Meaningful living concept maps are all about focusing on nursing actions and their rationales. Although many texts and articles refer to nursing care planning and the enactment of critical thinking in that planning as nursing interventions, the term nursing action covers a much broader area and integrates critical thinking in all nursing care related decision making. Actions taken begin mentally as the nurse processes all patient related information. Nursing actions include:
- completing hands-on assessments
- monitoring and trending lab work and diagnostic tests
- completing patient and family education
- changing dressings
- interpreting physician orders
- managing tubes and lines
- comparing and contrasting a patient's baseline status with current changes
- recognizing sequences and patterns related to care and treatment
- administering medications