Foundations of Nursing Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the foundations of nursing, history, legal/ethical standards, and medical terminology based on the lecture transcript.

Nurse (as a verb)

To nurture, feed, foster, and support.

Florence Nightingale

Known as the “Lady of the Lamp” and credited as the first nursing theorist; established a nursing school in London and the “Nightingale Plan.”

Mary Eliza Mahoney

Recognized as the first qualified Black nurse in the US ($1845$ – $1926$) who worked to improve acceptance of Black nurses.

Mary Seacole

A nursing figure whose statue stands opposite the Houses of Parliament in the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital.

Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton

Major US nursing leaders identified in the evolution of nursing.

Men in Nursing

Reflect a demographic change in the $21^{st}$ century, currently making up less than $10\%$ of the profession.

Attendant Nurses

Early practical nurses with $3$ months of education focused on home care.

Accreditation

A voluntary review process that determines if a program meets pre-established criteria.

LPN/LVN

Provides specific services under direct supervision of an RN, performing basic therapeutic, rehabilitative, and preventive care for stable patients.

Nursing Care Concepts

The four major concepts consisting of Nursing (roles/actions), Patient (person receiving care), Health (wellness of client), and Environment (setting for interaction).

Criminal Law

A division of the legal system dealing with people's actions that are prohibited by society as unacceptable behavior.

Civil Law

A division of the legal system dealing with people’s actions and acceptable behavior within society.

Malpractice

Professional negligence containing four key elements: Duty, Breach, Harm, and Proximate cause of harm.

Advocate

One who defends or pleads a cause or issue on behalf of another; nurses have a legal and ethical obligation to safeguard patient interests.

Nurse Practice Acts

Laws of individual states that define the legal scope of practice and obligations for nurses.

Informed Consent

A legal process for procedures that must be voluntary and completed by a competent patient with full disclosure of facts.

Battery

The performance of a procedure without a patient's permission or signed consent, regardless of intent to harm.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of $1996$, which protects patient privacy, confidentiality, and medical records.

Documenting Care

The practice follow the rule: “IF IT ISN’T CHARTED, IT WASN’T DONE.”

Ethics

Rules or standards governing appropriate conduct within a profession.

Autonomy

The ethical principle of freedom of personal choice.

Beneficence

The ethical principle of doing good or acting for someone’s good.

Nonmaleficence

The ethical principle to do no harm.

Justice

The ethical concept of what is fair.

Advance Directives

Documents such as Living Wills and Durable Power of Attorney that specify patient preferences for care.

Trailing Zero Rule

Do NOT use trailing zeros in medical notation; write $17$ NOT $17.0$.

Leading Zero Rule

ALWAYS use a leading zero for decimals; write $0.12$ NOT $.12$.

AC and PC

Common abbreviations meaning “Before meals” (AC) and “After meals” (PC).

NPO and PO

Common abbreviations meaning “Nothing by mouth” (NPO) and “By mouth” (PO).

TID and QID

Common abbreviations meaning “Three times a day” (TID) and “Four times a day” (QID).

Root Word

The main or essential point of a word.

Prefix

An adjective at the beginning of a word that describes color, size, amount, or location.

Suffix

The end of a word that explains what is happening, such as a disease, diagnosis, or surgery.

Rhinorrhea

Discharge from the nose.

Otoscope

An instrument used to look into the ear.

Phlebitis

Inflammation of the vein.

Angiography

A picture or image of vessels.

Apnea and Tachypnea

Conditions of “Without breathing” (Apnea) and “Fast breathing” (Tachypnea).

Cholecystectomy

Surgical removal of the gallbladder.

Nephritis

Inflammation of the kidney.

Lithiasis

An abnormal condition of stones.

Antipyretic

Pertaining to working against a fever.

Stenosis

A condition of being narrow.