ABSTRACT
Nursing diagnosis differs from medical diagnosis, because nursing diagnosis focuses on the consequences of living with a set of signs and symptoms or the medical diagnosis. Let’s think about a really simple example: a patient goes to their GP complaining of problems with opening their bowels. The GP, after carrying out an assessment, diagnoses constipation and prescribes medication. If a practice nurse sees the patient, then the systematic nursing diagnosis may focus more on the consequences of living with constipation: the patient feels bloated, dizzy or nauseous, or they do not understand what constipation is or what causes it. It then follows that the interventions leading from this process of systematic nursing diagnosis will be different to that prescribed by the GP. Also, the care will place greater emphasis on making the patient comfortable, reassuring them and offering them advice about diet and exercise. The nursing intervention would also involve making sure that the patient understands the medication, how to take it and what side effects to look for. Although nurses offer care that is complementary to that prescribed by the GP, we also offer a unique contribution that is identifiable as nursing care.
