Nursing Exam Flashcards

Flashcards for NSG 310 Exam #1, covering historical foundations, key figures, and nursing theories.

Early Nursing Care

Nursing began as informal caregiving, often by family or religious women during war, childbirth, and illness.

Florence Nightingale

Considered the founder of modern nursing; emphasized sanitation, data collection, and patient care during the Crimean War.

Goldmark Report (1923) and Brown Report (1948)

Influenced the professionalization and education standards for nursing in the U.S.

Florence Nightingale's Contributions

Sanitation, data-based care, opened the first nursing school (St. Thomas' Hospital, London).

Clara Barton

Founder of the American Red Cross; cared for soldiers in the Civil War.

Mary Mahoney

First African American professional nurse in the U.S.; promoted diversity and equality in nursing.

Lillian Wald

Pioneer in public health nursing; founded the Henry Street Settlement.

Virginia Henderson

Defined nursing as helping patients gain independence in meeting basic needs.

The Art of Nursing

Focuses on empathy, compassion, and interpersonal connection.

The Science of Nursing

Involves evidence-based practice, critical thinking, and clinical judgment.

Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring

Highlights the human-to-human connection as core to healing and nursing identity.

Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory

Clean environment promotes healing.

Hildegard Peplau’s Interpersonal Theory

Nurse-patient relationship is therapeutic.

Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory

Nurses help when patients cannot care for themselves.

Madeleine Leininger’s Transcultural Nursing Theory

Culture impacts health and care; nurses must be culturally competent.

Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring

Caring is essential for healing and the core of nursing practice.

Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

State-specific law that governs nursing licensure, roles, responsibilities, and scope of practice.

RN (Registered Nurse) Scope of Practice

Full nursing process: assess, diagnose, plan, implement, evaluate. May supervise others. Requires ASN or BSN and NCLEX-RN.

LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) Scope of Practice

Provides basic nursing care under RN or physician supervision. Limited assessment. Requires a 1-year program and NCLEX-PN.

UAP (Unlicensed Assistive Personnel) Scope of Practice

Performs delegated tasks like bathing, feeding, and vital signs. Cannot perform assessments or administer meds.

ANA (American Nurses Association)

Sets standards of practice and professional performance.

State Boards of Nursing

Enforce NPA, issue licenses, handle complaints.

NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing)

Develops the NCLEX exams.

World Health Organization (WHO) and International Council of Nurses (ICN)

Guide global standards.

CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) Education

Weeks-long certificate program.

LPN Education

1-year program (diploma).

RN (ASN) Education

2-year associate degree.

RN (BSN) Education

4-year bachelor’s degree; preferred for leadership and advanced roles.

APRNs Education

Master’s or Doctoral degrees (MSN or DNP). Requires RN license + certification.

Role of State Boards of Nursing

Provide licensure via NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN, grant certifications, handle discipline, and maintain nursing databases.

Roles of the Professional Nurse Today

Caregiver, patient advocate, educator, communicator, leader; collaborate with healthcare teams.

Verbal Communication

Spoken or written words.

Nonverbal Communication

Facial expressions, body language, gestures, posture.

Metacommunication

Contextual clues (tone, environment, body language) that influence interpretation.

Sender/Receiver

Communication involves a sender, a message, and a receiver.

Feedback

Confirms message was understood correctly.

Noise

Anything that disrupts communication (e.g., stress, language barriers).

Systems Theory in Communication

Every part of the communication system (nurse, patient, environment) affects the whole.

Social Penetration Theory

Describes how relationships deepen through layers of self-disclosure over time.

Linear Model of Communication

One-way communication: sender → message → receiver (no feedback).

Transactional Model of Communication

Dynamic, two-way interaction with feedback.

Client-Centered Care Principles

Respect, information sharing, active participation, emotional support, family involvement, and coordinated care.

Nursing Core Functions

Promote health, prevent illness, restore health, alleviate suffering.

Focus of Holistic Care

Mind, body, spirit; patient advocacy.

Caring In Nursing

Foundation of nursing; demonstrated through presence, listening, empathy, and action.

Person (Nursing Metaparadigm)

The recipient of care—holistic being with physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.

Environment (Nursing Metaparadigm)

Internal and external factors affecting the person’s health.

Health (Nursing Metaparadigm)

The degree of wellness or illness experienced by the person.

Nursing (Nursing Metaparadigm)

The actions taken to care for the person and support health.

Outcomes of Effective Communication

Improved patient safety and satisfaction, enhanced team collaboration, reduced medical errors, better health outcomes.

Interprofessional Education & Practice

Nurses must collaborate with physicians, therapists, pharmacists, and others to promote teamwork

Nursing Communication Competencies

Active listening, clear verbal and written documentation, empathy and cultural sensitivity, assertiveness and professional boundaries.

Impact of Mid-1800s England on Nursing

Florence Nightingale reforms hospitals and hygiene.

Impact of American Civil War on Nursing

Nursing demand rises; women like Clara Barton gain recognition.

