Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) Practice Test

What is the basis for creating nursing diagnoses?

1. Nursing theories

2. Assessment data

3. Client's medical history

4. Standard treatment protocols

The correct answer is: Assessment data

The basis for creating nursing diagnoses is firmly rooted in assessment data. This data encompasses the collection and evaluation of both subjective and objective information about the patient's health status. By systematically gathering assessment data, nurses identify actual or potential health problems that can be addressed through nursing interventions. This holistic approach ensures that the diagnoses are tailored to the individual patient's needs, reflecting their unique circumstances, responses to illness, and overall health condition. While nursing theories provide frameworks for understanding patient care and guiding practice, they are not the direct source of specific nursing diagnoses. Client's medical history certainly influences the overall understanding of the patient's condition, but it is the assessment data— gathered through observations, interviews, physical examinations, and diagnostic tests—that leads to the formulation of precise nursing diagnoses. Standard treatment protocols can guide interventions but do not provide the foundational data necessary for creating a nursing diagnosis. Thus, assessment data serves as the cornerstone upon which effective nursing diagnoses are built.