The CarePlan Card: building collaboration in medical and nursing orders

Critical care nurses need a care plan tool to help integrate nursing interventions along with medical orders in order to develop a collaborative practice which respects physicians and nurses' roles in patient care. These authors describe a CarePlan Card which blends the traditional Kardex and care plan to create a dynamic, indispensable tool which coordinates both medical and nursing care and is responsive to the rapid changes seen in a critical care setting.