A nursing diagnosis deals with human responses to actual or potential health problems. A nursing diagnosis identifies the unique ways in which individuals respond to health crises.
Whereas, a medical (sometimes called clinical) diagnosis identifies the patient’s disease/disorder/medical condition.
For consistency, nurses all over the globe use special terminology, which is approved by NANDA International. Example:
Medical Diagnosis | Nursing Diagnosis |
Stroke (cerebrovascular attack) | Impaired verbal communication; risk for falls; interrupted family processes |