Nursing practice

A printed or etched pattern of lines or dots that a scanner reads, so a computer can identify an item and record where it has been.

Something that blocks passage, such as gloves that block germs, or anything that gets in the way of care or learning.

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

A small bed for a newborn baby.

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

Unable to get out of bed.

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

The period of grief and mourning after the death of someone close.

The hospital department that inspects, tests, maintains and repairs patient care equipment.

Looking at a person's health through the body, the mind and feelings, and the person's social world together.

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

A family made up of a couple and the children of one or both partners from earlier relationships.

How a person sees, thinks and feels about their own body and its appearance and function.

Messages sent without words, through posture, gestures, facial expression, eye contact and movement.

The legal doctrine that whoever directs an employee's work, rather than whoever pays them, bears more responsibility for it.

A scoring tool that rates a client's risk of developing a pressure injury.

The permanent loss of every function of the whole brain, the brain stem included; in the United States it is legal death.

Feeding a baby with milk directly from the breast.

A short meeting of the surgical team before the procedure to confirm the plan of care, prepare for likely changes and raise safety concerns.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing: a four-year college degree that prepares a person to become a registered nurse.

Repeated, targeted behavior that uses a real or felt imbalance of power to wear a person down at work.

Grouping things together: in hospitals, a set of proven care steps always done together, or wrapping a baby snugly.

Physical, emotional and mental exhaustion caused by long-term stress, especially at work or in caregiving.