The bedside direct-care nursing management function that involves determining whether the client has reached the intended care outcomes is best described as which function?

• A. Coordinating
• B. Planning
• C. Organizing
• D. Directing

Answer: (A)

Coordinating focuses on aligning and monitoring the care plan across the bedside team to reach specific outcomes. It involves tracking how the patient responds, evaluating progress toward goals, communicating results, and adjusting actions as needed to stay on track. Planning sets goals and maps out steps to achieve them, organizing arranges the resources and people to execute the plan, and directing provides leadership to carry out those tasks. Because determining whether the client has reached the intended care outcomes requires ongoing assessment of progress and making changes based on that assessment, coordinating is the function that best fits this role.