I'm sorry, but some nursing diagnoses are just ridiculous!

angelnurse75951 · Mar 16, 2005

Yes, I realize that ALL of them are legitimate when you actually look beneath the surface (okay, maybe not energy field). I figured someone would pick apart my post and say why I'm wrong. I was slappy, sleep deprived, and working on a 10-page clinical worksheet as I posted that last night. Just trying to bring a little levity to the board. Sorry, won't happen again.

Actually energy field disturbance is a nod to Rogerian Nursing Science. Martha Rogers identifies persons as energy fields. Actually I think your attempt at levity was valiant. I agree that many nursing diagnoses look odd when first observed.

Iused to tell my students that I had a permanent energy field disturbance.

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2005

... I was slappy, sleep deprived, and working on a 10-page clinical worksheet as I posted that last night. Just trying to bring a little levity to the board...

Loved your post!

P-L-E-A-S-E do not stop with the humor!

Thanks.

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2005

Risk for constipation d/t fear of self-flushing toilets (my 4-year-old)
Impaired verbal communication as evidenced by door-slamming and temper-tantruming (my 7-year-old)
Impaired orientation d/t wine volume excess (me, after my kids go to bed)
Readiness for enhanced sleep as evidenced by the the hallucinations of small animals scurrying across my field of vision when I've been up too late.
Uh oh, I'm starting to get punchy again.

Hahahahaha!

These are a riot, Klone!

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2005

... Top 3 Nursing Dx. For 355 Instructors
Chronic Tinnitus r/t constant whining of 355 students
Fear r/t having the same crazy students again next semester
Fatigue r/t constantly having to repeat the same information
Top 5 Nursing Dx. For 355 Students
Pain, Acute (Glutteal): r/t 8 hr lectures
Disturbed Body Image r/t frumpy white uniforms
Ineffective Coping r/t failing unit test
Fear r/t repeating 355 next semester
Hypothermia r/t classroom of 50 degrees...

Love it!

LPNer · Mar 17, 2005

Health seeking behaviors is not ridiculous either. It recognizes a patient's strength to build upon it. Not everything has to focus on what is wrong. Sometimes it is a good idea to build upon what is right. That is what separates nursing from medicine. Nurses use strengths to address weaknesses. Doctors focus on what is wrong (usually by throwing drugs at it or surgically removing it )
Noncompliance is also not ridiculous, as the poster before me pointed out. It is an important nursing consideration.

We use that one as a polite way of saying "drug seeker" or one that just prefers to "be sick" than healthy and taking care of themselves.

Chronic back pain is often the admitting Dx for these folks.

Stitchie · Mar 17, 2005

Ineffective denial...as opposed to EFFECTIVE denial?
Disturbed energy field
Impaired environmental interpretation syndrome
Health-seeking behaviors (the horror!)
Impaired home maintenance (I'm guilty of that one! If only I could do a collaborative intervention with Merry Maids)
Ineffective protection
Noncompliance
Wandering
Some of these just made me chuckle, and made me wonder about the people who come up with them.

If I ever use "Disturbed energy field" while pursing my BSN on-line, please put me down as "High risk for psychosis"

talaxandra · Mar 17, 2005

If I ever use "Disturbed energy field" while pursing my BSN on-line, please put me down as "High risk for psychosis"

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

LPNer · Mar 18, 2005

I for one appreciated the humor!!!! I remember NCP's, hated them. Worked home care as field nurse, didn't have to write them. Yeah! I don't remember the negative energy field one, but boy would I have used it on every care plan I wrote!!!!
NANDA started by a bunch of nurses who wanted to make nursing seem a more intellectual profession than a "grunt" job. I am all for making people realize that we have brains that work all day long, and after we get home, and do more than cowtoe to MD's. But someone needs to get real, rather than more ridiculous goobledygook. Just my opinion.

Oh so right!

And please, while we're at it, get rid of the obvious!

Potential for infection r/t incision, burn, foley, whatever

Of course there is potential for infection, that is not new or special about this pt.

Use the care plan to tell me something that isn't obvious!

Energy Field?

Of course again! Dumb as it is, it is again obvious, if their energy field was as it should be (whatever that is) they wouldn't be in the hospital!

Noncompliant.

Now there is a good one. Not every pt is noncompliant so knowing this with details gives us what we need to build our teaching on.

