Differences Between Assessment & an Evaluation in Nursing

For those who experience a health crisis or injury, recovery and survival depend upon a careful sequence of steps performed by medical personnel. Nurses often are the first responders in a medical facility and perform these life-saving steps. The nursing process, beginning with assessment and ending with evaluation, defines these steps.

Assessment and Diagnosis

• Assess the patient and determine normal and abnormal conditons.

  The nurse assesses the patient based on what he says and what she observes and measures using medical equipment. Following the assessment, the nurse makes a nursing diagnosis that identifies the patient's health problem and related signs and symptoms.

Identifying Outcomes

• The nurse identifies an outcome.

  The nurse takes actions and plans for interventions that lead to an identified outcome. The identified outcome or goal must have a time deadline and a method for observing, measuring and verifying whether the goal is met.

Planning and Intervention

• Make a plan and follow it.

  The nurse develops a plan of action based on the patient's condition. In implementing the plan or intervention, the nurse provides treatment and care, monitors the patient, responds to medical emergencies and takes other actions identified in the care plan.

Evaluation

• Evaluate the treatment for success or failure.

  To conclude the nursing process, the nurse conducts an evaluation to determine whether her actions have been successful in treating the patient. Unmet treatment goals indicate that revision of the care plan is necessary. The nurse makes adjustments to the nursing process in a continuous effort to provide the most effective treatment.