title: Perioperative nurses' attitudes toward the use of nursing diagnoses in documentation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper reports a study of nurses' attitudes towards the use of nursing diagnoses in perioperative documentation and the factors affecting these attitudes.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  There are both international and national requests for nurses to move from natural language-based narrative documentation to electronic documentation and clinical use of nursing classifications. However, nurses' attitudes toward nursing classifications have not been widely studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was distributed to a purposive sample of perioperative nurses (n = 146) who had participated in clinical testing of nursing diagnoses. The response rate was 60% (n = 87). The data were collected in 2003.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In general, nurses' attitudes toward nursing diagnoses were positive. Those over 40 years of age who had clinical experience from 10 to 19 years, postbasic nursing education and previous knowledge of nursing diagnoses were most positive in their attitudes. However, the use of nursing diagnoses in perioperative practice was not seen as either necessary or accurate in describing patients' problems. Furthermore, the documentation of perioperative routines was seen as time-consuming and frustrating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nursing classifications should be included in both preregistration nursing curricula and in-service educational programmes to ensure theoretical knowledge of and practical skills in standardized clinical languages. The perioperative nursing diagnoses should be reviewed to fit better with clinical practice. In addition, current perioperative documentation practices should be reconsidered and updated as appropriate to address clinical requirements better.
authors.affiliation: Helsinki University Central Hospital, Jorvi Hospital, Espoo, Finland. kristiina.junttila@hus.fi
authors.forename: Kristiina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Junttila
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salanterä
authors.forename: Maija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hupli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004282:Documentation; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000379:methods; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000451:nursing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires