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Nursing Care Plans
Free, print-ready care plan worksheets for the diagnoses nursing students write most. Each one covers how to choose the primary diagnosis, measurable goals, and interventions with the rationale behind them. Written and medically reviewed by nurses.
Michele J. McCarthy
RN, MSN, CNE · Lead Medical Reviewer
Every care plan on this page is reviewed by Michele, a veteran nurse educator with 30 years of clinical and academic expertise.
Free PDF
COPD Nursing Care Plan
Airway clearance, breathing pattern, and activity tolerance for the patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Choosing the primary diagnosis
- Breathing and activity goals
- Interventions with rationales
Free PDF
Fever Nursing Care Plan
Hyperthermia management: assessment cues, cooling measures, and fluid balance for the febrile patient.
- Hyperthermia vs. infection focus
- Temperature and hydration goals
- Interventions with rationales
Free PDF
Impaired Gas Exchange Nursing Care Plan
Oxygenation, ABG interpretation, and positioning for the patient with impaired gas exchange.
- Defining characteristics to chart
- SpO₂ and ABG outcome goals
- Interventions with rationales
Free PDF
Anemia Nursing Care Plan
Fatigue, activity intolerance, and nutrition teaching for the patient with anemia.
- Labs that drive the diagnosis
- Activity and nutrition goals
- Interventions with rationales
Free PDF
Hypertension Nursing Care Plan
Blood pressure control, medication adherence, and lifestyle teaching for the hypertensive patient.
- Risk-focused diagnosis choices
- BP and adherence goals
- Interventions with rationales
Free PDF
Impaired Skin Integrity Nursing Care Plan
Wound assessment, pressure injury prevention, and healing outcomes for impaired skin integrity.
- Braden scale and staging cues
- Wound healing outcome goals
- Interventions with rationales
What is a nursing care plan?
A nursing care plan is the written record of how you will care for a patient: the problem you identified, what you want to change, what you will do about it, and how you will know it worked. Schools ask for them because writing one forces you to connect assessment data to clinical reasoning. Every plan follows the same four parts.
Assessment
Subjective and objective data — what the patient reports and what you observe or measure.
Diagnosis
The nursing diagnosis, its related factor, and the evidence that supports it.
Goals & outcomes
Measurable, time-bound outcomes you can evaluate at the end of the shift.
Interventions
The actions you take, each paired with the rationale that justifies it.