BNMC Licensing Exam key terms

A five-step clinical reasoning cycle of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation that guides deliberate, individualized nursing care and is documented as an ongoing loop rather than a one-time event.

A clinical judgment about a patient's actual or potential health response to conditions, distinct from a medical disease label, that directs selection of nursing interventions and measurable expected outcomes.

A specific, measurable, patient-centered statement of the desired response or behavior to be achieved within a stated time frame, used to judge whether nursing interventions succeeded.

The final phase of the nursing process in which actual patient responses are compared with expected outcomes to determine whether care should be continued, revised, or discontinued.

Practices that prevent microorganisms from entering a susceptible site. Medical asepsis reduces pathogen spread through hand hygiene and clean technique, while surgical asepsis uses sterile technique for invasive procedures.

Infection-control measures applied to every patient regardless of diagnosis, including hand hygiene, gloves, gowns, masks, eye protection, safe sharps handling, and safe injection practices.

Additional isolation measures beyond standard precautions, chosen for contact, droplet, or airborne routes, and matched to the pathogen plus the personal protective equipment and room ventilation each route requires.

A six-link model of infectious spread: pathogen, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host. Breaking any single link interrupts transmission.

A classification of localized skin and tissue damage from sustained pressure and shear, ranging from non-blanchable erythema of intact skin through partial- and full-thickness loss to unstageable and deep-tissue injury.

A validated risk-assessment tool scoring six factors: sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction with shear. Lower total scores indicate higher risk for developing pressure injuries.

The relationship between intake and output of water and electrolytes. Monitoring daily weights, intake-output records, and signs of overload or deficit guides safe nursing and medical management.

Shift of fluid from the vascular space into a nonfunctional compartment such as the peritoneal cavity or bowel lumen, producing edema and hypovolemia despite a net gain in total body water.

A fall in blood pressure on standing, commonly defined as a drop of at least 20 mm Hg systolic or 10 mm Hg diastolic, causing dizziness and raising fall risk, especially after bed rest or with volume depletion.

A life-threatening state of inadequate tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery that produces cellular dysfunction. Types include hypovolemic, cardiogenic, distributive, and obstructive, each with different treatment priorities.

Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Recognition relies on signs such as altered mentation, elevated respiratory rate, and low blood pressure.

A hypertensive disorder of pregnancy marked by new-onset high blood pressure after 20 weeks' gestation with proteinuria or other organ dysfunction, requiring close monitoring for maternal seizures and fetal compromise.

New-onset elevated blood pressure after 20 weeks' gestation without proteinuria or other signs of organ dysfunction, which may progress to preeclampsia and therefore warrants continued surveillance.

Excessive blood loss after childbirth, commonly defined as more than 500 mL after vaginal birth or more than 1000 mL after cesarean birth, with uterine atony as the most frequent cause.

The postpartum process by which the uterus contracts and returns toward its prepregnant size, with the fundus descending about one centimeter per day and lochia changing in character over weeks.

A rapid newborn assessment at one and five minutes after birth scoring heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and color from zero to two each, for a maximum of ten.

The newborn's limited ability to conserve heat, driven by a large surface-area-to-mass ratio and reliance on nonshivering thermogenesis of brown fat, making warmth and drying at birth essential.

Inadequate physical growth in a child, shown by weight or height falling significantly below expected growth curves or crossing downward across percentile lines, often reflecting nutritional, social, or medical causes.

A plotted position showing how a child's measurement compares with peers of the same age and sex, used to track growth velocity and flag deviations that warrant further assessment.

Indirect protection of unvaccinated people that occurs when a sufficiently large share of a population is immune, reducing pathogen transmission and shielding those who cannot be immunized.

The recommended timing and spacing of vaccines by age and risk group, designed to protect children before exposure to serious pathogens and maintained through catch-up guidance for delayed doses.

Conditions of birth, growth, living, working, and aging that shape health outcomes, including income, housing, education, food security, and neighborhood safety, which community nurses screen for and address.

Testing apparently healthy people to detect disease or risk factors early, when treatment is more effective, judged by criteria such as disease burden, test accuracy, and availability of effective follow-up.

Purposeful verbal and nonverbal interaction that supports a patient's expression of feelings and concerns, using techniques such as open questions, reflection, silence, and clarification rather than advice giving.

A professional, goal-directed connection between nurse and patient built on trust, respect, and clear boundaries, with defined phases of orientation, working, and termination.

Legal detention and treatment of a person with mental illness without consent, permitted only when statutory criteria such as danger to self or others or grave disability are met and due process is followed.

A patient's voluntary agreement to a procedure after receiving and understanding its nature, risks, benefits, and alternatives, documented before care unless an emergency exception applies.

A structured comparison of a patient's complete medication list across care transitions to identify omissions, duplications, dosing errors, and interactions, reducing preventable adverse drug events.

A drug carrying heightened risk of serious harm when used in error, such as insulin, anticoagulants, and concentrated electrolytes, requiring independent double checks and standardized storage and labeling.

The legally defined activities, responsibilities, and limits of a licensed nurse at a given level, set by state statute and board rules, which determine what may be delegated and performed independently.

Transferring performance of a specific task to a competent assistive person while the nurse retains accountability for assessment, judgment, supervision, and evaluation of the outcome.

Acting to protect and promote a patient's rights, preferences, and safety, including speaking up about unsafe care, supporting informed decisions, and ensuring language and cultural needs are met.

Clinical decision making that integrates the best available research evidence, clinician expertise, and patient values and preferences to choose the most effective, appropriate care.

A hierarchy ranking study designs by susceptibility to bias, from systematic reviews of randomized trials at the top through cohort and case-control studies to expert opinion and anecdote at the bottom.

Systematic, data-driven efforts to make care safer, more effective, and more efficient, often using plan-do-study-act cycles, process measures, and outcome tracking to test and sustain changes.