WGU Nursing Informatics Terms C790
UPDATED ACTUAL Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Database Management System (DBMS) - CORRECT ANSWER - System software
component that manages and controls one or more databases
Clinical Care Classification (CCC) - CORRECT ANSWER - A classification system of
nursing diagnoses and interventions organized under 21 care components to support
documentation of the nursing process. Used for standardizing nursing documentation in home
health and acute care. Think of it as a way to organize and code nursing diagnoses, interventions,
and outcomes for better EHR documentation.
basic literacy - CORRECT ANSWER - A foundational skill. A literate person is one who
can read and write. It involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their
goals, develop their knowledge and potential, and participate fully in their community and wider
society.
AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - CORRECT ANSWER - Provides
a database clearinghouse of 1,500 computer-generated images (CPGs) with standardized medical
terminology that optimize patient outcomes.
nursing informatics (NI) - CORRECT ANSWER - Integrates nursing science with multiple
information management and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage, and communicate
data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. NI supports nurses, consumers,
patients, the interprofessional healthcare team, and other stakeholders in their decision-making in
all roles and settings to achieve positive outcomes.
information literacy - CORRECT ANSWER - The set of integrated abilities encompassing
the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and
valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in
communities of learning.
,health literacy - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which individuals have the capacity
to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make
appropriate health decisions.
dynamic homeostasis - CORRECT ANSWER - Refers to the processes used by a system
to maintain a steady state or balance. This same goal of maintaining a steady state can affect how
clinical settings respond when changes are made or a new system is implemented.
Equifinality - CORRECT ANSWER - The tendency of open systems to reach a
characteristic final state from different initial conditions and in different ways. For example, two
different clinics may be scheduled for the implementation of a new EHR. One unit may be using
paper records, and the other unit may have an outdated computer system. A year or two later,
both clinical units may be at the same point, comfortably using the new system. However, the
process for reaching this point may have been very different.
entropy - CORRECT ANSWER - The tendency of all systems to break down into their
simplest parts. As it breaks down, the system becomes increasingly disorganized or random.
Entropy is demonstrated in the tendency of all systems to wear out. Even with maintenance, a
healthcare information system will reach a point where it must be replaced. Healthcare
information transferred across many different systems in many different formats can also
demonstrate entropy, thereby causing confusion and conflict between different entities within the
healthcare system.
negentropy - CORRECT ANSWER - The opposite of entropy. This is the tendency of
living systems to grow and become more complex. This is demonstrated in the growth and
development of an infant as well as in the increased size and complexity of today's healthcare
system. With the increased growth and complexity of the healthcare system, there has been an
increase in the size and complexity of healthcare information systems. As systems grow and
become more complex, they divide into subsystems and then sub-subsystems. This is the process
of differentiation and specialization
reverberation - CORRECT ANSWER - Change within any part of the system will be
reflected across the total system.
chaos theory - CORRECT ANSWER - The qualitative study of unstable aperiodic
behavior in deterministic, nonlinear dynamical systems. Chaotic systems demonstrate the
, following characteristics: they are dynamic systems in a constant state of nonlinear change. In a
linear system, the output is consistently proportional to the input. Increase the input, and the
output increases at the same rate. In a nonlinear system, the output of the system is not
proportional to the input.
complex adaptive system (CAS) - CORRECT ANSWER - Consists of many diverse and
autonomous parts that are interrelated, interdependent, linked through many interconnections,
and behave as a unified whole in learning from experience and adjusting (not just reacting) to
changes in the environment. Each individual agent of a CAS is itself a CAS.
Shannon-Weaver communication model - CORRECT ANSWER - The sender is the
originator of the message or the information source. The transmitter is the encoder that converts
the content of the message to a code. The code can be letters, words, music, symbols, or a
computer code. A cable is the channel, or the medium used to carry the message. Examples of
channels include satellites, cell towers, glass optical fibers, coaxial cables, ultraviolet light, radio
waves, telephone lines, and paper. Each channel has its own physical limitations in terms of the
size of the message that can be carried. Noise is anything that is not part of the message but
occupies space on the channel and is transmitted with the message. Examples of noise include
static on a telephone line and background sounds in a room. The decoder converts the message to
a format that can be understood by the receiver. When listening to a phone call, the telephone is a
decoder. It converts the signal back into sound waves that are understood as words by the person
listening. The person listening to the words is the destination.
per Blum model, data - CORRECT ANSWER - Uninterpreted elements such as a person's
name, weight, or age.
per Blum model, information - CORRECT ANSWER - Collection of data that have been
processed and then displayed as information, such as weight over time.
per Blum model, knowledge - CORRECT ANSWER - Results when data and information
are identified and the relationships between the data and information are formalized.
per Nelson model, wisdom - CORRECT ANSWER - The appropriate use of knowledge in
managing or solving human problems.
