Dictionary

NCLEX words

The exam's own working vocabulary: assess, reinforce, prioritize, UAP and the rest.

abandonmentLeaving clients in your care without proper notice or a handoff to another qualified caregiver.

ABCsAirway, breathing and circulation: a way of ranking a client's needs in that order.

accountabilityBeing answerable for your own decisions, actions and the results of the care you give or hand to others.

active listeningListening with full attention to what a person says and means, and showing them you have understood.

activities of daily livingThe basic self-care tasks of everyday life, such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting and moving about.

acuityHow ill a client is and how much nursing care they need; in an eye exam, how sharply a person sees.

adaptationA change that helps a person or the body adjust to new conditions or stress.

adaptiveHelping a person adjust or manage, such as tools made easier to use or healthy ways of coping.

adherenceHow closely a client follows a treatment plan they have agreed to, such as taking medicines as prescribed.

adjustmentA change made to fit a new situation, such as changing a dose, a position or a way of living.

admissionThe process of a client entering a hospital or other care setting to receive care.

ADOPIEAssessment, Diagnosis, Outcomes identification, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation: a memory aid for the steps of the nursing process.

advance directiveA legal document in which a person states their wishes for medical care, for a time when they cannot speak for themselves.

adverse effectAn unwanted and harmful effect of a drug or treatment given at a normal dose.

advocateTo speak up and act for a client's rights, safety and wishes; also, a person who does this.

affectiveRelating to feelings, emotions or mood.

against medical adviceLeaving a hospital or refusing care when the health care team advises staying or continuing treatment.

airborne precautionsInfection control steps, used with standard precautions, for germs that spread through tiny particles that stay in the air.

airborne transmissionThe spread of germs in tiny particles that stay floating in the air and can travel across a room or farther.

alert and orientedAwake and aware, and able to say correctly who they are, where they are and when it is.

alleviateTo make something, such as pain or a symptom, less severe or easier to bear.

ambulateTo walk, or to help a client walk.

analyzeTo study information closely, piece by piece, to understand what it means.

analyze cuesThe second step of the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model: linking the client's findings to what they could mean.

anticipatory guidanceTeaching that prepares a person or family for what to expect at the next stage, before it happens.

aspiration precautionsSafety steps that keep food, fluid, saliva or stomach contents from going into the airway and lungs.

assaultIn law, a threat or act that makes a person afraid they are about to be touched in a harmful or unwanted way.

assessTo gather information about a client by looking, listening, asking, measuring and examining.

assignTo give a staff member the care of a client, or tasks that are already part of that person's usual job and allowed by their license.

assistive deviceEquipment that helps a person move, do daily tasks or communicate more safely and on their own, such as a cane, walker or grab bar.

automated external defibrillatorA portable device that checks the heart rhythm through pads on the chest and gives an electric shock if one is needed.

autonomyA person's right to make their own choices about their body and their care.

baselineA starting measurement or the client's usual state, used to compare later findings against.

basic life supportThe first emergency care for someone whose heart or breathing has stopped or is failing: CPR, AED use and relief of choking.

basic nursing careCare that follows a set procedure, needs little change and brings a predictable response from the client.

bassinetA small bed for a newborn baby.

batteryIn law, touching a person on purpose without their consent.

bed restAn order that the client stays in bed, with any allowed activity spelled out by the provider.

bedboundUnable to get out of bed.

beneficenceThe ethical principle of doing good and acting in the client's best interest.

bilateralHaving to do with both sides of the body.

biliAn informal short form of bilirubin, as in "bili level" or "bili lights."

bleeding precautionsSafety steps that protect a client who bleeds easily from injury and bleeding.

body mechanicsUsing the body in a safe, efficient way when lifting, moving and carrying, to prevent injury.

bony prominenceA place where a bone lies close under the skin with little fat or muscle over it, such as the heel or tailbone.

buildupA slow collection of something in one place over time.

CABCompressions, airway, breathing: the order of steps the American Heart Association teaches for CPR.

cardiopulmonary resuscitationEmergency chest compressions, with or without rescue breaths, to keep blood flowing when the heart has stopped.

caregiverA person who looks after someone who needs help, such as a family member, friend or paid helper.

case managementThe coordination of a client's care and services across settings and providers by one assigned professional.