cna exam

Abandonment

To leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert

Abdominal thrust

Method of attempting to remove an object from the airway of someone who is choking.

Abductor wedge

A health aid that enables the user to maintain proper leg positioning while recovering from hip replacements or fractures

Abnormal vital

There are four main vital signs: body temperature, blood pressure, pulse and breathing rate. For each there is a normal measurement range. Measurements outside the range can be considered abnormal (deviant/atypical).

Abuse

Purposeful mistreatment that causes physical, mental or emotional pain or injury to someone,

Accountable

Subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something; responsible; answerable.

Activities

A thing that a person or group does or has done.

Acute

Characterized by sharpness or severity of sudden onset

Adaptive

Engaged in by disabled persons with the aid of equipment or techniques adapted for a disability

Adaptive devices

Special equipment that helps a person who is ill or disabled to perform activities of daily living; also called assistive devices,

Adduction

To draw (as a limb) toward or past the median axis of the body also: to bring together (similar parts)

ADLs:

Daily personal care tasks such as bathing; caring for skin, nails, hair, and teeth; dressing, toileting; eating, and drinking; walking; and transferring.

Admission:

The act or process of accepting someone into a hospital, clinic, or other treatment facility as an inpatient

Admitting resident

To accept (resident) into a hospital, clinic, or other treatment facility as an inpatient

Advance directives

Legal documents that allow people to choose what medical care they wish to have if they are unable to make those decisions themselves.

Affected side

A weakened side from a stroke or injury; also called weaker or involved side

Aging process

The biological process of growing older.

Agitation

A state of excessive psychomotor activity accompanied by increased tension and irritability

AIDS

A disease of the human immune system

Alzheimer's disease

A progressive, incurable disease that causes tangled nerve fibers and protein deposits to form in the brain, eventually causing dementia.

Ambulation

Walking

Amputees

One that has had a limb cut from the body

Anemia

A condition in which the blood is deficient in red blood cells, in hemoglobin, or in total volume

Angina

Chest pain, pressure or discomfort

Antibiotics:

A medicine (such as penicillin or its derivatives) that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms.

Anti-embolic stockings

TED hose. Special stockings used to help prevent swelling and blood clots and aid circulation; also called elastic stockings.

Aphasia

Difficulty using or understanding words

Apical pulse

The pulse on the left side of the chest, just below the nipple.

Apnea

The absence of breathing

Arthritis

A general term that refers to inflammation of the joints.

Aspiration

The inhalation of food, fluid, or foreign material into the lung

Assistive device

Special equipment that helps a person who is ill or disabled to perform ADLS.

Authorized duty

Means approval has been granted by the employer to perform a specific type of duty or duties.

Axillary temperature

The body temperature as recorded by a thermometer placed in the armpit.

Bacteria

Disease causing germs

Basic needs

Physical, emotional mental, and social requirements

Bathing

A washing or immersion of something, especially the body, in water for cleansing purposes or medical treatment.

Bed cradle

Bed cradles are devices that attach to your bed. They keep sheets and blankets from touching and rubbing sensitive skin, injured parts or your legs or feet.

Behavior

The way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others.

Behavioral care plan

A plan that assists a member in building positive behaviors to replace or reduce a challenging/dangerous behavior. This plan may include teaching, improved communication, increasing relationships, and using clinical interventions, etc.

Beliefs

Individual viewpoints, feelings, and opinions.

Biohazard

A biological agent or condition that is a hazard to humans or the environment.

Bladder training

A behavior therapy that can be effective in treating urinary incontinence. The goals are to increase the amount of time between emptying the bladder and the amount of fluids the bladder can hold. It also can diminish leakage and the sense of urgency associated with the problem.

Bleeding

Losing blood.

Blindness

Sightless.

Body alignment

Body alignment refers to how the head, shoulders, spine, hips, knees and ankles relate and line up with each other. Proper alignment of the body puts less stress on the spine and helps you have good posture.

Body language

All conscious or unconscious messages your body sends as you communicate, such as facial expressions, shrugging, your shoulders and wringing your hands.

Body mechanics

The way the parts of the body work together when a person moves.

Body temperature

The normal temperature of the human body A person's normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius.

Bone loss

A disease that causes bones to become brittle and more likely to fracture (break). With osteoporosis, the bones lose density. Bone density is the amount of bone tissue that is in your bones.

Bowel program

A program that helps people who have chronic constipation or a frequent loss of bowel control. The program involves trying to go to the bathroom at the same time every day in an attempt to help train the body to have regular bowel movements.

