Key Terms

Alignment: The state of being agreed and matched with something or someone (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Boundaries: A limit of activity.

Breach: Break, violate (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Caveat: A caution, warning, qualification, or forewarning.

Circle of Care:: The group of healthcare providers treating a patient who share information to provide that care.

Compliance: The act of fulfilling requirements (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Custodian: A person who has a responsibility.

Disclosed: To expose or make public (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Governing: Having the authority to conduct the policy.

Inherent: Existing as something of an essential characteristic.

Intimacy: Close familiarity.

PHI: Personal health information.

Standards of care: A duty determined by a set of circumstances relevant to a particular patient at a given time.

Population Health: The health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.

Ambulatory Care: Care provided on an outpatient basis.

Ecological Model: A model that considers the interaction between and interdependence of factors within and across all levels of a health problem.

Social Determinants of Health: Conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affects a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

Health Promotion: The process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health.

Disease Prevention: Measures to prevent the occurrence of disease and health issues.

Care Coordination: Deliberately organizing patient care activities and sharing information among all of the participants concerned with a patient’s care to achieve safer and more effective care.

Health Information Technology (HIT): The use of technology to store, manage, and exchange health information.

Predictive Analytics: The use of data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning techniques to identify the likelihood of future outcomes.

Quality Improvement: A systematic, data-guided activity designed to bring about immediate, positive changes in healthcare delivery.

Patient Safety: The practice of minimizing the risk of unnecessary harm associated with healthcare to an acceptable minimum.

Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle: A model for carrying out change in the healthcare setting; it involves planning a change, carrying out the change, studying the results, and acting on what is learned.

Six Sigma: A set of techniques and tools for process improvement to reduce process variation and improve control over those processes.

Lean: A methodology that aims to provide a new way to think about how to organize human activities to deliver more benefits to society and value to individuals while eliminating waste.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA): A systematic process for identifying the root causes of problems or events and an approach for responding to them.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA): A step-by-step approach for identifying all possible failures in a design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service.

Health Equity: When everyone has the opportunity to attain their highest level of health.

Telehealth: The use of digital information and communication technologies, such as computers and mobile devices, to access health care services remotely.

Patient-centered care: An approach to healthcare that recognizes the patient as an individual with unique needs, preferences, and values, involving them as partners in decision-making and care planning.

Therapeutic relationship: A professional, empathetic, and trusting relationship established between the technologist and patient, fostering open communication and mutual respect.

Shared decision-making: Collaborative decision-making process where healthcare providers and patients work together to make informed decisions about the patient’s care.

Empower: The process of enabling patients to take an active role in managing their health and healthcare.

Continuity of care: The coordination and smooth transition of care across different healthcare providers and settings to maintain the patient’s wellbeing.

Active listener: The act of listening carefully.

Adaptations: The act of changing to fit in.

Adverse Effects: Something that can go wrong during a treatment that can affect an individual for the rest of their life.

Attentively: The act of being observant.

Authority: The power an individual has to give orders and make rules.

Autonomy: An individual acting differently and separating from others (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Circumstances: Something happening where nobody has control of it.

Clientele: Customers/clients.

Conducive: The act of being more flexible for a client.

Disrespectful: The act of being rude and going against the rules.

Emotional Safety: A feeling that your innermost thoughts, feelings, and experiences are, and will be, honoured as one honours themselves.

Empathic: The act of being understanding.

Environment: The place you are surrounded by.

Event: Something happening.

Genuine: The act of being real, truthful and sincere.

Helping Interview: An interview with a person seeking help and the people providing that help.

Interactions: The involvement with another individual.

Judgment: To make considered decisions or come to conclusions about another based on past experience, stereotyping or prejudice.

Multigenerational: Being related to multiple generations.

Perceive: The act of being aware of something.

Reaction: A response to words and actions.

Severe: Very bad/ serious.

Shame: A feeling of humiliation.

Spontaneity: The state of being spontaneous (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Survivor: To continue to function after a traumatic experience.

Tendencies: An individual’s thoughts and actions. (Marriam-Webster, n.d.)

Trauma: Pertains to a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. A psychological or physical injury (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Trauma-informed: The act of recognizing trauma within individuals.

