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2.8: II Glossary

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    ABCs: Airway, breathing, and circulation.

    Actual problems: Nursing problems currently occurring with the patient.

    Acuity: The level of patient care that is required based on the severity of a patient’s illness or condition.

    Acuity-rating staffing models: A staffing model used to make patient assignments that reflects the individualized nursing care required for different types of patients.

    Acute conditions: Conditions having a sudden onset.

    Chronic conditions: Conditions that have a slow onset and may gradually worsen over time.

    Clinical reasoning: “A complex cognitive process that uses formal and informal thinking strategies to gather and analyze patient information, evaluate the significance of this information, and weigh alternative actions.”[1]

    Critical thinking: A broad term used in nursing that includes “reasoning about clinical issues such as teamwork, collaboration, and streamlining workflow.”[2]

    CURE hierarchy: A strategy for prioritization based on identifying “critical” needs, “urgent” needs, “routine” needs, and “extras.”

    Data cues: Pieces of significant clinical information that direct the nurse toward a potential clinical concern or a change in condition.

    Expected conditions: Conditions that are likely to occur or anticipated in the course of an illness, disease, or injury.

    Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Prioritization strategies often reflect the foundational elements of physiological needs and safety and progress toward higher levels.

    Ratio-based staffing models: A staffing model used to make patient assignments in terms of one nurse caring for a set number of patients.

    Risk problem: A nursing problem that reflects that a patient may experience a problem but does not currently have signs reflecting the problem is actively occurring.

    Time estimation: A prioritization strategy including the review of planned tasks and allocation of time believed to be required to complete each task.

    Time scarcity: A feeling of racing against a clock that is continually working against you.

    Unexpected conditions: Conditions that are not likely to occur in the normal progression of an illness, disease, or injury.


    1. Klenke-Borgmann, L., Cantrell, M. A., & Mariani, B. (2020). Nurse educator’s guide to clinical judgment: A review of conceptualization, measurement, and development. Nursing Education Perspectives, 41(4), 215-221. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nep.0000000000000669
    2. Klenke-Borgmann, L., Cantrell, M. A., & Mariani, B. (2020). Nurse educator’s guide to clinical judgment: A review of conceptualization, measurement, and development. Nursing Education Perspectives, 41(4), 215-221. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nep.0000000000000669

    This page titled 2.8: II Glossary is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ernstmeyer & Christman (Eds.) (OpenRN) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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