Introduction and development of NCP using ICNP in Pakistan.
BACKGROUND
Traditionally, nursing care has been described as performing nursing tasks and often focused on nurses carrying out doctors' orders. In many countries of the world, including Pakistan, nurses do not document care in a standardized manner. Because of this limitation many health administrators, policy makers, and consumers make inadequate assumptions about nursing work, often regarding nurses as any other 'health care technician' who can be easily replaced by more economical health care workers.


OBJECTIVE
To overcome this problem, standardized documentation is being introduced into the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and hospital, Aga Khan Health Services, Public Health School in Karachi, and government colleges of nursing, using the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the process of introducing and developing standardized nursing care plans (NCP) using ICNP in Pakistan.


METHODS
The process for introducing ICNP consists of four components, including administrative planning, development, teaching and training, and testing. Subsets of the ICNP for (i) maternity: antenatal, postnatal and natal care; and (ii) cardiology were developed using standardized NCPs. The subsets were developed by nurse experts and introduced at the testing sites. The testing will be conducted as a pilot project. Findings from the pilot will be used to continue and expand standardized nursing documentation using the ICNP across Pakistan.


CONCLUSIONS
Through this project, nurses, midwives and lady health visitors (midwives, vaccinator and health educators) will test standardization of documentation and begin to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness of clinical practice.
Rukanuddin
R J
RJ
Aga Khan University School of Nursing, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan. rafat.jan@aku.edu
D004282:Documentation / Q000592:standards; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration; D004841:Episiotomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000458:organization & administration; D016294:Models, Nursing; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000145:classification; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000145:classification*; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis / Q000145:classification; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009736:Nursing Process / Q000145:classification; D009737:Nursing Records / Q000592:standards; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010154:Pakistan; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000145:classification*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing; D009626:Terminology as Topic