New Year's Eve: Care planning for 2025
Nursing care planning is indispensable in everyday nursing care, but is often perceived as complex and overwhelming by many nursing staff. With our tips, you can make the care process clearer, more effective and tailored to the individual needs of your patients.
Whether nurse, Relative or responsible person in a care facility: the Challenges of care planning are manifold. How do you understand the true needs of the people you look after? How do you recognize their individual needs and translate them into concrete, achievable care goals? And how do you manage to meet the highest quality standards at the same time?
The good news: You're not on your own. Many people face the same questions - and that's exactly why we want to support you. Together, we will delve into the world of care planning, explore proven models such as the six-phase model by Fiechter and Meier or the ABEDL model by Monika Krohwinkel and show you how to apply them successfully.
This article is not only intended to provide you with knowledge, but also to encourage you to take on challenges and develop creative, individual solutions. It is aimed at anyone who works in care or has responsibility - whether you are new to care or have many years of experience. Join us step by step through the care process and discover how you can sustainably improve the quality of care with structured planning, practical tips and an empathetic approach.
What is care planning?
Care planning is at the heart of professional care. It forms the structured roadmap that guides the entire care process - from the initial assessment to the final evaluation. It is not just about assigning tasks, but rather about responding to the individual needs of patients.
Care planning is a systematic process used to Care needs of a person to determine, to define appropriate measures and regularly review their effectiveness. It includes all steps that are necessary to provide individual, targeted and high-quality care.
The purpose of this planning is to bring clarity and structure to everyday care. It creates a common basis for everyone involved - from carers to relatives and doctors - and ensures that everyone is working towards the same goal: to sustainably improve the quality of life of those in need of care.
Why is care planning important?
Nursing without a plan is like a ship without a compass - it would drift aimlessly. Care planning, on the other hand, provides structure, creates security and makes the difference between mere care and individual attention. It is the key to care that not only makes everyday life easier, but also enriches life.
Benefits for patients
For the people we care for, care planning is like a personal guide that ensures their needs are always front and center:
Individualized support
Care planning makes it possible to respond to personal wishes, habits and health goals - tailor-made instead of off-the-shelf. Whether it's the right pain therapy, mobility aids or emotional support, each measure is tailored to the individual situation.
Improved quality of life
Structured care means that complaints are alleviated in a targeted manner, resources are strengthened and everyday life is made as pleasant as possible. This not only gives patients relief, but also the feeling of being heard and understood.
More security
Clear planning minimizes risks such as medication errors. At the same time, it ensures that important measures are not overlooked and that care remains professional all round.
Benefits for caregivers
Care planning is also an indispensable tool for nursing staff, making the often hectic working day easier and providing orientation:
Efficient working
A clear plan helps to set priorities and use time wisely. This leaves more room for the essentials: human attention.
Security and structure
In a profession that is often characterized by unpredictable challenges, care planning provides stability and ensures that nothing important is lost sight of.
Proven quality
With detailed planning, caregivers can not only demonstrate their professionalism, but also effortlessly fulfill legal requirements and documentation obligations.
Good care planning is like a shared roadmap that keeps everyone involved on track - from those in need of care to relatives and professionals. It makes care easier, better and, above all, more humane.
Models and theories of care planning
Care planning is a complex process, but you can simplify it with certain methods and models. These structured approaches help you to precisely determine care needs, define measures and to continuously ensure quality of care. Two of the best-known models are the six-phase model by Fiechter and Meier and the ABEDL model by Monika Krohwinkel:
Fiechter and Meier's six-phase model
Fiechter and Meier's six-phase model gives you six steps to help you organize the care process clearly and systematically. It is based on the idea that care planning is a continuous, adaptable process that adapts to the individual needs of the person in need of care.
The phases of the six-phase model:
- Data collection: In the first phase, all relevant information about the person in need of care is collected. This includes medical, psychological and social aspects that are important for care.
- Make Care Diagnoses: The data collected is used to determine the patient's health problems and care needs. Specific care diagnoses are formulated here .
- Determination of care goals: In this phase, both short-term and long-term goals are set for maintenance. The goals should be realistic, measurable and adapted to the needs of the person in need of care.
- Planning of maintenance measures: An action plan is then drawn up that describes the steps required to achieve the defined goals.
- Maintenance implementation: This is where the planned measures are implemented. Nursing staff ensure the practical implementation of the care processes in order to achieve the defined goals.
- Evaluation and adaptation: The final phase is concerned with reviewing the effectiveness of care. Based on the evaluation, adjustments can be made to the measures.
