An elderly client complains of a disturbed sleep pattern and impaired memory. The nurse would document the patient's complaints as which type of nursing diagnosis?

Question

a. risk nursing diagnosis c. syndrome nursing diagnosis
b. actual nursing diagnosis d. health-promotion nursing diagnosis

Answer 1

B
The nurse would document the patient's complaint as an actual nursing diagnosis. An actual nursing diagnosis "describes human responses to health conditions/life processes that exist in an individual, family, group, or community" (Herdman, 2012, p. 516). A health- promotion nursing diagnosis is a "clinical judgment about a person's, family's, group's, or community's motivation and desire to increase well-being and actualize human health potential as expressed in the readiness to enhance specific health behaviors, and which can be used in any health state" (Herdman, 2012, p. 516). A risk nursing diagnosis is a "clinical judgment about human experience/responses to health conditions/life processes that have a high probability of developing in a vulnerable individual, family, group, or community" (Herdman, 2012, p. 516). A syndrome nursing diagnosis is a "clinical judgment describing a specific cluster of nursing diagnoses that occur together, and are best addressed together and through similar interventions" (Herdman, 2012, p. 516).