A nurse is caring for an elderly lady who recently experienced a stroke and who coughs/chokes after eating or drinking.The nurse knew that the patient was at risk for aspiration because of the stroke and was concerned that the patient may have impaired swallowing.The nurse develops a care plan based on the nursing diagnosis Impaired Swallowing.Which skill is the nurse using to make this nursing diagnosis?

A) Medical diagnosis
B) Scientific method
C) Diagnostic reasoning
D) Data collection

The nurse used diagnostic reasoning to arrive at a nursing diagnosis.During diagnostic reasoning,the information a nurse collects and analyzes leads to a diagnosis of a patient's condition.Nurses do not make medical diagnoses; they make nursing diagnoses.The scientific method is one formal way (in this scenario the nurse did not use the formal approach)to approach a problem,plan a solution,test the solution,and come to a conclusion; it is usually used in research.Data collection is a component of assessment in the nursing process.In diagnostic reasoning you use patient data that you gather or collect to logically identify a problem.The nurse in this scenario is past data collection and has made a nursing diagnosis: Impaired Swallowing.