Traumatic: The act of being emotionally stressed to the point where it can affect an individual mentally and emotionally.

Triggers: Something that causes an individual to have trauma.

Troublesome: Being difficult.

Well-being: Being happy and healthy (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Special Populations: Groups of individuals who require specific attention, tailored approaches, and specialized care plans within a healthcare setting, such as the elderly, children, pregnant women, individuals with disabilities, and chronic disease patients.

Comprehensive Assessment: A thorough and detailed evaluation of a patient’s health, encompassing physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects. For special populations, this includes additional evaluations related to age, disability, chronic conditions, cultural background, or other factors specific to the population.

Tailored Care Plans: Individualized care strategies developed for a patient, considering their unique needs, preferences, and characteristics. In the context of special populations, these plans are particularly sensitive to the specific requirements of each group.

Cultural Sensitivity: The awareness, understanding, and respect of cultural differences, including beliefs, practices, and values, in healthcare provision. This concept is crucial in the treatment of diverse special populations to ensure equitable and respectful care.

Telemedicine: The use of technology to provide clinical health care from a distance, often used to enhance the accessibility and efficiency of care for special populations.

Patient Rights: The legal entitlements and ethical guidelines related to the treatment of patients, including confidentiality, informed consent, and autonomy. Special attention to these rights is necessary when treating special populations.

Adaptive Equipment: Tools and devices modified or specially designed to assist individuals with disabilities or other special needs. These play a vital role in enhancing the independence and quality of life for special populations

Self-Care: The practice of taking care of one’s own physical and mental health.

Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

Emotional Well-being: A state of mental health that involves positive self-regard and sense of emotional control.

Physical Well-being: A state of health where an individual is physically fit and free from illness.

Social Well-being: A sense of connection and belonging to a community.

Spiritual Well-being: A sense of purpose, meaning, and connection to something greater.

Ethical Considerations: Moral principles that guide a person’s or profession’s behavior.

Ambiguity: Something that does not have a clear meaning. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Avert: Avoid. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Conventional: Something that is usual. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Dialect: A  language distinguished by vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation using other regional types and creating a single language. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Domineeringly: Overbearing control over other individual. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Elder: An identified and respected member of an Aboriginal community. Elders have ley information about their community and are often sought for guidance and support. Often they may be called ‘aunty’ or ‘uncle’ as a sign of respect, even if they are not related.

Equality: The quality of having the same rights. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Gestures: A movement of the body that emphasizes an idea. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Gossip: Rumour about others. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Graciousness: Kindness and politeness. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Hierarchy: A system in which people are placed by levels with different importance. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Holiest: Something that has a divine quality. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Mirrored: Adjective of something that gives an accurate representation. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Positionality: The position that your race, gender, sexuality, and ability position your identity in society (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Powerless: Lacking the capacity to act. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Proficiency: Advancement in any knowledge. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Pride: A feeling that you deserve to be respected (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Rapport: A relationship that is harmonious. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Reluctance: State of feeling aversion. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Restrained: Not excessive. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Subtle: Something that is hard to notice. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Supplication: Humility

Transparency: Obvious or easy to understand. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Trauma: A very difficult experience that causes mental or emotional problems, usually for a long time. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Uncertainties: Uncertain things. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Whispering: Soft speech to avoid being overheard. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Wisdom: The knowledge that is gained by experiences in life. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Worthy: Having value. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Alternate: Taking the place of the current.

Anticipatory grief: Is a reaction to an upcoming, impending, or expected loss event.

Bargaining: Negotiating, agreement, or contract. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Bereaved: Someone who is afflicted by the death of a loved one. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Cognitive: Thinking, reasoning, knowing, remembering, and problem-solving abilities.

Compassionate: Showing concern for others.

Despair: Complete loss of hope.

Disbelief: Inability to accept something is real or true.

Grief: Is both a feeling and a process that people typically go through after a death or other significant loss.

Legitimized: Viewed as valid.

Mourn: To feel or show deep sorrow or regret.

Philosophies: A system of thought.

Rituals: Ceremony consisting of several ordered steps.

Shock: State of being severely disturbed. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Spirit: The non-physical part of a person their emotions and character; the soul.

Trigger: Something that causes the appearance of something else. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Barrier: Something that could be mental or physical that prevents you from progressing.

