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NURSING DIAGNOSIS / NURSING PROCESS
A nursing diagnosis (NDx) may be part of the nursing process and is a clinical judgment
concerning human response to health conditions/life processes, or a vulnerability for
that response, by an individual, family, group, or community. A nursing diagnosis
provides the basis for the selection of nursing interventions to achieve outcomes for
which the nurse has accountability. Nursing diagnoses are developed based on data
obtained during the nursing assessment and enable the nurse to develop the care plan.
Purposes of Nursing Diagnosis
The purpose of the nursing diagnosis is as follows:
Helps identify nursing priorities and help direct nursing interventions based on
identified priorities.
Helps the formulation of expected outcomes for quality assurance requirements
of third-party payers.
Nursing diagnoses help identify how a client or group responds to actual or
potential health and life processes and knowing their available resources of
strengths that can be drawn upon to prevent or resolve problems.
Provides a common language and forms a basis for communication and
understanding between nursing professionals and the healthcare team.
Provides a basis of evaluation to determine if nursing care was beneficial to the
client and cost-effective.
For nursing students, nursing diagnoses are an effective teaching tool to help
sharpen their problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Difference between Medical and Nursing Diagnoses
The term nursing diagnosis is associated with three different concepts. It may refer to
the distinct second step in the nursing process, diagnosis. Also, nursing
diagnosis applies to the label when nurses assign meaning to collected data
appropriately labeled with NANDA-I-approved nursing diagnosis. For example, during the
assessment, the nurse may recognize that the client is feeling anxious, fearful, and finds
, 2
it difficult to sleep. It is those problems which are labeled with nursing diagnoses:
respectively, Anxiety, Fear, and Disturbed Sleep Pattern. Lastly, a nursing diagnosis refers
to one of many diagnoses in the classification system established and approved by
NANDA. In this context, a nursing diagnosis is based upon the response of the patient to
the medical condition. It is called a ‘nursing diagnosis’ because these are matters that
hold a distinct and precise action that is associated with what nurses have autonomy to
take action about with a specific disease or condition. This includes anything that is a
physical, mental, and spiritual type of response. Hence, a nursing diagnosis is focused on
care.
Nursing diagnoses vs medical diagnoses
A medical diagnosis, on the other hand, is made by the physician or advance health
care practitioner that deals more with the disease, medical condition, or pathological
state only a practitioner can treat. Moreover, through experience and know-how, the
specific and precise clinical entity that might be the possible cause of the illness will then
be undertaken by the doctor, therefore, providing the proper medication that would cure
the illness. Examples of medical diagnoses are Diabetes Mellitus, Tuberculosis,
, 3
Amputation, Hepatitis, and Chronic Kidney Disease. The medical diagnosis normally does
not change. Nurses are required to follow the physician’s orders and carry out prescribed
treatments and therapies.
As explained above, now it is easier to distinguish nursing diagnosis from that of a
medical diagnosis. Nursing diagnosis is directed towards the patient and his
physiological and psychological response. A medical diagnosis, on the other hand, is
particular with the disease or medical condition. Its center is on the illness.
NANDA International (NANDA-I)
NANDA–International earlier known as the North American Nursing Diagnosis
Association (NANDA) is the principal organization for defining, distribution and
integration of standardized nursing diagnoses worldwide.
The term nursing diagnosis was first mentioned in the nursing literature in the 1950s.
Two faculty members of Saint Louis University, Kristine Gebbie and Mary Ann Lavin,
recognized the need to identify nurses’ role in an ambulatory care setting. In 1973,
NANDA’s first national conference was held to formally identify, develop, and classify
nursing diagnoses. Subsequent national conferences occurred in 1975, in 1980, and
every two years thereafter. In recognition of the participation of nurses in the United
States and Canada, in 1982 the group accepted the name North American Nursing
Diagnosis Association (NANDA).
The first taxonomy of nursing diagnoses was alphabetical which was considered
unscientific by some. In 1982, NANDA adopted the “nine patterns of unitary man” based
on the nursing models of Sr. Callista Roy and Martha Rogers as an organizing principle. In
2002, Taxonomy II was adopted, which was adapted from the Functional Health Patterns
assessment framework of Dr. Mary Joy Gordon. Taxonomy II has three levels: domain,
classes, and nursing diagnoses. Nursing diagnoses are no longer grouped by Gordon’s
patterns but coded according to seven axes: diagnostic concept, time, unit of care, age,
health status, descriptor, and topology. In addition, diagnoses are now listed
alphabetically by its concept, not by the first word.
