The term nursing diagnosis came into formal use in the nursing literature during the 1950s (Fry, 1953), although its meaning continued to be seen in the context of medical diagnosis.
In 1973, a national conference was held to identify client needs that fall within the scope of nursing, label them, and develop a classification system that could be used by nurses throughout the world.
They called the labels nursing diagnoses, which represent clinical judgments about an individual’s, family’s, or community’s responses to actual or potential health problems/life processes.
What is a Nursing Diagnosis? Find the definition of nursing diagnosis, here!
Here is the definition of nursing diagnosis
Definition of nursing diagnosis according to the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) is a clinical judgment about individual, family, or community responses to actual or potential health problems/life processes. Nursing diagnoses provide the basis for selection of nursing interventions to achieve outcomes for which the nurse is accountable.
A nursing diagnosis is a decision about a need/problem that requires nursing intervention and management. The need maybe anything that interferes with the quality of life the client is used to and/or desires. It includes concerns of the client, SOs (significant others), and/or nurse.
The nursing diagnosis focuses attention on a physical or behavioral response, either a current need or a problem at risk for developing. The identification of client needs and selection of a nursing diagnosis label involve the use of experience, expertise, and intuition.
A six-step diagnostic reasoning/critical thinking process facilitates an accurate analysis of the client assessment data to determine specific client needs. First, data are reviewed to identify cues (signs and symptoms) reflecting client needs that can be described by nursing diagnosis labels. This is called problem-sensing. Next, alternative explanations are considered for the identified cues to determine which nursing diagnosis label may be the most appropriate. As the relationships among data are compared, etiological factors are identified based on the nurse’s understanding of the biological, physical, and behavioral sciences, and the possible nursing diagnosis choices are ruled out until the most appropriate label remains. Next, a comprehensive picture of the client’s past, present, and future health status is synthesized, and the suggested nursing diagnosis label is combined with the identified related (or risk) factors and cues to create a hypothesis. Confirming the hypothesis is done by reviewing the NANDA definition, defining characteristics (cues), and determining related factors (etiology) for the chosen nursing diagnosis to ensure the accuracy and objectivity in this diagnostic process. Now, based on the synthesis of the data (step 3) and evaluation of the hypothesis (step 4), the client’s needs are listed and the correct nursing diagnosis label is combined with the assessed etiology and signs/symptoms to finalize the client diagnostic statement. Once all the nursing diagnoses are identified, the problem list is re-evaluated, assessment data are reviewed again, and the client is consulted to ensure that all areas of concern have been addressed. When the nursing diagnosis label is combined with the individual’s specific related/risk factors and defining characteristics (as appropriate), the resulting client diagnostic statement provides direction for nursing care. It is important to remember that the affective tone of the nursing diagnosis can shape expectations of the client’s response and/or influence the nurse’s behavior toward the client.
What Is A Nursing Diagnosis and Comparison of Nursing and Medical Diagnosis?
Delineation of ‘‘what is the nature of nursing?’’ versus ‘‘what is the nature of medicine?’’ is critical. In order to practice nursing, nurses need to know what it is that they do.
Nursing diagnoses assist nurses in defining their scope of practice just as medical diagnoses assist physicians in defining their scope of practice. In addition, the use of diagnoses in nursing and medicine enables clarification of the legal boundaries for practice.
- Medical diagnosis is the terminology used for a clinical judgment by the physician that identifies or determines a specific disease, condition, or pathologic state.
- Nursing diagnosis is the terminology used for a clinical judgment by the professional nurse that identifies the client’s or aggregate’s actual, risk, wellness, or syndrome responses to a health state, problem, or condition.
Further reading:
1. Wikipedia
2. NANDA Homepage
