A complex, patient-centered, collaborative activity that involves information gathering and clinical reasoning with the goal of determining a patient's health problem is called?

1. A

   Planning

2. B

   Diagnosis

3. C

   Implementation

4. D

   Evaluation

Appeared in: RIMS Nursing Officer - 2022

Explanation

• The diagnosis phase is defined as the analysis of assessment data to determine a patient's health problems.
• It is a critical step that involves clinical judgment to identify an individual's response to actual or potential health issues.
• The outcome of this phase is a formal nursing diagnosis, which provides the basis for the subsequent planning of care.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

• Option A: Planning is the phase that follows diagnosis. It involves setting goals and selecting interventions based on the identified problem, not determining the problem itself.
• Option C: Implementation is the 'action' phase where the planned interventions are carried out. It is about performing care, not identifying the problem.
• Option D: Evaluation is the final phase, focused on assessing whether the planned goals were achieved and judging the effectiveness of the interventions.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

• Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Phases of the Nursing Process to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
• A correct nursing diagnosis is fundamental to patient safety and effective care. An inaccurate diagnosis can lead to an inappropriate plan of care, potentially causing harm or delaying recovery.
• The nursing process is not strictly linear; it is a dynamic and cyclical framework. A nurse continuously assesses and evaluates, ready to modify the plan at any stage.
• What if? If a nurse discovers a new symptom (e.g., a rash) during the Implementation phase, they must not just continue with the original plan. They must restart the process for that new issue: assess the rash, diagnose its potential cause (e.g., 'Impaired Skin Integrity' or 'Allergic Reaction'), and then plan and implement new interventions, demonstrating the process's flexibility.

How to Approach the Question

• First, break down the question stem to identify its core components. The key phrases are "information gathering," "clinical reasoning," and the ultimate goal: "determining a patient's health problem."
• Next, recall the five steps of the nursing process: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADPIE).
• Match the definition from the question to the purpose of each step. The act of analyzing data to 'determine a health problem' is the definition of the Diagnosis phase.
• Systematically rule out the other options by defining their purpose. Planning is about setting goals, Implementation is about performing actions, and Evaluation is about checking results. None of these fit the primary goal of problem identification described in the question.

Concept Tested & Keywords

• Concept Tested: Phases of the Nursing Process
• Stem keywords: patient-centered, information gathering, clinical reasoning, health problem
• Lead-in keywords: is called

Question ID

QavrO9i_9hn81tZmXzdRU9

Copy ID

Reference Book

E6 Pharmacology Nursing Lilley 11e Part 1 p. 22-24

E6 Nursing Fundamentals Potter Perry 12e Part 2 p. 19-21