Chapter 1 Complete Flashcards

A complete textbook-based flashcard set of 207 Q&A cards covering Chapter 1: Nursing in Today's Evolving Healthcare Environment.

What is the largest healthcare workforce in the United States?

Nursing.

What healthcare trend is causing more nurses to work outside traditional hospital settings?

The shift from hospital-based care toward community-based care.

Why is nursing expected to remain a high-demand profession?

The aging population and increasing healthcare needs continue to create demand for nurses.

What is one major challenge facing nursing education?

Nursing faculty shortages, which limit the number of students who can be educated to become nurses.

What is evidence-based practice?

Using the best available evidence to guide healthcare decisions and patient care.

What did research on nurse staffing demonstrate?

Better professional nurse staffing is associated with improved quality and safety of patient care.

How does nurse education relate to patient outcomes?

Research described in the chapter found that hospitals with a higher proportion of BSN-prepared nurses had better patient outcomes.

Why is adequate nurse staffing important?

It can improve patient outcomes and safety while also improving nurses' work environments.

What is public health nursing?

The practice of promoting and protecting the health of populations using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences.

How does community health nursing differ from public health nursing?

Community health nursing focuses on individuals, families, and community-based health concerns, while public health nursing focuses on population-based health concerns.

What types of activities may public health nurses perform?

Health maintenance programs, disease prevention, nutrition and childcare programs, immunizations, disease screening, and health education.

What did nurses do during the COVID-19 pandemic in public health settings?

They helped with prevention, testing, contact tracing, masking, vaccination, education, and addressing misinformation.

What is home health nursing?

Nursing care provided to patients in their homes.

Why can home health care be beneficial to patients?

It allows patients to receive quality care in a comfortable, familiar, and cost-effective setting.

What types of patients may receive home health care?

Patients with significant health challenges, chronic illnesses, or patients discharged early from hospitals who still need care.

What are examples of complex care provided in the home?

Ventilator care, intravenous pumps, chemotherapy, total parenteral nutrition, and wound care.

What skills are especially important for home health nurses?

Strong assessment and communication skills.

Why must home health nurses be especially confident in their nursing skills?

They may not have experienced nurses immediately available to help them as they would in a hospital.

What must home health nurses consider when caring for patients?

The patient's cultural and social practices, home environment, learning needs, and ability to care for themselves.

What do nurses in medical offices do?

They work with physicians, NPs, and patients to provide care in an office setting.

What are common responsibilities of office-based nurses?

Health assessments, reviewing medications, drawing blood, giving immunizations, administering medications, and providing health teaching.

What additional role may office nurses have with patients?

They may act as liaisons between patients and physicians or NPs and provide emotional support.

Why are communication skills important for nurses in medical offices?

They communicate with patients, families, employers, pharmacists, and hospital admission offices.

What is an occupational health nurse?

A nurse who provides health and safety services to employees in the workplace.

What services may occupational health nurses provide?

Health and safety education, injury prevention, basic healthcare, screenings, and emergency treatment.

What other responsibilities can occupational health nurses have?

They may identify workplace health risks, provide counseling, assist with crisis intervention, and help maintain legal and regulatory compliance.

What organization regulates workplace safety?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

What education does the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses recommend for occupational health nurses?

A bachelor's degree.

Where do military nurses practice?

In both peacetime and wartime settings.

What may military nurses be responsible for?

Providing care to service members, training healthcare personnel, providing emergency care, and responding to disasters or humanitarian needs.

What is one characteristic important for military nurses?

Flexibility and the ability to adapt quickly to new situations.

What is school nursing?

A specialized practice of nursing that promotes student health, academic success, and optimal development in the educational setting.

What are some responsibilities of school nurses?

Health assessments, care coordination, health education, screenings, referrals, and managing chronic health conditions.

What health problems may school nurses help manage?

Chronic illnesses, diabetes, serious allergies, injuries, acute illnesses, and other health problems.

What role do school nurses play in health education?

They help incorporate health concepts such as handwashing, dental care, nutrition, and healthy choices into school activities and curricula.

What safety responsibilities do school nurses have?

They help prevent accidents, provide first aid, recognize abuse and bullying, and participate in emergency preparedness.

What is palliative care?

An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and families facing problems associated with life-threatening illness by preventing and relieving suffering.

What types of suffering does palliative care address?

Physical, psychosocial, and spiritual suffering.

What is hospice care?

A model of quality, compassionate care at the end of life that provides medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support.

Who receives support in hospice care?

The patient and the patient's loved ones.

What is the focus of palliative nursing?

Improving quality of life, managing symptoms, discussing goals of care, and supporting patients and families.

Where can hospice and palliative nurses work?

Hospitals, residential hospices, community-based programs, ambulatory programs, long-term care facilities, and patients' homes.

What are at-home hospitals?

A healthcare model in which patients receive care and recover from the comfort of their own homes.

What technologies support at-home hospital care?

Telehealth, wearable technology, continuous glucose monitoring, and remote monitoring.

What is one benefit of at-home hospital care?

It allows patients to receive personalized care and support while recovering at home.

What is telehealth?

The delivery of healthcare services and related activities through telecommunication technologies.

Is telehealth nursing a separate nursing specialty?

No. Telehealth is most often part of other nursing roles.

What are examples of telehealth technology?

Remote access to laboratory reports, digital imaging, mobile counseling, interactive video sessions, and remote patient monitoring.

What is remote patient monitoring?

