When a patient experiencing acute depression asks what the difference is between a medical and a nursing diagnosis, the nurse responds best when stating:

Question

a. Actually they are very similar in that they both are concerned with helping you get better and lead a happier life.
b. Medical diagnoses are focused on why you are depressed whereas nursing diag-noses are concerned about making your life less sad.
c. Nursing diagnoses are more directed at caring for you, unlike medical diagnoses that focus on finding the cause for your problem.
d. The medical diagnosis identifies that you are experiencing depression whereas the nursing diagnosis identifies how the depression is affecting you.

Answer 1

ANS: D
The medical diagnosis involves identifying a mental or physical problem that results in the symptoms that negatively affect a patient's life. Although the nurse is knowledgeable about the disorders and their treatments, the nursing diagnosis focuses mainly on the patient's re-sponses to the disorder and the effects that the disorder has on the patient. The types of di-agnoses have different foci that result in different actions and concerns.