Nursing Diagnosis Accuracy in Nursing Education

Abstract

Computer-based technologies have been widely used in nursing education, although the best educational modality to improve documentation and nursing diagnostic accuracy using electronic health records is still under investigation. It is important to address this gap and seek an effective way to address increased accuracy around nursing diagnoses identification. Nursing diagnoses are judgments that represent a synthesis of data collected by the nurse and used to guide interventions and to achieve desirable patients' outcomes. This current investigation is aimed at comparing the nursing diagnostic accuracy, satisfaction, and usability of a computerized system versus a traditional paper-based approach. A total of 66 nursing students solved three validated clinical scenarios using the NANDA-International terminologies traditional paper-based approach and then the computer-based Clinical Decision Support System. Study findings indicated a significantly higher nursing diagnostic accuracy (P < .001) in solving cancer and stroke clinical scenarios, whereas there was no significant difference in acute myocardial infarction scenario. The use of the electronic system increased the number of correct diagnostic indicators (P < .05); however, the level of students' satisfaction was similar. The usability scores highlighted the need to make the electronic documentation systems more user-friendly.