ETHICS

the knowledge of right and wrong

LAWS

rules set by the government to help people live peacefully together and to ensure order and safety

OBRA

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

a law passed by the federal government that includes minimum standards for nursing assistant training, staffing requirements, resident assessment instructions, and information on the rights for residents

MDS

Minimum Data Set

a detailed form with guidelines for assessing residents in long-term facilities

RESIDENCE RIGHTS

numerous rights identified in the OBRA law that relate to how residents must be treated while living in a facility; they provide an ethical code of conduct for healthcare workers

INFORMED CONSENT

the process in which a person, with the help of a doctor, makes informed decisions about his or her health care

NEGLECT

the failure to provide needed care that results in physical, mental, or emotional harm to a person

NEGLIGENCE

actions, or the failure to act or provide the proper care, that result in unintended injury to a person

MALPRACTICE

injury to a person due to professional misconduct through negligence, carelessness, or lack of skills

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

verbal, physical, or sexual abuse of staff by other staff members, residents, or visitors

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

the repeated use of legal or illegal substances in a way that is harmful to oneself or others

MANDATORY REPORTERS

people who are legally required to report suspected or observed abuse or neglect because they have regular contact with vulnerable populations, such as the elderly in the care facilities

DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY

a signed, dated, and witnessed legal document that appoints someone else to make the medical decisions for a person in the event he or she becomes unable to do so

DNR

Do-not-resuscitate

A medical order that instructs medical professionals not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest

POLTS

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment

A medical order that specifies the treatments a person wishes to receive, not what he wishes to avoid, when he is very ill; decisions are based on conversations between the patient and his healthcare providers

VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Communication involving the use of spoken or written words or sounds

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Communication without using words

OBJECTIVE INFORMATION

information based on what a person sees, hears, touches, or smells; also called signs

SUBJECTIVE INFORMATION

information that a person cannot or did not observe, but is based on something reported to the person that may or may not be true; also called symptoms 

CYANOTIC

skin that is blue or gray

INCIDENT

an accident, problem, or unexpected event during the course of care that is not part of the normal routine in a healthcare facility.

IMPAIRMENT

a loss of function or ability

NEAR-SIGHTEDNESS

the ability to see things near but not far; also called myopia.

CVA

Cerebrovascular Accident

a condition that occurs when blood supply to a part of the brain is blocked or a blood vessel leaks or ruptures within the brain; also called stroke.

HEMIPLEGIA

paralysis on one side of the body

HEMIPARESIS

weakness on one side of the body

APHASIA

Absence or impairment of the ability to communicate through speech, writing, or signs because of brain dysfunction. It is considered complete or total when both sensory and motor areas are involved

DYSPHAGIA

difficulty swallowing