Nursing Care Plan for Diabetes [FREE TEMPLATE]

Nursing care plan for diabetes

In this nursing care plan for diabetes guide, we will be discussing the different nursing care plans for different types of diabetes and related issues.

Keep reading below to learn more!

What is the nursing care plan for diabetes?

What is nursing care plan for diabetes?

As you probably know, diabetes is one of the most common diseases. Maybe a part of the patients you saw today are diabetic.

According to the research studies more than 34 million US residents are diabetic.

This data shows that diabetes is very much prevalent and because of this reason, nurses need to have the proper knowledge about the disease and the skills to take care of their patients.

And at this point, a well-framed nursing care plan for diabetes comes into play.

So, before moving to the nursing care plans, first discuss diabetes and its types.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes or diabetes mellitus is a health problem where the levels of blood glucose are high. The most common symptoms of diabetes include:

Generally, there are three types of diabetes and the treatment and nursing care plan for diabetes depends upon these types.

TYPE 1 DIABETES

Type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile-onset and insulin-dependent diabetes. This type is very common in children.

In general, it is an autoimmune problem in which the body starts attacking the pancreas which in turn impacts insulin production.

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Type 2 diabetes is more prevalent than type 1.

About 90-95% of the people in the US diabetics are suffering from this type of diabetes and most of them are adults.

In this health condition, the pancreas can not produce enough insulin required by the body.

In simple words, the body becomes resistant to insulin.

This type of diabetes can be easily controlled by making some changes in the lifestyle and regular intake of oral hypoglycemic agents.

GESTATIONAL DIABETES

This type of diabetes is prevalent in pregnant ladies.

As a matter of fact, it can affect about 2-10% of pregnancies approximately.

Nursing care plan for diabetes mellitus

Nursing care plan for diabetes mellitus

Nursing care plan for diabetes requires the nurses to be knowledgeable and skillful.

The plan includes positive treatment for normalizing the blood glucose and lowering the complications with the help of insulin replacement, a well-planned diet, and exercise.

Further, the nurses should educate their patients about the importance of treatment and the necessity to follow the prescribed plan.

Moreover, as a nurse, you should make your patients understand the poor effect of abnormal blood glucose on their health and well-being.

The most common nursing care plans for diabetes mellitus are as follows:

  • The risk for abnormal blood glucose
  • Proper knowledge about the types of diabetes and their treatment
  • Risk of infection
  • Risk of injury
  • Fatigue and lethargy
  • The risk for distributed sensory perception
  • Nutrition requirements
  • The risk for deficient fluid volume
  • Skin infection and breakdown

See also: Nursing Care Plan for CVA

Nursing care plan for diabetes type 1

Following is the nursing care plan for a patient with diabetes type 1. And because this condition is more common in children, we will consider them only.

Make sure the patient gets proper nutrition

A person with diabetes needs adequate nutrition for their growth and to maintain blood sugar levels.

The diet plan should be designed by keeping in mind the eating habits, culture, and preferences of the patient.

In the absence of regular meals, the child should be given a good quality protein snack or complex carbs.

Prevention of skin breakouts

The caretaker or the parents of the child should be advised to take care of his skin to prevent any skin issues.

For this, they should maintain regular hygiene by taking baths daily and keeping themselves clean and dry all the time.

Prevention of skin infections

In general, diabetic patients are prone to urinary tract and respiratory infections.

See also: How to Become a Respiratory Therapist?

Therefore, advise the children and their caretakers to keep an eye on the signs of these infections.

See also: Can You Be a Nurse With One Eye?

Balance the blood glucose

Normalize blood glucose levels.

For this, check their blood glucose levels at least four times a day, i.e before breakfast and evening meal.

Educate the child and his family about hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia

It is very important for the child and his family to understand the management of these two conditions.

Teach them to spot the signs of hyperglycemia as well as hypoglycemia and get tested for the same.

See also: Should You Use an Alcohol Swab Before Insulin Injection?

Nursing care plan for diabetes type 2

Diabetes in the USA

Following is the nursing care plan for diabetes type 2.

Collect the data of patient

Collect all the data regarding the symptoms and health conditions of the patient.

For this, ask the caregiver about the appetite of the patient and his weight gain/loss, polydipsia, polyuria, fatigue, dehydration, etc.

Related article: Does Birth Control Pills Make You Gain Weight?

Arrange the interviews with the patient and gather their history from their end.

Physical examination

This includes checking weight, height, slow healing wounds, signs of hypoglycemia, urine test, blood glucose level, etc.

