Nursing diagnosis and using the medical diagnosis

[mae0218]

I know that you cannot use a medical diagnosis in the r/t part of a nursing diagnosis, but is it generally okay to use the medical diagnosis if you say "secondary to"? For example, is it a valid nursing diagnosis to say something like, "Risk for injury related to right-sided weakness secondary to recent CVA."? I just pulled that out of the air, but I ask because we are told over and over not to mention the medical diagnosis, but I sometimes see nursing diagnoses written like that. Just curious if it's just my instructor's preference.

[smf0903]

There are varied opinions here :) We were always permitted to use "secondary to" in our nursing dx, but in the end it's probably instructor preference.

[203bravo, MSN, APRN]

just make it easier than that ---- Risk for injury r/t right side weakness aeb uncoordinated movement, unable to bear weight with right leg, unable to grasp objects with right hand, etc etc etc....

[rob4546, ADN, BSN, MSN]

Of course the instructor might want more information but I was taught you do not need to provide it. Secondary to..... just provides a reason for the weakness and that isn't what the nursing diagnosis is for. You want to state a diagnosis, risk for injury, and the why of the diagnosis, right sided weakness, and what you see in the patient to make you believe the diagnosis.... AEB blah, blah, blah....

Hope this helps.

[malamud69, BSN, RN]

Gosh...I feel your pain! Do whatever the instructor wants so you can play the game and pass...remember-you will never ever use that waste of time and energy in the real world...as a previous poster stated....blah blah blah...nursing dx is a farce...and we still debate why we aren't taken seriously! ?!

[rob4546, ADN, BSN, MSN]

Gosh...I feel your pain! Do whatever the instructor wants so you can play the game and pass...remember-you will never ever use that waste of time and energy in the real world...as a previous poster stated....blah blah blah...nursing dx is a farce...and we still debate why we aren't taken seriously! ?!

I hear what you are saying but I think that it does have value and merit although it isn't widely used. My use of Blah, Blah, Blah was not because of my distaste or problems with nursing diagnoses, just a way to quickly fill in the rest of the diagnosis without actually doing so. I needed to leave for work and was lacking the time.

I think that the problem exists because it isn't taught in a way that new nurses understand. I think that a nurse instructor should be with a student while performing a assessment and then they later produce a set of nursing diagnoses (or care plan). As it is currently taught nurses look for medical diagnoses and then back track trying to come up with nursing diagnoses. New nurses need to understand that nursing diagnoses come from what you see in patient or behaviors of a patient not from a list of symptoms from medical diagnoses.

You are correct in stating that they are not widely used but they do have some merit. A farce is somewhat of a exaggeration in my opinion.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

We are allowed to put medical diagnosis as secondary to.