Do nurses really use standard care plans?

The authors studied the use of standard care plans in one institution to determine whether and to what extent nurses were actually using them as tools for patient care. The study produced interesting results and suggestions for improvement. After reading this article, nursing administrators may want to promote similar studies in their own institutions. Improvements made as a result of the findings can pave the way for the next step: determining the effect of standard care plans on the quality of nursing practice and patient outcomes.