See also: Can Nurses Cut Diabetic Toenails?

Nutrition requirements

Make sure the patient is consuming a well-planned diet that meets their nutritional requirements and doesn’t spike blood glucose levels.

Advice your patient about the importance of taking a balanced meal.

Keep an eye on their eating habits and make sure they don’t indulge.

Make your patients understand the importance of meal timing for avoiding conditions like hypoglycemia.

On top of these, instruct them to exercise regularly for maintaining a healthy weight.

Check for skin impairment

This includes the assessment of skin for breakouts and slow-healing injuries.

Prevent feet breakdown in your patients.

See also: Diabetes Specialist Nurse Interview Questions

Nursing care plan for gestational diabetes

Following is an example of the nursing care plan for gestational diabetes.

Start the treatment by screening the patient for the glucose tolerance test for about 1 hour.

During this time, the patient is not required to fast.

Advise them to control their diabetes by changing their lifestyle and diet. They can also include oral tablet lime Glyburide.

Monitor the glucose on a regular basis.

Urine tests during prenatal visits as it breaks down in urine and may cause a burning sensation which in turn is a sign of urinary tract infection.

Try to normalize the euglycemia as it will lower the risk of the newborn experiencing hypoglycemia.

IV insulin or glucose are sometimes recommended for some patients during labor in order to normalize their weight.

Monitor the blood glucose levels post-delivery along with the 2 hours glucose tolerance test.

Most importantly, make sure your patients understand the importance of regular testing.

Nursing care plan for diabetes ketoacidosis

Following is an example of the nursing care plan for diabetes ketoacidosis.

  • Monitor the blood sugar levels and track the insulin regularly to stop the ketone production and to balance out the glucose levels.
  • Monitor the electrolyte and fluid balance in order to prevent dehydration and other deficiency such as potassium, calcium and magnesium.
  • Diagnose the signs and symptoms of the infection. These infections normally include cold, cough, fever, UTIs, etc.
  • Monitor the signs of hypovolemia.
  • Prevent injuries in your patients.
  • Advise your patient to change his lifestyle and diet to maintain the blood sugar.
  • Strictly instruct your patients to avoid smoking and drinking.

Nursing care plan for hyperglycemia

The nursing care plan for hyperglycemia:

  • Instruct your patient to exercise regularly and have a well- balanced diet.
  • Provide the material and instructions to educate your patients about the side effects of mishandled diabetes.
  • Check their blood sugar levels regularly and give the insulin dosage.
  • Ask your patient to cooperate and follow the prescribed treatment.

Related articles of ours:

Nursing care plan for diabetic foot ulcer

Following is the nursing care plan for diabetic foot ulcers:

  • Take care of the skin integrity which is generally caused because of immobilization.
  • Take care of the pain which can either be associated with any infection or with any surgery.
  • Keep an eye on the prevalent infection risks in your patients.
  • Encourage your patients to seek proper treatment on time.

Sometimes patients also suffer from depression and stress.

Addressing these issues is important because it can impact the blood glucose levels in a very bad way.

Nursing care plan for diabetes insipidus

Following is the nursing care plan for diabetes insipidus:

  • Monitor the daily weights and determine the weight loss/gain.
  • Monitor polydipsia.
  • Monitor the symptoms of hypovolemia. When there is extreme fluid loss, the circulatory volume is decreased. The detection of the signs of hypovolemia prevents worse conditions.
  • Monitor the stress and hypotension and educate your patients about ambulation.
  • Record the changes at the time of providing mediations. It will give an idea about the changes in blood pressure due to the fluctuations in fluid balance.
  • Make sure your patients have easy access to the bathrooms otherwise the frequent bathroom visits can be frustrating for your patients.
  • Try to prevent injuries as well as you can. Frequent bathroom visits may subject your patients to fall. Hence, provide enough assistance to them.

Also, apply barriers to avoiding skin issues due to polyuria. This condition increases the risk of skin breakouts.

FREE DOWNLOADABLE TEMPLATES

From here you can download free templates for NCPs for diabetes.

It contains a total of four different kinds of templates (for Nursing Students, 3-Column Format, 4-Column Format, and 5-Column Format).

Conclusion

At this point, you should have a clear vision on how to do nursing care plan for diabetes.

If you would like to learn more about NCPs, check out these articles of ours:

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About Ida Koivisto, BSN, RN, PHN

Ida is both a registered nurse and public health nurse. Her passion is to provide as much valuable information about nursing to the world as possible. In her spare time from work and blogging, Ida loves to work out at the gym and spend time with relatives.