I agree, so many nursing Dx are only there so the care plan "looks complete" oh please! Don't we have enough to do besides weeding through a list of obvious to find the one we really need?

magg_ot2 · Mar 18, 2005

Disturbed energy field
This one cracks me up! Like how often do we diagnose someone's aura? :rotfl:
Related Factors listed in my pocket guide? TO BE DEVELOPED (hehe!)
Definining Characteristics.... Disruption in field (wave/spike/tingling/flowing)
"Nursing Priority---Move hands slowly over the clien at level of 2 to 3 inches above skin to ASSESS STATE OF ENERGY FIELD AND FLOW OF ENERGY WITHIN THE SYSTEM"
Hmmm...........
"allow client's body to pull back/repattern energy as needed"
"Hold client's feet for a few moments at the end of the session to ASSIST IN GROUNDING THE BODY'S ENERGY"
I am all for homeopathic interventions, but I never thought I would see this in a nursing book... *shrug*

this is really something! and u made my day reading ur interventions...hehe

Vivi · Mar 22, 2005

i also did not like at first the nursing diagnosis "disturbed energy field". it sounded vague, pretentious, confusing, and like an attempt at being intellectual.

i changed my first perception of this because i realize the importance of our thoughts on our body, and that everything is a field of energy. if you read "you can heal your life" by louise hay, "the power of your subconscious mind" by joseph murphy, or read/hear some presentations by deepak choprah, and wayne dyer, you may also come to view this differently. these are easy books to read.

i am currently taking a biofeedback class, which shows the relationship of our mind with our body. i believe that energy field includes our thoughts and our mind.

it is not because we cannot see the energy field that it is not there. i agree that it is obvious that if a patient's energy field was not disturbed in the first place, that s/he would not be in a hospital, and therefore this diagnosis does not provide specific information for a particular patient. i think that martha rogers' intention was probably to pave the way to expand western medicine's views to a more holistic approach.

[color=#454545]i trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we're not wise enough to see it. oprah winfrey

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[color=#454545]if you want your life to be more rewarding, you have to change the way you think. oprah winfrey

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[color=#454545]

frogdog · Mar 22, 2005

i also did not like at first the nursing diagnosis "disturbed energy field". it sounded vague, pretentious, confusing, and like an attempt at being intellectual.
i changed my first perception of this because i realize the importance of our thoughts on our body, and that everything is a field of energy. if you read "you can heal your life" by louise hay, "the power of your subconscious mind" by joseph murphy, or read/hear some presentations by deepak choprah, and wayne dyer, you may also come to view this differently. these are easy books to read.
i am currently taking a biofeedback class, which shows the relationship of our mind with our body. i believe that energy field includes our thoughts and our mind.
it is not because we cannot see the energy field that it is not there. i agree that it is obvious that if a patient's energy field was not disturbed in the first place, that s/he would not be in a hospital, and therefore this diagnosis does not provide specific information for a particular patient. i think that martha rogers' intention was probably to pave the way to expand western medicine's views to a more holistic approach.
[color=#454545]i trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we're not wise enough to see it. oprah winfrey
[color=#454545]
[color=#454545]if you want your life to be more rewarding, you have to change the way you think. oprah winfrey
[color=#454545]
[color=#454545]

i knew i was in the right profession when i saw the diagnosis "disturbed energy field." it's reiki!! how cool is that that an actual certified respectable profession would recognize reiki?!

it also cracked me up, though, to think of doing reiki on a patient (especially since i'm not trained to do it). but i do pet my patients' heads when they are anxious or vomiting or dying. (when i'm sick, i like my head petted, and so far every patient whom i've petted has calmed down and showed me gratefulness for such a small act.)

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Mar 22, 2005

I knew I was in the right profession when I saw the diagnosis "disturbed energy field." It's Reiki!! How cool is that that an actual certified respectable profession would recognize Reiki?!
It also cracked me up, though, to think of doing reiki on a patient (especially since I'm not trained to do it). But I do pet my patients' heads when they are anxious or vomiting or dying. (When I'm sick, I like my head petted, and so far every patient whom I've petted has calmed down and showed me gratefulness for such a small act.)

Really???

See if it was me, and someone petted my head when I was not feeling well, I would not like it one bit and would probably ban the offending person from my room. It sure wouldn't calm me down. If anything it would make things worse. Everyone is different.