What it means
The last step of both the nursing process and the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model. The nurse looks at the client's response, such as vital signs, symptoms and what the client says or can show, and decides whether each goal was met, partly met or not met. The plan is then kept, changed or ended.
For the nurse
On the exam, an "evaluate outcomes" question asks which findings show that a treatment or teaching worked, or did not.
Related terms
evaluate
To judge whether care worked by comparing the client's results with the goals that were set.
nursing process
The step-by-step method nurses use to plan and give care: assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate.
clinical judgment
The way a nurse notices, makes sense of and acts on information about a client to decide on the best care.
therapeutic effect
The helpful effect a drug or treatment is given to produce.