Short-term and long-term goals focus on what the patient will be able to do or achieve?

• A. What the patient will be able to do or achieve.
• B. What the nurse will do.
• C. What the physician will prescribe.
• D. What the patient will not do.

Answer: (A)

Focusing on patient outcomes is the core idea here: short-term and long-term goals describe what the patient will be able to do or achieve as a result of the care plan. This keeps care centered on the patient and makes progress measurable and identifiable.

Examples of such goals are observable and time-bound, like “the patient will walk 100 feet with a walker by day four” or “pain will be rated 3/10 or less after medication by noon.” By specifying what the patient will accomplish, the plan can be evaluated and adjusted based on actual progress.

Interventions or orders, such as what the nurse will do or what the physician will prescribe, are actions to support those outcomes, not the goals themselves. Describing what the patient will not do is not a constructive, positive outcome to guide care.