This nursing care plan is for patients who are experiencing powerlessness. According to Nanda, the definition of powerlessness is a state in which an individual or group perceives a lack of personal control over certain events or situations, which affects outlook, goals, and lifestyles.
Patients who are experiencing powerlessness may feel like they have no control over their situation and may act out with apathy, anger, violent behavior, or passivity. Some situations where a patient may feel powerlessness may be due to a disease process such as a diagnosis of congestive heart failure or terminal cancer. In addition, patients who have loss the ability to perform daily activities of living due to a stroke or amputation may feel powerlessness.
Below is a nursing care plan for powerlessness that includes a nursing diagnosis, interventions, and goals.
What are nursing care plans? How do you develop a nursing care plan? What nursing care plan book do you recommend helping you develop a nursing care plan?
This care plan is listed to give an example of how a Nurse (LPN or RN) may plan to treat a patient with those conditions.
Important Disclosure: Please keep in mind that these care plans are listed for Example/Educational purposes only, and some of these treatments may change over time. Do not treat a patient based on this care plan.
Care Plans are often developed in different formats. The formatting isn’t always important, and care plan formatting may vary among different nursing schools or medical jobs. Some hospitals may have the information displayed in digital format, or use pre-made templates. The most important part of the care plan is the content, as that is the foundation on which you will base your care.
Nursing Care Plan for Powerlessness
If you want to view a video tutorial on how to construct a care plan in nursing school, please view the video below. Otherwise, scroll down to view this completed care plan.
Scenario
A 55 year old female has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that has spread to her bones. The patient is very depressed and has a flat affect. When the patient does speak she expresses dissatisfaction about the inability to control the progression of her cancer. She states she feels like she has no control over anything. When the patient speaks on the phone to her children she gets very anger at times and sometimes has anxiety attacks.
Nursing Diagnosis
Powerlessness related to progressive debilitating disease secondary to terminal cancer as evidence by patient verbalizing inability to control the progression of her cancer, anger, depression, and anxiety .
Subjective Data
When the patient does speak she expresses dissatisfaction about the inability to control the progression of her cancer. She states she feels like she has no control over anything.
Objective Data
A 55 year old female has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that has spread to her bones. When the patient speaks on the phone to her children she gets very anger at times and sometimes has anxiety attacks.
Nursing Outcomes
-The patient will identify 5 factors in her life that she can control.
-The patient will verbalize satisfaction about the ability to control the quality of time she has left in the present.
-The patient will be given opportunities to make decisions regarding her treatment schedules and future treatment regimes.
-The patient will identify 4 factors in her life she can change to increase the feelings of having control in her life.
-The patient will share 4 areas in her life she feels she has loss the most control in.
Nursing Interventions
-The nurse will help the patient identify 5 factors in the patients life that the patient can control.
-The nurse will assess the patient’s satisfaction about the ability to control the quality of time she has left in the present.
-The nurse will encourage the patient to make decisions regarding her treatment schedules and future treatment regimes.
-The nurse will help the patient identify 4 factors in the patients life the patient can change to increase the feelings of having control in her life.
-The nurse will encourage the patient to share 4 areas in her life she feels that she has loss the most control.