The nursing process is goal-oriented method of caring that provides a framework to nursing care. It involves six major steps:
- A - Assess (what data is collected?)
- D - Diagnose (what is the problem?)
- O - Outcome Identification - (Was originally a part of the Planning phase, but has recently been added as a new step in the complete process).
- P - Plan (how to manage the problem)
- I - Implement (putting plan into action)
- E - Evaluate (did the plan work?)