Nursing Glossary: Care Settings, Mobility, and Rehabilitation Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering core healthcare, nursing specialties, assistive devices, and patient care transition definitions from Chapter 2 Glossary.

Activities of daily living (ADLs)

Personal care activities, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, toileting, and transferring.

Adaptive device

A type of assistive technology that is used to change the environment or help the person modify the environment.

Assistive device

A type of assistive technology that helps people with disability perform a given task.

Assistive technology

Any item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disability; encompasses both assistive devices and adaptive devices.

Critical-care nursing

A specialty area of practice that provides nursing services to critically ill patients across the lifespan in acute care settings such as the hospital intensive care unit or telehealth/remote ICU monitoring.

Home health nursing

A specialty area of practice that provides nursing services to patients across the lifespan in a home setting; practice roles include holistic care planning, which incorporates resource and service coordination as part of an interdisciplinary team.

Impairment

Loss or abnormality of psychological, physiologic, or anatomic structure or function at the organ level (e.g., dysphagia, hemiparesis); an abnormality of body structure, appearance, an organ, or system function resulting from any cause.

Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)

Complex skills needed for independent living, such as shopping, cooking, housework, using the telephone, managing medications and fnances, and being able to travel by car or public transportation.

Medical-surgical nursing

A specialty area of practice that provides nursing services to adults facing medical disorders as well as the surgical experience from preparation through recovery in hospital-based, telehealth/remote monitoring, and community-based settings.

Orthosis

An external appliance that provides support, prevents or corrects joint deformities, and improves function.

Prosthesis

A device used to replace a body part.

Readmission

Admission to the hospital within 30 days of a prior discharge from a hospitalization.

Rehabilitation

Making able again; learning or relearning skills or abilities or adjusting existing functions to meet maximum potential.

Rehabilitation nursing

A specialty area that provides holistically focused nursing services to patients who have been incapacitated by illness or injury or are facing potentially life-altering health conditions throughout their lifespan.

Telehealth

The use of technology to provide health care services.

Third-party payer

An organization or insurance company that provides reimbursement for services covered by a health plan.

Transfer

Movement of a patient from one place to another, such as a bed to chair, chair to commode, or wheelchair to tub.

Transitional care

A process of ensuring consistency and coordination of care as patients move within and between health care settings, providers, or phases of a disease or treatment.