What is a nursing diagnosis?

A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment regarding an individual's, family's, or community's responses to actual or potential health problems. This process is grounded in the nursing process, which emphasizes a holistic approach to patient care that considers not just medical symptoms but also the emotional, social, and psychological dimensions of the patient's condition.

Nurses utilize assessment data, patient observations, and clinical knowledge to arrive at a nursing diagnosis, which serves to guide nursing interventions and establish a plan of care tailored to the specific needs of the patient. By focusing on the responses and needs of individuals or groups rather than just the medical condition itself, nursing diagnoses help to personalize healthcare and enhance the overall management of patient care.

This approach differentiates nursing from purely medical models, which tend to concentrate on diseases and their treatment rather than the human responses and experiences associated with those conditions.