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A medical center with an acute care hospital and other services that are directly associated with medical, nursing, and other healthcare profession education institutions. Academic faculty usually serve in some of the key roles in the center. An AHC may include several hospitals such as acute care and pediatric.
A college of nursing associated with an AHC.
A nursing degree that is offered for students who have a non-nursing degree and want to obtain a nursing degree, which is typically a baccalaureate degree in nursing or may be combined with a master's degree. The program is offered at a faster pace.
An obligation or willingness to accept responsibility.
The process by which organizations are evaluated, based on the quality of established minimum standards.
Treatment of a severe medical condition that is of short duration or at a crisis level.
An illness of short duration with limited impact on the person.
A legal document that allows a person to describe his or her medical care preferences.
advanced practice registered nurse (APRN)
A registered nurse with advanced education in adult health, pediatrics, family health, women's health, neonatal health, community health, or other specialties.
An injury resulting from a medical intervention (in other words, an injury that is not caused by the patient's underlying condition).
Speaking for something important (one of the major roles of a nurse).
A nurse who speaks for the patient but does not take away the patient's independence.
Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA)
A law passed to revise healthcare reimbursement in the United States and to increase the number of persons who have access to health insurance.
With the increasing use of alarms on equipment in health care and the frequency with which they are set off in healthcare settings, staff may not respond to alarms as expected.
A defined maximum amount that an employee/policyholder/patient would have to pay, and after that level is reached, he or she no longer must contribute to the payment for care.
applied (or clinical) research
Research designed to find a solution to a practical problem.
A nursing program developed in England that provided on-the-job training and a formal education component.
A formal agreement between two or more institutions that allows specific programs at one institution to be credited toward direct entry or advanced standing at another.
Technology that enables computer systems to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence.
Confronting problems in a constructive manner and not remaining silent.
Healthcare workers who are not licensed to perform nursing tasks but are trained and often certified.
A degree offered as a culmination of a 2-year program that includes some liberal arts and sciences curriculum but focuses more on nursing.
The quality or state of being self-governing; the freedom to act on what you know.
baccalaureate degree in nursing
A degree from a 4-year nursing program in a higher education institution.
Research designed to broaden the base of knowledge rather than solve an immediate problem.
Measurement of progress toward a goal, taken at intervals prior to the program's completion or the anticipated attainment of the final goal.
A predisposition to a point of view.
An environment that encourages error reporting and focuses more on a systematic view of errors rather than individual causation.
Confidential information shared with others when it should not be shared.
The proximate (foreseeable) cause or the cause that is legally sufficient to result in liability for harm to the patient; a breach of due care.
A deterioration of attitude in which a person becomes tired, defensive, frustrated, cynical, bored, and generally pessimistic about the job; exhaustion of physical or emotional strength.
In structured team communication, staff speak up and tell members of the team that something does not appear to be correct and ask for checks by the team to ensure correct care is provided.
Establishment and support of a continuous healing relationship, enabled by an integrated clinical environment and characterized by a proactive delivery of evidence-based care and follow-up.
See alsohandoff.
Someone who provides care to another, not a healthcare professional.
Feeling and exhibiting concern and empathy for others.
A system of management that facilitates effective care delivery and outcomes for patients through structured care coordination.
A process by which a nongovernmental agency validates, based on predetermined standards, an individual nurse's qualifications and knowledge for practice in a defined functional or clinical area of nursing.
Someone who engages deliberately in or whose behavior results in social, cultural, or behavioral change.
See alsocall-out. In structured team communication, team members respond to call-outs to ensure correct care is provided.
A method used to ensure consistent steps are taken to ensure quality care is provided; the list is provided by the HCO for staff use (for example, prior to surgery).
A disease that a person experiences long term that affects the person's quality of life.
An information warehouse that stores data longitudinally and in multiple forms, such as text, voice, and images.
clinical decision support system (CDSS)
Computerized system integrated into an electronic medical record system to provide immediate information that can influence clinical decisions.
Practicum that occurs when students with faculty supervision provide care to patients for learning experiences.
A method of data storage generally used at the point of care.
