Editorial
Regarding Nursing Languages: Moving Beyond
How We Feel
I have been receiving an increasing number of papers on the
interdisciplinary team and electronic health records (EHRs)
and nurses’ roles within these including that of advanced
practice nurses. These are very welcomed papers indeed.
They are critical for nurses on all levels in assisting us to con-
vey the what it is we do to others on the healthcare team.
And these papers are essential to the continued develop-
ment of nursing language on all levels.
It is time that we move beyond papers on how nursing
languages are taught, students perceive its use, and/or how
practicing nurses value (or not) them. NANDA-I, NIC, and
NOC provide a nursing language for our profession. Let us
move past the perception and popularity of the nursing lan-
guage and focus on the refinement and meaningful use of
the languages as Keenan and colleagues in this issue have
done.
How are nurses on all levels unique and distinguishable
from others on the interdisciplinary team? If we blend in us-
ing others language or hiding behind what is uniquely ours,
we will blend ourselves right out of the picture. The contri-
butions of nursing are unique and the interdisciplinary team
knows this, but it is up to us to articulate it. We have to claim
it, name it, research it, and improve upon it. Articulating the
what it is that we do that is special and unique is essential to
patient care delivery and outcomes.

C 2018 NANDA International, Inc.
International Journal of Nursing Knowledge Volume 29, No. 1, January 2018
While overall the EHR is still in its infancy and in some ar-
eas still under development, it is essential we hear from early
adopters of the EHR. In some cases of EHR implementation,
nursing languages are less visible. In these cases, there is a
need for nurses to describe the EHR use, how nursing care is
discerned, and what is being done to incorporate nursing lan-
guages going forward. In situations where nursing languages
are integrated into the EHR, we need to hear about the dif-
ference it makes in being able to retrieve data as it relates
to patient outcomes.
Let us move beyond how we feel about nursing language
and/or how we teach it. It is time for us to move toward mak-
ing nursing languages visible not only through our actions
as we have always been able to do well within the interdisci-
plinary team, but through our articulation of it both verbally
and through documentation in the EHR. This documentation
will serve to guide nursing research aimed at improving pa-
tient care outcomes and build upon our nursing knowledge
development.
Jane Flanagan, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, ANP-BC, FNI, FAAN
Editor
Journal@nanda.org
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