Do nursing diagnoses HAVE to be NANDA approved?

[FutureRNKat]

I met with my study group to work on a homework assignment and one of the questions we could not agree on was:

Mrs. Dunn has cared for her husband with Alzheimer disease for 2 years. She comes to a local health center because she is feeling "worn out and stressed". What might be an appropriate nursing diagnosis for Mrs. Dunn?

A. Dysfunctional Family Processes

B. Health Seeking Behaviors

C. Risk for Caregiver Burden

D. Risk for Anxiety

My first thought was C. (Risk for Caregiver Burden) but when I looked up the diagnosis I found that it was not an approved NANDA diagnosis. So I was thinking B (Health Seeking Behaviors) for stress management and coping...

Basically my question is Do nursing diagnoses have to be NANDA approved or would it be okay to go with C even though it is not listed as a NANDA diagnosis??

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I am not sure where the question came from however NANDA I does have n approved ND for this.....Caregiver Role Strain.....Difficulty in performing family caregiver role.......Apprehension about recipient’s care if caregiver unable to provide care; apprehension about the future regarding care recipient’s health; apprehension about the future regarding caregiver’s ability to provide care; apprehension about possible institutionalization of care recipient; difficulty completing required tasks; difficulty performing required tasks; dysfunctional change in care giving activities; preoccupation with care routine.

Anger; anxiety; disturbed sleep; feeling depressed; frustration; impaired individual coping; impatience; increased emotional lability; increased nervousness; lack of time to meet personal needs; somatization; stress

Ackley: Nursing Diagnosis Handbook, 10th Edition

Your instincts are right on.

[FutureRNKat]

Thanks for your help!

I guess my real question is, can it be C when it is not worded exactly like the NANDA ND? Is "Risk for caregiver burden" equal to "caregiver role strain"? Is it ok if it is not worded exactly the same?

[Kuriin, BSN, RN]

Ours were required to be NANDA approved.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Thanks for your help!

I guess my real question is, can it be C when it is not worded exactly like the NANDA ND? Is "Risk for caregiver burden" equal to "caregiver role strain"? Is it ok if it is not worded exactly the same?

This is a question only your school can answer but for most schools...yes.....they MUST be NANDA I

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Since it's not in the NANDA-I, your faculty put it in the question to see if you were going to look it up ... and discover it's not in there.

Bingo, there's your answer. Not an approved nursing diagnosis. Yes, your nursing diagnosis has to appear in the NANDA-I. $29 at Amazon and free two-day delivery if you don't have it already. There is no substitute.

This is another real-life example of a nursing student thinking something sounds good and plausible, even when it isn't. We see students here all the time who think something like "anemia" should be a nursing diagnosis (or worse, whose faculty think so). Not so. If it hasn't been through the process of validation, it's not a nursing diagnosis. Period.

Even though other care planning books will list nsg dx, the publisher is very leery about granting permission to reproduce the entire work, for obvious reasons. Therefore you won't have the official list of defining characteristics or related factors for every diagnosis, and you will be at a disadvantage. Get the book.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

....am seriously glad that I completed my basic nursing education before the incarnation of nursing diagnosis. My hair is thin enough as it is.