Brain stem

The part of the brain composed of the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata and connecting the spinal cord with the forebrain and cerebrum.

Breathing

The process of taking air into and expelling it from the lungs.

Brittle bones

A genetic disorder that causes your bones to break very easily, usually without any type of injury, as from a fall.

Burns

Tissue damage that results from heat, overexposure to the sun or other radiation, or chemical or electrical contact. Burns can be minor medical problems or life-threatening emergencies.

Call light

A device used by a resident to signal his or her need for assistance from professional staff.

Cancer

A general term used to describe a disease in which abnormal cells grow in an uncontrolled way.

Cardiac arrest

Heart attack.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Medical procedures used when a person's heart or lungs have stopped working.

Cardiovascular system

Organ system that conveys blood through vessels to and from all parts of the body, carrying nutrients and oxygen to tissues and removing carbon dioxide and other waste

Care plan

A plan developed for each resident to achieve certain goals, it outlines the steps and tasks that the care team must perform

Cataract

A condition in which the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, causing vision loss.

Catheter

Tube inserted through the skin or into a body opening that is used to add or drain fluid.

Catheter care

The process of ensuring the catheter is working properly and ensuring the tube and the area where catheter attaches to body has been properly cleaned so the resident does not get an infection or skin irritation.

Central nervous system

Part of the nervous system made up of the brain and spinal cord.

Charge nurse

A nurse responsible for a team of healthcare workers.

Chemical disinfection

Chemical substances which are used to kill or deactivate pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria).

Chemical restraint

Medications used to control a person's behavior.

Chemotherapy

Treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Chemotherapy may be given by mouth, injection, or infusion, or on the skin, depending on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. It may be given alone or with other treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy, or biologic therapy.

Choking

Having severe difficulty in breathing because of a constricted or obstructed throat or a lack of air.

Chronic

Long-term or long-lasting.

Circulation

The movement of blood through the vessels of the body induced by the pumping action of the heart.

Circulatory system

The system of blood, blood vessels, lymphatics, and heart concerned with the circulation of the blood and lymph

Cleaning

The act of making something free from dirt; unsoiled; unstained:

Clear liquid diet

A clear liquid diet consists of clear liquids — such as water, broth and plain gelatin — that are easily digested and leave no undigested residue in your intestinal tract.

Clergy

A group ordained to perform pastoral or sacerdotal functions in a Christian church

Cognitively impaired

Loss of ability to think logically; concentration and memory are affected

Cold application

Ice pack for 20 minutes. Stimulation of the surface of the skin and underlying tissues with a cold agent cooler than skin either in a moist or dry form, for the purpose of decreasing pain, muscle spasms, or inflammation.

Colostomy

Surgically created opening through the abdominal wall into the large intestine to allow feces to be expelled.

Colostomy care

Refers to the process of ensuring the colostomy pouch is emptied one or more times daily, the pouch itself is changed every four to six days and the stoma and surrounding skin is kept clean and sanitary.

Coma

State of unconsciousness in which a person is unable to respond to any change in the environment, including pain.

Combative resident

A person who displays violent or hostile behavior

Communicable

An infectious disease transmissible by direct or indirect contact. Example tuberculosis.

Communication

The process of exchanging information with others by sending and receiving messages

Competency evaluation

An assessment of mental health and/or decision making capacity.

Conduct

The manner in which a person behaves, especially on a particular occasion or in a particular context.

Confidentiality

The legal and ethical principle of keeping information private

Conflict resolution

The process of resolving conflicts in appositive way so that everyone is satisfied.

Confused resident

A person (resident) with an inability to think clearly

Congestive heart failure

A condition in which the heart muscle is damaged and fails to pump effectively.

Constipation

The inability to eliminate stool or the infrequent, difficult and often painful elimination of hard dry stool.

Constrict

To narrow

Contracture

The permanent and often painful shortening of a muscle or tendon, usually die to lack of activity.

COPD

A disease that is characterized by chronic typically irreversible airway obstruction resulting in a slowed rate of exhalation

Cultural

Relating to a system of learned behaviors, practiced by a group of people, which is considered to be the tradition of that people and is passed on from one generation to the next.

CVA

A sudden impairment or loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion that is caused by rupture or obstruction (as by a clot) of a blood vessel supplying the brain and is accompanied by permanent damage of brain tissue.

Death & dying

The end of the life of a person or organism and dying is to be on the point of or approaching death.

De-escalation

Refers to behavior that is intended to escape increasing the conflict.

Defense mechanism

Unconscious behaviors used to release tension or cope with stress.

Dehydration

A serious condition that results from inadequate fluid in the body.