Nursing Foundations: Grief, Pain, Medication Administration, Patient Education, and Urinary Elimination

Flashcards covering core nursing concepts including Loss & Grief, Pain Management, Medication Administration, Patient Education, and Urinary Elimination based on foundational lecture notes.

Actual Loss

Loss of an object, person, body part, function, or status that can no longer be felt, seen, heard, or known by others.

Perceived Loss

Loss that is uniquely defined by the person experiencing it and is less obvious or tangible to other people.

Anticipatory Grief

A period of grieving that occurs prior to the actual loss or death, often characterized by relief when the loss finally occurs.

Disenfranchised Grief

Grief experienced when an individual's relationship to a loss is not socially recognized, openly acknowledged, or publicly shared, including ambiguous loss.

Complicated Grief

A prolonged and significantly painful form of grief that hinders normal functioning, categorized into chronic, exaggerated, delayed, and masked grief.

Kubler-Ross Stages of Grief

A grief theory describing five distinct stages experienced during loss: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

Palliative Care

A holistic method focused on preventing and reducing symptoms of diseases throughout the course of an illness to optimize quality of life.

Hospice Care

A philosophy and model of care focused on comfort, quality of life, and support for individuals with severe illness who are approaching the end of life.

Transduction

The initial step in nociceptive pain physiology where thermal, mechanical, or chemical stimuli are converted into electrical energy.

Transmission

The second phase of pain physiology involving three segments where impulses travel along unmyelinated C fibers and thin A-delta fibers to the spinal cord, ascending to the brain stem, thalamus, and somatic sensory cortex.

Perception

The point in pain processing when an individual becomes consciously aware of pain, influenced by affect, past experiences, and expectations.

Modulation

The descending system where neurons in the thalamus and brain stem release substances down to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord to inhibit or amplify ascending pain signals.

Gate Control Theory

A model suggesting that gate mechanisms along the central nervous system regulate or block pain impulses based on emotional, cognitive, and physical inputs.

Somatic Pain

Nociceptive pain originating from skin, muscles, bones, joints, or connective tissue that is well localized and described as sharp, aching, dull, crushing, or throbbing.

Visceral Pain

Nociceptive pain caused by activation of pain receptors in internal organs and hollow viscera that is poorly localized and described as dull, squeezing, pressing, aching, or cramping.

Neuropathic Pain

Pain resulting from damaged or malfunctioning nerves due to illness or injury, characterized by burning, tingling, shooting, shock-like sensations, or painful numbness.

Nociplastic Pain

Chronic pain that arises from altered nociception without an identifiable physical cause, source of injury, or connection to a physiological cause.

PQRRSTU Mnemonic

A structured pain assessment framework covering Palliative or provocative factors, Quality, Relief measures / Region (location), Severity, Timing, and Unable to do.

Perineural Local Anesthetic Infusion

A continuous pain management system (such as On-Q) where a catheter is placed near a nerve group and connected to a pump that continuously delivers local anesthesia for up to $48\,\text{hours}$.

Seven Rights of Medication Administration

Standard safety practice principles ensuring administration of the Right medication, Right dose, Right patient, Right route, Right time, Right documentation, and Right indication.

STAT Order

A medical prescription requiring a single dose of medication to be administered immediately in an emergency situation.

PRN Order

A medication order administered as needed when the patient requires it based on specified clinical parameters.

Z-Track Method

An intramuscular injection technique used to prevent medication from leaking into subcutaneous tissue and seal the needle tract.

Rapid-Acting Insulin

Insulin formulations such as Apidra and Humalog that have an onset of $15\,\text{min}$, peak in $1\,\text{hour}$, and duration of $2-4\,\text{hours}$.

Long-Acting Insulin

Insulin formulations such as Lantus and Levemir that have an onset of $1-5\,\text{hours}$, a plateau or peakless profile, and a duration of $24\,\text{hours}$.

Injection Angles

Standard angles of needle insertion for parenteral routes: Intramuscular at $90^{\circ}$, Subcutaneous at $45^{\circ}$ or $90^{\circ}$, and Intradermal at $15^{\circ}$.

Cognitive Domain of Learning

A learning category encompassing intellectual behaviors requiring thinking, remembering, understanding, analyzing, and applying knowledge.

Affective Domain of Learning

A learning category involving the expression of feelings, development of attitudes, opinions, and values.

Psychomotor Domain of Learning

A learning category centered on acquiring physical skills that demand the coordination and integration of mental and physical movements.

Health Literacy

The cognitive and social skills that determine an individual's motivation and ability to access, understand, and use health information to maintain good health.

Teach-Back Method

An evaluation communication method where the nurse explains a concept, asks the patient to restate it, reviews any missed points, and re-evaluates comprehension.

Stress Incontinence

Involuntary loss of urine occurring when exertion or physical stress (coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising) increases intra-abdominal pressure.

Urge Incontinence

Involuntary loss of urine following a sudden, intense urge to void, frequently linked to bladder infection, neurological disorders, or diabetes.

Overflow Incontinence

Frequent or continuous dribbling of urine resulting from incomplete bladder emptying or overdistension.

Functional Incontinence

Involuntary urinary loss caused by external physical or cognitive impairments that prevent the patient from reaching the toilet in time.

Reflex Incontinence

Involuntary loss of urine occurring at predictable bladder volumes due to spinal cord damage above the sacral micturition center, characterized by a lack of urge sensation.

Dysuria

Painful or difficult urination commonly associated with urinary tract infections.

Oliguria

An abnormally diminished volume of urine output (less than $30\,\text{mL/hr}$), often indicative of renal failure or severe fluid volume deficit.

CAUTI

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection, a major healthcare-associated infection prevented by implementing strict insertion indicators, aseptic technique, and timely removal.

Cystoscopy

An invasive diagnostic procedure that allows direct visualization, specimen collection, or surgical treatment of the bladder and urethra using a specialized scope.