NSG 101 Fall 2022
Unit 1
Terms to Know
Chapter 1
1. Nurse Practice Act- laws established in each state in the United States to regulate the
practice of nursing. Although broadly worded there are certain common elements:
Protect the public by defending the legal scope of nursing practice, excluding
untrained or unlicensed people from practicing nursing, Create a state board of
nursing or regulatory body having the authority to make and enforce rules and
regulations, define important terms and activities in nursing (including legal
requirements and titles for RNs and LPNs, establish the criteria for the education and
licensure of nurses.
2. Nursing- derived from the Latin Word, nutrix, meaning to nourish. Most commonly
defined as a person who nourishes, fosters, and protects and who is prepared to take
care of, sick, injured, aged, and dying people.
3. Profession- professions are defined based on the following criteria: well-defined body
of specific and unique knowledge, strong service orientation, recognized authority
by a professional group, code of ethics, professional organization that sets
standards, ongoing research, autonomy and self-regulation
4. Standards- allow nurses to carry out professional roles, serving as protection for the
nurse, the patient, and the institution where health care is provided. Each nurse is
accountable for his/her own quality of practice and is responsible for the use of these
standards to ensure knowledgeable, safe, and comprehensive nursing care. There are a
total of 17 standards.
Chapter 2
1. Evidenced Based Practice (EBP)- nursing care provided that is supported by sound
scientific rationale
2. Nursing Research- encompasses both research to improve the care of people in the
clinical setting and to study people and the nursing profession, including education,
policy development, ethics, and nursing history
3. Nursing Theory- differentiates nursing from other disciplines and activities by
serving the purposes of describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling desired
outcomes of nursing care practices
Chapter 3
1. acute illness- rapidly occurring illness that runs its course, allowing a person to
return to one’s previous level of functioning
2. chronic illness- irreversible illness that causes permanent physical impairment and
requires long-term health care
3. disease- pathologic change in the structure or function of the body or mind
4. exacerbation- period in chronic illness when the symptoms of the disease reappear
5. health- state of optimal functioning or well-being
6. health promotion- behavior of an individual motivated by a personal desire to
increase well-being and health potential
7. holistic health care- health care that takes into account the whole person interacting
in the environment
8. illness- abnormal process in which any aspect of the person’s functioning is altered
(in comparison to the previous condition of health)
9. morbidity- frequency that a disease occurs
10.mortality- number of deaths
11.remission- period in a chronic illness when the disease is present, but the person does
not experience symptoms of the disease
12.risk factor- something that increases a person’s chance for illness or injury
13.wellness- an active process in which an individual progresses toward the maximum
possible potential, regardless of current state of health
Chapter 6
advocacy- protection and support of another’s rights
autonomy- self-determination; being independent and self-governing
beneficence- principle of doing good
code of ethics- principles that reflect the primary goals, values, and obligations of the
profession
5. ethics- system dealing with standards of character and behavior related to what is
right and wrong
6. ethical dilemma- situation that arises when attempted adherence to basic ethical
principles results in two conflicting courses of action
7. fidelity- keeping promises and commitments made to others
8. justice- process that distributes benefits, risks, and costs fairly
9. morals- like ethics, concerned with what constitutes right action; more informal and
personal than the term ethics
10.nonmaleficence- principle of avoiding evil
11.nursing ethics- a subset of bioethics; formal study of ethical issues that arise in the
practice of nursing and of the analysis used by nurses to make ethical judgments
12.values- set of beliefs that are meaningful in life and that influence relationships with
others
13.values clarification- process by which people come to understand their own values
and value system
1.
2.
3.
4.
Chapter 7
1. assault- threat or an attempt to make bodily contact with another person without
that person’s permission
2. battery- assault that is carried out
3. incident report- (or variance report) a report of any event that is not consistent
with the routine operation of the health care facility that results in or has the
potential to result in harm to a patient, employee, or visitor
4. law
- rule of conduct established and enforced by the government of a
society
5. liability- legal responsibility for one’s acts (and failure to act); includes
responsibility for financial restitution of harms resulting from negligent acts
6. licensure- to be given a license to practice nursing in a state or province after
successfully meeting requirements
7. malpractice- act of negligence as applied to a professional person such as a
physician, nurse, or dentist
8. negligence- performing an act that a reasonably prudent person under similar
circumstances would not do, or failing to perform an act that a reasonably
prudent person under similar circumstances would do
9. sentinel event- an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or
psychological injury, or the risk thereof
10.tort- wrong committed by a person against another person or that person’s
property
11.whistle blowing- term generally used to refer to employees who report their
employers’ violation of the law to appropriate law enforcement agencies outside
the employers’ facilities