Transcript Health Science Internship Vocabulary

Health Science Internship
Vocabulary
By: Cindy Quisenberry
Acute
Problem that begins rapidly and typically
lasts 7-10 days; then the person recovers
Chronic
An ongoing illness or condition that does
not have cure, usually has gradual onset,
and lasts for a long time
Long Term Care Facility
Part of the health care system that
provides rehabilitation, continuous
supportive, high level nursing, respite or
hospice care for an extended period of
time
Interdisciplinary Team
A group of caregivers from all departments
in a facility
Nursing
Medicine
Physical therapy
Social services
Etc.
Nursing Assistant
A trained member of the healthcare team
who provides the majority of hands-on
resident (patient) care
Charge Nurse
A nurse who has the day-to-day
responsibility for supervising nurse
assistants, nurses, and organizing patient
care on their assigned hall, unit, etc.
Alzheimer’s Disease
A progressive, incurable disease that
affects the brain and causes memory loss
and eventual death
Biologicals
Medical products made from living
organisms, such as vaccinations or blood
products
Cognitive Impairment
Disruption in knowledge, memory,
awareness, or judgment
Collaboration
The act of working together
Conflict Resolution
Use of effective communication to resolve
problems
Convalescent
Recovering health and strength gradually
after sickness and weakness
Intravenous
Entering through a vein
Hospice Care
A program with a specially trained
interdisciplinary team that cares for a
terminally ill resident who is expected to die
within 6 months
Intellectually Disabled
A person with impaired mental skills,
characterized both by a significant below
average score on a test of mental ability or
intelligence and by limitations in the ability
to function in areas of daily life; sometimes
called cognitive disability or mental
retardation
Mental Retardation
Condition in which the individual has
significantly below average intelligence and
minimal adaptive skills
Adaptive Skills
Skills people use every day to live, work,
and play
Occupational Therapist
Works with fine motor skills to help
individuals keep using their hands and arms
for activities
Physical Therapist
Works with individuals to improve
functional mobility so individuals can
maintain or increase their physical abilities,
such as walking
Restorative
Designed to help one to return to health
and be as independent and functional as
possible
SpeechTherapist/
Speech-language Pathologist
Assess, treat, and prevent communication and
swallowing disorders, such as patients who:
cannot make speech sounds or cannot make them
clearly
stutter
have inappropriate pitch
have difficulty understanding and producing
language
have oral motor problems with eating and swallowing
Recreation Therapy
Working with residents to help them stay
active
Subacute Care
Care provided to individuals who do not
need to be in the hospital but are not ready
to be at home
Gerontology
A branch of knowledge dealing with aging
Respite Care
An interval of rest or relief - usually rest or
relief for families who have been providing
care for their loved one
Dental Assistant
Perform both preparatory and break-down
duties in the office. Some of these duties
include disinfecting and laying out
instruments for a dentist, obtaining
patients' dental records, handing
instruments to dentists during procedures
and instructing patients on how to care for
their teeth after they leave the dentist's
office.
Dental Hygienist
Performs tasks that are more advanced and
independent; perform several tasks that
were only done by dentists in the past.
Their duties may include polishing
patients' teeth, removing hard and soft
deposits from teeth and using several tools
to remove tartar, plaque and stains.
Hygienists may also develop x-ray film.
Significant Other
Person who is very close and important to
another person, but who is not related by a
traditional family relationship or marriage;
usually refers to a sexual partner outside of
marriage
Medical Doctor (Physician)
Abbreviation for Doctor of Medicine.
Sometimes written today as MD .
All medical schools in the United States
and Canada award an MD degree, usually
after 4 years undergraduate study at a
college or university followed by 4 years of
medical school.
Doctor of Osteopathy
(Physician)
Abbreviation for Doctor of Osteopathy.
Sometimes written today as DO.
All schools of Osteopathy in the United
States and Canada award an DO.
degree, usually after 4 years
undergraduate study at a college or
university followed by 4 years of medical
school.
Physicians (MD & DO)
After medical school, both DOs and
MDs obtain graduate medical education
through internships, residencies and
fellowships. This training lasts three to
eight years and prepares DOs and MDs
to practice a specialty.
