Final answer:
In making a nursing diagnosis, the nurse first reviews assessment data, then clusters the clinical criteria to identify patterns, considers the patient's health context to select a related factor, and finally chooses a diagnostic label.
Step-by-step explanation:
To perform a nursing diagnosis, a nurse follows a structured process. This process ensures a comprehensive assessment of the patient's health condition and the formulation of an appropriate plan of care. The steps for making a nursing diagnosis should be performed in the following order:
- Reviews assessment data, noting objective and subjective clinical criteria - This involves collecting and reviewing the patient's history, as well as their current symptoms and signs.
- Clusters clinical criteria that form a pattern - The nurse identifies patterns in the data that could indicate a specific health issue.
- Considers context of patient's health problem and selects a related factor - The nurse takes into account the patient's overall health context to determine the underlying cause of the identified pattern.
- Chooses diagnostic label - Finally, the nurse selects a diagnostic label that accurately describes the patient's condition.