Which statement best describes a nursing diagnosis?

• A. A clinical judgement about individual, family, or community responses to actual and potential health problems that provides the basis for nursing interventions.
• B. A medical description of a disease process identified by tests
• C. A list of signs and symptoms without interpretation
• D. A legal document detailing interventions performed

Answer: (A)

A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about a patient’s or family’s or community’s responses to actual or potential health problems that provides the basis for nursing interventions. It focuses on how health issues affect the person and guides independent nursing actions to prevent, mitigate, or treat those responses. This sets it apart from a medical diagnosis, which names the disease or condition identified through tests, and from simply listing signs and symptoms without interpretation, which is just data collection. It also isn’t a legal document detailing interventions; legal records describe what was done, not the diagnostic statement guiding care. In the nursing process, the diagnosis informs the care plan and drives the interventions nurses implement.