Medical Model vs. Nursing Model...Huh?

[amanda sue]

When reading about the differences between nurses and doctors/physician assistants, I always hear the claim made that nurses operate via a nursing model and make nursing diagnoses, whereas doctors and physician assitants operate via a medical model.

What does this mean?? What are the differences between a nursing model and a medical model??

Thanks so much!

[Friendli]

This was a great answer- I am studying for my first exam and needed to define the difference of medical v. nursing.... Thank you :)

[ZippyGBR, BSN, RN]

nursing model and diagnosis only refers to diagnoses/actions that a nurse can do.

Ex.

Alteration in nutrition R/T feeding intolerance.

Actions: HOB at 30', check annd report residuals greater than --, monitor for emesis, administer reglan/zantac as ordered, administer feddings at ordered rate, monitor for dehydration, obtain labs as ordered and report critical values. etc

These are things that a nurse does. Also, a nursing diagnosis cannot use a medical diagnosis because we cannot make medicla diagnoses. I am sure someone else can prob explain it better, but I gave it a shot!

in other words it's a load of ***** footing male bovine excrement, especially the 'you can't use medical diagnoses' stuff

'Nursing Diagnoses' as a topic are basically unknown outside the USA / ?North America,

I've never encountered criticism in my practice from the use of 'Medical' diagnoses . from Nurses or from Doctors ... and that's not only in my emergency care practice but in my 'ward' based practice as well ...

but equally i've always worked in environments where a significant proportion of the tests and investigations required can be directly ordered by RNs - our labs accept Nurse requested tests for the vast majority of blood and microbiology samples, and we don't need an 'order' for ECGs , bladder scans, catheterisation etc .... when i worked on the assessment unit many of our urology patients presenting with retention were 'sorted' before they had even been seen by the doctor, i.e. catheterised, history taken bloods taken and sent for U+Es , about the only thing we weren't doing was DRE becasue the Urologists wanted the Doctors to do it - so repeating it was felt unnecessary - esp as it's a less then pleasent test compared to say palpating the abdomen... where as in Spinal injuries the only time it;sthe Doctors doing DREs is when they do ASIA scores or if there is a specific concern with regard to prostate problems ...

We should not aim to create an additional language of our 'own' as Nursing diagnoses seems to want to , vs. focus on the nursing issues related to a diagnosis and it's sequalae