Impact of Post-Civil War on Nursing

Henry Street Settlement (Lillian Wald) promotes public health

Impact of 1917–1930 on Nursing

Influenza epidemic; public health nursing expands.

Impact of 1931–1945 on Nursing

Great Depression and WWII drive demand for trained nurses.

Impact of 1954–1960 on Nursing

Nursing research and formal education grow.

Impact of 1961–1982 on Nursing

Shift toward baccalaureate degrees, ANA becomes influential.

Impact of 1983–2000 on Nursing

Evidence-based practice and advanced roles increase.

Impact of 2001–2020 on Nursing

Nursing shortages, pandemic preparedness begin.

Impact of 2021+ on Nursing

COVID-19, telehealth, mental health focus, and nursing advocacy surge.

Gender in Nursing

Historically female-dominated; now expanding to include more men.

Image of Nursing

Still evolving; moving from “doctor’s helper” to autonomous professionals.

Population Trends Impacting Nursing

Aging population increases nursing demand.

Technology in Nursing

EHRs, telemedicine, and AI reshape nursing roles.

Nursing Shortage Causes

Caused by burnout, aging workforce, and limited school capacity.

Workforce Initiatives in Nursing

Scholarships, residency programs, work-life balance efforts aim to retain nurses.

What is Nursing Theory?

A system of ideas that explains how nursing works and guides practice; Builds the foundation for education, clinical decisions, and research.

Core Nursing Philosophies

Clean environment supports healing; Nursing helps individuals gain independence; Caring is the essence of nursing.

Conceptual Nursing Models

People need help when they can’t care for themselves; Nursing is a process of setting and reaching goals with the patient; People adapt to changes in the environment; nursing supports that adaptation.

Grand-to-Middle Nursing Theories

Nurse-patient relationship evolves through phases (orientation, working, termination); Nurses respond to patient behavior to relieve distress; Culture must be considered for effective care.

Middle Range Nursing Theories

Caring involves knowing, being with, doing for, enabling, and maintaining belief; How patients handle uncertainty in illness; Nurses act as cultural brokers, negotiating care between patient culture and healthcare norms.

Application of Nursing Theory

The science and study of nursing knowledge and theory; Shapes curriculum and clinical expectations; Ensures actions are grounded in evidence and philosophy; Builds nursing-specific knowledge and improves outcomes.

Dorothea Dix

Appointed Superintendent of Women Nurses for the Union; established a brief training program in New York.

Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman

Black women abolitionists who aided Union soldiers and led others to freedom.

Susie King Taylor

Formerly enslaved woman who began as a laundress, later nursing soldiers and teaching them to read.

Mary Ann “Mother” Bickerdyke

Herbalist and reformer who set up field hospitals with Union troops.

Clara Barton in the Civil War

Provided independent aid, organizing supplies and caring for wounded at major battles.

Sallie Thompkins

Ran a private hospital in the South and was the only woman officially commissioned in the Confederate military.

Phoebe Pember

Early hospital matron at Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, VA.

Impact of Women in Civil War Nursing

Improved battlefield conditions and laid the groundwork for nursing as a recognized, professional field.

First Training Schools for Nurses (1873)

Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing (New York); Connecticut Training School (New Haven); Boston Training School at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Linda Richards

America’s first professionally trained nurse.

Mary Eliza Mahoney

First Black professionally trained nurse in the U.S.

First Black nursing program

Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary (1886).

First school for male nurses

NYC Training School (1886).

1896

Formation of Nurses’ Associated Alumnae → American Nurses Association (ANA) by 1911.

1899

Founding of the International Council of Nurses (ICN).

1908

National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) established to address discrimination; merged with ANA in 1951.

Henry Street Settlement & Public Health Nursing

Founded by Lillian Wald and Mary Brewster in 1893, NYC; Provided public health services: home visits, clinics, health education.

Lina Rogers and Jessie Sleet Scales

First U.S. school nurse (1902); first Black public health nurse in NYC.

Spanish-American War (1898)

Led to Army and Navy Nurse Corps (1901 & 1908).

Nursing Licensure Milestones

First permissive licensure laws (NJ, NY, NC, VA). Exams required in all states by 1923; licensure mandatory nationwide by 1947.

Goldmark Report (1923)

Recommended nursing education be moved to universities; Supported midwifery training and rural nursing.

Frontier Nursing Service (1925)

Founded by Mary Breckinridge in Kentucky; Delivered nurse-midwife care on horseback to rural communities.

World War II and the Cadet Nurse Corps

Massive recruitment: 124,000 nurses graduated for military/civil service; First time Black nurses served overseas.

Post-WWII Growth and Nursing Evolution

Nurses awarded officer status; segregation in military nursing ended; Men allowed into military Nurse Corps.

1961–1982: Medicare, Specialization, and Vietnam War

Medicare and Medicaid established, shifting care to hospitals; Nurse practitioner (NP) role developed.

1983–2000: HIV/AIDS and Life Support Ethics

HIV/AIDS epidemic changed safety protocols (universal precautions); Rise of life-sustaining technologies prompted ethical debates.