Dictionary

NCLEX words

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

chain of commandThe order of authority in an organization: who reports to whom, from staff up through managers to leaders.

clientThe person receiving nursing care; the word the NCLEX uses instead of patient.

client educationTeaching a client, and often the family, what they need to know and do to manage their health.

clinical judgmentThe way a nurse notices, makes sense of and acts on information about a client to decide on the best care.

clinical reasoningThe thinking process a nurse uses to gather and make sense of client information, decide what is going on and choose what to do.

closed-ended questionA question that can be answered with "yes," "no" or a short fact.

code blueA hospital emergency call that brings the resuscitation team to a person whose heart or breathing has stopped.

code of ethicsA written set of moral principles and duties that guides the conduct of members of a profession.

code statusA client's documented wishes for resuscitation if the heart or breathing stops.

collect dataTo gather information about a client by asking, observing and measuring.

comfort careCare that aims to relieve pain and distress and give the best quality of life, rather than to cure, usually near the end of life.

comorbidityA disease or condition that a person has at the same time as another, main condition.

compensationThe body's effort to make up for a problem in one system by changing how another works.

competenceHaving the knowledge, skill and judgment to do something well; in law, a person's ability to make their own decisions.

competencyA specific skill or ability that a person has been shown to perform to an expected standard.

complains ofA charting phrase meaning the client tells the nurse about a symptom or problem.

confidentialityThe duty to keep a client's health information private and share it only with people who need it for care or are allowed by law.

consolabilityHow easily a person, especially a crying child, can be comforted.

constrictionA narrowing or tightening of a part, such as a blood vessel, an airway or the pupil.

contact precautionsInfection control steps, used on top of standard precautions, for germs that spread by touching the client or things around them.

continuityBeing unbroken over time; in health care, care that stays connected as a client moves between people and places.

continuity of careCare that flows smoothly from one provider, shift or setting to the next, without gaps or repeated steps.

contraindicationA reason not to give a drug or do a treatment, because in that person it could cause harm.

contribute to the plan of careTo offer data, observations and suggestions that help build a client's plan of care, without being the one who sets it.

coordinationThe smooth working together of parts, such as muscles in a movement or team members in a client's care.

coping mechanismA thought or action a person uses, on purpose or by habit, to handle stress or difficult feelings.

coping strategyAnything a person does or thinks to manage stress, a problem or difficult feelings.

cosignTo sign a record as a second person, confirming what another person did or wrote.

counselingTalking with a trained person who helps someone understand a problem, make decisions or change behavior.

crisis interventionShort-term help for a person in a crisis, to keep them safe and help them cope and function again.

critical thinkingCareful, reasoned thinking that questions information and weighs evidence before reaching a conclusion.

cueA piece of information about a client, such as a sign, symptom, lab value or remark, that the nurse notices and uses to make a judgment.

cultural humilityA lifelong habit of self-reflection and learning in which the nurse treats each client as the expert on their own culture.

dangleTo sit on the edge of the bed with the legs hanging over the side, before standing up.

de-escalationCalming a person who is upset, angry or agitated, mainly by talking, so the situation does not grow into violence.

decaffeinatedWith most of the caffeine removed, as in decaffeinated coffee or tea.

defamationMaking false statements about a person that harm their good name.

defense mechanismAn unconscious mental process that protects a person from anxiety or painful feelings.

delegateTo hand a specific nursing task to another trained person while the nurse stays responsible for the client.

delegateeThe person who accepts a task handed over by a nurse who delegates it.

developmentalRelating to how a person grows and changes in body, mind and behavior across their life.

directingGuiding and instructing others, such as staff members, so that work gets done as planned.

discharge planningPreparing a client and family to leave a health care facility and continue care safely at the next place.

distendedStretched out and enlarged by pressure from inside, such as from gas, fluid or urine.

do-not-resuscitate orderA provider's order that CPR will not be started if the client's heart or breathing stops.

documentationThe written or electronic record of a client's care, condition and response.

doffingTaking off personal protective equipment, such as gloves, gown, eye protection and mask.

donningPutting on personal protective equipment, such as a gown, mask, eye protection and gloves.

doseThe amount of a drug given at one time.

droplet precautionsInfection control steps, used with standard precautions, for germs spread by large droplets from coughing, sneezing or talking.