Chapter 1: Nursing, Theory, and Professional Practice Vocabulary

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining key nursing roles, theories, standards, and conceptual definitions from Chapter 1.

Holistic

Addressing the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social dimensions necessary to fully care for a patient.

Profession

An occupation that requires a specialized body of knowledge and training, serving society with altruism and self-regulation.

Health literacy

The degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.

Evidence-based practice (EBP)

The integration of the best available research evidence with the nurse's clinical judgment expertise, patient values, and needs to make patient care decisions.

Delegation

The process of entrusting or transferring the responsibility for certain tasks to other personnel, including UAP, LVNs, and LPNs.

Metaparadigm

An overarching set of concepts that provide the broad conceptual boundaries of a discipline; in nursing, it consists of human beings, environment, health, and nursing.

Philosophy

A statement about the beliefs and values of nursing in relation to a specific phenomenon such as health.

Conceptual framework or model

A collection of interrelated concepts that provides direction for nursing practice, research, and education by addressing the four concepts of the metaparadigm.

Grand theory

A global conceptual framework that defines broad perspectives for nursing practice and provides abstract key concepts and principles of the discipline.

Middle-range theory

A moderately abstract theory with a limited number of variables that is more concrete and narrowly focused on a specific condition or population to directly guide practice.

Florence Nightingale's Environmental Theory

A nursing theory centered on illness prevention and environmental adaptation, emphasizing clean air, pure water, cleanliness, light, noise control, and nutrition.

Hildegard Peplau's Theory of Interpersonal Relations

A theory focusing on the therapeutic interpersonal process between nurse and patient through overlapping phases: orientation, working (identification and exploitation), and resolution.

Virginia Henderson's Humane and Holistic Care Theory

A theoretical framework defining nursing as assisting individuals to gain independence by fulfilling 14 basic human needs derived from Maslow's hierarchy.

Martha Rogers's Science of Unitary Human Beings

A model defining human beings and environments as interacting, irreducible, four-dimensional energy fields characterized by principles of integrality, resonancy, and helicy.

Sister Callista Roy's Adaptation Model

A theory viewing the human being as an adaptive open system responding to stressors in four modes: physiological-physical, self-concept-group identity, role function, and interdependence.

Dorothea Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory

A theoretical framework encompassing self-care, self-care deficit, and nursing systems (wholly compensatory, partly compensatory, supportive-educative) to increase patient independence.

Imogene King's Theory of Goal Attainment

A general systems framework incorporating personal, interpersonal, and social systems where the nurse and patient mutually communicate and establish goals to adjust to stressors.

Betty Neuman's Systems Model

A holistic open-system approach focusing on stress responses, lines of defense and resistance, and primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention.

Rosemarie Rizzo Parse's Theory of Human Becoming

A human science theory viewing the person as a constantly changing being who gives meaning to reality through lived experiences and energy exchange with the environment.

Jean Watson's Human Caring Theory

A humanitarian theory centered on transpersonal caring, carative factors, preserving human dignity, and facilitating self-healing.

Lewin's Change Theory

A nonnursing theory that views change as a three-step process involving unfreezing, moving (or change), and refreezing.

Paul's Critical Thinking Theory

An intellectually disciplined process of actively conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information as a guide to belief and action.

Rosenstock's Health Belief Model

A psychological model designed to predict health behaviors based on perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, and perceived benefits.

Accountability

Accepting responsibility for one's actions and omissions, carrying legal, ethical, and professional implications essential for safe patient care.

Licensure

The granting of legal permission to practice a profession after passing a standardized examination and meeting regulatory requirements.

Nurse practice acts

Laws defined by each state or jurisdiction that set forth the legal limits and scope of nursing practice.

Benner's Novice to Expert Model

A model adapted from Dreyfus describing five levels of nursing proficiency: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert.

Advanced practice registered nurse (APRN)

An RN who has met advanced educational (minimum master's degree) and clinical requirements to provide direct patient care in specialized roles such as CNM, NP, CNS, or CRNA.