THE NURSING OUTCOMES TAXONOMY - DEVELOPMENT AND CODING

Interest in the theoretical knowledgebase of nursing has increased ove r the last 25 years and has led to the current interest in middle-rang e theory development to describe the essence of nursing. This article describes the creation of a three-level taxonomy and coding structure for the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) based on methods develop ed by the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) work. A model is presented depicting the importance of standardized nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes in the development of the substantive comp onent of nursing practice and to enable nurses to be accountable for c are of their clients.