Glossary

An approach in which clients are viewed as whole persons. It is not merely about delivering services where client is located. Their care involves advocacy, empowerment, and respecting the clients’ autonomy, voice, self-determination and participation in decision-making

A complex cognitive process that requires nurses to recognize a clinical problem in their client and respond promptly through implementing interventions to improve their client’s health status. Clinical decision-making is a dynamic process where care choices are made based on balanced involvement between the health professional and the client

The proficiency or judgment that a license holder in a particular profession acquires through clinical experience or clinical practice and that is not possessed by a lay person. Clinical expertise means demonstrated proficiency in a specialized area of direct patient care

Includes the provision of consultation and support

Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) are advanced practice nurses prepared at the Master’s or Doctoral level who possess advanced nursing knowledge, skills and judgment, as well as clinical experience within a focused area of care. CNSs do not have an expanded legislated scope of practice or a separate professional designation; they are regulated as Registered Nurses.

A skill, process, or outcome where a clinician observes, collects, and interprets data to diagnose and treat clients. Multiple components of clinical reasoning include information gathering, hypothesis generation, forming a problem, generating a differential diagnosis, selecting a leading or working diagnosis, providing diagnostic justification, and developing a management or treatment plan

Engaging in an intentional relationship for the purpose of creating something together. It goes beyond collaboration and client-focused care as it requires the dynamics of the relationship to build something. It means that clients and nurses are equal partners and share power in the relationship.

A set of rules that outlines the social norms and behavioural expectations of an individual, group or organization.

Working together with one or more members of the health care team, each of whom makes a unique contribution toward achieving a common goal. Collaboration is an ongoing process that requires effective communication among members of the health care team and a clear understanding of the roles of the individuals involved in the collaboration process. Nurses collaborate with clients, other nurses and other members of the health care team in the interest of client care.

A baccalaureate nursing education program offered in partnership between a College and a University. The students may take all or part of their nursing curriculum at the College or the University. The program degree is granted by the University.

All health-care providers and nurses working in all domains of practice.

A practice or ideology where one nation establishes and maintains control over another territory, its resources, and its people, often through religious and political domination and cultural influence. This benefits the colonial power and is typically justified by ideologies such as racial superiority (i.e. white supremacy), economic necessity, or religion.

A dominant society that “discovers” and claims rights to unsurrended lands already lived upon by its original (i.e. Indigenous) inhabitants. The colonial power (or colonizer) then determines and shapes laws, languages, economies, social relations, and cultural life, and subject all people on the land to these dominant norms (e.g. Christianity, nuclear families, western biomedicine). Colonization denies sovereignty and self-determination of the original inhabitants by asserting that dominant norms are superior, subjecting everyone to live by these norms. This denies Indigenous peoples’ freedom to their language, culture, land, and social values.

The transmission of verbal and/or non-verbal messages between a sender and a receiver for the purpose of exchanging or disseminating meaningful, accurate, clear, concise, complete and timely information (includes the transmission using technology)

Home and community care services help people to receive care at home, rather than in a hospital or long-term care facility, and to live as independently as possible in the community. Home and community care is delivered by regulated health care professionals (e.g., nurses), non-regulated workers, volunteers, friends and family caregivers.

An organized group of people bound together by social, ethnic, cultural or occupational ties, or by geographic location.

The ability to recognize and be aware of the suffering and vulnerability of another, coupled with a commitment to respond with competence, knowledge and skill.

An individual’s capability for consistently integrating the required knowledge, skill and judgment for safe, ethical, and effective nursing practice.

A component of knowledge, skill, and/or judgement, demonstrated by an individual, for safe, ethical, and effective nursing practice.

The terms “complementary medicine” and “alternative medicine” refer to a broad set of health care practices that are not part of that country's own traditional or conventional medicine and are not fully integrated into the dominant health care system.

Terminology related to care practices and approaches continue to evolve; ‘integrative and functional medicine’ is emerging as a more inclusive term to replace ‘complementary and alternative medicine’. While functional medicine focuses on creating individualized therapies tailored to treat underlying causes of illness, integrative medicine seeks to understand the individual as a whole and applies many forms of therapy to improve wellness. As ‘integrative and functional medicine’ is not yet common nomenclature, the more traditional terminology ‘complementary and alternative medicine’ has been used.

The combining or mixing together of two or more ingredients (of which at least one is a drug or pharmacologically active component) to create a final product to meet the client’s unique needs when a required dosage is not available commercially or remove a non-essential ingredient from a drug to which a client is allergic. It can involve the alteration of the form and strength of commercially available products, or reformulation to allow for a novel drug delivery. Compounding does not include mixing, reconstituting, or any other manipulation that is performed in accordance with the directions for use on an approved drug's labelling material. Compounding is not within the scope of nursing practice.

One component of the program approval framework used to approve entry-level nursing education programs. For the comprehensive review, all program approval indicators are reviewed every seven years, unless annual review results are unsatisfactory, and the program’s approval score is calculated.

Actions or behavior by a professional that violate the conduct, standards, integrity, or dignity expected of members of that profession. It relates to any behavior—whether on or off duty that damages public trust in the profession, violates professional codes of conduct, standards, or regulations, that shows poor judgment, dishonesty, or lack of integrity, or reflects negatively on the reputation of the profession or the individual’s ability to perform their duties responsibly.

The ethical and legal obligation to keep someone’s personal and private information secret or private.

When a nurse’s personal interests influence their professional judgment or conflict with their duty to act in clients’ best interest. This includes financial and non financial benefit, whether direct or indirect.

A situation in which a nurse informs their employer about a conflict of conscience and the need to refrain from providing care because a practice or procedure conflicts with the nurse’s moral beliefs.

The state of being aware of and attaching importance to a behaviour or action.

The voluntary agreement to some act or purpose made by a capable individual. Clients and their substitute decision makers have the legal right to agree to, refuse or revoke permission of proposed care, service, treatment or research provided by a health care professional, at any time.

To seek information or advice. For example, from a person or a book.

The act or an instance of consulting. Consultations may be formal or informal. A formal consultation is the referral of a client to a specialist or another health provider for advice on care. Informal consultation is when a provider informally seeks advice or answers to specific questions from another provider. Informal consultation may involve coordination of care in addition to advice seeking.