GLOSSARY

Chapter 1, The Art of Nursing

• Art of Nursing: The humanistic and subjective aspects of nursing practice. It encompasses empathy, sensitivity, compassion, intuition, insight, skillful communication, cultural humility and individualized care.
• Compassion: A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.
• Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.
• Evidence-Based Practice (EBP): The conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.
• Holistic Care: A philosophy of healthcare that considers the whole person, including their physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.
• Individualized Care: Tailoring care practices to meet each patient’s specific needs and preferences.
• Intuition: The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. In nursing, it is a way of knowing that goes beyond physical assessments and involves sensing subtle cues about a patient’s needs and well-being.
• Insight: The capacity to understand a situation accurately and deeply.
• Skillful Communication: The ability to use both verbal and non-verbal communication effectively to connect with patients, build trust, and create a therapeutic relationship.
• Therapeutic Relationship: A professional and caring relationship between a nurse and a patient that is focused on promoting the patient’s health and well-being.

Chapter 2 Social Determinants of Health

• SDOH: Social Determinants of Health encompasses the conditions in environments where individuals are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age, impacting their health, functioning, and quality of life. These factors extend beyond traditional medical care and include socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood characteristics, employment, and social support networks.
• Authority Gradients: Authority gradients refer to perceived power imbalances between individuals within hierarchical systems like healthcare teams. Building rapport through shared experiences can mitigate these power differences, fostering a more egalitarian environment where patients actively participate in their care.
• Implicit Bias: Implicit bias refers to unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that influence an individual’s understanding, actions, and decisions. Nurses must recognize and address implicit bias to provide person-centered care with empathy and humility.
• Health Equity: Health equity exists when everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Achieving health equity requires addressing the social determinants of health and dismantling systemic barriers that create disparities in health outcomes.
• Racial/Ethnic Concordance: Racial/ethnic concordance occurs when patients and healthcare providers share the same racial or ethnic background. Research suggests that concordance can improve patient-provider communication, trust, and shared decision-making, leading to better health outcomes.
• Food Desert: A food desert is a geographic area where access to affordable and nutritious food is limited or nonexistent. This lack of access can contribute to poor diet and nutrition-related health problems.

Chapter 4, Skill of Involvement

• Clinical Decision-Making: The thought process nurses use to evaluate and choose the best course of action for a patient’s care. It is a complex process that involves critical thinking, analyzing patient data, considering evidence-based practices, and understanding the patient’s individual needs and preferences. Clinical decision-making is improved by SOI.
• Clinical Judgment: Similar to clinical decision-making, it refers to the ability of the nurse to make sound judgments about a patient’s condition and care needs, based on a combination of knowledge, experience, and intuition.
• Critical Rationality: A way of thinking that emphasizes logic and analysis, focusing on objective evidence and reasoning to reach conclusions. In nursing, relying solely on critical rationality can lead to overlooking the patient’s individual needs and experiences.
• Cultural Humility: The ability to recognize and respect the cultural differences between oneself and others. It involves being open to learning from patients about their cultural beliefs and practices, and incorporating this understanding into care.
• Empathy: The capacity to understand and share the feelings of another person. In nursing, empathy allows nurses to connect with patients on an emotional level, providing comfort and support.
• Expert Nurse: A nurse who has achieved a high level of skill and knowledge through experience and continued learning. Expert nurses are able to make complex clinical judgments quickly and effectively, and are often sought out as mentors by other nurses.
• Failure to Rescue: A term used to describe a situation where a patient’s condition deteriorates, and the healthcare team fails to recognize and respond appropriately, potentially leading to serious complications or death. SOI can help prevent this.
• Holistic Cognitive Skills: Mental abilities that involve considering the whole person, including their physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. These skills are essential for providing patient-centered care that addresses the individual’s unique circumstances.
• Intuition: A form of knowledge that comes from instinct or feeling, rather than from conscious reasoning. In nursing, intuition can help nurses to quickly assess situations and make decisions, even when there is limited information available.
• Novice Nurse: A nurse who is new to the profession and is still developing their skills and knowledge. Novice nurses often rely on rules and procedures to guide their practice, and may need more time and support to make clinical decisions.
• Person-Centered Care: A philosophy of care that places the patient at the center of all decision-making. It emphasizes respect for the individual’s values and preferences, and strives to provide care that is tailored to their specific needs.
• Sensitivity: The ability to perceive and respond to subtle cues in the environment and in others. In nursing, sensitivity allows nurses to pick up on nonverbal communication, recognize changes in a patient’s condition, and anticipate their needs.
• Skill of Involvement (SOI): Holistic thinking processes that involve a nurse’s intuition, empathy, sensitivity, and cultural humility. SOI is a skill that can be learned and improved in nursing school and in practice.

