about the main purpose of each step.
Assessment is data gathering.
Diagnosis is problem identification.
Planning involves creating a roadmap: deciding what's most important (priorities), what the destination is (goals), and how to get there (interventions).

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Nursing Fundamentals Potter Perry 12e Part 2 pp. 22-24, 19-21

E6 Nursing Fundamentals Taylor p. 481-483

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