Written care plan for heart failure with fluid overload
NMC OSCE practice station
Care planning · 1 min to read · 14 min to perform
A written station. Free to try, no sign-up.
The task
You are the nurse looking after Fatima Begum, aged 72, on a cardiology ward. She was admitted two days ago with worsening breathlessness and swollen legs caused by chronic heart failure and fluid overload. Her information is in the patient folder. In the care plan sheet, write a plan for her two highest priority problems. For each problem state the aim with a date, the nursing interventions, the reason for each intervention, and when you will evaluate. Do not use abbreviations. End with your name, the date and the time.
What this station tests
- Choose priorities by urgency and risk to the patient, and say why.
- Every aim needs a measure and a date; every intervention needs a reason.
- Daily weight, fluid balance and observations show whether heart failure treatment is working.
- A plan must say what would make you escalate, not only what you will do routinely.
- Write in full words: the written plan must not contain abbreviations.
Sources for the clinical content
- NICE NG106: Chronic heart failure in adults: diagnosis and management
- Royal College of Physicians: National Early Warning Score (NEWS2)
- NICE CG179: Pressure ulcers: prevention and management
- NMC: The Code
An original practice scenario with invented patients. Not an exam question.