The six-phase model is extremely valuable in nursing practice as it provides a clear structure that extends to the entire nursing process. In residential care in particular, this model is often used to ensure that no important aspects of care are overlooked. It enables systematic and reflective care planning, which benefits both the person in need of care and the care staff.
The ABEDL model by Monika Krohwinkel
The ABEDL model (Activities, Relationships and Existential Experiences of Life) by Monika Krohwinkel is a fine mesh of different elements that captures a person's care needs in all their diversity and depth. At the center are the twelve activities of daily living, which serve as the basis for care planning and make it possible to adapt care precisely to the individual needs of the person in need of care. These twelve activities are like building blocks that reflect a person's life in its entirety. They include:
- Nutrition
- motion
- Sleep and rest
- Dress
- body-care
- Breathing
- Communication
- Perception
- Hygiene
- Social relationships and contacts
- Life in the community
- Mental and spiritual health
These twelve activities cover all areas of life that are crucial to a person's well-being and quality of life. The ABEDL model assumes that each of these areas must be individually adapted to ensure optimal care. Attention is paid not only to physical needs, but also to the emotional, social and spiritual aspects of life.
In practical use, this model helps you tailor care to a person's unique needs. It ensures that all dimensions of life, from physical health to emotional support and social contact, are taken into account. In this way, care becomes holistic support that goes far beyond simply providing care.
Resources and tools for care planning
You can make care planning much easier, efficient and personalized with modern software and targeted training.
Software solutions
Digital tools such as CareCoach or Komda offer a user-friendly way to quickly create care plans and document all relevant information. They facilitate collaboration within the team and ensure that care goals are transparent and comprehensible, reducing sources of error and saving time.
Literature and further education
For continuous improvement in care planning, specialist books such as "Care Concepts" by Monika Krohwinkel and training courses are a valuable resource. They offer practical insights and help to teach nursing staff new techniques that can be applied immediately in their day-to-day work. This keeps you up to date and enables you to provide even more individualized care.
Care planning in different settings
Care planning is crucial in any care setting, but there are different requirements depending on the setting. Each setting - be it inpatient care, outpatient care or home-care - requires a customized approach that meets individual needs.
Care planning in inpatient care
In inpatient care, care plans must take into account both medical and nursing needs. Here, nursing staff work closely with doctors and therapists to ensure holistic care.
The challenge lies in flexibility: care plans often have to be adapted quickly due to acute illnesses or operations, which requires precise and rapid planning. A lack of time and the high pressure on nursing staff make it essential that care plans are created efficiently and are clearly structured.
Care planning in outpatient and home care
In outpatient and home care, the individualization of care planning plays a central role. Care staff must ensure that those in need of care can continue to live independently in their own homes.
It is important to integrate social support from family or neighbors as well as care aids into the care plan. Especially in rural areas, it is necessary to include the community as a resource in the planning. Caregivers here often work at regular intervals, which requires flexible care planning that also focuses on the mental health of patients.
Influencing factors in care planning
In both areas - inpatient and outpatient care - it is crucial to design care plans individually and cooperatively in order to ensure the best possible benefit for those in need of care. Here is another overview of the different factors influencing planning in the individual areas:
Common errors in care planning
Care planning can present a variety of hurdles, but with the right strategies, many of these challenges can be overcome.
A common mistake in care planning is overlooking the individual needs of the person in need of care. For example, certain emotional needs or social aspects such as the need for regular visits from family members may not be taken into account.
Inaccurate definition of care goals can also lead to problems. If care goals are formulated too vaguely, such as "improving mobility", without clear time frames or measurable progress, implementation becomes difficult.
How can I avoid mistakes?
In order to avoid errors, it is important to conduct thorough information gathering. This can be done through regular discussions with patients, their families and other caregivers. For example, when creating a care plan for a ` for example, attention should not only be paid to physical care aspects such as help with dressing, but also to the need for emotional support and a fixed daily structure.
A clearly defined goal here could be "The patient should be able to walk unassisted for 10 minutes a day within four weeks." Such measurable, realistic goals enable a precise evaluation of progress.
Care planning is more than just a mandatory task - it is at the heart of high-quality, individualized patient care. Well-structured care planning enables nursing staff to better understand the needs of their patients, implement targeted measures and ultimately improve the quality of care in the long term.
Now it's up to you: put what you've learned into practice! Use our tips for care planning 2025, tools and examples to optimize your care plans and increase the satisfaction of everyone involved at the same time. Because well thought-out care planning is the key to successful care practice.
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