Nursing Glossary
Nursing Glossary
20 terms
A nurse is a trained healthcare professional who provides medical care, support, and education to patients in various healthcare settings. Nurses play a crucial role in promoting health, preventing illness, and assisting in recovery.
Qualities of a good nurse are: compassion and empathy, commitment to safety, dedication to continuous education and ability to handle pressure.
A nursing glossary can be useful to students and educators in different ways :
It helps nursing students and new professionals quickly learn essential terminology, making it easier to grasp complex concepts.
Acts as a handy resource for nurses who need to clarify unfamiliar medical terms or abbreviations in a fast-paced healthcare setting.
Keep nurses updated with evolving medical terminology, technologies and best practices, contributing to to lifelong learning.
All in all, nursing is a rewarding and fulfilling career.
Below are some terms used in nursing and their definitions.
- agilia pump
- A type of infusion pump used to deliver medications, fluids, and nutrients to patients.
- atelectasis
- A condition in which one or more of the lungs collapse or become deflated.
- atherosclerosis
- A condition where plaque builds up inside the arteries, narrowing them and restricting blood flow.
- bronchoscopy
- A procedure that uses a bronchoscope to examine the inside of the trachea, bronchi, and lungs.
- clinical notes
- These are written records of a patient's medical history, symptom, diagnosis, treatment plan, and progress.
- colostomy
- A surgical procedure that creates an opening in the colon and brings it out to the surface of the abdomen.
- exophthalmos
- A condition where the eye balls protrude abnormally from their sockets.
- hypoglycemia protocol
- It is a set of guidelines for treating low blood sugar, typically used in a hospital setting.
- intubation
- It is the insertion of a tube into the trachea to maintain an open airway.
- ketonuria
- The presence of ketone bodies in the urine.
- myringotomy
- A surgical procedure to create a small incision in the eardrum to relieve drain fluid from the middle ear.
- naloxone
- It is a medication that reverses the effects of opioid overdose.
- nasal cannula
- A flexible tube that splits into two prongs that are placed in the nostrils, allowing oxygen to flow directly into the nasal passages.
- opioid painkiller
- These are medications that relieve pain by acting on the central nervous system.
- preeclampsia
- A serious pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine after 20 weeks of gestation.
- pulmonary auscultation
- It is a process of listening to the sounds of the lungs using a stethoscope.
- thrombophlebitis
- A condition that the involves inflammation of a vein, often accompanied by a blood clot.
- urinary catheter
- A thin, flexible tube inserted into the bladder to drain urine.
- venipuncture
- A procedure that involves puncturing a vein with a needle to obtain blood for testing, administer medications, or collect other fluids.
- ventricular fibrillation
- A life-threatening heart rhythm disorder in which the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart, quiver instead of pumping blood effectively.