Objective: To determine perception levels of student nurses about nursing diagnosis.
Methods: The descriptive, comparative, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey, in December 2015, and comprised nursing students studying in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. Data was collected using a personal information form and the Perceptions of Nursing Diagnosis Survey. Data was analysed using SPSS 18.
Results: Of the 386 students, 317(82%) were female and 321(83%) considered themselves competent enough to make diagnosis. Also, 268(69%) students thought that nursing diagnosis was useful in providing planned, correct and systemised diagnosis. Mean total score of perception of nursing diagnosis of female students was higher than males (p=0.005).
Conclusions: The students' perception level of nursing diagnosis was positive.
Keywords: Nursing care, Nursing diagnosis, Students..