Nursing Care Plan Template (Printable PDF & GoodNotes)
A nursing care plan for practice cases, with lines for the case (no identifiers) and primary problem, then six boxes: assessment data, nursing diagnosis, goals and outcomes, interventions, rationale and evaluation. It follows the nursing process taught in most nursing programmes.
- Printable US Letter8.5 × 11 in, white paper
- Printable A4210 × 297 mm, white paper
- iPad / GoodNotesAlso Notability and Noteshelf
- E-ink tabletreMarkable, Kindle Scribe, Boox
Free PDF, 1 page, undated. No sign-up needed.
Shown for iPad in the Ocean Calm theme. Printable downloads use white paper (there's a dark mode preview below); the e-ink version is black and white.
One page, ready to fill in.
- Write-in lines for case (no identifiers) and primary problem
- Boxes for assessment data, nursing diagnosis, goals / outcomes, interventions, rationale and evaluation
- Undated, so you can print or duplicate it as often as you need
Who it's for
Nursing students in fundamentals, medical-surgical and clinical courses, practical nursing students, and instructors who want a clear care plan format for practice cases.
Getting the most from a nursing care plan.
Separate subjective and objective data
In assessment data, label what the patient told you (subjective) and what you measured or observed (objective). Most care plan marks start here.
Write diagnoses in the right format
Use the problem, related-to, as-evidenced-by format your programme teaches, linking the diagnosis back to your assessment data.
Make goals measurable
"Patient will report pain of 3/10 or less within 1 hour of medication" can be evaluated; "pain will improve" can't.
Give every intervention a rationale
For each intervention, write why it helps, ideally with a source. Rationales show your clinical reasoning.
Never use identifiers
Use practice cases or anonymised details only. Follow your programme's and placement's confidentiality rules.
Link everything back to the data
Every diagnosis, goal and intervention should trace back to something in your assessment data. If you can't point to the data, check whether the diagnosis fits.
Included in 1 planner
This template is a page in this planner. Open it to see everything else that comes with it.
Get it inside a full hyperlinked planner
The nursing school planner includes this page alongside dated month and week pages for your year, with side tabs and links between every page. Pick your device and theme, preview it free, and pay only when it's right.
- Dated pages for the whole year
- Tap a tab or a date to jump there
- GoodNotes, Notability, Samsung Notes, e-ink and print sizes
Opens the nursing school planner with the Nursing School section switched on.
Or read about the nursing school planner first.
About this nursing care plan template
Need help importing it? See devices and apps or the FAQ.
What are the parts of a nursing care plan?
Assessment, nursing diagnosis, goals and outcomes, interventions, rationale and evaluation. The template has a box for each.
Is it for real patients?
It's designed for practice and study cases. If you use it on placement, follow your programme's rules and never record identifying information.
Can I use it with care plan books?
Yes. Use your care plan reference for diagnoses and interventions, and this page to write your own plan.
What's in the nursing school planner?
Clinical logs, care plans, drug cards, a practice questions tracker and Cornell notes, plus school and study pages.
How many diagnoses should a care plan have?
Your programme will set this. Many start with one priority diagnosis per page, then add more pages for secondary diagnoses.
