Free nursing care plans and examples
Find nursing care-plan examples by condition, with nursing diagnoses, expected outcomes, interventions, and printable PDFs. Use the Care Plan Builder in NurseBrain® Synapse to create your own.
Browse nursing care plans by condition
27 care plans published-
Pneumonia Nursing Care Plan
Pneumonia nursing care plan: airway clearance, oxygenation, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Alcohol Withdrawal Nursing Care Plan
Alcohol withdrawal nursing care plan: CIWA-Ar protocol, seizure precautions, comfort measures, and a printable PDF.
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Delirium Nursing Care Plan
Delirium (acute confusional state) nursing care plan: CAM assessment, environment modulation, and a printable PDF.
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Anemia Nursing Care Plan
Anemia nursing care plan: oxygenation, activity tolerance, transfusion management, and a printable PDF.
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Clostridium difficile (C. diff) Nursing Care Plan
C. diff (Clostridium difficile) nursing care plan: contact precautions, fluid balance, pain management, and a printable PDF.
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Diabetic Foot Infections Nursing Care Plan
Diabetic foot infection nursing care plan: wound care, glycemic control, infection management, and a printable PDF.
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Cellulitis Nursing Care Plan
Cellulitis nursing care plan: antibiotic therapy, wound care, skin integrity, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Nursing Care Plan
UTI nursing care plan: antimicrobial therapy, comfort measures, prevention teaching, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Sepsis and Septic Shock Nursing Care Plan
Sepsis and septic shock nursing care plan: infection management, hemodynamic monitoring, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Adrenal Insufficiency and Adrenal Crisis Nursing Care Plan
Adrenal insufficiency and adrenal crisis nursing care plan: cortisol replacement, fluid balance, nutrition, and a printable PDF.
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Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) Nursing Care Plan
DKA nursing care plan: insulin protocols, fluid resuscitation, electrolyte management, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Nursing Care Plan
AKI nursing care plan: fluid balance, electrolyte monitoring, BUN/creatinine trending, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Hyperkalemia Nursing Care Plan
Hyperkalemia nursing care plan: electrolyte monitoring, cardiac rhythm management, and a printable PDF.
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Hypernatremia Nursing Care Plan
Hypernatremia nursing care plan: fluid resuscitation, electrolyte monitoring, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Hyponatremia Nursing Care Plan
Hyponatremia nursing care plan: confusion management, fluid balance, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Acute Pancreatitis Nursing Care Plan
Acute pancreatitis nursing care plan: pain management, fluid balance, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses on the unit.
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Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding Nursing Care Plan
Lower GI bleed nursing care plan with prioritized diagnoses, fluid resuscitation, hemodynamic monitoring, and a printable PDF.
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Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Nursing Care Plan
Upper GI bleed nursing care plan with prioritized diagnoses, fluid resuscitation, pain management, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Asthma Exacerbation Nursing Care Plan
Asthma exacerbation nursing care plan with prioritized diagnoses, bronchodilator administration, breathing-pattern monitoring, and a printable PDF.
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COPD Exacerbation Nursing Care Plan
COPD exacerbation nursing care plan with prioritized diagnoses, airway clearance, gas exchange, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Venous Thromboembolism (DVT and PE) Nursing Care Plan
Venous thromboembolism (DVT and PE) nursing care plan: prioritized diagnoses, anticoagulation, breathing-pattern monitoring, and a printable PDF.
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Stroke (CVA) / TIA Nursing Care Plan
Stroke (CVA/TIA) nursing care plan with prioritized diagnoses, interventions, NIHSS assessment, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Syncope Nursing Care Plan
Syncope and presyncope nursing care plan with prioritized diagnoses, interventions, fall-risk reduction, and a printable PDF.
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Acute Coronary Syndrome Nursing Care Plan
ACS (unstable angina/NSTEMI/STEMI) nursing care plan with prioritized diagnoses, interventions, and a printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Atrial Fibrillation with RVR Nursing Care Plan
Complete A-fib with RVR nursing care plan with prioritized diagnoses, interventions, assessment, and a free printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses.
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Hantavirus Nursing Care Plan
Evidence-based nursing care plan for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS): pathophysiology, common labs, medications, and 5 nursing diagnoses with action-rationale interventions, authored to the NurseBrain scope-of-practice standard.
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CHF Nursing Care Plan
Complete CHF nursing care plan with nursing diagnoses, prioritized interventions, and a free printable PDF. Built by nurses for nurses on the unit.