Chapter X Intuition

• Intuition: An immediate understanding or knowing without conscious reasoning. It can be described as a “gut feeling,” and it can manifest as feelings, thoughts, physical sensations, or a sense of alarm.
• Novice Nurse: A nurse who is in the early stages of their career and is still developing their skills and knowledge.
• Expert Nurse: A nurse who has extensive experience and has developed a deep understanding of patient care. Expert nurses rely heavily on intuition in their practice.
• Benner’s Novice-to-Expert Model: A model that describes the stages of skill acquisition in nursing, from novice to expert. The model highlights how nurses increasingly rely on intuitive judgment as they gain experience.
• Tacit Understanding: Knowledge that is gained through experience and is difficult to articulate or explain. Intuition is often based on tacit understanding.
• Pattern Recognition: The ability to recognize patterns in data or situations. Nurses develop pattern recognition skills as they gain experience, which contributes to their intuitive abilities.
• Emotional Intelligence (EI): The ability to understand and manage emotions, both in oneself and others. Studies have shown a connection between emotional intelligence and intuition in nursing students.
• Reflective Practices: Activities that encourage nurses to think critically about their experiences and learn from them. Reflective practices can help nurses develop their intuition.

Chapter X Philosophy of Nursing

• Arts-Based Pedagogy (ABP): Using art forms like painting, music, or writing in education to help students learn and think critically. For example, students might create a painting to express their understanding of patient care.
• Compassionate Care: Providing care that considers a patient’s physical, emotional, and social needs. It involves showing kindness, empathy, and understanding towards patients and their families.
• Critical Thinking: Analyzing information carefully, questioning assumptions, and considering different perspectives to make well-informed decisions. [4, 6] For example, a nurse might use critical thinking to evaluate a patient’s symptoms and decide on the best course of treatment.
• Cultural Humility: An ongoing process of self-reflection and learning to understand and respect different cultures and beliefs, recognizing that one’s own perspective is not the only or the “right” one. It involves recognizing power imbalances and working to create more equitable and inclusive healthcare practices.
• Ethical Decision-Making: The process of making decisions in healthcare that are morally sound and consider the values and beliefs of all involved. It involves understanding ethical principles, weighing potential consequences, and choosing the best course of action in challenging situations.
• Health Equity: When everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible, regardless of their background or circumstances. This means addressing social, economic, and environmental factors that can affect people’s health.
• Holistic Healthcare: An approach to healthcare that considers the whole person – their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being – rather than just focusing on their illness.
• Humanism: A philosophy that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, often prioritizing human interests and perspectives.
• Humanities: Academic disciplines that study human culture, such as literature, philosophy, history, and the arts. The humanities can help us understand the complexities of the human experience and apply those insights to healthcare.
• Moral Imagination: The ability to envision different possibilities and perspectives, especially in ethical situations, and to empathize with others. For instance, a nurse might use moral imagination to understand a patient’s difficult decision about their treatment.
• Nursing Philosophy: A set of beliefs and values that guide a nurse’s practice. It shapes how a nurse approaches patient care, makes decisions, and interacts with colleagues and the healthcare system.
• Posthumanism: A philosophy that challenges the idea that humans are superior to other living beings and emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things, including the environment.
• Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): Non-medical factors that influence a person’s health, such as where they live, their income, their education, and their access to healthy food and healthcare.
• Social Justice: Working to create a fair and equitable society where everyone has equal opportunities and rights, including the right to good health. This involves addressing systemic barriers and advocating for policies that promote health and well-being for all.
• Traditional Nursing Education: A model of nursing education that has often focused on teaching scientific knowledge, technical skills, theories, and models.