Diagnostic reliability: a study of the process.

The clinical use of nursing diagnosis raises questions in relation to reliability. Specifically, do nurses who assess the same patient identify similar nursing diagnoses? Student and registered nurses (N = 100) were asked to assess a "patient" and list the nursing diagnoses. Professional actors played the part of the patient and responded according to the script. The total number of correct and incorrect diagnoses listed for each assessment was recorded. Data were analyzed using MANOVA. The results revealed some discrepancy in the way in which nurses state similar patient problems and highlight areas of strengths and concerns in relation to the diagnostic concept.