Nursing Diagnosis List (Common Examples)
A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about a patient's response to a health problem, written in a standard "problem related to cause as evidenced by signs" format. Below is a plain-English list of the diagnoses students see most often, grouped by body system, along with a quick refresher on how to build one from your own assessment data.
Educational, not affiliated with NANDA-I. The examples below use standard clinical language in our own words. For official NANDA-I diagnosis labels and codes, use your institution's licensed materials.
How a nursing diagnosis is structured
Every nursing diagnosis has up to three parts, and once you can spot them in your assessment data, writing one gets much faster:
- The problem — the patient response you've identified, in plain clinical terms (for example, pain, low oxygenation, or a skin breakdown risk).
- Related to — the likely cause or contributing factor behind that problem, based on your patient's history and condition.
- As evidenced by — the specific signs and symptoms from your assessment that prove the problem is present right now.
[Problem] related to [cause] as evidenced by [signs & symptoms]
Example: Impaired skin integrity related to prolonged immobility as evidenced by a stage 2 pressure injury on the sacrum.
For a risk diagnosis, there's no "as evidenced by" section yet, since the problem hasn't happened — you list risk factors instead. Example: Risk for falls related to unsteady gait and new sedative medication.
This is different from a medical diagnosis. A medical diagnosis names the disease or condition itself (say, pneumonia or a hip fracture) and stays the same for the whole hospital stay. A nursing diagnosis names how this particular patient is responding to that condition, and it can change from shift to shift as the patient's status changes.
Common nursing diagnoses by body system
These are grouped by body system so you can find the ones that match your patient's assessment. Where CarePlanKit has a full write-up, the diagnosis links to it.
Cardiovascular
- Decreased cardiac output
- Ineffective tissue perfusion
- Activity intolerance
- Fluid volume overload related to heart failure
- Risk for unstable blood pressure related to cardiac medication changes
Respiratory
- Impaired gas exchange
- Ineffective airway clearance
- Ineffective breathing pattern related to pain or anxiety
- Risk for aspiration related to impaired swallowing
- Impaired spontaneous ventilation related to respiratory muscle fatigue
Gastrointestinal
- Imbalanced nutrition (less than the body needs)
- Constipation
- Deficient fluid volume
- Nausea related to treatment side effects
- Risk for imbalanced nutrition (more than the body needs)
Neurological
- Acute confusion related to infection or medication effects
- Impaired memory related to a neurological condition
- Risk for impaired cerebral perfusion related to a vascular condition
- Disturbed sensory perception related to nerve damage
- Deficient knowledge
Genitourinary
- Impaired urinary elimination related to an indwelling catheter or infection
- Risk for infection
- Urinary retention related to reduced bladder muscle tone
- Excess fluid volume
Musculoskeletal / mobility
- Impaired physical mobility related to pain or a musculoskeletal injury
- Risk for falls
- Risk for disuse syndrome related to prolonged bed rest
- Self-care deficit related to limited mobility
Skin / tissue
- Impaired skin integrity
- Risk for impaired skin integrity related to immobility or moisture
- Impaired tissue integrity related to a surgical wound
- Hyperthermia
Psychosocial
- Anxiety
- Ineffective coping related to a new diagnosis or major life change
- Disturbed body image related to a change in physical appearance
- Risk for situational low self-esteem related to a health setback
- Social isolation related to a chronic illness or hospitalization
Safety / risk
- Risk for infection
- Risk for falls
- Risk for unstable blood glucose
- Risk for injury related to environmental hazards or reduced awareness
- Risk for impaired skin integrity related to limited mobility
How to write a nursing diagnosis
- Identify the problem from your data. Look at your assessment findings — vitals, labs, physical exam, patient report — and name the response pattern you see (for example, pain, poor oxygenation, or anxiety).
- Add the related factor. Ask what's most likely causing or contributing to that problem for this specific patient, based on their history and current condition.
- Add the evidence. List the concrete signs and symptoms from your assessment that support the diagnosis — vital signs, lab values, what the patient told you, or what you observed directly.
See full worked plans → browse the nursing diagnosis library or build one with the free Care Plan Builder.
From diagnosis to full care plan
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Build a care plan freeNursing diagnosis list: FAQ
What are examples of nursing diagnoses?
Common examples include acute pain, risk for infection, impaired gas exchange, decreased cardiac output, anxiety, and impaired skin integrity. Each describes a patient's response to a health problem, not the medical problem itself.
What is a nursing diagnosis?
A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about how a patient or family is responding to a health condition or life process. It gives nurses a standard way to name a problem so the whole care team can plan and evaluate care around it.
What are the most common nursing diagnoses?
Students see the same handful again and again across clinical rotations: acute pain, risk for infection, impaired gas exchange, deficient fluid volume, activity intolerance, anxiety, and risk for falls. These show up across nearly every specialty.
How do you write a nursing diagnosis?
Identify the problem from your assessment data, add the related factor (the likely cause), and add the evidence — the signs and symptoms you actually observed. The format is: [problem] related to [cause] as evidenced by [signs and symptoms].
For nursing education only — NOT medical advice and not a clinical decision-making tool. Nothing here should be used to assess, diagnose, or treat any real patient. Care plans and answers are unverified study drafts to review with your instructor or a licensed clinician and adapt to the individual patient and your institution’s protocols before any use.