Organization Profile Leadership Products and Services Frequently Asked Questions News Releases and Coverage Speakers Bureau Potential Media Topics Contacts PDF Media Kit FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS What is a nursing diagnosis? A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about individual, family, or community experiences and responses to actual or potential health problems and life processes. Why use nursing diagnosis? A nursing diagnosis is used to determine the appropriate plan of care for the patient. The nursing diagnosis drives interventions and patient outcomes, enabling the nurse to develop the patient care plan. Nursing diagnoses also provide a standard nomenclature for use in the Electronic Health Record, enabling clear communication among care team members and the collection of data for continuous improvement in patient care. What is the difference between a medical diagnosis and a nursing diagnosis? A medical diagnosis deals with disease or medical condition. A nursing diagnosis deals with human response to actual or potential health problems and life processes. For example, a medical diagnosis of Cerebrovascular Attack (CVA or Stroke) provides information about the patient’s pathology. The complimentary nursing diagnoses of Impaired verbal communication, risk for falls, interrupted family processes and powerlessness provide a more holistic understanding of the impact of that stroke on this particular patient and his family – they also direct nursing interventions to obtain patient-specific outcomes. What is standardized nursing language? A commonly-understood set of terms used to describe the clinical judgments involved in assessments(nursing diagnoses), along with the interventions, and outcomes related to the documentation of nursing care. What is taxonomy? Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization and classification. The NANDA-I taxonomy currently includes 206 nursing diagnoses that are grouped (classified) within 13 domains (categories) of nursing practice: Health Promotion; Nutrition; Elimination and Exchange; Activity/Rest; Perception/Cognition; Self-Perception; Role Relationships; Sexuality; Coping/Stress Tolerance; Life Principles; Safety/Protection; Comfort; Growth/Development. What is evidence-based nursing practice? Evidence based practice allows nurses to enrich their clinical training and experience through the utilization of up to date research. With the large amount of research and information that exists in the health care arena, learning the skills of evidence based practice allows nurses to search for, assess, and apply the literature to their clinical situations.* What is the connection between standardized nursing language and patient safety? Patient safety requires that clinicians quickly grasp the priority needs of a patient. Use of language that requires a written narrative is no longer effective in today’s high acuity environment. Just as the medical discipline uses standardized language to identify patient disease states – so that all caregivers of all professions understand what is meant by a “Myocardial Infarction” (heart attack) – it is also critical that when nurses use terminology such as “activity intolerance, “all health care providers clearly understand what is meant and the appropriate plan of care. Lack of common definitions and defining characteristics (signs and symptoms) for nursing diagnosis language, leads to miscommunication and potentially, to mistreatment of patients. Standardized language ensures consistent communication and clarity - and therefore a better direction for patient care. How many standardized nursing languages are there? The American Nurses Association recognizes 12 languages for nursing. What are the differences among standardized nursing languages? Many nursing languages claim to be standardized; some are simply a list of terms, others provide definitions of those terms. NANDA-I maintains that a standardized language that represents any profession should provide, at a minimum, an evidence-based definition, list of defining characteristics (signs/symptoms) and related factors (etiologic factors); risk diagnoses should include an evidence-based definition, and a list of risk factors. Without these, anyone can define any term in his/her own way which obviously violates the purpose of standardization. * Kessenich CR, "Teaching nursing students evidence-based nursing." Nurse Educator, Nov/Dec 1997, 22(6): 25-29.
What is a nursing diagnosis? A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about individual, family, or community experiences and responses to actual or potential health problems and life processes.
Why use nursing diagnosis? A nursing diagnosis is used to determine the appropriate plan of care for the patient. The nursing diagnosis drives interventions and patient outcomes, enabling the nurse to develop the patient care plan. Nursing diagnoses also provide a standard nomenclature for use in the Electronic Health Record, enabling clear communication among care team members and the collection of data for continuous improvement in patient care.
What is evidence-based nursing practice? Evidence based practice allows nurses to enrich their clinical training and experience through the utilization of up to date research. With the large amount of research and information that exists in the health care arena, learning the skills of evidence based practice allows nurses to search for, assess, and apply the literature to their clinical situations.*
What is the connection between standardized nursing language and patient safety? Patient safety requires that clinicians quickly grasp the priority needs of a patient. Use of language that requires a written narrative is no longer effective in today’s high acuity environment. Just as the medical discipline uses standardized language to identify patient disease states – so that all caregivers of all professions understand what is meant by a “Myocardial Infarction” (heart attack) – it is also critical that when nurses use terminology such as “activity intolerance, “all health care providers clearly understand what is meant and the appropriate plan of care. Lack of common definitions and defining characteristics (signs and symptoms) for nursing diagnosis language, leads to miscommunication and potentially, to mistreatment of patients. Standardized language ensures consistent communication and clarity - and therefore a better direction for patient care.