Which is the first step of the nursing process?

• A. Assessment
• B. Nursing Diagnosis
• C. Planning
• D. Evaluation

Answer: (A)

The first step is to gather information about the patient’s health status. This assessment involves collecting both what the patient reports (subjective data) and what you observe or measure (objective data), along with reviewing medical records and previous care. Establishing this baseline helps you understand the patient’s current condition, identify actual or potential problems, and determine priorities. Without thorough assessment, you wouldn’t know which problems exist or how severe they are, so you can’t accurately formulate diagnoses, plan appropriate care, implement interventions, or evaluate outcomes.

Once data are collected, the next steps—forming nursing diagnoses, planning, implementing, and evaluating—rely on that foundation. For example, if the assessment reveals chest pain and low oxygen saturation, you would use those findings to frame a nursing diagnosis related to impaired gas exchange and then plan targeted interventions.