Nursing diagnoses are a critical part of the nursing
process and have been a large part of nursing
education and clinical documentation for more than
30 years. Utilization of nursing diagnoses in
practice is largely unknown because of lack of
published research on the topic. The purpose of
this study was 1) to examine the self reported
utilization of nursing diagnoses by registered
nurses and 2) to examine the attitudes of registered
nurses towards nursing diagnoses. Most of the
participants (93 percent) were advanced practice
nurses (APN), educated beyond the bachelor degree
level. Both utilization variables in this study
displayed a slight tendency by subjects against the
use of nursing diagnoses in practice. Utilization
of nursing diagnoses was significantly correlated
with the participant s personal attitude towards
nursing diagnoses (rs = 0.65, p 0.001).
process and have been a large part of nursing
education and clinical documentation for more than
30 years. Utilization of nursing diagnoses in
practice is largely unknown because of lack of
published research on the topic. The purpose of
this study was 1) to examine the self reported
utilization of nursing diagnoses by registered
nurses and 2) to examine the attitudes of registered
nurses towards nursing diagnoses. Most of the
participants (93 percent) were advanced practice
nurses (APN), educated beyond the bachelor degree
level. Both utilization variables in this study
displayed a slight tendency by subjects against the
use of nursing diagnoses in practice. Utilization
of nursing diagnoses was significantly correlated
with the participant s personal attitude towards
nursing diagnoses (rs = 0.65, p 0.001).