NURSING DIAGNOSIS / NURSING PROCESS
A nursing diagnosis (NDx) may be part of the nursing process and is a clinical judgment
concerning human response to health conditions/life processes, or a vulnerability for
that response, by an individual, family, group, or community. A nursing diagnosis
provides the basis for the selection of nursing interventions to achieve outcomes for
which the nurse has accountability. Nursing diagnoses are developed based on data
obtained during the nursing assessment and enable the nurse to develop the care plan.
Purposes of Nursing Diagnosis
The purpose of the nursing diagnosis is as follows:
Helps identify nursing priorities and help direct nursing interventions based on
identified priorities.
Helps the formulation of expected outcomes for quality assurance requirements
of third-party payers.
Nursing diagnoses help identify how a client or group responds to actual or
potential health and life processes and knowing their available resources of
strengths that can be drawn upon to prevent or resolve problems.
Provides a common language and forms a basis for communication and
understanding between nursing professionals and the healthcare team.
Provides a basis of evaluation to determine if nursing care was beneficial to the
client and cost-effective.
For nursing students, nursing diagnoses are an effective teaching tool to help
sharpen their problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Difference between Medical and Nursing Diagnoses
The term nursing diagnosis is associated with three different concepts. It may refer to
the distinct second step in the nursing process, diagnosis. Also, nursing
diagnosis applies to the label when nurses assign meaning to collected data
appropriately labeled with NANDA-I-approved nursing diagnosis. For example, during the
assessment, the nurse may recognize that the client is feeling anxious, fearful, and finds
, 2
it difficult to sleep. It is those problems which are labeled with nursing diagnoses:
respectively, Anxiety, Fear, and Disturbed Sleep Pattern. Lastly, a nursing diagnosis refers
to one of many diagnoses in the classification system established and approved by
NANDA. In this context, a nursing diagnosis is based upon the response of the patient to
the medical condition. It is called a ‘nursing diagnosis’ because these are matters that
hold a distinct and precise action that is associated with what nurses have autonomy to
take action about with a specific disease or condition. This includes anything that is a
physical, mental, and spiritual type of response. Hence, a nursing diagnosis is focused on
care.
Nursing diagnoses vs medical diagnoses
A medical diagnosis, on the other hand, is made by the physician or advance health
care practitioner that deals more with the disease, medical condition, or pathological
state only a practitioner can treat. Moreover, through experience and know-how, the
specific and precise clinical entity that might be the possible cause of the illness will then
be undertaken by the doctor, therefore, providing the proper medication that would cure
the illness. Examples of medical diagnoses are Diabetes Mellitus, Tuberculosis,
, 3
Amputation, Hepatitis, and Chronic Kidney Disease. The medical diagnosis normally does
not change. Nurses are required to follow the physician’s orders and carry out prescribed
treatments and therapies.
As explained above, now it is easier to distinguish nursing diagnosis from that of a
medical diagnosis. Nursing diagnosis is directed towards the patient and his
physiological and psychological response. A medical diagnosis, on the other hand, is
particular with the disease or medical condition. Its center is on the illness.
NANDA International (NANDA-I)
NANDA–International earlier known as the North American Nursing Diagnosis
Association (NANDA) is the principal organization for defining, distribution and
integration of standardized nursing diagnoses worldwide.
The term nursing diagnosis was first mentioned in the nursing literature in the 1950s.
Two faculty members of Saint Louis University, Kristine Gebbie and Mary Ann Lavin,
recognized the need to identify nurses’ role in an ambulatory care setting. In 1973,
NANDA’s first national conference was held to formally identify, develop, and classify
nursing diagnoses. Subsequent national conferences occurred in 1975, in 1980, and
every two years thereafter. In recognition of the participation of nurses in the United
States and Canada, in 1982 the group accepted the name North American Nursing
Diagnosis Association (NANDA).
The first taxonomy of nursing diagnoses was alphabetical which was considered
unscientific by some. In 1982, NANDA adopted the “nine patterns of unitary man” based
on the nursing models of Sr. Callista Roy and Martha Rogers as an organizing principle. In
2002, Taxonomy II was adopted, which was adapted from the Functional Health Patterns
assessment framework of Dr. Mary Joy Gordon. Taxonomy II has three levels: domain,
classes, and nursing diagnoses. Nursing diagnoses are no longer grouped by Gordon’s
patterns but coded according to seven axes: diagnostic concept, time, unit of care, age,
health status, descriptor, and topology. In addition, diagnoses are now listed
alphabetically by its concept, not by the first word.