Monitoring patients from a distance using technology that collects physiologic information such as blood pressure, blood glucose, or oxygen levels.

What is nursing informatics?

A specialty that integrates nursing science with information and communication technologies to manage information and knowledge and promote health.

What do nurse informaticists do?

They help implement, customize, and improve information systems used by nurses and healthcare organizations.

Why are nurses important in nursing informatics?

They understand the needs, skills, and time constraints of nurses who use healthcare information systems.

How may generative AI affect nursing informatics?

It may help analyze large datasets, identify patterns, predict outcomes, support personalized care plans, and automate routine tasks.

According to the chapter, is generative AI expected to replace nurse informaticists?

It is more likely to reshape their role and create opportunities to focus on strategic initiatives and AI integration.

What is a nurse entrepreneur?

A nurse who uses clinical expertise and entrepreneurial skills to create businesses or services that address healthcare needs.

What types of businesses might nurse entrepreneurs develop?

Telehealth services, healthcare consulting firms, medical device startups, and wellness coaching businesses.

What is travel nursing?

Nursing employment involving temporary assignments, often in locations experiencing nursing shortages.

Why did travel nursing increase during COVID-19?

Hospitals experienced unusually high patient loads and workforce shortages.

What are some benefits of travel nursing?

Flexibility, opportunities to travel, and potentially higher compensation.

What is one challenge associated with travel nursing?

Frequent changes in work environments can create additional burdens for permanent staff and may contribute to burnout.

What do nurse educators do?

They teach nurses in nursing programs and help prepare students for professional nursing practice.

What qualities are important for nurse educators?

Strong clinical knowledge, organizational skills, teaching ability, and the ability to evaluate student performance.

Why is there a need for more nurse educators?

Nursing faculty shortages limit the number of qualified applicants who can enter nursing programs.

What is a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL)?

A master's-prepared nurse who provides clinical leadership and manages care at the point of care.

What are key areas of CNL practice?

Care coordination, outcomes measurement, transitions of care, interprofessional communication and team leadership, risk assessment, evidence-based practice, and quality improvement.

What is an APRN?

An advanced practice registered nurse who has met educational and clinical practice requirements beyond basic RN education.

What are the four recognized APRN roles?

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM), and Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS).

What is a nurse practitioner (NP)?

An APRN who can assess patients, diagnose and treat common health problems, order and interpret tests, and educate patients.

What are some specialties NPs may choose?

Adult gerontology, psychiatric mental health, family, and pediatric care.

What is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)?

An APRN who specializes in a particular area of clinical practice and may provide care, consultation, research, education, administration, and quality improvement.

What is a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM)?

An APRN who provides well-woman care and attends or assists with childbirth.

What is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)?

An advanced practice nurse who provides anesthesia care.

What education is now required for newly hired CRNAs according to the chapter?

A Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) or another doctoral-level program.

What is full practice authority for NPs?

The ability to practice to the full extent of their education and training without physician oversight.

What is reduced practice authority?

A practice environment in which NPs have restrictions requiring physician collaboration, supervision, or other limitations.

Why is APRN autonomy an ongoing issue?

States differ in their scope-of-practice laws, and organized groups continue to debate and influence legislation concerning APRN practice.

What is the purpose of palliative care?

Improving quality of life for patients who are seriously or terminally ill and their families.

What does the WHO definition of palliative care emphasize?

Improving quality of life and preventing and relieving suffering through early identification, correct assessment, and treatment of pain and other problems.

What three types of suffering does palliative care address?

Physical, psychosocial, and spiritual suffering.

What is the focus of hospice care?

Quality, compassionate end-of-life care using a team-oriented approach to medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes.

Who receives support through hospice care?

The patient and the patient’s loved ones.

When was the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) established?

1986.

What is the HPNA?

The largest and oldest professional nursing organization dedicated to palliative and end-of-life care.

What does JHPN stand for?

Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing.

What kind of publication is JHPN?

A peer-reviewed, semi-monthly publication promoting excellence in palliative and end-of-life care.

What organizations are central to supporting palliative and end-of-life nursing?

The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF), and Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC).

What shared mission was adopted by HPNA, HPNF, and HPCC?

To advance expert care in serious illness.

What shared vision was adopted by HPNA, HPNF, and HPCC?

To transform the care and culture of serious illness.

What are the four shared pillars of excellence?

Education, advocacy, leadership, and research.

What is the purpose of the AACN CARES document?

It provides palliative-care competencies and recommendations for undergraduate nursing students preparing to care for seriously ill patients and their families.

Why was the CARES document developed?

Traditional nursing curricula had not included extensive content to prepare nurses to deal effectively with dying patients and their families.

When was the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) founded?

2000.

What funded ELNEC initially?

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

What does ELNEC provide?

State-of-the-art palliative-care education to nurses and other healthcare professionals.

How many nurses and other healthcare providers had participated in ELNEC train-the-trainer courses by 2024?

47,532.

How many nurses and other professionals had received palliative-care education through ELNEC train-the-trainer participants by 2024?

1,532,311 across the United States and 144 other countries.

What did Lily Gillmor study before entering nursing?

A Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Health Care Studies.

Why did Lily Gillmor leave a Master of Public Health program?

She realized an MPH was not the right fit for her and decided to go to nursing school.

What nursing program did Lily Gillmor enter?

UNC at Chapel Hill’s accelerated BSN program.

What did Lily Gillmor learn about palliative care when she entered hospice?

To focus on managing symptoms rather than the disease itself, discussing goals of care and quality of life, and supporting patients and families through serious illness.