PN 101 Test 1 Study Guide: Chapters 1–4, 39, and 41

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the PN 101 Test 1 Study Guide across nursing history, practice standards, healthcare delivery systems, legal principles, workplace safety, ethics, and infection control.

Pittsburgh Infirmary

Identified in early nursing notes as the first nursing school established in the United States.

New England Hospital for Women and Children

Boston hospital established in 1872 as a commonly recognized early formal nursing school, from which Mary E. Mahoney graduated in 1879.

Dorothea Lynde Dix

Superintendent of Army nurses during the Civil War and advocate for people with mental illness who helped organize nursing care for wounded soldiers.

Clara Barton

Civil War caregiver who provided assistance and supplies to wounded soldiers and founded the American Red Cross in the United States in 1881.

Lillian Wald

Pioneer of public health nursing who developed community nursing services through the Henry Street Settlement in New York City.

Mary E. Mahoney

The first African American professionally trained nurse in the United States, graduating in 1879 and promoting equal opportunities for Black nurses.

Client Acuity

The severity of a client's illness or condition and the amount or intensity of nursing care required.

Standards of Nursing Practice

Guidelines describing expectations for safe, competent, professional care, responsibilities, conduct, and client protection for LVNs/LPNs.

Accreditation

A process conducted by organizations such as the National League for Nursing that evaluates whether an educational program meets established quality expectations.

Nurse Practice Act

State-specific law establishing legal requirements for nursing practice, including scope of practice, licensure requirements, qualifications, and disciplinary actions.

Licensure by Endorsement

The process of applying for a nursing license in another state based on an existing nursing license.

Nurse Licensure Compact

An agreement among participating states that allows eligible nurses to practice across member states under a single multistate license.

Environmental Theory

Florence Nightingale's theory emphasizing that healing is supported by cleanliness, sanitation, fresh air, light, clean water, nutrition, and quiet.

Self-Care Deficit Theory

Dorothea Orem's nursing theory focusing on supporting independence and providing nursing care when clients cannot independently meet their self-care needs.

National Association of Licensed Practical Nurses (NALPN)

Professional organization founded in New York State in 1949 that serves as the professional voice for practical nurses and promotes care standards and certification.

National League for Nursing (NLN)

Organization established in 1893 that focuses on nursing education, faculty development, research, public policy, and educational accreditation.

HOSA — Future Health Professionals

Student-led organization promoting career exploration, leadership development, teamwork, and technical skills in health and biomedical science fields.

Managed Care

A healthcare approach that coordinates and monitors healthcare services while promoting prevention, wellness, appropriate use of services, and cost control.

Acute Care

Prompt healthcare treatment and close monitoring provided for serious illness, injury, or conditions, commonly located within a hospital.

Home Health Care

Healthcare services delivered inside a person's residence, including skilled nursing, wound care, education, and physical or occupational therapy.

Hospice Care

Care focused on comfort, symptom and pain relief, and quality of life for a person with a terminal illness near the end of life rather than curative treatments.

Respite Care

Supervised, temporary care provided to a client with ongoing needs to give primary family caregivers a relief break.

Extended Care Facility

A facility offering ongoing nursing, rehabilitation, and daily living support beyond an acute hospital stay for clients who cannot be cared for at home.

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)

A federally designated category of nursing home that provides 24-hour nursing care under the direct supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN).

Intermediate Care Facility (ICF)

A federally designated nursing home that provides 24-hour care from nursing assistants supervised by an LVN/LPN, with an RN serving as a consultant.

Quality Assurance

The systematic process of measuring actual healthcare services against established standards and implementing improvements when gaps are found.

Fee-for-Service Plan

A reimbursement plan where healthcare providers receive separate payment linked directly to each individual visit, test, or procedure performed.

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

A managed-care entity utilizing a defined network of providers that emphasizes preventative and coordinated healthcare delivery.

Premium

The recurring monetary amount paid by an individual or entity to maintain active health insurance coverage.

Capitation

A fixed payment system where a provider receives a set fee per enrolled member for a designated period to cover specified services.

Medicare

A federal health insurance program primarily for individuals aged 65 and older or younger persons with qualifying disabilities and conditions.

Medicaid

A healthcare program jointly funded by federal and state governments that covers care for eligible low-income individuals under state-administered rules.

Chiropractic Therapy

A complementary therapy using manual joint or spinal manipulation to relieve musculoskeletal discomfort and pain.

Physical Therapy

Therapy concentrated on movement, mobility, strength, physical balance, and motor function.

Occupational Therapy

Therapy aimed at restoring functional independence in activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, and home or work tasks.

Acupuncture

A traditional Chinese medicine modality involving the insertion of very fine needles into specific anatomical points on the body.

Acupressure

A complementary therapy applying physical pressure to targeted anatomical points rather than penetrating the skin with needles.

Therapeutic Touch

A complementary intervention where hands are placed on or near the body to promote balance and relaxation without a scientifically proven energy mechanism.

