Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse Practice Exam

How do nursing diagnoses primarily differ from medical diagnoses?

1. Dependent upon medical diagnoses for intervention direction

2. Primarily concerned with caring, while medical diagnoses focus on curing

3. Primarily concerned with human response, while medical diagnoses focus on pathology

4. Primarily concerned with psychosocial parameters, while medical diagnoses focus on physiologic parameters

The correct answer is: Primarily concerned with human response, while medical diagnoses focus on pathology

Nursing diagnoses are fundamentally centered on the patient’s responses to health conditions and life processes, which includes a wide range of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual challenges that impact a person's health. The focus of nursing diagnoses is to evaluate how individuals react to their health concerns and the implications of those reactions on their overall well-being. This approach allows nurses to develop and implement care plans aimed at improving or supporting the patient's human experiences. In contrast, medical diagnoses are typically concerned with identifying specific diseases or conditions, focusing primarily on the underlying pathology and biological aspects of health issues. This distinction emphasizes the role of nurses in addressing more holistic aspects of care that extend beyond mere disease management. The other options do touch upon aspects of nursing and medical diagnoses but do not capture the primary difference as effectively. While nursing practice does involve understanding medical diagnoses to some extent, the essence of nursing diagnosis is not solely reliant on medical frameworks for its interventions. Nursing diagnoses are not purely focused on psychosocial elements, nor are they primarily differentiated by the caregiver's intention to care versus cure, as both disciplines aim to improve patient outcomes through their respective roles.