RCSI NMBI Aptitude Test key terms

Being answerable for your own nursing actions, decisions and omissions, and being ready to explain and justify them to patients, colleagues, employers and the nursing regulator.

Acting on a patient's behalf to protect their rights, wishes and dignity, especially when illness, fear or communication difficulty leaves them unable to speak up for themselves.

The ethical principle of doing good: choosing actions that promote a patient's health, comfort and wellbeing, and that are genuinely likely to benefit them.

The ethical principle of avoiding harm. It requires nurses to weigh the risks of an intervention against its expected benefit and to choose the least harmful safe option.

Recognising a person's right to make their own informed choices about care, even when the nurse disagrees, and giving them the information and support needed to do so.

Valid permission for a procedure, given freely by someone who has capacity and understands the purpose, risks, benefits and alternatives, and their right to refuse.

The duty to keep a patient's personal health information private, sharing it only with those who need it for care or when the law permits or requires disclosure.

The range of tasks, decisions and responsibilities a nurse is educated, competent and authorised to carry out, set by regulation, employer policy and the limits of their own competence.

Entrusting a specific task to another person who is competent to do it, while the nurse remains accountable for the decision to delegate and for supervising the outcome.

The body's ability to keep internal conditions such as temperature, pH, blood glucose and fluid volume within the narrow range needed for cells to work properly.

A lower than normal amount of oxygen in arterial blood, which can cause breathlessness, confusion, tachycardia and, if uncorrected, damage to vital organs.

Swelling caused by excess fluid collecting in body tissues, often seen in the ankles, sacrum or lungs, and commonly linked to heart, kidney or liver problems.

A life-threatening response to infection in which widespread inflammation injures tissues and organs; it needs urgent recognition and treatment, often with antibiotics and fluids.

A fall in blood pressure on standing, usually at least 20 mmHg systolic or 10 mmHg diastolic, causing dizziness and increased falls risk, especially after bed rest or with some medicines.

The regulation of hydrogen ion concentration in body fluids so that blood pH stays close to 7.35–7.45; vomiting, diarrhoea and breathing problems can all disturb it.

Blood glucose below about 4 mmol/L, causing sweating, tremor, hunger and confusion and, if untreated, seizures or loss of consciousness; it needs immediate fast-acting carbohydrate or glucose.

A non-invasive method of estimating arterial oxygen saturation by measuring how much light is absorbed by oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor haemoglobin in a finger or earlobe probe.

The systematic collection of information about a patient's physical, psychological, social and cultural needs, using observation, interview, records and measurements, as the base for care planning.

The reasoned conclusion a nurse reaches by interpreting assessment findings in context, then deciding what action, if any, is needed and how urgently.

A structured way of assessing and treating a deteriorating patient in priority order: airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure, dealing with each life-threatening problem before moving on.

A number calculated from routine observations such as respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, pulse, temperature and consciousness, which triggers a graded clinical response when it rises.

A clinical statement describing a patient's actual or potential health problem that a nurse is educated and able to address, such as risk of falls or impaired skin integrity.

A written plan, agreed with the patient where possible, that sets out their identified needs, the goals of care, the nursing actions to be taken and how progress will be judged.

A structured review of factors that make harm more likely for a particular patient, such as falls, pressure injury, malnutrition or self-harm, so that preventive measures can be put in place.

Reviewing whether the planned nursing actions achieved the agreed goals, and changing the plan when they did not or when the patient's condition changed.

Purposeful, respectful communication that helps a patient explore concerns and make decisions, while keeping clear professional boundaries and focusing on the patient's needs rather than the nurse's.

Giving full attention to what a patient says and how they say it, using eye contact, brief prompts and reflection, then checking that you have understood correctly.

Understanding and acknowledging another person's feelings and perspective without taking them on as your own, and communicating that understanding back to them.

A question that cannot be answered with yes or no, inviting the patient to describe their experience in their own words and yielding richer assessment information.

A structured handover tool - identify, situation, background, assessment, recommendation - that gives a complete, brief and safe transfer of information about a patient.

A way of checking understanding by asking the patient to explain or show in their own words what they have been taught, rather than asking whether they understood.

A person's ability to find, understand and use health information to make decisions; low health literacy calls for simpler language, shorter sentences, pictures and checking understanding.

A method of calculating a dose by dividing the dose prescribed by the strength available, then multiplying by the volume or unit in which that strength comes.

Changing a measurement from one unit to another, such as milligrams to micrograms or litres to millilitres, using factors of 1,000 before any dose calculation is attempted.

The number of drops per minute needed to deliver a prescribed volume over a set time using gravity infusion, calculated from the volume, the time and the giving set's drop factor.

The volume of fluid a pump should deliver each hour, found by dividing the total volume to be given by the number of hours over which it is prescribed.

Calculating a dose from the patient's body weight, usually in mg per kg, which means the weight must be recorded accurately and the result checked against a safe maximum.

A way of expressing how much drug is dissolved in a solution, where 1% means 1 gram in 100 mL; useful for converting a prescribed strength into a volume to draw up.

A medicine that carries a heightened risk of serious harm when given in error, such as insulin, heparin, opioids or concentrated potassium, and which needs independent double-checking.

The core checks made before giving any medicine - right patient, drug, dose, route, time and documentation - with the nurse also confirming any specific local requirements.