EFFECTIVENESS OF INDIVIDUALIZED NURSING CARE PLANS IN ENHANCING CLINICAL REASONING AND DECISION-MAKING SKILLS AMONG NURSING STUDENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Background: Providing proper care to patients depends on a nurse’s ability to develop key skills which is the core focus of nursing education. Nurses rely heavily on clinical reasoning and decision-making to analyze patients’ health information, notice any health issues, act on the problems they notice and assess the effects of their work. Materials and Method: This review used a structured literature review method to explore how individualized nursing care plans affect nursing students’ clinical reasoning and decision-making. Peer-reviewed articles from the past five years were sourced from PubMed, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar using Boolean operators and relevant keywords to ensure focused and credible results. Results: The review revealed that Individualized Nursing Care Plans (INCPs) significantly enhance nursing students’ clinical reasoning and decision-making skills. INCPs promote critical thinking, patient-centered care, and practical application of theoretical knowledge. Students using INCPs showed improved confidence, ethical awareness, and ability to assess, plan, and evaluate patient care effectively in clinical settings. Conclusion: Using Individualized Nursing Care Plans (INCPs) in nursing education has proved to be a valuable approach for improving nursing students’ clinical reasoning and decision-making. This review shows that INCP-led education encourages students to use individualized methods, consider their own experiences and draw conclusions from scientific evidence.