Chapter 3: Communication Skills

Vocabulary flashcards covering essential terms from the chapter on Communication Skills in long-term care.

Active listening

A way of communicating that involves giving a person one’s full attention while he is speaking and encouraging him to provide information and clarify ideas.

Adverse event

An unexpected event that causes serious injury or death; also called a sentinel event.

Barrier

A block or obstacle that hinders communication or action.

Body language

All conscious or unconscious messages a person’s body sends while communicating, such as facial expressions, gestures, and posture.

Care conference

A meeting to share and gather information about a resident in order to develop a care plan.

Care plan

A plan created by a registered nurse that outlines tasks team members must perform to help the resident reach specific care goals.

Charting

The act of noting care and observations; documenting.

Code (in health care)

An emergent medical situation in which specially trained responders provide necessary care.

Code status

Formal documentation of the type and scope of care to be provided in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest, organ failure, or terminal illness.

Critical thinking

The process of reasoning and analyzing in order to solve problems; involves making careful observations and immediately reporting potential problems.

Culture

A set of learned beliefs, values, traditions, and behaviors shared by a social or ethnic group.

Edema

Swelling in body tissues caused by excess fluid.

Incident

An accident, problem, or unexpected event that happens during the course of care.

Incident report

A document detailing an incident and the response; also called an occurrence, accident, accident/incident, or event report.

Medical chart

The legal record of all medical care a patient, resident, or client receives.

Minimum Data Set (MDS)

A detailed form with guidelines for assessing residents in long-term-care facilities and instructions for addressing identified problems.

Nonverbal communication

Communication without words, conveyed through gestures, facial expressions, posture, etc.

Nursing process

An organized method used by nurses to assess needs, plan care, implement interventions, and evaluate outcomes; steps are assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Objective information

Factual information collected through sight, hearing, smell, and touch; also called signs.

Orientation

A person’s awareness of person, place, and time.

Prefix

A word part that comes before the root to help form a new term.

Prioritize

To place things in order of importance.

Root (word)

The main part of a word that contains its basic meaning.

Rounds

Scheduled visits to each resident’s room to assess condition and needs and to discuss the care plan with staff.

Sentinel event

An unexpected event that causes serious injury or death; also called an adverse event.

Subjective information

Information reported by residents, family, or friends that may not be verifiable; also called symptoms.

Suffix

A word part added to the end of a root or prefix to create a new word.

Verbal communication

Communication involving spoken or written words or sounds; also called oral communication.

Vital signs

Measurements—temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure—that monitor the functioning of the body’s vital organs.