Physicians (MD & DO)
Both DOs and MDs can choose to
practice in any specialty of medicine—such
as pediatrics, family medicine, psychiatry,
surgery or ophthalmology.
DOs and MDs must pass comparable
examinations to obtain state licenses.
DOs and MDs both practice in
accredited and licensed health care
facilities.
Medical Director/
Hospitalist
The staff physician that treat the
patients/residents medical conditions and
directs general medical care.
Director of Nursing
(DON)
Supervises the nursing staff and sets the
philosophy and approach for caregiving
Nursing Staff
The largest department; The nursing
staff help residents with the activities of
daily (ADL’s), medical treatments,
medications, and health promotion. Staff
includes registered and licensed nurses and
nursing assistants.
Social Worker
Counsel patients/residents and their
families; they might help residents apply for
Medicaid, arrange for home care services,
etc.
Administrator
Manages a facility and directs all staff.
The administrator’s goal is to make sure
each patient/resident’s quality of life and
care needs are met.
Housekeeping
Keeps the inside of the facility clean.
Bookkeeping
Manages accounting, payroll, and
purchasing.
Dietitian/Nutritionist
Plans and prepares meals, assesses a
patient’s/resident’s likes and dislikes, and
ensures good nutrition.
Disability
Lack of a full physical or mental function
Rehabilitation
The process of restoring to a former state
Rehabilitative
Restoring to former health
Optimal
Most desirable or satisfactory; highest
Preferences
Personal choices or favorites
Premiums
Payments for insurance policies
Accredit
To recognize or vouch for as conforming
with a standard
Admission
Administrative procedure for entering a
facility; opposite of discharge
Discharge
Administrative procedure for leaving a
facility; opposite of admission
Residential
Long term care facility in which people live
Restraint
Device used to restrict movement
Medicare
Federal health care insurance for the
elderly.
Pays for a limited number of days in a
facility; after that, the person must turn to
Medicaid or their own resources to pay for
care
Medicaid
State and federal program that pays the
costs for people with limited income and
assets. It was originally intended to meet
the healthcare needs only of the poor.
Is a major part of the US long-term care
system b/c so many people cannot pay in
other ways.
Managed Care Plans
A type of private insurance
Varies from state to state
Centers for Medicare an d
Medicaid Services (CMS)
Provides health insurance for 74 million
US citizens through Medicare, Medicaid,
and other programs.
CMS oversees the surveying and
certification of long term care facilities.
Facilities must follow CMS regulations to
receive reimbursement
JCAHO - Joint Commission
on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations
Evaluates and accredits health care
organizations and programs in the US.
Organizations seek JCAHO
accreditation in order to receive managed
care contracts.
Assisted Living Facilities
Provide 24-hour supervision in a home-like
setting. Support services are based on
each resident’s needs. Services may
include help with eating, bathing, dressing,
toileting, taking medicine, transportation,
laundry, housekeeping, etc.
Intermediate Care Facilities
Have a wide variety of services for mentally
and developed mentally disabled persons.
Care focuses on helping the person
become as independent as possible. Staff
work with the skills of each person and
build success from that starting point.
LTACH
Long Term Acute Care Hospital - A long
term acute care facility is a specialty-care hospital
designed for patients with serious medical problems
that require intense, special treatment for an extended
period of time—usually 20 to 30 days.
Long term acute care facilities offer more individualized
and resource-intensive care than a skilled nursing
facility, nursing home or acute rehabilitation facility.
Contracture
Deformity caused by a permanent
shortening of a muscle or ligament, or by
scar tissue
Resuscitate
To revive from apparent death
Values
 Beliefs people have about what is
important to them
Shift
 Scheduled period of work for a group of
people (day shift, evening shift, night shift,
7a-7p, etc.)
Inservice
 Educational programs taught to staff
while on the job
Wing/Hall
 Separate section of a building attached
to the central section
Confidentiality
 Keeping information private
Grievance
 A formal complaint
OBRA (Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act)
 Nursing home reform bill – defined
residents’ rights
Right to exercise one’s rights
Right to privacy and confidentiality
Right to information
Right to choose
Right to notification of change
Protection of residents’ personal funds
Grievance rights