Definition & Elements of ICNP®
ICNP® DEFINITION
The International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP), a product of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), is a formal terminology. It provides a dictionary of terms and expressive relationships that nurses can use to describe and report their practice in a systematic way. The resulting information is used reliably to support care and effective decision-making, and inform nursing education, research and health policy.
ICNP is intended for use by and for nurses. It is a rich and comprehensive resource that nurses can use to describe and report in detail the things that they assess (diagnoses e.g. nausea) and the things that they provide (interventions e.g. counselling). The potential benefits of a consistent approach to capturing nursing data are far-reaching.