Controlled Substances Act

Federal legislation mandating strict record-keeping, double locking of hospital narcotics, and authorized orders from licensed practitioners.

Felony

A serious crime punishable under criminal law, such as falsifying records, practicing without a license, insurance fraud, or narcotics theft.

Misdemeanor

A less severe criminal offense than a felony that can nevertheless result in revocation of a nurse's professional license.

Liability

The legal accountability and responsibility an individual bears for their direct actions or their failure to act.

Crime of Commission

A wrongful act committed intentionally, such as giving an illegal injection, performing an illegal abortion, euthanasia, or practicing outside legal limits.

Crime of Omission

A legal failure to perform an obligatory duty, such as withholding prescribed medication or failing to report child/elder abuse or animal bites.

Tort

An injury or harm (physical, emotional, or financial) resulting from another individual's intentional or unintentional actions or breach of duty.

Negligence

An unintentional tort resulting from failure to act as a reasonable, prudent nurse with similar education would, neglecting ordinary safety precautions.

Malpractice

Professional negligence involving improper, injurious, or faulty treatment by a licensed professional that deviates from standards and harms a client.

Assault

A threat or physical/verbal attempt to cause bodily harm, creating fear or apprehension (such as threatening physical restraints).

Battery

Unconsented physical contact, including touching a person's body or clothes without permission, forcing out of bed, or administering refused injections.

Inferred Consent

Consent presumed under law during life-threatening medical emergencies when the client cannot provide explicit consent.

Informed Consent

Voluntary permission granted for a procedure or medication after full explanation of potential outcomes, complications, and alternative treatments.

Libel

False, damaging statements transmitted through written communication, photographs, or email that harm someone's reputation.

Slander

False, injurious spoken statements or defamatory gossip maliciously communicated about an individual.

Defamation

Any intentional false act or communication that inflicts harm on a person's reputation or good standing.

Abandonment of Care

Premature cessation of care without ensuring continuity, including walking off a nursing assignment without formal supervisor notification.

Protected Health Information (PHI)

Any identifiable health data concerning a client's health status, care provision, or payment records protected under HIPAA Title II.

Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA)

A 1991 federal law requiring healthcare facilities receiving federal funds to inquire whether adult clients have advance directives.

Directive to Physicians

An advance directive designating the attending physician as the healthcare decision-maker who must formally agree in writing when no agent is present.

Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare

A legal designation appointing a designated surrogate agent to make medical decisions if the client loses capacity to do so.

Mental Health Advance Declaration

A legal instrument specifying a client's directives on invasive psychiatric care (e.g., electroconvulsive therapy, neuroleptics) requiring court orders to override.

Beneficence

Ethical principle focused on acting for the good of the client and actively doing the right thing.

Nonmaleficence

Ethical principle obligating healthcare providers to do no harm.

Autonomy

Ethical principle upholding the individual's inherent right to self-determination and independent healthcare decisions.

Justice

Ethical principle centering on fairness, equity, and impartiality in the distribution of healthcare resources and treatments.

Fidelity

Ethical principle requiring nurses to keep commitments, maintain loyalty, and remain faithful to professional responsibilities.

Accountability

The willingness to accept total professional responsibility for one's clinical actions and their subsequent consequences.

Veracity

The fundamental ethical principle obligating the healthcare provider to communicate the complete truth.

Safety Data Sheet (SSD)

Mandated OSHA document detailing a hazardous substance's chemical properties, hazards, personal protective gear, first aid, and spill handling, retained for at least 30 years.

RACE

The fire response sequence: Rescue persons in danger, Alert by sounding alarm, Contain fire by closing doors, and Extinguish or Evacuate.

PASS

The protocol for deploying a fire extinguisher: Pull the pin, Aim at the base, Squeeze the lever, and Sweep side to side.

Triage (START System)

Disaster sorting framework categorizing casualties into Red (Immediate), Yellow (Delayed), Green (Minor walking wounded), and Black (Deceased or expectant).

Standard Precautions

Universal infection control practices applied to all clients regardless of diagnosed status, presuming all bodily fluids and clients may carry pathogens.

Medical Asepsis

Clean technique focused on reducing the number of pathogenic microorganisms and curtailing their transfer across routine client care.

Surgical Asepsis

Sterile technique deployed during specific invasive procedures to eliminate all microorganisms and spores completely.

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)

Infections acquired directly within a medical facility, such as catheter-associated UTIs, surgical site infections, bloodstream infections, or C. difficile.

PPE Donning Sequence

The standard sequence of putting on personal protective equipment after hand hygiene: Gown, Mask, Goggles, Gloves.

PPE Doffing Sequence

The standard sequence of removing contaminated protective equipment: Gloves, Gown, Goggles, Mask.

Terminal Disinfection

Comprehensive sanitization and decontamination of a client unit performed after the client moves rooms, is discharged, or dies.

Ergonomics

The scientific discipline of designing workspaces, equipment, and tasks to match human physical limitations and prevent workplace injury.

Body Mechanics

The coordinated interaction of the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems to sustain balance, proper posture, and alignment during movement.