Dictionary

Procedures and skills

The procedures nurses assist with and the skills they perform themselves.

pacemakerA small device that sends electrical pulses to the heart to keep it beating at a set rate; also the heart's own natural rhythm center.

packed red blood cellA blood product made of red blood cells with most of the plasma removed, given by transfusion.

pain assessmentA nurse's organized gathering of information about a client's pain: where it is, how bad it is, what it feels like and what changes it.

pain assessment in advanced dementia scaleA pain scale for people with advanced dementia that scores five behaviors from 0 to 2 each, for a total of 0 to 10.

palpationExamining the body by touching and pressing with the hands and fingers.

parenteralGiven by a route other than the digestive tract, usually by injection or into a vein.

parenteral nutritionNutrition given as a liquid straight into a vein instead of through the digestive tract.

Parkland formulaA formula for the IV fluid a burned adult needs in the first 24 hours: 4 mL × weight in kg × percent of body surface burned.

patencyThe state of being open and unblocked, as of an airway, tube, catheter or vessel.

patient-controlled analgesiaA way of giving pain medicine in which the client presses a button to give themselves a set dose from a programmed pump.

PEGAn abbreviation that can mean a feeding tube placed through the belly into the stomach, or the laxative polyethylene glycol.

percussionTapping on the body to make sounds that tell what lies underneath, or clapping the chest to loosen mucus.

peripheral IVA short, thin tube placed in a vein of the arm or hand (or another vein away from the chest) to give fluids and drugs.

peristomalAround a stoma, the surgical opening of the bowel or urinary tract on the abdomen.

peritoneal dialysisA kind of dialysis that uses the lining of the abdomen as a filter, with fluid run in and out through a catheter.

PERRLAPupils equal, round, reactive to light and accommodation: charting shorthand for a normal pupil exam.

Phalen testA test in which the client holds the backs of both hands pressed together, wrists fully bent, for about 60 seconds to see whether tingling develops.

phlebitisInflammation of a vein.

phototherapyTreatment with light, most often special blue light on a newborn's skin to lower the bilirubin level.

physical examinationA head-to-toe or focused check of the body using looking, feeling, tapping and listening.

PICCPeripherally inserted central catheter: a long, thin IV tube put into an arm vein with its tip in a large vein near the heart.

positioningPlacing a client's body in a certain position for comfort, safety, treatment or a procedure.

postmortem careThe care given to a person's body after death, preparing it with respect for the family and for transport.

postureThe position in which a person holds the body when standing, sitting or lying.

prefilled syringeA syringe that comes already filled with a set dose of a drug or solution, ready to use.

preoxygenationGiving a client high-concentration oxygen for a short time before a procedure that will interrupt their breathing.

pressure injuryDamage to the skin and the tissue beneath it from pressure, or pressure with shear, usually over a bony area or under a device.

prolonged decelerationA drop in the fetal heart rate of at least 15 beats per minute below baseline that lasts 2 minutes or more but less than 10.

proneLying flat on the stomach, face down.

prosthesisAn artificial body part that replaces one that is missing or does not work, such as an artificial leg, joint, eye or heart valve.

pulseThe throb of an artery felt with each heartbeat, used to count the heart rate and judge blood flow.

pulse oximetryA painless test that uses light through a finger, toe or earlobe to estimate how much oxygen the blood is carrying.

pulse rateHow many times the heart beats each minute, counted by feeling a pulse.

pumpA device that moves fluid at a controlled rate, such as an IV infusion pump or a feeding pump; also the heart's pumping action.

punctureA small hole made by a pointed object, or the act of making one, either by injury or on purpose with a needle.

puncture siteThe spot where a needle or catheter has passed through the skin, as for a blood draw, an injection or a procedure.

pupilThe round black opening in the center of the colored part of the eye, which lets light in.

pursed-lip breathingA breathing technique of breathing in through the nose and breathing out slowly through lips pressed together as if to whistle.