The process by which nurses come to understand the problems, issues, and concerns of patients, attend to salient information, and respond to patient problems in concerned and involved ways. It includes both conscious decision-making and intuitive response.
Written descriptions of how care is best provided for a specific patient population with a specific problem(s).
clinical provider order-entry system (CPOES)
A data-entry system that allows healthcare providers to input orders into a computer system rather than writing them.
The nurse's ability to assess patient problems or needs and analyze data to accurately identify and frame problems within the context of the individual patient's environment. See also clinical judgment.
A list of provisions that makes explicit the primary goals, values, and obligations of the nursing profession; published by the American Nurses Association.
A set of agreed-upon symbols (frequently numeric or alphanumeric) that is used to change information into another form so that it can be better accessed and used.
Cooperative effort among healthcare providers, staff, and multiple organizations who work together to accomplish a common mission.
Workplace relationships with common interests.
The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information.
The people and their relationships that use common services and share specific space environments.
The feeling of emotion that ensues when a person is moved by the distress or suffering of another, leading to a state of psychic exhaustion.
A behavior a student or staff member is expected to demonstrate.
Knowledge of basic computer technology.
The responsibility to keep patient information private, except as required to communicate in the care process and with team members.
A state of opposition between persons, ideas, or interests.
A process of resolving a dispute or disagreement.
The ultimate user of a product or service.
Systematic professional learning designed to augment knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
continuing professional development
Ongoing professional education post academic nursing completion and licensure to ensure continuing competency and quality health care.
Quality of care over time, meeting patient needs and outcomes.
continuous quality improvement (CQI)
An organized approach to identify errors and hazards in care, and to improve care overall that emphasizes that this is an ongoing process.
Care services available to assist an individual throughout the course of his or her disease.
Proactive methods to optimize health outcomes.
The fixed amount that a patient may be required to pay per service (doctor's visit, lab test, prescription, etc.).
The process of managing taxing circumstances.
Business; the business of health care.
A person who gives guidance in a specific area of expertise or knowledge.
A process used to ensure that practitioners are qualified to perform and to monitor continued licensure.
Purposeful, informed, outcome-focused (results-oriented) thinking that requires careful identification of key problems, issues, and risks.
Guiding standards to ensure effective and efficient health care services during healthcare crises, such as an epidemic or a disaster; supporting fairness, equity, community and provider engagement, and application of related law.
The knowledge and values shared by a society or a group/organization.
A work environment that does not focus on individual actions as cause for errors but, rather, considers impact of system factors, emphasizing a blame-free culture or just culture.
An integrated course of academic studies that describes the program's philosophy, level, and terminal competencies for students, or what they are expected to be able to accomplish by the end of the program.
A method, or part of electronic methods, to provide a quick view of data using key elements of concern.
Discrete entities that are described objectively without interpretation.
Computer software that can analyze data.
A large store of information, which may include several databases.
Locating and identifying unknown patterns and relationships within data.
A collection of interrelated data, often with controlled redundancy, organized according to a scheme to serve one or more applications.
A method used to review a situation, incident, or experience immediately following it; assists in identifying factors that support effective response and those that limit response (for example, faculty-student debriefing after simulation, healthcare team debriefs after a patient experiences a cardiac arrest).
The part of the bill that the patient must pay before the insurer begins to pay for services.
The person to whom someone delegates a task.
The transfer of responsibility to complete a task that is within the scope of the transferee's position.
The person who assigns responsibility or authority.
Seeing situations as either good or bad or black or white.
differentiated nursing practice
A philosophy that focuses on the structuring of roles and functions of nurses according to education, experience, and competence.
Healthcare informatics, such as mobile health (mHealth), health information technology (HIT), wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and personalized medicine. Digital health technologies use computing platforms, connectivity, software, and sensors for health care and related uses, with applications in general wellness to applications as a medical device, diagnostics, or as an adjunct to other medical products (devices, drugs, and biologics).
Nursing programs associated with a hospital that offer a nursing degree that is not offered through a college or university setting; typically 3 years in length.
A healthcare provider who delivers care to a patient(s).
See alsoaccelerated nursing program.
