Professional conduct and the use of NANDA nursing diagnoses

The discussion surrounding the professionalisation of nursing in Germany can be traced back decades in the relevant literature. It is only when the focus is placed on the 'how' of the service provided and not on the who provides the service that the concept of 'professional action' comes into play. Professional practice in nursing as such is largely associated in the literature with the name Oevermann. Oevermann places the action itself at the centre of the discussion on professionalisation. Furthermore various authors call for a hermeneutic understanding of cases and/or hermeneutic competence in the context of professional practice in nursing which is obligatory for Oevermann. Making a nursing diagnosis requires 'clinical decision-making' or clinical reasoning which in turn requires hermeneutic case understanding and the ability to think critically. The aim of this paper is to clarify the extent to which the use of nursing diagnoses promotes professional practice taking into account Ulrich Oevermann's approach.