Glossary of Terms

Accountability: Taking ownership of the consequences of one’s actions.

Action planning: An approach to focusing ideas and deciding what steps need to be taken to achieve particular goals. It is a statement of what you want to achieve over a given period of time.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): An agency formed by the federal government to produce evidence to make healthcare safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used.

American Nurses Association (ANA): Professional nursing organization that provides nurses nationally with support and opportunities for growth (https://www.nursingworld.org/).

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Certification Program: A subsidiary of the American Nurses Association. ANCC’s credentialing programs certify and recognize individual nurses in specialty practice areas. ANCC recognizes healthcare organizations that promote nursing excellence and quality patient outcomes while providing safe, positive work environments. In addition, ANCC accredits healthcare organizations that provide and approve continuing nursing education and accredits transition to practice programs and prepares nurses for new practice roles.

ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements: Outlines the professional ethical duties of nurses within practice. These are the responsibilities of nurses within professional practice to uphold the commitment of the profession and obligations to maintain patient safety and quality of care.

ANA Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice: The minimum at which nurses practice and provide patients with safety and quality of care. Outlines the who, what, when, where, why, and how of nursing practice (https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/scope-of-practice/).

Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN): An undergraduate degree, usually over two years, that allows students to gain core knowledge and clinical skills in the field of nursing. An ADN degree is focused on the clinical tasks that a nurse provides, such as monitoring patients, maintaining their records, and performing other basic healthcare procedures.

Authentic leadership: A leadership style in which the leader maintains a “real” and true sense of who they are as well as their purpose and practice in which they lead.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): Undergraduate-level degree for registered nurses (RNs), usually over four years, that introduces nurses to topics such as patient care technology, research, health promotion, safety, and quality within the healthcare system. The BSN degree incorporates more than basic nursing duties, including evidence-based practice, management, and public health.

Career development: Ability to plan one’s career and take the necessary steps for career advancement.

Certifications: Demonstrate knowledge and expertise in a given topic or specific area of nursing.

Competencies: The way in which an individual is able to demonstrate their ability through knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is a benchmark one achieves indicating their ability to successfully complete a job/ activity.

Continuing education: A means to pursue additional learning activities, whether informal or formal in nature.

Continuing education units (CEUs): Provides learners with credit, recognizing the amount of time and resources it may have taken to complete a set learning opportunity.

Credentials: A title or credit for meeting minimum qualifications and requirements. For example, registered nurse (RN) is a credential.

Delegation: A way to prioritize tasks or duties by assigning or transferring responsibility to another individual or group.

Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs): Classification system of diagnoses that are assigned weights that are used to determine payment for inpatient services.

Elevator pitch: A short, planned introduction of yourself and your work to an upper-level executive that demonstrates your professionalism and contribution to the organization’s success.

Evidence-based practice (EBP): Provides the foundation of what is considered best practice through analysis and synthesis of data within practice combined with scientific research.

Fee for service (FFS): Oldest type of private insurance plan in which the patient pays for services rendered and then is reimbursed the covered cost by the insurance company.

Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS): Classification system of procedure codes used to determine payment for outpatient procedures.

Health maintenance organization (HMO): Type of private insurance plan with a restrictive network of providers that is associated with lower costs to the consumer.

High-deductible health plan (HDHP): Type of private insurance plan with very low premiums but very high deductibles; subscribers typically rely on a health savings account to cover costs when or if services are needed.

IMSAFE (illness, medications, stress, alcohol, fatigue, eating) checklist: A mnemonic device created to help determine if someone is fit to conduct their intended roles/responsibilities.

Inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS): Payment system for acute inpatient hospital stays by Medicare as defined by the Social Security Act.

Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI): An organization that aims to improve health and healthcare worldwide.

Institute of Medicine (IOM): Refer to the National Academy of Medicine.

Interprofessional collaboration: Occurs when two or more professions (medicine, nursing, therapy, social work, etc.) work together to achieve common goals and is often used as a means for solving a variety of problems and complex issues.

Marketplace: A type of private insurance plan provided by the Affordable Care Act that allows consumers to purchase health insurance with varying degrees of costs/coverage (bronze, silver, gold, platinum).

Marquis-Huston Model for Teaching Critical Thinking: A model that examines management and leadership’s ability to critically think and engage with others while providing a teaching and learning environment.

Medicaid: Insurance coverage for low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and disabled adults; administered at the state level and funded through state and federal taxes.

Medicare: Insurance coverage provided for adults over the age of 65, disabled adults, and/or adults with end-stage renal disease (ESRD); administered and funded through the federal government.

Mentor: A person who has both knowledge and experience that can be shared with others. Oftentimes supports others who have less knowledge and experience within a particular area.

National Academy of Medicine (NAM): Formerly known as the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Founded in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Medicine is one of three academies that make up the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) in the United States. Operating under the 1863 congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academies are private, nonprofit institutions that work outside of government to provide objective advice on matters of science, technology, and health.

Outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS): Payment system for outpatient procedures to cover the expected costs.

Point of service (POS): Type of private insurance plan that empowers the patient to choose HMO or PPO coverage for each care encounter.

Policy advocacy: The process of supporting, leading, and engaging others to protect the health and legal rights of patients. This involves collaboration with a diverse array of legal, government, and healthcare professionals.

Preceptor: An individual who formerly guides and supports others who are newer or less experienced in a role. Typically occurs for a set timeframe.

Preferred provider organization (PPO): Type of private insurance plan that provides flexibility for patients to see a variety of providers and that is associated with high deductibles and premiums.

Professional development: Ability to have continued growth and learning within one’s professional practice that would facilitate advancement.

Professional engagement: Ability to actively participate in activities within one’s place of employment such as committees and quality improvement.

Professional nursing organizations: Sometimes referred to as a professional association or professional body, professional nursing organizations exist to advance the profession, support the interests of people working in that profession, and serve the public good. They facilitate innovation, communication, and connection. They also provide the opportunity for nursing as a profession to influence nursing practice, nursing education, health policy, and healthcare standards.

Quality improvement (QI): A process aimed at improving safety, effectiveness, and experience of care through a systematic approach including planning, designing, testing, and implementing changes using real-time measurement for improvement.

Self-assessment: An evaluation of one’s own performance.

Self-care: The practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and promoting health and coping mechanisms during times of stress.

State Board of Nursing: A state’s regulating body that outlines and enforces a set of nursing standards of practice that lie within the nursing scope of practice. A State Board of Nursing also determines requirements and qualifications that need to be met in order to be licensed and practice in the state.

Supervision: The action, process, or function of supervising, which may involve critical watching, coaching, directing, and availability.

TeamSTEPPS®: An evidence-based set of tools and a training curriculum to successfully integrate communication and teamwork principles into any healthcare system (www.ahrq.gov).