Nursing Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Nursing distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

PiqCue — piqcue.com/nursing/cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Nursing Process

A systematic, patient-centered framework consisting of five sequential steps: assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation (ADPIE). It provides a structured approach to delivering individualized care and serves as the foundation for clinical decision-making in all nursing practice settings.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

The conscientious integration of the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values to guide healthcare decisions. EBP ensures that nursing interventions are grounded in scientific findings rather than tradition or intuition alone, improving patient outcomes and safety.

Patient Advocacy

The act of supporting and promoting the rights, well-being, and interests of patients within the healthcare system. Nurse advocates ensure patients receive accurate information, give informed consent, and have their preferences respected, particularly when patients cannot speak for themselves.

Scope of Practice

The legally defined boundaries of activities, procedures, and responsibilities that a nurse is authorized to perform based on their licensure, education, and certification. Scope of practice varies by state or country and differs among registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and advanced practice nurses.

Holistic Care

An approach to nursing that addresses the physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and psychological needs of the patient rather than focusing solely on the disease or presenting symptoms. Holistic care recognizes that healing involves the whole person and their environment.

Clinical Judgment

The cognitive process by which nurses observe, interpret, and respond to patient data to make sound decisions about care. Clinical judgment integrates knowledge, experience, and critical thinking and is a core competency measured by the Next Generation NCLEX examination.

Delegation

The transfer of responsibility for performing a specific nursing task from a licensed nurse to a competent individual, such as a nursing assistant or unlicensed assistive personnel, while the nurse retains accountability for the overall patient outcome. Proper delegation follows the five rights: right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction, and right supervision.

Therapeutic Communication

A purposeful, goal-directed form of communication used by nurses to establish trust, gather information, and support patients' emotional and psychological well-being. Techniques include active listening, open-ended questioning, reflection, and empathetic responding.

Patient Safety Culture

The shared values, beliefs, and behavioral norms within a healthcare organization that prioritize the prevention of errors and harm to patients. A strong safety culture encourages error reporting without blame, promotes teamwork, and supports continuous quality improvement.

Interprofessional Collaboration

The practice of healthcare providers from different disciplines working together as a coordinated team to deliver comprehensive patient care. Effective interprofessional collaboration improves communication, reduces errors, and leads to better patient outcomes across the continuum of care.

Key Terms at a Glance

Assessment:The first step of the nursing process involving systematic collection of subjective and objective patient data through interview, observation, and physical examination to establish a baseline and identify health problems.

Auscultation:A physical assessment technique using a stethoscope to listen to sounds produced by the body, including heart sounds, lung sounds, and bowel sounds, to detect normal and abnormal findings.

Aseptic Technique:A set of practices and procedures performed under carefully controlled conditions to minimize contamination by pathogens, used during surgical procedures, wound care, catheter insertion, and other invasive procedures.

Bradycardia:A heart rate below 60 beats per minute in adults, which may be normal in well-conditioned athletes but can indicate pathology such as heart block, hypothyroidism, or adverse medication effects when symptomatic.

Care Plan:A written document that outlines the nursing diagnoses, expected outcomes, and planned interventions for a specific patient, providing a roadmap for individualized care and serving as a communication tool among the healthcare team.

Charting by Exception:A documentation method in which only significant or abnormal findings are recorded in narrative form, while normal findings are documented using standardized checklists or flowsheets, reducing documentation time while maintaining comprehensive records.

Cyanosis:A bluish discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes caused by inadequate oxygenation of the blood, indicating hypoxemia. Central cyanosis (lips, tongue) is more clinically significant than peripheral cyanosis (fingers, toes).

Diuretic:A class of medication that promotes the excretion of water and electrolytes through the kidneys, commonly used to treat conditions such as heart failure, hypertension, and edema. Major types include loop diuretics, thiazides, and potassium-sparing diuretics.

Dyspnea:Subjective difficulty or discomfort in breathing reported by the patient, which may result from cardiac, pulmonary, neuromuscular, or psychological conditions. It is assessed using patient report and objective signs such as use of accessory muscles and oxygen saturation.

Edema:The accumulation of excess fluid in the interstitial spaces of body tissues, resulting in swelling. It can be localized (e.g., from inflammation) or generalized (e.g., from heart failure or kidney disease) and is assessed by palpation using a grading scale of 1+ to 4+.

Embolism:The obstruction of a blood vessel by a traveling clot (thrombus), air bubble, fat globule, or other foreign material. Pulmonary embolism, in which a clot lodges in the pulmonary arteries, is a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate intervention.

Febrile:Having or relating to a fever, defined as a body temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). Fever is a physiological response to infection, inflammation, or other pathological processes and is an important clinical indicator.

HIPAA:The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a U.S. federal law that establishes standards for protecting patients' protected health information (PHI). Nurses must safeguard patient privacy in verbal, written, and electronic communications.

Hemodynamics:The study of blood flow and the forces involved in circulating blood through the cardiovascular system, including cardiac output, blood pressure, vascular resistance, and preload/afterload. Hemodynamic monitoring is critical in managing critically ill patients.

Incentive Spirometry:A breathing exercise device used to encourage patients to take slow, deep breaths to expand the lungs fully, preventing atelectasis (lung collapse) after surgery or during prolonged immobility. Nurses instruct patients to use it regularly, typically 10 breaths every hour while awake.

Get study tips in your inbox

We'll send you evidence-based study strategies and new cheat sheets as they're published.

We'll notify you about updates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.