I am interested to see what kind of things you guys take into account when writing a care plan. What areas are important to you and why? Do you stick with a specific set of generalized goals based on the textbook or do you set your own based on the individual patient rather than his/her condition as a whole?

For instance, I like to promote autonomy in my cardiac patients and like to get them up and about when they can handle it. I also take into account the medications my patient is on whenever I decide what kind of diet they need to be on.

One example would be adjusting the diet of a patient who is on a potassium wasting or sparing diuretic such as lasix or spironolactone and getting a BMP to keep up with their K+ levels. Another thing would be my initial treatments such as the use of sodium chloride in the hyponatremic patient as the chlorides will break off and the sodium ions will typically bind.

There are lots of things that can be taken into consideration in care plans. What better way to understand pathophysiology than to map out a care plan based on how one system can affect another.