Cochlear implants: Electronic prostheses are used to aid in hearing. Has an external microphone and one or more electrodes placed into the cochlea. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Decipher: Interpret or decode a message sent to the receiver. (Merriam-Webste, n.d.)

Device: Equipment that serves a specific function. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Expert: Someone who has obtained mastery or experience through education or life experience.

Gentle touch: Used to console a person, placing one hand softly onto another’s shoulder.

Hazards: Are potential risks of danger. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Impairment: Regression or loss of mobility. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Interaction Model of Communication: Process in which participants alternate roles of sender and receiver and incorporate feedback.

Limitations: Due to varying impeding factors one person may not be able to do the same things as someone else.

Methods: Process or steps taken to achieve an objective. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Squinting: Straining one’s eyes in order to try and see something clearly.

Temporary: For short periods of time. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Accessibility: The quality of being easy to obtain or use, easily understood, or appreciated.

Adheres: To maintain loyalty (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Audibly: Can be heard.

Character: Features that describe an individual.

Clarification: To understand an idea.

Confidentiality: The state of keeping or being kept secret or private.

Dialect: A regional variety of language distinguished by vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional types and constituting a single language (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Dictation: To understand words that are being used.

Enunciate: To pronounce words clearly so they are understandable.

Ethics: A set of rules.

Fluent: The act of mastering an idea and being comfortable with it.

Impairment: Diminishment or loss of a function (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Impartial: The act of not being biased and treating everyone and everything equally.

Insufficient: Not being enough.

Interpreter: A person who interprets, especially one who translates speech orally (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Mannerisms: A specific style that an individual should act and speak.

Privacy: The state of being free from public attention.

Rationale: Explanation of controlling principles, such as practice, belief, opinion, or phenomena (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Reliability: The act of dependency you have on an individual.

Unbiased: Not being fair.

Utilize: To use/ take advantage of.

Verbal interaction: The words individuals use to get a message across.

Brief – A short session to share a plan, discuss team formation, assign roles and responsibilities, establish expectations and climate, and anticipate outcomes and contingencies

Communication – Structured process by which information is clearly and accurately exchanged among team members

CUS – Mnemonic to catch the attention of a decision-maker during emergent situations; stands for “I am Concerned – I am Uncomfortable – This is a Safety issue!”

Debrief – An informal information exchange session designed to improve team performance and effectiveness through reinforcement of positive behaviors and reflection on lessons learned

DESC – Mnemonic to manage conflict among team members; stands for Describe the situation or behavior, Express how it makes you feel or what your concerns are, Suggest other alternatives and seek agreement, and Consequences (impact on established team goals)

Huddle – A brief meeting before and/or during a shift to establish situational awareness, reinforce plans already in place, and adjust the teamwork plan as needed

I’M SAFE – Mnemonic tool used to assess one’s own safety status and the safety status of other team members

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice – Multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds working together to deliver the highest quality of care

Leadership – The ability to maximize the activities of team members by ensuring that team actions are understood, changes in information are shared, and team members have the necessary resources

Mutual Support – The ability to anticipate and support team members’ needs through accurate knowledge about their responsibilities and workload

Professionalism – Conducting oneself with responsibility, integrity, accountability, and excellence

Situation Monitoring – The process of actively scanning and assessing situational elements to gain information or understanding, or to maintain awareness to support team functioning

STEP Tool – A situation monitoring tool; stands for Status of the patients, Team members, Environment, and Progress toward goal

TeamSTEPPS® – An evidence-based framework to optimize team performance across the healthcare system

Teamwork Processes – The interrelated knowledge, skills, and attitudes that allow teams to work together to accomplish interdependent goals

Emotional Health – What keeps your heart in check and helps you to keep your emotions reasonable

Personal Wellness – Being physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy

Procrastination – A way of thinking that lets one put off doing something that should be done now

Stress – A feeling a person gets when faced with a challenge

Wellness – Being in good physical and mental health

Attitudes: Immediate disposition towards a concept or object.

Beliefs: Ideas based on your previous experiences and convictions often serve as a frame of reference for viewing the world.

Caveat: A caution, warning, qualification, or forewarning.

Classical Conditioning: Classical conditioning is a learning process in which coupling stimuli produce a response (Fields, T., 2020).

