A nursing diagnosis differs from a medical diagnosis in that it identifies...

A nursing diagnosis differs from a medical diagnosis in that it identifies...

• A. A disease diagnosed by a physician.
• B. The patient’s actual or potential response to a health problem that nurses can address.
• C. A laboratory abnormality.
• D. A surgical condition.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that a nursing diagnosis focuses on how the patient is responding to a health problem and on what nurses can do management-wise. It describes the patient’s actual or potential problems in terms of human responses—things like pain, risk for infection, impaired mobility, or anxiety—that nurses are equipped and authorized to address with independent or collaborative interventions. This is what makes it the best choice: it centers on the patient’s experience and needs that nursing care can directly influence, guiding what nurses plan and do in the care process. It’s different from a medical diagnosis, which labels the disease or pathology identified by a physician. A laboratory abnormality is data about the body, not a nursing-focused declaration of how the patient is affected or what nurses should do. A surgical condition likewise describes a medical situation requiring specific medical or surgical treatment, not a nursing-focused response that nurses address through independent care. For example, instead of labeling the problem as “diabetes,” a nursing diagnosis might be “risk for unstable blood glucose related to insufficient knowledge and self-management,” or “acute pain related to surgical incision”—both point to patient-centered responses that nurses intervene on.

The main idea here is that a nursing diagnosis focuses on how the patient is responding to a health problem and on what nurses can do management-wise. It describes the patient’s actual or potential problems in terms of human responses—things like pain, risk for infection, impaired mobility, or anxiety—that nurses are equipped and authorized to address with independent or collaborative interventions.

This is what makes it the best choice: it centers on the patient’s experience and needs that nursing care can directly influence, guiding what nurses plan and do in the care process. It’s different from a medical diagnosis, which labels the disease or pathology identified by a physician. A laboratory abnormality is data about the body, not a nursing-focused declaration of how the patient is affected or what nurses should do. A surgical condition likewise describes a medical situation requiring specific medical or surgical treatment, not a nursing-focused response that nurses address through independent care.

For example, instead of labeling the problem as “diabetes,” a nursing diagnosis might be “risk for unstable blood glucose related to insufficient knowledge and self-management,” or “acute pain related to surgical incision”—both point to patient-centered responses that nurses intervene on.