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What does a nursing diagnosis help clearly identify?

A. Goals
B. Outcomes
C. Problems
D. Diseases

1 Answer

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Final answer:

A nursing diagnosis helps clearly identify problems (Option C) related to a patient's health, which allows for the setting of detailed intervention plans and the improvement of patient outcomes.

Step-by-step explanation:

A nursing diagnosis is a critical tool used by nurses to identify and define critical problems and barriers of health. It does not directly diagnose diseases, as medical diagnoses do; rather, it focuses on the patient's response to health conditions or life processes. A correct nursing diagnosis leads to detailed planning and the setting of achievable health education and disease prevention interventions to improve patient outcomes.

Regarding the specific options provided in the question, a nursing diagnosis helps clearly identify problems (Option C) related to the patient's health and well-being. For instance, when considering conditions affecting the respiratory system, such as asthma, pneumonia, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), and lung cancer, a nursing diagnosis might recognize problems like 'impaired gas exchange' or 'ineffective airway clearance', related to inflamed alveoli filling with fluid in the case of pneumonia.

Moreover, understanding how problems in regulating homeostasis can result in disease, the differences between infectious and noninfectious diseases, and the distinctions between acute and chronic diseases are important for creating accurate nursing diagnoses. This foundational knowledge supports the identification of appropriate interventions, treatments, and drugs that can manage symptoms and control the severity of diseases.

User Artem Lopatiy
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