Concept Maps for Nursing Students

Concept Maps for Nursing Students
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Written by Ethan Hayes Published on September 16, 2024

Ethan is an experienced editor specializing in nursing and academic writing, with over eight years' expertise. He excels in refining complex medical content, research papers, and academic essays.

Table of contents

What Is a Concept Map in Nursing?

Somewhat different from mind maps, concept maps are centered around the relationships or connections between concepts. Still, in most cases, the two definitions can be used interchangeably. And both highlight a visual representation of complex notions that makes it easier to understand, assimilate and use. 

For your query write my nursing essay, you can find or create a nursing concept map about a treatment protocol, medications, or hospital management structure. While mind maps seem complex and disorganized at first glance, they are invaluable learning tools for nursing students and registered nurses alike. These charts can be used for note-taking in class, creating new knowledge, and promoting better memorization, especially if you are a visual learner.

The Benefits of Concept Mapping for Nursing Students

  • You can find a free concept map for nursing students summarizing your assigned reading or get the one your classmate created, but you can truly enjoy mind mapping advantages if you craft your own diagrams. It’s not as hard as it seems, and the benefits are well worth it.
  • Mind mapping is proven to help students understand complex concepts. Instead of memorizing text on the page or your flashcard, you process information and transform it into a new medium. While you work out the structure and plan the branching pattern, your understanding of new notions deepens.
  • Concept maps let you see the big picture. Instead of flipping the pages back and forth, you can expand and collapse the nodes and branches to make the chart as compact and simple or as detailed and complex as you wish. It’s a perfect tool for internalizing big chunks of data.
  • Embedding media helps long-term memorization. Icons, GIFs, and images brighten up the chart and make it easier to read, as pictures can sometimes replace full paragraphs of text. And once you develop a system, it will be easier to find the core piece of info if you mark them with certain icons.
  • Diagrams are easy to store, use, and share. Download the map in PDF, PNG, or JPEG, store it on your phone, laptop, tablet, or in the cloud, and send it via email or Snapchat. Use your charts to revise before exams and quizzes, share with your study group, or use them to plan a research paper, give a speech, or keep track of your hands-on training in the hospital.

Types of Nursing Concept Maps

While there is no right or wrong way to craft concept maps nursing students trying their hand for the first time feel intimidated and overwhelmed by the abundance of options. If you don’t know where to start, choose one of three classic structures with nursing concept map examples that fit most cases:

Spider maps start with one or more parent nodes in the center that have several branches fanning out to half a dozen nodes, which have multiple smaller branches. In most cases, three tiers of nodes are enough to cover most topics, though you may need to add a few extra layers of detail. These maps are great for taking notes in class or as you go through your assigned reading. You can transform whole chapters into individual nursing concept maps and use them during revision before finals week.

concept map in nursing spider map

Hierarchical maps look more like a pyramid with a single node at the top that connects to several lower-level concepts and so on. These diagrams have several independent branches similar to spider maps, though they fall under a strict hierarchical structure that guides you from general notions to specific concepts.

concept map in nursing pyramide hieararchical map

Flow charts are usually linear, with one or two branches that don’t fan out but grow alongside each other. Flow charts are perfect for visualizing processes, protocols, and sequences and are widely used across many industries. They let you add repetitive operations, cycles, and alternative options without making the whole map unreadable and therefore unusable.

concept map in nursing flow charts

Nursing Concept Map Tools and Templates

Concept mapping has gone from niche to mainstream, and you can find dozens of online and offline tools for creating custom charts. Free and premium apps share similar features and intuitive controls, so getting the hang of them should be easy and fast. In my search for a perfect mind mapping tool, I’ve tried: 

  • Coggle;
  • MindMup;
  • GitMind; 
  • MindMeister; 
  • And others.

And I can’t pick a favorite. I recommend you try out several apps to learn which features matter to you. For example, I like the ability to change node and branch formatting as I create them, and I enjoy adding media files to make mind maps more engaging. But you may be more interested in collaboration capabilities or cloud storage.

FAQ

1. What are antecedents in a concept map?

Antecedents are prerequisite or parent nodes in a mind or concept map. For example, each preceding node is an antecedent within a flow chart, while in a spider chart or hierarchical chart, several nodes can have a common antecedent.

2. What are the characteristics of concept maps?

The core characteristics include a clear structure filled with concepts (nodes) and connections (arrows or lines) between them described with linking words.

3. Why are concept maps useful in nursing?

Concept maps are a useful tool in nursing because they provide a visual representation of the relationships between different concepts and ideas. This allows nurses to quickly identify key points, draw connections between concepts, and understand complex topics more easily. Concept maps also help nurses determine how individual pieces of knowledge fit within the overall context, allowing them to make more informed decisions when providing patient care. Furthermore, concept maps can be used as an educational tool to help nurses better comprehend newly acquired information by allowing them to visualize it in a way that is easier to remember. In short, concept maps are a valuable asset for nurses who need to quickly grasp conceptual knowledge and apply it in practice.

4. What are the three purposes of a concept map?

A concept map is a visual tool used to help organize and clarify ideas and concepts. It is typically created by visually displaying the relationships between different concepts, ideas, or items in order to better understand them. The three purposes of a concept map are to help one identify the main concept or topic; to show how the main concept relates to other related concepts; and to group related concepts together for easier understanding. Concept maps can be especially useful when trying to break down complex topics into simpler parts, such as when studying for an exam or writing a research paper.

5. How do you create a nursing care plan concept map?

Creating a nursing care plan concept map is a great way to organize and visualize the different elements of a patient’s care. First, it is important to identify the specific health issue or diagnosis that the patient is facing. Next, you should list goals that are in line with the diagnosis that needs to be achieved. After this, you can create a visual representation of the nursing care plan using symbols, shapes, and connecting lines to represent actions and relationships between elements. Additionally, you should include patient data such as medications, nursing interventions, treatments, and other information that could affect their health outcomes.

6. Is concept mapping an assessment?

Concept mapping is a technique used to visually organize ideas and concepts. It is often used as a tool for brainstorming, problem-solving, learning, and communication. It can be used in various contexts such as education, business, and research. As such, it can also be used as an assessment tool. Concept mapping helps assess understanding of a particular topic or concept by providing an overview of the related information and how they are interconnected.

7. What is concept mapping in critical thinking?

Concept mapping is a critical thinking tool that helps to organize and visualize complex ideas. It is a visual representation of related concepts, showing how the various components of an idea are connected. Concept maps make it easier to understand complex topics by visually illustrating the relationships between different concepts and ideas. They can be used for brainstorming, problem-solving, decision-making, and summarizing information. By seeing the connections between different concepts, it is easier for someone to see how all of the pieces fit together.

8. What is the SBAR tool in nursing?

The SBAR tool is an acronym used in nursing to organize and communicate patient information. It stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation. The Situation outlines the current problem or situation, the Background explains any relevant past medical history, the Assessment covers the nurse’s interpretation of what is happening with the patient, and finally the Recommendation offers a course of action.