Prompt details

Tested on

Claude Opus 5.5

Length

555 words · 2 fill-ins

Example input

[Case study]: Med-surg case study (made up for class). 68-year-old man, post-op day 1 after an elective right total hip replacement (posterior approach) for osteoarthritis. History: type 2 diabetes (metformin at home), hypertension, BMI 33, smoked 1 pack a day for 30 years, quit 5 years ago. Lives alone in a two-storey house with 3 steps at the front door. Daughter lives 40 minutes away. Day 1, 0800 assessment: - T 37.9 °C, HR 98, BP 142/84, RR 22 and shallow, SpO2 89% on room air, 93% on 2 L/min nasal cannula. - Breath sounds diminished in both bases, no wheezes. Weak, non-productive cough. - Pain 7/10 in the right hip: "It hurts too much to take a deep breath or move." - Incentive spirometer ordered every hour while awake; used 3 times since 0600, reaching 750 mL (pre-op baseline 1,750 mL). - Right hip dressing dry and intact. Right foot warm, pedal pulse palpable, moves toes, capillary refill under 3 seconds. Mild swelling of the right thigh. - Has not been out of bed. Says "I'm scared I'll pop the new hip out if I move." Physical therapy is scheduled for 1100. - Urinary catheter removed at 0200; has not voided since. - Last bowel movement 2 days ago, before surgery. - Labs this morning: hemoglobin 10.2 g/dL (pre-op 13.1), WBC 10.8, glucose 186 mg/dL, potassium 4.1. Orders: oxycodone 5 mg by mouth every 4 hours as needed for pain (last dose 0200), acetaminophen 1 g by mouth every 6 hours scheduled, enoxaparin 40 mg subcutaneous daily, incentive spirometer every hour while awake, oxygen to keep SpO2 at or above 92%, hip precautions, weight-bearing as tolerated with a walker, bladder scan if no void in 6 to 8 hours, sliding-scale insulin per protocol.

[Your program's care plan format]: First-year med-surg clinical. NANDA-I nursing diagnoses written in 3 parts: problem related to (cause) as evidenced by (signs and symptoms); risk diagnoses in 2 parts. We need 3 priority diagnoses. For each: one SMART goal, at least 4 interventions with rationale and a source, and evaluation. A concept map is also required.

Example output

1. Assessment data

Normal ranges below are general adult ranges. Check them against your course textbook or lab, since ranges vary by lab and facility.

Subjective	Objective	Abnormal and why it matters
—	T 37.9 °C	Abnormal (general adult about 36.1–37.2 °C). A low-grade temperature on post-op day 1, with shallow breathing and diminished bases, fits atelectasis or the normal inflammatory response. It is also the first sign to trend for infection of the lungs, wound or urine.
—	HR 98	Upper limit (general adult 60–100). Pain, fever, low hemoglobin, low oxygen or fear could each raise it. Trend it with BP and Hb.
—	BP 142/84	Elevated (general adult under 120/80). He has hypertension, and pain and anxiety can push BP up. Whether his home blood pressure medicine was resumed is [not in case].
—	RR 22, shallow	Abnormal (general adult 12–20). Fast, shallow breaths under-fill the lung bases, so alveoli collapse (atelectasis).
—	SpO2 89% on room air; 93% on 2 L/min nasal cannula	Abnormal (general adult about 95% or above). Below the ordered target of 92% or above on room air, and meets it on 2 L. He has low oxygen now. A 30-pack-year smoking history and BMI 33 leave him less lung reserve. Pre-op SpO2 is [not in case].
—	Breath sounds diminished in both bases, no wheezes	Abnormal. This points to poor expansion or atelectasis of the bases rather than narrowed airways.
—	Weak, non-productive cough	Abnormal. A weak cough cannot clear secretions, which raises his risk of pneumonia.
—	IS 750 mL (pre-op baseline 1,750 mL); used 3 times since 0600	Abnormal. He reaches only about 43% of his own baseline. Three uses in 2 hours meets the hourly order, so the problem is volume, not frequency. Assumption: each "use" means one hourly session.

Claude Opus 5.5

Nursing Care Plan – Nursing care plan prompt for ChatGPT and Claude

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Claude Opus 5.5

This prompt builds a nursing care plan from a made-up or de-identified case study. Paste the case and your program's format; you get sorted data, ranked diagnoses, goals, interventions with rationale and a concept map outline.

What you get

Case data sorted into subjective and objective, with each abnormal finding explained
Ranked nursing diagnoses in your program's format, each tied to cues from the case
Goals, interventions with rationale and evaluation, with nursing actions kept apart from ordered ones
A concept map outline, the gaps in the case and questions your instructor may ask

How to use it

1
Paste a case with no identifiers
Use the made-up or de-identified case from your course and your program's care plan format, including how many diagnoses it wants.
2
Check it against your sources
Confirm each diagnosis label in your program's NANDA-I edition, and replace every [cite source] with a reference from your textbook.
3
Make it yours
Rewrite the rationales in your own words and practise the instructor questions, since you will defend the plan at clinical.

Better results

Paste the whole case, including orders and times; the time of the last pain dose or of catheter removal changes the priorities.
Follow up with: "Quiz me on this plan one question at a time" to practise for clinical.
Check your program's policy on AI use before you hand in anything built with it.

Questions

Can ChatGPT make a nursing care plan?

Yes, ChatGPT can draft a nursing care plan from a made-up or de-identified case study, and a structured prompt keeps each diagnosis tied to the case data. Use it to learn and check your work; real patient care follows orders, policies and your instructor.

Is it okay to use AI for nursing care plans?

It depends on your program. Many nursing programs set rules on AI use, so check yours first, never paste real patient details, and rewrite the rationales in your own words so you can explain them at clinical.

Are AI nursing diagnoses accurate?

AI usually picks sensible nursing diagnoses but can misword NANDA-I labels or miss a cue. This prompt ties every diagnosis to data in the case and asks you to check each label against the edition your program uses.

How do you prioritise nursing diagnoses?

Prioritise nursing diagnoses by what threatens the patient first: airway, breathing and circulation, then safety, then other needs. Your instructor will want the case data behind each rank, so link every diagnosis to the cues that support it.

Updated 8 Nov 2026