What does the nursing diagnoses focus on?

• A. The nurse’s needs
• B. The patient’s needs
• C. The hospital policies
• D. The family wishes

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that nursing diagnoses focus on the patient’s needs and how a health condition or life process affects the patient. After assessing the patient, the nurse identifies responses to health problems that can be addressed with nursing actions, whether they’re actual problems the patient is experiencing or potential risks the patient could develop. These diagnoses guide independent nursing interventions and outcomes, centering on the patient’s safety, comfort, function, and well-being, rather than the disease label itself. For example, “acute pain related to surgical incision” or “risk for infection related to open wound” describe patient-centered issues that nurses can address. This distinguishes nursing diagnoses from hospital policies (administrative) and family wishes (preferences), and from medical diagnoses, which identify diseases rather than the patient’s responses to those conditions.