ANCC FNP key terms

The proportion of people who truly have a condition and are correctly identified as positive by a test. High sensitivity makes a test useful for ruling out disease when negative.

The proportion of people without a condition who are correctly identified as negative by a test. High specificity makes a positive result more trustworthy and helps rule in disease.

The probability that a person with a positive test result actually has the condition. It depends on test sensitivity and specificity plus how common the condition is in the tested population.

The probability that a person with a negative test result truly does not have the condition. It rises when the condition is uncommon in the population being tested.

The proportion of people in a population who have a condition at a given time. Prevalence affects predictive values and pretest probability but not sensitivity or specificity.

The estimated chance that a patient has a condition before a diagnostic test is done, based on history, examination, and local prevalence. It guides whether testing is worthwhile.

A value that shows how much a test result changes the odds of disease. Positive likelihood ratios above 10 and negative ratios below 0.1 often meaningfully alter diagnosis.

A ranked list of possible conditions that could explain a patient's symptoms and findings. It is narrowed by targeted history, examination, and testing rather than by intuition alone.

The cognitive process of gathering and interpreting patient data to reach a diagnosis and management plan. It includes hypothesis generation, pattern recognition, and deliberate checking for bias.

The tendency to lock onto an early diagnosis or first impression and to underweight later evidence that suggests another explanation. Deliberate reconsideration reduces this common diagnostic error.

A symptom, sign, or history feature that suggests serious or urgent disease and warrants prompt evaluation, escalation, or referral rather than routine watchful waiting.

A structured set of questions about symptoms by body system, used to uncover problems the patient has not volunteered and to guide the physical examination and testing.

A formal process of comparing a patient's complete medication list across care settings, including over-the-counter drugs and supplements, to identify omissions, duplications, and interactions.

Conditions in the environments where people live, learn, work, and age that affect health outcomes, such as income, housing, food access, education, and transportation.

A person's ability to obtain, understand, and use health information to make decisions. Low health literacy calls for plain language, teach-back, and simpler medication regimens.

Testing apparently healthy people to find a condition before symptoms appear, when early treatment can improve outcomes. Screening choices depend on prevalence, test accuracy, and benefits versus harms.

The best available reference method for determining whether a condition is present. It is used to judge the accuracy of newer or practical diagnostic tests.

The number of patients who must receive a treatment for one additional patient to benefit over a defined period. Smaller values indicate a larger treatment effect.

The difference in event rates between a control group and a treated group. It shows the actual size of benefit rather than a relative comparison.

A range of values that is likely to contain the true effect size, with a stated level of confidence such as 95%. Narrow intervals indicate more precise estimates.

Clinical decision-making that combines the best available research evidence with clinician expertise and the patient's values, preferences, and circumstances to guide care.

Systematically developed recommendations that help clinicians and patients make decisions about prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up for specific conditions. They should be adapted to the individual patient.

A collaborative conversation in which the clinician explains options, benefits, and harms and the patient's values guide the choice. It is useful when options have trade-offs.

A collaborative counseling style that helps patients find their own reasons for change by exploring ambivalence with empathy and without confrontation or unsolicited advice.

A method of checking understanding by asking the patient to explain or demonstrate information in their own words, then correcting misunderstandings and repeating as needed.

Breakdown of an oral drug in the intestinal wall or liver before it reaches systemic circulation. It can lower bioavailability and make oral doses differ from intravenous doses.

The ratio between a drug's toxic dose and its effective dose. A narrow index means small dose changes can cause toxicity or loss of benefit.

Blocking cytochrome P450 enzymes that metabolize many drugs, which can raise levels of co-administered drugs and cause toxicity. Common inhibitors include some azoles and macrolides.

The strongest safety warning required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a prescription drug label, highlighting serious or life-threatening risks that prescribers must consider.

Prescribing an approved medication for an indication, dose, or patient population not covered by its FDA approval. It is legal and common when evidence supports the use.

A coordinated effort to use antibiotics only when indicated, with the right drug, dose, and duration, to improve outcomes and limit resistance and adverse effects.

The use of multiple medications, often five or more, which raises the risk of interactions, adverse effects, and adherence problems, especially in older adults.

A list of potentially inappropriate medications for older adults, developed to reduce adverse drug events. It guides review and deprescribing but does not replace individualized clinical judgment.

The extent to which a patient takes medications or follows a plan as agreed with the clinician. Barriers include cost, side effects, complexity, and health beliefs.

Measuring drug concentrations in blood to adjust dosing for drugs with narrow therapeutic ranges or unpredictable pharmacokinetics, aiming to keep levels effective and safe.

Organizing care across clinicians, settings, and services so that patients receive consistent, timely treatment and information, especially during transitions and for complex conditions.

A systematic approach to analyzing care processes and testing changes that aim to improve outcomes, safety, and efficiency, using data to measure whether changes help.

A quality improvement method that tests a change through Plan, Do, Study, and Act steps. It allows small, rapid cycles of learning before wider adoption.

A standardized tool that captures the patient's own view of symptoms, function, or quality of life. It helps evaluate whether care is making a meaningful difference.

The movement of a patient between care settings or clinicians, such as hospital to home. Good transitions include medication reconciliation, clear follow-up, and patient education.