Fiji Nursing Registration Exam key terms

The range of roles, tasks and decisions a nurse is legally and professionally permitted to carry out, set by registration level, employer policy and the Nursing Act and regulations of Fiji.

The statutory body established under Fiji's nursing legislation that sets registration standards, approves training programmes, handles complaints about nurses and may suspend or cancel a nurse's practising certificate.

The annual authorisation issued by the Nursing Council that allows a registered nurse to legally work in Fiji; it is renewed after evidence of continuing professional development and good standing.

A nurse's legal and ethical obligation to provide a reasonable standard of care to every patient, and to act on foreseeable risks so that harm is prevented or minimised.

Failure to meet the standard of care a reasonable nurse would provide in similar circumstances, causing harm; proving it requires duty, breach, causation and damage.

The level and quality of nursing practice expected by professional bodies, employer policy and courts, judged against what a competent nurse with similar training would do in the same situation.

Agreement to treatment given by a competent patient after receiving clear information about the purpose, benefits, risks and alternatives, and after freely choosing without pressure.

The professional duty to keep patient information private and share it only with those who need it for care, or where law or serious public risk justifies disclosure.

Acting on a patient's behalf to protect their rights, safety and preferences, especially when the patient cannot speak for themselves or is vulnerable to harm or unfair treatment.

Practice that recognises the power differences, values and beliefs of patients from different cultural groups, including iTaukei and Indo-Fijian communities, and adapts care so people feel respected and safe.

The core physical measurements of temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure and oxygen saturation, used to detect deterioration and to judge how a patient is responding to treatment.

A scoring tool that combines vital sign values into a single number, triggering a graded response such as increased monitoring, medical review or urgent escalation when deterioration is detected.

A structured communication format covering Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation, used to pass patient information clearly between nurses and to doctors when escalating concern.

A set of practices that keep equipment and the clinical field free from micro-organisms during procedures such as wound dressing or catheter insertion, reducing the risk of health care-associated infection.

Routine infection control measures applied to every patient, including hand hygiene, gloves, gowns, eye protection, safe sharps handling and safe waste disposal regardless of known diagnosis.

Cleaning hands with soap and water or alcohol-based rub at the five WHO moments of patient care, the single most effective action for preventing cross-infection in health facilities.

A needlestick or cut from a contaminated sharp object; it requires immediate washing, reporting, and assessment for post-exposure prophylaxis against HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

Short-course medication, usually antiretroviral drugs, started as soon as possible after exposure to blood-borne infection to reduce the chance that HIV establishes in the body.

The checks a nurse makes before giving a medicine: right patient, drug, dose, route, time, documentation and reason, plus the patient's right to refuse or to know the purpose.

Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm, such as a wrong dose, wrong drug, wrong route, missed dose or failure to document.

A drug that carries a heightened risk of serious harm when used incorrectly, such as insulin, potassium chloride, heparin and opioids, requiring extra checks and independent double-checking.

Measuring blood levels of drugs with a narrow therapeutic range, such as digoxin, gentamicin or phenytoin, to keep the dose effective while avoiding toxicity.

A harmful or unintended response to a medicine given at a normal dose, ranging from rash and nausea to anaphylaxis, which must be documented and reported.

A severe, rapidly developing allergic reaction with airway swelling, bronchospasm and low blood pressure; it is treated immediately with adrenaline, oxygen, fluids and close monitoring.

A record of all fluid taken in and passed out over 24 hours, used to detect dehydration or overload and to guide intravenous therapy, especially in children and older adults.

Localised damage to skin and underlying tissue caused by prolonged pressure, shear or friction, most often over bony prominences; prevented by repositioning, skin care and adequate nutrition.

Assessing and meeting a patient's need for food and fluids, including help with eating, special diets, and recognising dehydration or malnutrition, which slow healing and increase complications.

Systematically asking about and recording pain location, quality, intensity and effect on function, using a validated scale suited to the patient's age and communication ability, to guide treatment.

A graphic labour record plotting cervical dilatation, fetal head descent, contractions and maternal and fetal observations over time, used to detect slow progress and decide on referral.

A package of actions after birth, including a uterotonic drug, controlled cord traction and uterine massage, that shortens the third stage and reduces postpartum haemorrhage.

Excessive bleeding after birth, commonly defined as more than 500 mL after vaginal birth, which is a leading cause of maternal death and requires urgent uterine massage, drugs, fluids and referral.

Continuous skin-to-skin contact between a mother or caregiver and a newborn, with exclusive breastfeeding support, used to keep low birth weight babies warm and stable.

The stepwise approach to a newborn who is not breathing well at birth: warming, drying, positioning, clearing the airway if needed, and giving positive pressure ventilation with room air.

A rapid assessment at one and five minutes after birth scoring heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflex response and colour, used to judge how well the newborn is adapting.

Feeding an infant only breast milk, with no water, formula or other foods, for the first six months, which protects against infection and supports growth and development.

Regularly measuring and plotting a child's weight, length or height and head circumference against standard charts to detect faltering growth, malnutrition or obesity early.

A WHO strategy in which a trained health worker assesses a sick child for a small set of danger signs and common conditions, then gives combined treatment or refers urgently.

A measured mixture of clean water, salts and glucose given by mouth to replace fluid lost through diarrhoea, preventing or treating dehydration without the need for intravenous fluids.

Purposeful use of words, silence, listening and open questions to build trust and help a person express feelings and concerns, forming the basis of mental health nursing interactions.

A structured observation of a person's appearance, behaviour, mood, speech, thought content and form, perception, cognition and insight, recorded to describe psychiatric presentation.

Systematically gathering information to judge the likelihood of harm to the person or others, including suicide, self-harm and violence, and to plan the level of observation and support.

A trained local person who provides basic health education, screening and referral within a village or settlement, linking households to nursing and medical services.

First-contact, accessible, comprehensive and community-based care, delivered through nursing stations, health centres and outreach, that addresses common health needs close to where people live.

The agreed route by which a patient moves from a nursing station or health centre to a higher-level facility, including criteria, transport, communication and feedback to the referring site.

Enabling people to increase control over and improve their health through education, supportive environments and healthy public policy, rather than treatment alone.

A condition that health workers must report to public health authorities, such as typhoid, dengue, leptospirosis or measles, so that surveillance and outbreak control can begin quickly.

The organised public health response to a cluster of cases: confirming the diagnosis, finding cases, identifying the source and mode of spread, and applying control measures.

Sorting patients by urgency of need so that the sickest are treated first; in Fiji it is used in emergency departments and during disasters and outbreaks when demand exceeds resources.

The process of promptly informing a more senior clinician when a patient's condition is deteriorating or a concern is not being addressed, using agreed criteria and structured communication.

Planning, training, stockpiling and drills that allow health services to respond to cyclones, floods and other emergencies common in Fiji, including evacuation and surge capacity.

A factual record of an adverse event or near miss, completed without blame, so that causes can be reviewed and systems improved to prevent recurrence.

A structured review after a serious incident that traces contributing factors in systems, communication and processes rather than blaming an individual, and recommends changes.

Measuring current practice against agreed standards, then changing practice and re-measuring to show improvement, forming a core tool of quality improvement in nursing.

The defined knowledge, skills and behaviours a nurse must demonstrate for registration and ongoing practice, used to guide education, assessment and performance review.

Ongoing learning activities a nurse completes to keep knowledge and skills current, recorded as evidence when renewing registration or practising certificates.

Transferring a specific task to another worker while the nurse remains accountable for choosing the right person, giving clear instructions and checking the outcome.