July 11, 2012

Introduction According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language similarity is the (a) “equivalence,” (b) “resemblance” and (c) corresponding “features” or characteristics” (2009). There are various ways of defining similarity the most common term shared is comparison. Accuracy and consistency are essential when providing patient care and it should be displayed within nursing practice, communication, and documentation. Institute of Medicine reports that there are over 98,000 deaths caused by preventable errors (1999). The purpose of this paper is to respond to a peer reviewed concept analysis article, describing the method of analysis, the steps of the process, results for each step and to apply the concept to a practice situation.
Concept Analysis The Electronic Health Record (EHR) improves the exchange of patient data, accuracy, and quality of patient care. Poor communication and technology can impede a positive outcome for the patient. A core competence of nursing is documentation of patient’s response to nursing interventions and effectively communicating the care given. In the article Concept Analysis of Similarity Applied to Nursing Diagnoses: Implications for Educators the author uses the Walker and Avant concept analysis of similarity. In nursing, concept analysis clarifies unclear concepts and gives a mean to common understanding within nursing practice. “The purpose of a concept analysis is to describe the concept well enough so that defining characteristics can be determined and used to distinguish “likeness or unlikeness” between concepts” (Walker & Avant, 2005, p. 64). Wilson developed an 11 step process in 1963 that defined the concepts to improve communication and comprehension of the meanings of terms in scientific use (McEwen & Willis, 2011, p.53). Numerous nurses have used Wilson’s process to