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No care plans match that search. Clear it to see every condition.
What is a nursing care plan?
A nursing care plan is a structured, written document that organizes the assessment, nursing diagnoses, goals, interventions, and evaluation criteria for one patient at a point in time. It is the bedside expression of the nursing process, the framework every RN, LPN, and nursing student is trained to use to make patient care safe, prioritized, and measurable.
On the unit, a care plan answers four questions in order: what is wrong with the patient, what outcomes are we aiming for, which interventions will get us there, and how will we know it worked. In nursing school, students write them as graded assignments; in practice, they live in the EHR and the patient's chart.
The 5 steps of a nursing care plan (ADPIE)
Every nursing care plan on this site is organized around the ADPIE framework, the same nursing process the NCSBN tests on the NCLEX. Each condition page walks through these steps with condition-specific data.
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Assess
Subjective data (patient report, history) plus objective data (vital signs, focused physical exam, labs, imaging). Establishes the baseline.
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Diagnose
Select prioritized nursing diagnoses written in PES format (Problem related to Etiology as evidenced by Signs/symptoms). Reorder as the clinical picture changes.
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Plan
Set short-term (8–24 hr) and long-term (by discharge) SMART goals. Goals must be measurable so evaluation is unambiguous.
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Implement
Carry out interventions: independent (nursing-initiated), dependent (provider-ordered), and collaborative (PT/OT, respiratory, dietary). Document time, response, and any complications.
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Evaluate
Compare patient response against the measurable goals at scheduled intervals. Revise the plan if not progressing or if clinical priorities shift.
What's in every NurseBrain care plan
- Prioritized nursing diagnoses in proper PES format (Problem related to Etiology as evidenced by Signs/symptoms), ordered by what is currently most destabilizing for the patient, not in textbook order.
- Action-rationale interventions grouped by Assess, Care, Teach, and Manage: every intervention paired with the clinical reasoning behind it.
- Measurable expected outcomes with time-bound goals (e.g. SpO2 > 92% within 72 hours), so evaluation is unambiguous.
- Quick-reference appendices: common labs with normal ranges and clinical significance, common medications with mechanism of action and side effects, and an abbreviation key.
- Free printable PDFs formatted for clipboards and rounds: same content, made for paper.
- Referenced to current nursing literature (Ackley & Ladwig, AHA/ACC, CDC, ADA, AACN) and clearly disclaimer'd as educational, not a substitute for facility protocols.
Where the NurseBrain® Synapse app fits
These care plans help you study, print, and prepare. NurseBrain® Synapse helps you stay organized throughout your shift.
Frequently asked questions
What is a nursing care plan?
A nursing care plan is a structured document that organizes the nursing assessment, prioritized nursing diagnoses, measurable goals, interventions, and evaluation criteria for one patient at a point in time. It is the bedside expression of the nursing process taught in every accredited nursing program and tested on the NCLEX.
What are the 5 components of a nursing care plan?
Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (the ADPIE framework). Each condition page on this site walks through ADPIE with condition-specific data, prioritized diagnoses, action-rationale interventions, and time-bound outcomes.
Are these nursing care plans free?
Yes. Every condition page on /care-plans/ is free to read, free to download as a printable PDF, and freely usable for nursing school assignments, clinical preparation, and unit reference. Built by nurses for nurses.
How do I write a nursing care plan?
Start with a focused assessment, choose the 3–5 nursing diagnoses that best explain the patient's current state (written as Problem related to Etiology as evidenced by Signs/symptoms), set measurable short- and long-term goals, list the interventions you will perform with the rationale for each, then evaluate against the goals at the end of the shift. Every condition page on this site is a worked example of this exact process.
What is the difference between a nursing diagnosis and a medical diagnosis?
A medical diagnosis identifies the disease (e.g. Congestive Heart Failure). A nursing diagnosis identifies the patient's response to that disease that a nurse can independently treat (e.g. Fluid Volume Excess related to compromised regulatory mechanisms as evidenced by 2+ pitting edema and bibasilar crackles). Medical diagnoses change only when the provider revises them; nursing diagnoses are reordered each shift as the patient's condition changes.
Can I use these care plans for nursing school?
Yes, they are written in the format nursing programs accept (PES diagnosis statements, ADPIE structure, action-rationale interventions, measurable outcomes, referenced to nursing literature). Always confirm your school's specific formatting requirements before submitting, and cite this site as a reference rather than copying verbatim.