You are a nurse admitting a patient to the hospital from the emergency

department (ED) with shortness of breath and recent weight loss. After receiving

a report from the ED nurse, you ready the patient’s room according to unit

specifications and collect the necessary equipment and forms. When the patient

arrives, she is using oxygen via a nasal cannula and seems to be comfortable.

As you begin your admission activities and paperwork, you note that her

shortness of breath slightly increases as she answers your questions.

Accompanying the patient is her daughter, who comments, “This is the fourth

time she’s been admitted to this hospital in the past year.” The patient and her

daughter demonstrate a close, loving relationship. The daughter not only

encourages her mother, but also sets boundaries regarding her mother’s

anxiety. (Learning Objectives #1 & #3)

a. What data in this scenario are pertinent?

b. Which conditions within the case study could be addressed by nursing

diagnoses?

c. Which conditions within the case study would be addressed by a medical

diagnosis?

d. How are medical diagnoses, collaborative diagnoses, and nursing

diagnoses different?

e. Compare how a medical diagnosis is written versus a nursing diagnosis.