Glossary

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.

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 favours one group over others based on differences such as race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, physical or mental ability, or other identity factors.

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.

Any collective mixture characterized by differences including (but not limited to) socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability status, or veteran status. Diversity focuses on representation.

Five domains or areas of practice are identified within the profession of nursing: practice, education, administration, policy and research. The practice domain is fundamental to nursing, and all other domains ultimately exist to maintain and support practice. Registered nurses may practise in more than one domain within the context of their role.

The transfer of a medication from a lawful channel of distribution or use, including by medication tampering. Controlled substances can be diverted anywhere along the supply and distribution chain. Methods of drug diversion include prescription forgery; telephone fraud; drug seeking from physicians, NPs, dentists or veterinarians; Indiscriminate prescribing; theft: external or internal (e.g., by employees); fraudulent orders made for a drug abuser by a pharmacy employee.

Nurses have a professional duty and a legal obligation to provide persons receiving care with safe, competent, compassionate and ethical care. There may be some circumstances in which it is acceptable for a nurse to withdraw from care provisions or to refuse to provide care.

Registered nurses’ question, intervene, report, and address unsafe, non-compassionate, unethical or incompetent practice or conditions that interfere with their ability to provide safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care. RNs must be attentive to indications that a colleague is unable to provide such care regardless of the reason. In this situation, the RN is obligated to take the steps necessary to ensure client safety. Reporting a situation that may compromise client safety is a RN’s professional obligation.

Situations where verbal prescriptions could be acceptable include (but may not be limited to):

• emergent or urgent situations where delay in treatment would place the client at risk of harm;

• when the prescriber is not present, and urgent or emergent direction is required to provide appropriate client care;

• when the prescriber is away from the client care area where access to the health record is not possible; or,

• when the prescriber is consulting via telehealth without the ability to enter their prescription into the health record.

Nursing education programs that prepare individuals entering the nursing profession with the competencies expected upon initial registration with the NANB.

The entry-to-practice competencies outline the proficiencies required for entry-level (newly registered) nurses to provide safe, competent, compassionate and ethical nursing care in a variety of practice settings, upon initial and ongoing registration with NANB. The competencies also serve as a guide for curriculum development for schools, and for public and employer awareness of practice expectations for entry-level nurses. RNs and NPs have their own entry-to-practice competencies supported by NANB documents.

Practice which supports environmental preservation and restoration while advocating for initiatives that reduce environmentally harmful practices in order to promote health and well-being.

Determining fairness on the basis of people’s needs. This means that those who are less fortunate would receive more resources than those who are well off.

A nursing education program that has graduated students and has received an approved or conditional approval status from NANB.

An environment with the potential to promote moral integrity and moral agency.

A branch of philosophy that deals with questions of right and wrong and of ought and ought not in our interactions with others.

A scheme showing areas for reflection on an individual’s practice and providing steps in ethical decision-making. Normally, this model includes critical questions to consider in reflecting on or in dealing with an ethical situation.

How nurses pay attention to ethics in carrying out their common daily interactions, including how they approach their practice and reflect on their ethical commitments to persons receiving care or with health-care needs.

The ongoing process that incorporates evidence from research findings, clinical expertise, client preferences, and other available resources to inform decisions that nurses make about clients.

Practice which is based on successful strategies that improve client outcomes and are derived from a combination of various sources of evidence, including client perspective, research, national guidelines, policies, consensus statements, expert opinion and quality improvement data.

Equalizing people’s opportunities to participate in and enjoy life, given their circumstances, and society’s equitable distribution of resources (in health care this means an expectation of equitable treatment).

In matters of caregiving, family is recognized as those people identified by the person receiving or in need of care who provide familial support, whether or not there is a biologic relationship. However, in matters of legal decision-making it must be noted that provincial legislation is not uniform across Canada and may include an obligation to recognize family members in priority according to their biologic relationship.

