Glossary

There are three layers of contextual factors

• Micro contextual factors involve the client’s immediate environment – their own health status, family, friends, and their physical environment.
• Meso contextual factors involve the policies and processes embedded in the organization and health system that affect the client.
• Macro contextual factors involve the larger socioeconomic and political context around the client – social and cultural values and beliefs, laws, and public policies.

The ongoing ability to assess one’s own practice, identify learning needs and obtain, integrate and apply the knowledge, skills and judgement required to practice safely and ethically. It is a necessary component of practice and public interest is best served when registered nurses constantly improve their application of knowledge, skill and judgment.

Program approved by the Board that focuses on promoting and enhancing the competence of registrants throughout their careers.

Refers to complete sedation, with the intent of rendering the patient unable to experience the environment, sensation or thoughts, until the patient dies naturally from the underlying illness.

A philosophy of the quality management process that encourages all health care team members to continuously ask the questions, “How are we doing?” and “Can we do it better?”

Any type of drug that the federal government has categorized as having a higher-than-average potential for abuse or addiction. Such drugs are divided into categories based on their potential for abuse or addiction. Controlled substances range from illegal street drugs to prescription medications.

The Office of Controlled Substances of Health Canada regulates the distribution of controlled substances in Canada, including those substances used by individuals and health care facilities for legitimate scientific or health reasons. The governing federal legislation includes the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Narcotic Control Regulations, Part G (Controlled Drugs) of the Food and Drug Regulations and Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations.

Expands upon critical thinking to encompass critical reflection on actions. Critical inquiry is a process of purposeful thinking and reflective reasoning where the nurse examines ideas, assumptions, principles, conclusions, beliefs, and actions in the context of nursing practice.

Reasoning in which an individual analyzes the use of language, formulates problems, clarifies and explains assumptions, weighs evidence, evaluates conclusions, distinguishes between pros and cons and seeks to justify those facts and values that result in credible beliefs and actions. Critical thinking is performed by all nurses at a level consistent with their educational preparation and scope of practice.

The imposition of a dominant way of life which intends to cease distinct legal, social, cultural, and religious ways of life. The purpose is to integrate all people into one way of life, which is the dominant social and cultural norm. In a Canadian context, cultural assimilation has been a process, through legislation and policy, to attempt to abolish Indigenous peoples’ distinct governments, cultures, and identities.

The acknowledgment and observance of cultural differences. Cultural awareness focuses on seeing beyond one’s culture and understanding that many forms of culture co-exist.

Process of self-reflection that aims to understand personal and systemic biases and develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships based on mutual trust. Cultural humility involves humbly acknowledging oneself as a learner when understanding another’s experience.

Cultural safety is an outcome based on respectful engagement that recognizes and strives to address power imbalances inherent in the healthcare system. It results in an environment free of racism and discrimination, where people feel safe when receiving health care.

Recognizing the need to respect cultural differences. Cultural sensitivity involves exhibiting “behaviours that are considered polite and respectful by the [person who has cultural differences from your own]”.

Culturally safe care is a refinement of the “cultural safety” concept. Nurses do everything they can to provide culturally safe care, but they remain aware that they are in a position of power in nurse-client relationships, and some clients may never feel entirely safe. Nurses allow those who receive care to determine what they consider to be safe. Nurses support them in drawing strength from their personal identity, culture, background, and community.

An environment, which is safe for people, where there is no assault, challenge or denial of their identity of who they are and what they need. It is about shared respect, shared meaning, shared knowledge and experience, of learning together with dignity.

An individual’s beliefs, norms, and values that influence their opinions, thoughts, and behaviours in everyday decision-making. Culture is a complex relational process influenced by history, personal experiences, and perceptions of society. Culture evolves and is not limited to ethnicity or race; it also comprises age, language, gender expression, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.

The planned process for achieving a nursing education program’s intended outcomes. For purposes of program approval, nursing curricula includes theoretical foundations, learning activities to foster theory application by students and evaluation of student learning.

A process for collecting and documenting curriculum related information against specific criteria or standards. This process ensures an alignment between the standards of nursing practice, entry-to-practice competencies and the educational content being taught. It also identifies and addresses academic gaps, redundancies and misalignments between courses and entry-to-practice competencies.

Each entry-level nursing program is required to map its curriculum to ETP competencies, for both preliminary approval (new programs) and the comprehensive review process (established programs), using the curriculum mapping tool. Programs use the tool to provide evidence that the entry-to-practice competencies, required to prepare graduates to be competent and safe practicing nurses are embedded in the teaching and learning experiences.

Is transferring the responsibility to perform a function or intervention to a care provider (delegatee) who would not otherwise have the authority to perform it (i.e., the function or intervention is not within the scope of practice or scope of employment of the care provider to whom it is being delegated). Delegation does not involve transferring accountability for the outcome of the function or intervention although the delegatee is responsible to successfully perform the intervention or tasks.

Individual who accepts the delegation of an act by a regulated healthcare professional.

Regulated healthcare professional legally authorized and competent to perform an act who delegates their authority to perform that act to another individual.

A professional title attributed to a category of nursing professional that is granted by the individual’s professional regulatory authority.

Are the broad range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors that determine individual and population health. The main determinants of health include:

1. Income and social status

2. Employment and working conditions

3. Education and literacy

4. Childhood experiences

5. Physical environments

6. Social supports and coping skills

7. Healthy behaviours

8. Access to health services

9. Biology and genetic endowment

10. Gender

11. Culture

12. Race / Racism

Ability to integrate multiple data sources and thinking strategies during a patient encounter to accurately identify diagnoses and implement appropriate management plans.

The field of knowledge and practice associated with the development and use of digital technologies to improve health. Digital health expands the concept of eHealth to include digital consumers, with a wider range of smart devices and connected equipment. It also encompasses other uses of digital technologies for health such as the Internet of things, artificial intelligence, big data, and robotics.

An educational program with established admission criteria granting direct entry to graduates from a secondary school, or to mature students. Students adhere to a structured curriculum designed to support them in meeting the educational requirements for NANB’s entry-to-practice competencies for RNs. The curriculum is set by the educational provider. The duration of study is typically four years for a baccalaureate degree. Upon completion of the program, the successful student is granted Bachelor of Nursing degree (BN).

A written order from an authorized prescriber for a procedure, treatment or drug for a number of clients when specific conditions are met. The specifics of the Directive will depend on the client population; the nature of the orders involved and the expertise of the health care professionals implementing the Directive. For more information, click on the following link: Fact Sheet: Directive.

An action or decision that results in the unfair or negative treatment of a person or group due to conscious or unconscious prejudice, bias, or stereotypes. Discrimination can occur intentionally or unintentionally and often reflects unexamined privilege that favors one group over others based on differences such as race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of origin, creed or religion, age, physical or mental ability, marital or family status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, social condition, and political belief or activity.

The interpretation, clarification, assembly, and preparation of an authorized prescriber’s order for the delivery to the client. Dispensing does not include the administration of medication. CNNB acknowledges that dispensing is a role of the pharmacist and dispensing by the pharmacist should always be the first option. However, when supported by employer policy, nurses can dispense prescribed medications when pharmacy services are not available. Examples of situations where nurses may be supported to dispense prescribed medication include, but are not limited to:

• when there is no access to pharmacy services (e.g., for geographical reasons or hours of services);
• when there is an urgency to dispense a small portion of the prescribed medications to a client (e.g., initiating a course of antibiotic therapy, and controlling the spread of a communicable disease); and
•  to cover a client’s unexpected short leave from a health care facility.