Presentation of nursing diagnosis content in fundamentals of nursing textbooks.

The technique and rationale for the use of nursing diagnosis generally are introduced early in the undergraduate curriculum. The three purposes of this descriptive study were to describe the general characteristics and presentation of content on nursing diagnosis in fundamentals of nursing textbooks; describe how the content from the theoretical chapter(s) in nursing diagnosis is carried through in the clinical chapters; and describe how content on diagnostic errors is presented. Although most of the textbooks presented content on nursing diagnosis in a similar fashion, the clinical chapters of the books did not follow the same pattern. Content on diagnostic errors was inconsistent. Educators may find this an effective methodology for reviewing textbooks.