Key Terms Flashcards
(43 cards)
acute illness
A sudden illness from which a person is expected to recover.
assisted living residence (ALR)
Provides housing, personal care, support services, health care, and social activities in a home-like setting to persons needing help with daily activities.
case management
A nursing care pattern; a case manager (an RN) coordinates a person’s care from admission through discharge and into the home or long-term care setting
chronic illness
An ongoing illness, slow or gradual in onset; it has no known cure; it can be controlled and complications prevented with proper treatment.
functional nursing
A nursing care pattern focusing on tasks and jobs; each nursing team member has certain tasks and jobs to do.
health team
The many health care workers whose skills and knowledge focus on the person’s total care; interdisciplinary health care team.
hospice
A health care agency or program for persons who are dying.
licensed practical nurse (LPN)
A nurse who has completed a 1-year nursing program and has passed a licensing test; called licensed vocational nurse (LVN) in some states
nursing assistant
A person who has passed a nursing assistant training and competency evaluation program; performs delegated nursing tasks under the supervision of a licensed nurse.
nursing team
Those who provide nursing care- RN’s, LPNs/ LVNs, nursing assistants.
patient-focused care
A nursing care pattern; services are moved from departments to the bedside.
primary nursing
A nursing care pattern; an RN is responsible for the person’s total care.
registered nurse (RN)
A nurse who has completed a 2-, 3-, or 4-year nursing program and has passed a licensing test.
team nursing
A nursing care pattern; a team of nursing staff is led by an RN who decides the amount and kind of care each person needs.
terminal illness
An illness or injury from which the person will not likely recover.
accountable
Being responsible for one’s actions and the actions of others who performed the delegated tasks; answering questions about and explaining one’s actions and the actions of others.
delegate
To authorize another person to perform a nursing task in a certain situation.
job description
A document that describes what the agency expects you to do.
nursing task
Nursing care or a nursing function, procedure, activity, or work that can be delegated to nursing assistants when it does not require an RN’s professional knowledge or judgment.
responsibility
The duty or obligation to perform some act or function.
apical-radial pulse
Taking the apical and radial pulses at the same time
blood pressure
The amount of force exerted against the walls of an artery by the blood.
body temperature
The amount of heat in the body that is a balance between the amount of heat produced and the amount lost by the body.
bradycardia
A slow heart rate, less than 60 bpm