An obligation to act in the best interest of another. A person acting in a fiduciary capacity is held to a high standard of honesty and must not obtain a personal benefit at the expense of the client.

The First Nations principles of ownership, control, access, and possession – more commonly known as OCAP® – assert that First Nations have control over data collection processes, and that they own and control how this information can be used.

All the qualities and capabilities of an individual relevant to his or her capacity to practise as a registered nurse, including, but not limited to, freedom from any cognitive, physical, psychological or emotional condition and dependence on alcohol or drugs, that impairs his or her ability to practise nursing.

For the purposes of program approval, foundational practice standards are the more commonly cited NANB measures related to RN and NP performance issues as identified through the NANB data.

A person's internal and deeply felt sense of being man or woman, both, neither, or somewhere along the gender spectrum. A person's gender identity may or may not align with the gender typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender identity is not necessarily visible and is not related to sexual orientation.

A neurological scale which aims to give a reliable and objective way of recording the conscious state of a person.

An area of research and practice committed to the application of overtly multidisciplinary, multisectoral, and culturally sensitive approaches for reducing health disparities that transcend national borders.

Education beyond the baccalaureate level, including master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral levels.

Refers to policies, programs, and practices that aim to minimize negative health, social, and legal impacts associated with drug use, drug policies and drug laws. Key principles include respecting the rights of people who use illicit substances; commitment to evidence, social justice, and collaboration with people who use illicit substances; and avoidance of stigma.

A state of complete physical, mental (spiritual) and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease.

Deliberate attempts by governments to substantially change health policies, structures, and processes with the objective of improving their functioning or performance.

Differences in health status that occur among population groups defined by specific characteristics. Socio-economic status, Aboriginal identity, gender, ethnicity, and geographic location are the important factors associated with health disparities in Canada.

Absence of unfair, avoidable, or remediable differences in health status among groups of people. Health equity is achieved when everyone can attain their full potential for health and well-being.

Health human resources (HHR) – also known as human resources for health (HRH) or health workforce – is defined as "all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health."

The presence of systematic disparities in health (or in the major social determinants of health) among groups with different social advantage/disadvantage.

The ability to access, comprehend, evaluate and communicate information as a way to promote, maintain and improve health in a variety of settings across the life-course.

The events occurring as a result of a health intervention. They may be measured clinically, self-reported, or observed.

Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. It moves beyond a focus on individual behaviour towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions.

All those who are involved in providing care; they may include professionals, personal care attendants, home support workers and others.

Members of the intraprofesssional and/or interprofessional team and/or community supporting client care. This also includes the health and other government sectors, representatives from private, voluntary, and non-profit groups, as well as Indigenous and traditional healers.

A critical behaviour or requirement of nursing practice. Without it, client safety would be jeopardized.

Historical trauma refers to the collective and cumulative emotional, psychological, and spiritual wounding experienced by a group across generations (intergenerational), resulting from significant and targeted historical injustices. These events – such as conlonization, forced displacement, Canadian Indian Residential Schools, and systemic racism – are widespread among a specific population, intentionally inflicted by the dominant group, and result in profound and lasting collective distress. Historical trauma is characterized by four interrelated dimensions: colonial injury, collective experience, cumulative effects, and cross-generational impacts (the “4 C’s). Its consequences persist across generations and continue to influence health, well-being, identity, and access to systems and services.

A system of comprehensive or total patient care that considers the physical, emotional, social, economic, and spiritual needs of the person; his or her response to illness; and the effect of the illness on the ability to meet self-care needs. Holistic nursing is the modern nursing practice that expresses this philosophy of care.

A way of providing care that considers the whole person — including their physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, cultural, and social needs — rather than focusing solely on a disease or condition.

The time students spend in learning activities in a variety of settings (acute, long term care, and community), and may include orientation, pre and post conferences, and clinical experiences of an observational nature.

The rights of people as expressed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and as recorded in the CNA position statement, Registered Nurses, Health and Human Rights.