Modifications to the Nursing Plan of Care when Caring for Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) have significant immediate and chronic cognitive impairments. These cognitive impairments can negatively affect their inpatient stay after an acute TBI and affect their healthcare later in life when seeking care for other health conditions during the chronic phase of TBI. Nurses must be knowledgeable about modifying care to accommodate cognitive impairments of these patients throughout the continuum of care. Yet, most clinical guidelines are for acute care and focus on medical care rather than cognitive impairments. As a first step in developing TBI-specific nursing education, the purpose of this study was to investigate nurses' modifications to their plan of care when caring for patients with moderate-to-severe TBI.