Cognitive Development Theory: Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory proposed that people develop their thinking by comparing new experiences to what they already know. This theory proposed that cognitive development follows a sequence.

Concrete Operations Stage: This is a stage in Jean Piaget’s theory where a child can comprehend other people’s viewpoints (DeWolfe, T.E., 2019).

Controlled Acts: May only be performed by authorized regulated health professionals (CPSO, 2021).

Empathy: Awareness of how someone is experiencing or feeling an emotional event because you have felt the same or similar emotion.

Formal Operations Stage: This is a stage in Jean Piaget’s theory where abstract ideas and concepts like justice can be understood even if not directly experienced (DeWolfe, T.E., 2019)

Innate: inherent or born with.

Invalidate: To view the person’s issues as if there is no merit or foundation.

Judged: A formed negative opinion.

Scope of Practice: Work within the limits of what you have been educated or trained to do.

Self Awareness: Examination of a person’s own behaviours and perspective of themselves.

Social Determinants of Health: Social determinants like income and social status that affect the health outcomes for people.

Stimuli: An agent that produces a response

Sympathy: To feel sorry for someone else.

Therapeutic Communication: Relates to treatments that are curative and benefit mind and body (Merriam Webster, n.d).

Values: Core concepts and ideas that you categorize as good or bad, right or wrong, or what might be worth making a sacrifice for.

pb_glossary id=”1181″]Addiction[/pb_glossary]: A solid need to habitually use or do something. (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Agoraphobia: Anxiety about being in places or situations where escape might not be possible (Stangor & Walinga, 2014).

Anxiety: Excessive worry, nervousness, or fear even when the stressors are removed.

Anxiety disorders: Psychological disturbances that include irrational fears of what most would perceive as everyday situations and objects (Stangor. C, & Walinga. J., 2014).

Alarm phase: First phase in Hans Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome. The fight-or flight response is activated (Pelz & Herkimer County Community College, n.d.).

Behaviours: The way a person act (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Comorbidity: Suffering from two or more disorders at the same time.

Compulsions: Repetitive behaviours.

Distress: When the level of stress is no longer helpful and becomes overwhelming and debilitating (Pelz & Herkimer County Community College, n.d.).

Dysthymia: Mild form of depression.

Exacerbation: Increase in severity.

Exhaustion phase: The third and final phase of Hans Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome model. The body is no longer able to adapt and sustained levels of Cortisol takes it tole on the body (Pelz & Herkimer County Community College, n.d.)

Eustress: Stress for a short duration considered good stress eu/stress.

Fidgety: Inclined to easily upset (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Flight-or-fight response: The activation of both sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system in response to a real or perceived threat. Blood flow goes to essential organs allowing the body to either fight the threat or flee from the threat (Pelz & Herkimer County Community College, n.d.).

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): Hans Selye created this term to refer to the three phases in which the mind and body change in response to long-term stress.

Homelessness: Not having a place to live (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Major depressive disorder: Clinical depression is a severe form of depression as it limits the person’s day-to-day activities.

Misuse: incorrect use of something (Merriam-Webster, n.d)

Mood disorders: Lowering of a person’s mood.

Obsessions: Repetitive thoughts.

Outburst: stern expression of a feeling (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Panic Attack: An unexpected sudden surge of fear with physical symptoms.

Panic disorders: A series of unexpected panic attacks that becomes debilitating.

Phobia: Fear of something specific such as an object, activity, or situation.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A psychological condition occurring when a person experienced a highly stressing situation (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Remission: A period of time when there is relief from symptoms.

Resistance phase: The second phase of Hans Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome model. The body remains on alert but the initial jolt is gone (Pelz & Herkimer County Community College, n.d.)

Stress: Researchers vary on their definition of stress but it is generally thought to be the response to a stimulus (stressor) or response to a perception of a stressor (Pelz & Herkimer County Community College, n.d.).

Stressor: Being something an individual determines is overwhelming or a potential threat to their wellbeing (Pelz & Herkimer County Community College, n.d.).

Sympathetic system: the part of the nervous system that prepares the body to react to situations of stress or alarm (Merriam-Webster, n.d).

Trembling: shaking involuntarily (Merriam-Webster, n.d).