“Differences in care that result from bias, prejudices, stereotyping and uncertainty in clinical communication and decision-making” (IOM, 2003, p. 4).
An approach to management of chronic diseases that emphasizes use of interprofessional teams with expertise in the specific disease, use of evidence-based clinical guidelines, clear descriptions of interventions and procedures and application of recommended timelines, patient support and education, and measurement of outcomes.
Focuses on interventions to stop the development of disease but also includes treatment to prevent the disease from progressing further and leading to complications. The major levels of prevention are primary, secondary, and tertiary.
An inequality or a difference in some respect.
A set of teaching and/or learning strategies to meet the learning needs of students separate from the traditional classroom and sometimes from traditional roles of faculty (for example, an online course).
All the ways in which people differ, including innate characteristics (for example, age, race, gender, ethnicity, mental and physical abilities, and sexual orientation) and acquired characteristics (for example, education, income, religion, work experience, language skills, and geographic location).
doctor of nursing practice (DNP)
A terminal degree that provides a clinical doctorate in nursing.
A form of advance directive that may be part of an extensive advance directive. This order means that there should be no resuscitation if the patient's condition indicates the need for resuscitation.
Structured methods that hospitals designate for use by their staff so that all are communicating clearly, consistently, and in a timely manner to clearly identify patients who are developing signs of needing more help.
A person who teaches others, typically a professional, such as a nurse or teacher.
The provision of services based on scientific knowledge (evidence-based practice) to all who could benefit and refraining from providing services to those not likely to benefit (avoiding underuse and overuse).
Care that avoids waste, including waste of equipment, supplies, ideas, and energy.
electronic health record (EHR)
An electronic record that provides a complete review of a person's health and medical care; the person has access to it, which can then be shared across healthcare providers.
electronic medical record (EMR)
A medical record in a digital format.
A list of email addresses that can be used to send one email to all addresses at one time.
The secondary use of electronic data to populate standardized performance measures.
To give power to another.
Having power or authority.
Changing written information, especially patient information, into a code that protects the privacy of data for security purposes.
An innovator who recognizes opportunities to introduce a new process or an improved organization.
Healthcare providers with prescription authority may fill medical prescriptions based on a remote visit. May also be referred to as telepharmacy or ePharmacy.
The widespread presence of a disease.
The provision of care that does not vary in quality because of personal characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and socioeconomic status.
When everyone has the same opportunities to achieve health care.
The failure of a planned action to be completed as intended or the use of the wrong plan to achieve an aim; errors are directly related to outcomes.
Ethical dilemmas that occur when a person is forced to choose between two or more alternatives, none of which is ideal.
Occurs when a person is forced to choose between two or more alternatives, none of which is ideal.
A standardized code or guide to behaviors for the nursing profession.
A standardized code or guide to behaviors.
A shared feeling of belonging to a group; peoplehood.
The belief that one's group or culture is superior to others.
evidence-based management (EBM)
Use of evidence such as research to support management decisions.
The integration of the best evidence into clinical practice, which includes research, the patient's values and preferences, the patient's history and exam data, and clinical expertise.
The branch of the U.S. government in charge of enforcing and executing the laws.
A type of research design in which the conditions of a program or experience (treatment) are controlled by the researcher and in which experimental subjects are randomly assigned to treatment conditions. This design must meet three criteria: manipulation, control, and randomization.
The provision of inpatient skilled nursing care and related services to patients who require medical, nursing, or rehabilitative services.
The inability to recognize a patient's negative change in status in a timely manner in order to prevent patient complications and to prevent major disability or death.
Two or more individuals who depend on one another for emotional, physical, and/or financial support.
Members of a team.
An organization that must provide funds to pay stockholders or owners; this affects the availability of money for other purposes that have an impact on nurses and nursing.
The identified effective descriptors of healthcare organizations that are designated as Magnet organizations by the Magnet Recognition Program®.
A legal term that means a person deliberately deceived another for personal gain.
The identification of where you want to be and comparison with current status.
Occurs when all group or team members think alike. Although all of the team members might be working together smoothly, groupthink limits choices, discourages open discussion of possibilities, and diminishes the ability to consider alternatives.
A clinical situation (care transition) that occurs when the patient is passed from one provider or setting to another, increasing the risk for errors.
The state of well-being; free from disease.
An inequality or gap in healthcare services that exists between two or more groups.
health informatics technology (HIT)
Informatics that focuses on healthcare delivery.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
A law that amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve the portability and continuity of healthcare information and ensure the privacy of patient information.
The ability to understand and use health information.
Effort to stop the development of disease by emphasizing wellness; includes treatment to prevent a disease from progressing further and causing complications.
“The degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge” (IOM, 1990, p. 4).
A report that provides specific performance data for an organization at specific intervals, with a focus on quality and safety.
A community that embraces the belief that health is more than merely an absence of disease.
A federal initiative to improve the health of all citizens in the United States by establishing goals and leading indicators for communities to strive for; results are monitored and then used to adjust the initiative (goals and indicators).
The provision of healthcare services in the home.
A philosophy of care for managing symptoms and supporting quality of life as long as possible for the terminally ill.
hospital-acquired complications (HACs)
Identification of complications that occur in the hospital that could have been prevented and the patient did not have on admission. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and some insurers have identified specific HACs that they will not cover in reimbursement.
A formal statement in a research study describing the expected relationship or relationships between two or more variables in a specified population (the sample).
A sickness or disease of the mind or body.
A method for documenting details about an incident in a healthcare organization, such as a medication error, patient fall, and so on. Data are used to monitor quality care.
A standard of aggregate performance measures used to monitor quality improvement.
A provider who does not provide direct care to a patient (for example, a laboratory technician who prepares a test but does not ever see the patient).
An integration of nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice.
Data that are interpreted, organized, or structured.
information (cognition) overload
An “interpretation that people make in response to breakdowns, interruptions, interruptions of ongoing projects, or imbalances between demand and capacity” (Weick, 2009, p. 76).
The ability to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information.
Permission required by law to explain or disclose information about a medical problem and treatment or procedure so that a patient can make an informed choice or informed consent with potential participants in a research study.
institutional review board (IRB)
An organization's (academic, healthcare) review of studies that may be conducted by employees and/or conducted in its organization to ensure that the study meets the requirements (for example, participant privacy and confidentiality; this is done by the IRB).
A program that offers nursing students employment (typically during the summer) and includes educational experiences, such as seminars, special speakers, and simulation experiences.
“Interoperability is the ability of two or more systems to exchange health information and use the information once it is received” (HHS, HealthIT, 2013).
Care delivered by intentionally created, usually relatively small, work teams in health care, who are recognized by others and by themselves as having a collective identity and shared responsibility for a patient or a group of patients (for example, rapid response team, palliative care team, primary care team, operating room team).
The levels of cooperation, coordination, and collaboration that characterize the relationship between professions in delivering patient-centered care.
Quick and ready insight.
Occurs when individual providers or HCOs do not maintain patient privacy requirements (access to a person's body or behavior without consent, for example, examining a patient in an area that is not private).
A major nonprofit organization that accredits more than 20,500 healthcare organizations, including hospitals, long-term care organizations, home care agencies, clinical laboratories, ambulatory care organizations, behavioral health organizations, and healthcare networks or managed care organizations.
The branch of the U.S. government that interprets and applies laws in specific cases.
An awareness and understanding of facts.
A method for gathering information and making it available to others.
A person who is effective in acquiring, analyzing, synthesizing, and applying evidence to guide practice decisions.
A person with the ability to influence others; a role that nurses assume, either formally by taking an administrative position or informally, as others recognize that they have leadership characteristics.
The ability to influence others to achieve a common goal or outcome.
A student's preferences for different types of learning and instructional activities; there are a variety of learning styles.
Questions and problems concerning the protections that make laws (U.S. Congress).
The law-making branch of the U.S. government; made up of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and agencies that support Congress.
The need for healthcare professionals to continue with their professional learning throughout their careers.
A document that describes a person's wishes related to his or her end-of-life care needs.
Assembling and petitioning the government for redress of grievances.
An individual paid to represent a special interest group, whose function is to urge support for or opposition to legislative matters.
A continuum of broad-ranged maintenance and health services delivered to the chronically ill, disabled, and the elderly.
The major purchasers of care: the government and insurers.
A hospital that demonstrates high levels of quality of care, autonomy, primary nursing care, mentoring, professional recognition, respect, and the ability to practice nursing; hospitals awarded this status meet specific standards, as determined by the Magnet Recognition Program®.
A recognition program developed to support excellence in nursing services; the program is administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) Commission on the Magnet Recognition Program®. HCOs and their nursing services must meet certain criteria, Forces of Magnetism, to be recognized as a Magnet organization.
An act or continuing conduct of a professional that does not meet the standard of professional competence and results in provable damages to a patient.
A formal administrative position that focuses on four major functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
A person who holds a formal management or administrative position and who, in that position, focuses on four major functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
A graduate-level nursing degree of approximately 2 years with a specialty focus (for example, advanced practice registered nurse or clinical nurse specialist).
This government requirement focuses on the use of certified electronic health record technology for the following purposes (HHS, HealthIT, 2019): improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities; engage patients and family; improve care coordination and population and public health; and maintain privacy and security of patient health information.
A standard used for comparison, a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; focused on structure, process, or outcome.
The federal healthcare reimbursement program that covers health and long-term care services for children, the aged, blind persons, the disabled, and people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments.
The right of a person given by another individual to speak for him or her if he or she cannot do so in matters related to health care. Also known as a durable power of attorney for health care or a healthcare agent or proxy.
The federal health insurance program for people aged 65 and older, persons with disabilities, and people with end-stage renal disease.
A preventable event related to a medication that may lead to harm to patients.
Checking to ensure that the patient's medications do not conflict with one another.
A person who acts as a role model and provides guidance to another.
Method used in healthcare organizations to support new staff; the mentor acts as a role model and serves as a resource.
The patients, families, and significant others who play a role in patient care and in the decision-making process.
In healthcare delivery, a small group of people who work together on a regular basis to provide care to discrete subpopulations, including the patients.
A process by which actively aware individuals engage in communication that is meaningful and timely and responds continually as events unfold.
The minimum categories of data with uniform definitions and categories; an example would be the Nursing Minimum Data Set.
A type of error of omission when needed nursing care is delayed, partially completed, or not completed at all.
An event that leads to avoidable complications that prevent a patient from receiving the full potential benefit of a service.
“The process that involves justifying one's unethical actions by altering one's moral perception of those actions” (Hyatt, 2016, p. 15, as cited from Bandura, 1999).
An individual's code of acceptable behavior, which shapes one's values and is influenced by cultural factors and experiences.
National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI)
A system in which nursing data is collected to evaluate outcomes and nursing care.
The Accountable Care Act of 2010 includes a provision to establish a plan for national health care quality, guided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to ensure effective implementation of the plan, which is revised as needed.
An event that occurred that could have led to an adverse event but did not.
Failure to exercise the care toward others that a reasonable or prudent person would under the same circumstances.
The cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business.
A system of designations (terms) elaborated according to preestablished rules, such as the International Classification for Nursing Practice.
An incorporated organization that does not share extra funds with its members, shareholders, and so on.
An interstate licensure partnership that allows nurses to practice in adjacent states when licensed in one state. Clear requirements must be met by the individual nurses and the state boards of nursing in the compact.
The movement of nurses from one place to another, particularly globally; may affect the number of nurses available in a country if too many move to another country, typically for better pay and working conditions.
The state act (law) that governs nursing practice in the state in which the nurse practices.
A special employment program that helps new RN graduates transition to practice in a structured program that provides content and learning activities, precepted experiences, mentoring, and gradual adjustment to higher levels of responsibility.
The profession of a nurse.
The specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice.
A systematic method for thinking about and communicating how nurses provide patient care, including assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention or implementation, and evaluation.
nursing professional governance (NPG)
A management philosophy, a professional practice model, and an accountability model that focuses on staff involvement in decision-making, particularly in decisions that affect their practice.
Health promotion, disease and illness prevention, and treatment, including attention to the risks of illness and injury within the work environment.
The values, beliefs, traditions, and communication processes that bring a group of people together and characterize the group.
Organizational concerns related to the beliefs, decision-making, and behavior of the organization as an entity.
organizational health literacy
The degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
Measurable benefits of patient care, results.
Research focused on determining the effectiveness of healthcare services and patient outcomes.
The point at which the potential for harm from the provision of a service exceeds the possible benefit.
Care focused on alleviating symptoms and meeting the special needs of the terminally ill patient and the family.
The presence of a disease throughout a country or spread globally.
Respecting patient rights and the patient and ensuring that the patient has the education to understand treatment and care needs.
patient/person-centered care (PCC)
Identification of, respect, and care for patient differences, values, preferences, and needs; relief of pain; coordination of care; clear communication with and education of the patient; shared decision-making; and continuous promotion of disease prevention and wellness.
An individual's ability to find, understand, and use information and services to make better health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
Computer-based health records that collect data over a lifetime; with the permission of the patient, any provider who needs the information can easily access this record.
Occurs when someone is promoted beyond his or her leadership and management competencies required for a new position.
PICOT (patient, intervention, comparison, outcome, time)
To ask a searchable and answerable question. The P (patient population) is specific and describes the population in terms such as age, gender, diagnosis, ethnicity, etc. The I (intervention) relates to prognostic factors, risk behaviors, exposure to disease, clinical intervention or treatment, and so forth. The C (comparison intervention) can pertain to another treatment, no treatment, or other. The O (outcome) includes factors such as risk of disease, complications or side effects, or adverse outcomes. The T is the time, meaning the time involved to demonstrate the outcome.
plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle
A systematic approach to planning and decision-making.
A set course of action that affects many people and is stimulated by a specific need to achieve certain outcomes.
political action committee (PAC)
A private group that represents a specific issue or group and works to get someone elected or defeated.
An understanding of the political process and how best to participate in the process.
The process of influencing the authoritative allocation of scarce resources.
Group of people with something in common, such as a disease, age, ethnic group, where they live, and so on.
The health outcomes of a group of individuals.
The ability to influence decisions and have an impact on issues that matter.
A framework used to guide practice.
A course that includes clinical activities and stresses the practical application of theory in a field of study; also referred to as a “clinical.”
An experienced and competent staff member (an RN or, for nurse practitioner students, possibly a nurse practitioner or physician) who has received formal training to function as a preceptor and who serves as a role model to guide student learning, serving as a resource for the nursing student.
Making assumptions or judgments about the beliefs, behaviors, needs, and expectations of other persons who are of a different cultural background than oneself because of emotional beliefs about the population; involves negative attitudes toward the different group.
Legal authority granted to prescribe medication, such as advanced practice nurses.
A healthcare provider who is the first contact for a patient at the entry point of care and who then may manage overall care for the patient; examples of providers are physicians and advanced practice registered nurses.
Interventions used to stop the development of diseases; includes interventions that are used to maintain health before illness occurs. Health promotion is a critical component of primary prevention. Examples are teaching people (children and adults) about healthy diets before they become obese and encouraging adequate exercise (education about health and healthy lifestyles is an important intervention at this level).
Policy created by nongovernmental organizations.
A course of action intended to achieve a result.
Generally accepted standards of conduct and methods in the nursing profession.
a sense of self and relationship to the profession (nursing) and relates to professional expectations, ethics and values, knowledge, competencies, and the profession's leadership and practice.
An organization that represents a professional group, such as nurses represented by the American Nurses Association.
Achieving the skills, knowledge, and behaviors needed to successfully function as a professional nurse.
The conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession.
A healthcare staff member who provides care to patients.
A major health law that consolidated all public health legislation into one law and after 1944 has been amended as needed.
Policy created by the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of federal, state, and local levels of government that affects individual and institutional behaviors under the government's respective jurisdiction.
A systematic, subjective, methodological research approach; analysis of data that does not rely on statistics or mathematical equations.
An organized approach to identify errors and hazards in care and to improve care overall.
A formal, objective, systematic research process that uses statistics for data analysis.
A biological designation of a group.
randomized controlled trial (RCT)
Often referred to as the gold standard in research designs, this is the true experiment in which there is control over variables, randomization of the sample with a control group and an experimental group, and an intervention(s) (independent variable).
A special team of staff with specific expertise related to assisting patients in critical condition; the team is called by staff to a patient area, or in some cases, the family may request that staff call for RRT support.
The reaction of students when they discover that the clinical experience does not always match the values and ideals that they had anticipated.
A process used to evaluate an organization's adherence to excellence-focused standards (for example, the Magnet Hospital Recognition Program®).
Use of creativity and conscious self-evaluation.
An official rule or order, based on laws, governing processes, practice, and procedures; in nursing, legal regulation governs licensure.
The restoration of, or improvement of, an individual's health and functionality.
Payment for healthcare services.
remote monitoring and management
In this type of ambulatory health care, patients use mobile medical devices to perform a routine test and send the test data to a healthcare provider in realtime, for example, use of devices such as glucose meters for patients with diabetes and heart or blood pressure monitors for patients receiving cardiac care. Information technology is used to gather patient data outside the standard healthcare setting and transmit it to the provider(s). The technology that gathers the patient data is called a Remote Patient Monitoring Device, e.g., Apple Watch or Fitbit, or through implanted patient devices like pacemakers.
Investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts about a particular subject.
The process of using methods to analyze and summarize results or data.
A terminal degree that is focused on research (PhD).
A specific plan for conducting a study.
A description of the topic or subject for a research study, which provides the context for the research study and typically generates questions that the research aims to answer.
A written document that describes recent, relevant literature on the problem area, describes the research topic/problem, and defines the processes or steps that will be followed to answer the research question(s); a proposal is written before the study is conducted.
Identifies the potential uses of research results.
The interrogative statement that directs a research study.
A person who systematically investigates and studies materials and sources to establish facts and reach conclusions.
The ability to cope with stress.
Moral, legal, or mental accountability.
Maintaining a safe and effective healthcare environment and preventing or reducing financial loss to the healthcare organization.
Registered Nurse-Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-BSN)
A nursing educational program for licensed nurses (RNs) who want to meet the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in nursing (BSN).
Behavior oriented to the patterned expectation of others.
Gradual development in a new role.
An in-depth analysis of an error to assess the event and identify causes and possible solutions.
An organized method for observing and communicating between staff and patients; typically, this is done routinely, such as daily or per shift, but it may also be done for special purposes in a nonroutine time frame, such as safety rounds to check for safety concerns.
Freedom from accidental injury.
Healthcare providers who provide health services to uninsured and other vulnerable patients.
A fund for knowledge and learning.
A statement that describes the who, what, where, when, why, and how of nursing practice.
A method used in quality improvement to document data and analysis, providing a “rating or grade”; scorecards may be used internally or may be used to compare healthcare organizations.
Assistant who helps home patients with intermittent activities, such as shopping, transportation, home repairs, getting bills paid, emergency support, and so forth.
Interventions used to stop the development of disease include interventions that are used to maintain health before illness occurs; this occurs when a person is asymptomatic but after the disease has begun. The focus here is on preventing further complications. Examples are breast cancer screening using mammography and blood pressure screening to diagnose hypertension.
Methods used to ensure that information is not read or taken by persons not authorized to access it.
A process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes.
The systematic provision of education and supportive interventions to increase patients' skills and confidence in managing their own health problems, including regular assessment of progress and problems, goal-setting, and problem-solving approaches.
Making sense of a problem; is part of using critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and judgment.
An unexpected medical event that results in death or physical or psychological harm, or the risk thereof.
Replication of some or nearly all essential aspects of a clinical situation as realistically as possible.
situation-background-assessment-recommendations (SBAR)
A systematic communication method that is used to improve communication of critical information about a patient that requires immediate attention and action.
A set of management techniques intended to improve business processes by greatly reducing the probability that an error or defect will occur.
social determinants of health (SDOH)
The conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.
A statement that describes the profession of nursing, its professional framework, and obligations to society; published by the American Nurses Association.
The act that established the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs-two major reimbursement programs-and provided funding for nursing education through amendments added to the law.
