Skip navigation

Musculoskeletal Care Plans

Nursing care plans then Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal Care Plans

Neurovascular checks, mobility, and the complication that presents as pain out of proportion.

12 plans in this system

Neurovascular assessment and mobility carry most of these plans, and the complication to recognize is pain out of proportion to the injury. Several plans here turn on what not to do.

CP-034Members only

Hip Fracture and Arthroplasty

These items reward mobilization over rest.

CP-035Members only

Compartment Syndrome

These items test one recognition and two counterintuitive actions.

CP-036Members only

Osteoporosis and Fall Injury Prevention

These items are dominated by bisphosphonate administration.

CP-122Members only

Total Knee Arthroplasty

The pillow under the knee is the classic wrong answer and appears often.

CP-123Members only

Fracture with Cast or Traction

Expect the classic item where a casted patient reports increasing pain and the answer is to assess and report rather than to medicate again.

CP-124Members only

Fat Embolism Syndrome

Timing is the trick, so confusion on day one or two after a femur fracture is this rather than a clot.

CP-125Members only

Amputation and Phantom Limb Pain

The pillow item and the phantom pain item appear most often, and both correct answers feel counterintuitive to students.

CP-126Members only

Osteoarthritis

Nearly every item is a discrimination item, so hold the pattern rather than the disease.

CP-127Members only

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Discrimination from osteoarthritis is asked constantly and the discriminators are symmetry, stiffness duration, and systemic symptoms.

CP-128Members only

Gout

The medication item is nearly guaranteed, and the trap is picking allopurinol for acute pain.

CP-129Members only

Osteomyelitis

The culture before antibiotic item is asked directly and is the highest priority action in an admission stem.

CP-130Members only

Low Back Pain and Lumbar Spine Surgery

Log rolling is asked in almost every version of this content.

Opening a plan

Every title here is a real plan. The full body of each one, including the interventions and rationales, is part of a NurseStudy Prep membership. Log in to open them, or see what a membership includes.

Educational use. These care plans are study aids. They do not replace your course instruction, your clinical judgment, or the guidance of the provider and the facility caring for the patient.

Care plan format. Diagnosis wording, reference ranges, and documentation requirements vary by school and by facility. Follow the format your own program requires and the standards of the institution where you practice.

NCLEX-RN is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. NurseStudyPrep.com is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by NCSBN. References to the examination are descriptive only.