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Nursing Fundamentals Vocabulary

Core concepts for nursing students: process, safety, vitals and common terms. Education only.

87 cardsCollege, Adult#nursing#healthcare

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87 cards
  • Nursing processTerm
    Assess, diagnose, plan, implement, evaluate
  • ADPIETerm
    Memory aid for the five steps of the nursing process
  • AssessmentTerm
    Gathering information about the patient
  • Subjective dataTerm
    What the patient reports (symptoms)
  • Objective dataTerm
    What the nurse observes or measures (signs)
  • Nursing diagnosisTerm
    A clinical judgment about a patient's response to a health problem
  • Care planTerm
    Written plan of goals and nursing actions
  • EvaluationTerm
    Judging whether goals were met
  • Vital signsTerm
    Temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and often oxygen saturation
  • Normal adult pulseTerm
    About 60 to 100 beats per minute
  • Normal adult respirationsTerm
    About 12 to 20 breaths per minute
  • Normal adult temperatureTerm
    About 98.6 F (37 C), with some natural variation
  • Normal blood pressureTerm
    About 120/80 mmHg or lower
  • BradycardiaTerm
    Slow heart rate
  • TachycardiaTerm
    Fast heart rate
  • HypotensionTerm
    Low blood pressure
  • HypertensionTerm
    High blood pressure
  • HypoxiaTerm
    Low oxygen in body tissues
  • DyspneaTerm
    Difficulty breathing
  • ApneaTerm
    Pause in breathing
  • Pulse oximeterTerm
    Device that measures oxygen saturation
  • Hand hygieneTerm
    The most important way to prevent infection
  • Standard precautionsTerm
    Basic infection control used for every patient
  • Contact precautionsTerm
    Gloves and gowns to prevent spread by touch
  • Droplet precautionsTerm
    Mask for germs spread by large respiratory droplets
  • Airborne precautionsTerm
    Special room and respirator for germs that travel on air
  • PPETerm
    Personal protective equipment such as gloves, gown, mask and goggles
  • Aseptic techniqueTerm
    Methods to prevent contamination by germs
  • Sterile fieldTerm
    Area kept free of all microorganisms
  • FomiteTerm
    An object that can carry infection
  • Nosocomial infectionTerm
    Infection acquired in a healthcare setting
  • Six rights of medicationTerm
    Right patient, drug, dose, route, time and documentation
  • Medication reconciliationTerm
    Comparing a patient's medication lists to avoid errors
  • AllergyTerm
    Overreaction of the immune system to a substance
  • AnaphylaxisTerm
    Severe, life-threatening allergic reaction
  • Informed consentTerm
    A patient agrees to treatment after understanding it
  • HIPAATerm
    US law protecting patients' health information
  • ConfidentialityTerm
    Keeping patient information private
  • Advance directiveTerm
    Written wishes about future medical care
  • Patient advocateTerm
    Someone who speaks up for a patient's rights and needs
  • Scope of practiceTerm
    What a licensed professional is legally allowed to do
  • DelegationTerm
    Assigning a task to someone else while keeping accountability
  • Chain of commandTerm
    Order of reporting concerns
  • SBARTerm
    Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation: a communication format
  • Therapeutic communicationTerm
    Communication that helps and supports patients
  • Active listeningTerm
    Fully focusing on and responding to what is said
  • DocumentationTerm
    Writing accurate records of care
  • Charting by exceptionTerm
    Recording only findings that differ from normal
  • Maslow's hierarchyTerm
    Basic needs come before higher needs
  • Activities of daily livingTerm
    Everyday self-care tasks like bathing and eating
  • Fall riskTerm
    Likelihood that a patient will fall
  • Pressure injuryTerm
    Skin damage from prolonged pressure
  • Turning scheduleTerm
    Repositioning to prevent pressure injuries
  • AmbulationTerm
    Walking
  • Body mechanicsTerm
    Using the body safely when lifting and moving
  • Range of motionTerm
    The full movement a joint can make
  • Intake and outputTerm
    Measuring fluids a patient takes in and puts out
  • DehydrationTerm
    Not enough water in the body
  • EdemaTerm
    Swelling from excess fluid in tissue
  • Isotonic IV fluidTerm
    Fluid with the same concentration as blood plasma
  • CatheterTerm
    A tube inserted into the body to drain or deliver fluid
  • Enteral nutritionTerm
    Feeding through the digestive tract, such as a tube
  • Parenteral nutritionTerm
    Nutrients given directly into the bloodstream
  • NPOTerm
    Nothing by mouth
  • AspirationTerm
    Food or fluid entering the airway
  • Wound healingTerm
    Stages: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodeling
  • DressingTerm
    Material that covers and protects a wound
  • Pain scaleTerm
    Tool for patients to rate pain, such as 0 to 10
  • Palliative careTerm
    Care focused on comfort and quality of life
  • HospiceTerm
    End-of-life care focusing on comfort
  • TriageTerm
    Sorting patients by urgency of need
  • Rapid responseTerm
    Team called when a patient is getting worse quickly
  • Code blueTerm
    Hospital emergency call for cardiac or respiratory arrest
  • RestraintTerm
    A device limiting movement, used only as a last resort
  • Cultural competenceTerm
    Respecting and meeting patients' cultural needs
  • Health literacyTerm
    Ability to understand health information
  • Teach-backTerm
    Asking patients to explain instructions in their own words
  • Primary preventionTerm
    Stopping disease before it starts, like vaccination
  • Secondary preventionTerm
    Early detection, like screening
  • Tertiary preventionTerm
    Reducing the effects of existing disease
  • Evidence-based practiceTerm
    Using the best research along with clinical judgment
  • Chain of infectionTerm
    Agent, reservoir, exit, transmission, entry, host
  • Sharps containerTerm
    Rigid, puncture-proof box for needles
  • Incident reportTerm
    Record of an unusual event, such as a fall or error
  • Near missTerm
    An error caught before it reaches the patient
  • Bedsore stagesTerm
    Stages 1 to 4 describing the depth of pressure injury
  • Orthostatic hypotensionTerm
    Blood pressure drop when standing up

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