Computer programs and operating guidance.
A reference point against which other things can be evaluated and that serves as a guide to practice.
A collection of terms with definitions for use in informational systems databases.
A position in a social structure with rights and obligations.
Description of critical characteristics of care delivery: safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered care.
The process by which people use social groups (for example, gender and race) to gather, process, and recall information about other people; also known as labeling.
A complex internal experience that makes a person feel a loss or threat of loss; an experience of bodily or mental tension.
Strategies used to cope with stress to alter bodily or mental tension, reduce the negative impact of stress, improve health, and develop health-promoting behaviors.
The laws and policies that result in and support unfair and unequal responses to some people.
The environment in which services are provided; inputs into the system, such as patients, staff, and environments.
Purposeful and ongoing acquisition, interpretation, and synthesis of patient data for clinical decision-making.
The coming together of parts, interconnections, and purpose.
A summary of evidence typically conducted by an expert or a panel of experts on a particular topic; uses a rigorous process to minimize bias for identifying, appraising, and synthesizing studies to answer a specific clinical question and draw conclusions about the data gathered; different methods may be used depending on the type of review, such as integrative review or meta-analysis.
A group of persons associated with work or activity.
The person who leads the team.
Work done by several associates, with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency and effectiveness of the whole.
The use of telecommunications equipment and communications networks to transfer healthcare information between participants at different locations (digital health).
This is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications. It is not considered a separate medical specialty and can be used by many medical specialists.
The use of audio, video, and other telecommunications and electronic information processing technologies to monitor patient status from a distance.
Identifying or diagnosing disease can be done by evaluating data transmitted to a receiving station from instruments monitoring a distant patient and by a provider gaining information from a telemedicine encounter.
The use of telecommunications technology in nursing to enhance patient care.
Interventions used to stop the development of disease; includes interventions that are used to maintain health before illness occurs; this occurs when there is disability and the need to maintain or, if possible, improve functioning.
A body of rules, ideas, principles, and techniques that apply to a particular subject.
The nurse's use of his or her personality consciously and in full awareness to establish relatedness and to structure a nursing intervention.
Strategies used to manage and control time productivity.
Meeting the patient's needs; providing high-quality experiences and improving healthcare outcomes when needed.
Activities and instruction intended to foster skilled behavior.
This approach emphasizes a positive work environment, recognition of the importance of change and using change effectively, rewarding staff for expertise and performance, and developing staff awareness. Transformational leaders create vision and mission statements with the staff to guide the work of the organization and are described as honest, energetic, loyal, confident, self-directed, flexible, and committed.
transforming care at the bedside (TCAB)
A program that encourages clinical research at the direct level of care and engages frontline staff.
This research may be (1) the application of discoveries generated in the laboratory and in preclinical studies to the development of trials and studies in humans and (2) research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices in the community. A common use is to determine the comparative effectiveness of prevention and treatment strategies.
Major goals or aims of healthcare delivery: (1) improve the health of the population; (2) enhance the patient experience of care (including quality, access, and reliability); and (3) reduce, or at least control, the per capita cost of care.
Legitimate (formal), referent (informal), informational, expert, reward, and coercive power.
Failure to provide a service that would have produced a favorable outcome for the patient.
utilization review/management (UR/UM)
Evaluating the necessity, appropriateness, and efficiency of healthcare services for specific patients or in-patient populations.
This is real-time, usually two-way transmission of digitized video images between two or more locations.
A population (group of people with something in common) at risk for medical or other problems, such as lack of funds, housing, and so on, who may not be able to effectively care for themselves. Examples of these populations are children, the elderly, those with mental illness or other disabilities, and prisoners.
This action occurs when a person who works for an organization that is committing fraud and abuse reports these activities to legal authorities, sharing extensive information that would be difficult for the authorities to obtain on their own. The False Claims Act protects whistleblowers.
The appropriate use of knowledge to solve human problems; understanding when and how to apply knowledge.
When staff take shortcuts; often to avoid a situation from being viewed as an error.
Services that offer social and economic interventions, preferably within the healthcare provider setting to better ensure that full services are provided for complex patient needs.