X Glossary

Advocacy: The act or process of pleading for, supporting, or recommending a cause of course of action. Advocacy may be for individuals, groups, organizations, communities, society, or policy issues.

Collective bargaining: Negotiation of wages and other conditions of employment by an organized body of employees.

Evidence-based practice: Integrating scientific evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values for delivery of optimal health care.^[1]

Grievance process: A process for resolving disagreements between employees and management.

Informatics: Using information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making.^[2]

ISBARR: A mnemonic for the components to include when communicating with another health care team member: Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment, Request/Recommendations, and Repeat back.

Magnet® Recognition Program: An organizational credential that recognizes quality patient outcomes, nursing excellence, and innovations in professional nursing practice.

Patient-centered care: The patient is the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for patient’s preferences, values, and needs.^[3]

Quality improvement: Using data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and using improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care systems.^[4]

Shared governance: A shared leadership model between management and employees working together to achieve common goals.

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): The conditions in the environments where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality of life outcomes and risks. SDOH include health care access and quality, neighborhood and environment, social and community context, economic stability, and education access and quality. Social determinants of health (SDOH) have a major impact on people’s health, well-being, and quality of life.

TeamSTEPPS® (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety): An evidence-based framework to improve client safety through effective communication in health care environments consisting of four core competencies: communication, leadership, situation monitoring, and mutual support.

Teamwork and collaboration: Functioning effectively within nursing and interprofessional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making to achieve quality patient care.^[5]

Whistleblower: A person who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization.