PURPOSE. To describe the accuracy of staff nurses' diagnoses or interpretations of the human responses of patients in hospital settings.
METHODS. The sample was 62 staff nurses in three hospitals who assessed and diagnosed the psychosocial problems of one to four patients. Two trained raters followed with assessment, diagnosis, and ratings of nurses' accuracy of 153 cases. A seven-point interval scale was used to judge accuracy.
FINDINGS. The means of accuracy scores across nurses were significantly different (f = 1.66; p<.05; df = 2,59). A significant percentage of nurses' diagnoses were scored at the two highest levels of accuracy (45.2%), and 12.8% were scored at the three lowest levels of accuracy. According to the expert raters, a high percentage of patients (54.4%) were experiencing fear or anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS. More attention needs to be given to the accuracy of nurses' diagnoses of psychosocial responses.
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