A nurse determines that the patient's condition has improved and they have met each expected outcome. Which step of the nursing process is the nurse exhibiting?

A. Implementation is the active phase of the nursing process where the nurse carries out the specific interventions previously outlined in the care plan. This stage focuses on the delivery of care, such as medication administration or patient teaching, rather than measuring the success of those actions. It is the "doing" phase that precedes the measurement of outcomes and clinical improvement. B. Planning involves the formulation of measurable goals and the selection of nursing interventions based on the identified nursing diagnoses. This step occurs early in the process and sets the benchmarks that will eventually be used to judge the effectiveness of the care provided. It does not involve the actual determination of whether those benchmarks were reached in a real-time clinical setting. C. Assessment is the systematic and continuous collection of data to determine the client's current health status and identify any new or existing problems. While the nurse must assess the patient to see if they improved, the specific act of comparing that improvement against "expected outcomes" is a different step. Assessment provides the raw data, whereas the next phase provides the final judgment. D. Evaluation is the final step of the nursing process where the nurse compares the patient's actual clinical status against the predefined expected outcomes. This critical thinking step determines if the nursing interventions were effective or if the plan of care requires modification or termination. Meeting all expected outcomes indicates that the goals were achieved and the specific nursing problem is resolved.