Nursing Diagnosis: The Central Theme in Nursing Knowledge

Abstract

The author's purpose is to argue that theory development involving nursing diagnoses is a central element in the development of nursing knowledge. Nursing diagnosis is viewed as a way of conceptualizing the domain of nursing when human responses are viewed as a nursing focus. Differing views from the literature on what should be the central focus of nursing are presented. These authors conclude that nursing's growth as a science can be facilitated by taxonomy development as nursing diagnoses delineate nursing's unique domain. The importance of theory development surrounding nursing diagnoses is explored and ideas on how theory development might proceed are presented. Ultimately, theory supporting nursing diagnoses must account for description, explanation, prediction, and control of phenomena that nurses autonomously treat. Theory development associated with nursing diagnoses will help develop the unique knowledge base of the discipline of nursing.

Keywords

sing diagnosis taxonomy conceptualization theory development human responses

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