Keep, stop and start lists, symptoms ranked by his own distress, and a defibrillator switched off by order: the comfort care plan for NU144 Unit 9, composite patient. Searches like "nu 144 unit 9 assignment example", "nu144 unit 9 sample" and "nu144 unit 9 example" land here.
What a finished NU144 Unit 9 comfort care plan looks like
Before any table, a short goals block records what he has said he wants, in his own words: to breathe easier, to sleep, to go home if he can, and no more shocks. Three lists follow. Kept: the diuretic, because it eases his breathing, and mouth care. Stopped: daily blood tests, strict fluid limits, and the defibrillator's shock function, deactivated by the provider after a documented conversation. Started: a low dose of morphine for breathlessness, a fan directed at his face, and a scheduled bowel regimen. The plan itself ranks four symptoms by how much they distress him, breathlessness, night anxiety, swelling with skin risk, and dry mouth, each measured on a stated scale and reassessed after every intervention, with the time of each rating written beside it.
How a NU144 Unit 9 example is structured
Comfort plans in this course often reuse the care plan template with its columns renamed, and the sample does exactly that: symptom, how it is measured, the comfort goal in his words, interventions with rationale, and reassessment. Ranking is by his distress, not by physiology, and a sentence above the table says so. The keep, stop and start lists sit above the table because they explain what the interventions assume. Goals avoid clinical targets; one reads able to talk with his wife without stopping for breath. Reassessment times are written against each intervention, such as breathlessness rated again thirty minutes after morphine. A family section follows, covering what his wife has been told, who answers her questions and the chaplain visit she accepted. The plan ends by naming the hospice referral as the provider's decision, supported by the nursing assessment.
Symptoms ranked by his distress
Swelling in his legs looks the most striking on assessment, but he rates breathlessness and night fear as worse. The plan ranks by his rating and explains the choice, since comfort goals belong to the person feeling the symptoms.
Morphine for breath, not only for pain
Low-dose opioid reduces the sensation of breathlessness in advanced heart failure, and the plan cites guidance saying so. It pairs the dose with a respiratory rate and sedation check, written as a comfort measure rather than a warning.
A defibrillator that could still shock
A dying heart can trigger repeated shocks that cause pain and fear. The plan records that deactivation was discussed with him and his wife, ordered by the provider and carried out, and it notes the interim plan should that step be delayed.
Treatments kept for comfort
The diuretic stays because it eases his breathing, not to protect his kidneys. The plan gives each kept treatment its comfort reason, which shows the list was reviewed item by item rather than cleared at once.
His wife, planned for too
A separate section records what she understands, the signs of dying she has been prepared for, and whom she calls overnight. Her own fatigue is noted as a problem the team can help with, not a background detail.
Where marks go in NU144 Unit 9
Generic comfort measures, keep him comfortable, position for comfort, with nothing measured, are the weakest material a Unit 9 plan can offer. Ranking by physiology, edema first because it is visible, contradicts the goals block the plan opened with. Stopping every treatment at once, the diuretic included, reads as abandonment rather than judgment and draws accuracy comments. Omitting the defibrillator entirely is a gap many graders flag first. Opioids given for breathlessness with no reassessment, or withheld from fear of hastening death with no reasoning shown, cost the evidence marks. Goals written as clinical targets clash with the plan's purpose. Leaving out his wife, or describing her grief without recording the help given to her and who gives it, accounts for most of the remaining deductions.
Get a NU144 Unit 9 example written to your instructions
Comfort cases in Unit 9 may involve cancer, lung disease, dementia or failing organs like this one. Forward that case with the plan template and grading criteria, naming any tool the course uses for rating symptoms. The keep, stop and start lists, the ranking and the family section all follow that case. First custom sample free; 24-48h.
NU144 Unit 9 questions, answered
Is a comfort care plan the same as hospice care?
No. Comfort-focused care can begin in the hospital before any hospice referral, and it does not require one. Hospice is a service with its own eligibility rules, often involving an expected prognosis of six months or less if the illness runs its usual course. The plan can recommend a referral, but the decision and the paperwork belong to the provider and the patient.
Should vital signs still be checked on comfort care?
Often less, and only where the result would change what is done for comfort. A respiratory rate matters when opioids are titrated for breathlessness; a daily blood test nobody will act on usually does not. Many plans replace routine vital signs with symptom ratings at set times. Follow the orders in your case, and give the reason for every check that remains.
How is breathlessness measured in someone who cannot rate it?
With an observation scale, such as the Respiratory Distress Observation Scale, which scores signs like rate, restlessness, accessory muscle use and a fearful facial expression. Many plans pair a numeric rating while the patient can give one with an observation scale for later, when drowsiness makes self-report unreliable. Cite whichever tool the course text names.