UPDATED ACTUAL Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Database Management System (DBMS) - CORRECT ANSWER - System software
component that manages and controls one or more databases
Clinical Care Classification (CCC) - CORRECT ANSWER - A classification system of
nursing diagnoses and interventions organized under 21 care components to support
documentation of the nursing process. Used for standardizing nursing documentation in home
health and acute care. Think of it as a way to organize and code nursing diagnoses, interventions,
and outcomes for better EHR documentation.
basic literacy - CORRECT ANSWER - A foundational skill. A literate person is one who
can read and write. It involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their
goals, develop their knowledge and potential, and participate fully in their community and wider
society.
AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - CORRECT ANSWER - Provides
a database clearinghouse of 1,500 computer-generated images (CPGs) with standardized medical
terminology that optimize patient outcomes.
nursing informatics (NI) - CORRECT ANSWER - Integrates nursing science with multiple
information management and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage, and communicate
data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. NI supports nurses, consumers,
patients, the interprofessional healthcare team, and other stakeholders in their decision-making in
all roles and settings to achieve positive outcomes.
information literacy - CORRECT ANSWER - The set of integrated abilities encompassing
the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and
valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in
communities of learning.
,health literacy - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which individuals have the capacity
to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make
appropriate health decisions.
dynamic homeostasis - CORRECT ANSWER - Refers to the processes used by a system
to maintain a steady state or balance. This same goal of maintaining a steady state can affect how
clinical settings respond when changes are made or a new system is implemented.
Equifinality - CORRECT ANSWER - The tendency of open systems to reach a
characteristic final state from different initial conditions and in different ways. For example, two
different clinics may be scheduled for the implementation of a new EHR. One unit may be using
paper records, and the other unit may have an outdated computer system. A year or two later,
both clinical units may be at the same point, comfortably using the new system. However, the
process for reaching this point may have been very different.
entropy - CORRECT ANSWER - The tendency of all systems to break down into their
simplest parts. As it breaks down, the system becomes increasingly disorganized or random.
Entropy is demonstrated in the tendency of all systems to wear out. Even with maintenance, a
healthcare information system will reach a point where it must be replaced. Healthcare
information transferred across many different systems in many different formats can also
demonstrate entropy, thereby causing confusion and conflict between different entities within the
healthcare system.
negentropy - CORRECT ANSWER - The opposite of entropy. This is the tendency of
living systems to grow and become more complex. This is demonstrated in the growth and
development of an infant as well as in the increased size and complexity of today's healthcare
system. With the increased growth and complexity of the healthcare system, there has been an
increase in the size and complexity of healthcare information systems. As systems grow and
become more complex, they divide into subsystems and then sub-subsystems. This is the process
of differentiation and specialization
reverberation - CORRECT ANSWER - Change within any part of the system will be
reflected across the total system.
chaos theory - CORRECT ANSWER - The qualitative study of unstable aperiodic
behavior in deterministic, nonlinear dynamical systems. Chaotic systems demonstrate the
, following characteristics: they are dynamic systems in a constant state of nonlinear change. In a
linear system, the output is consistently proportional to the input. Increase the input, and the
output increases at the same rate. In a nonlinear system, the output of the system is not
proportional to the input.
complex adaptive system (CAS) - CORRECT ANSWER - Consists of many diverse and
autonomous parts that are interrelated, interdependent, linked through many interconnections,
and behave as a unified whole in learning from experience and adjusting (not just reacting) to
changes in the environment. Each individual agent of a CAS is itself a CAS.
Shannon-Weaver communication model - CORRECT ANSWER - The sender is the
originator of the message or the information source. The transmitter is the encoder that converts
the content of the message to a code. The code can be letters, words, music, symbols, or a
computer code. A cable is the channel, or the medium used to carry the message. Examples of
channels include satellites, cell towers, glass optical fibers, coaxial cables, ultraviolet light, radio
waves, telephone lines, and paper. Each channel has its own physical limitations in terms of the
size of the message that can be carried. Noise is anything that is not part of the message but
occupies space on the channel and is transmitted with the message. Examples of noise include
static on a telephone line and background sounds in a room. The decoder converts the message to
a format that can be understood by the receiver. When listening to a phone call, the telephone is a
decoder. It converts the signal back into sound waves that are understood as words by the person
listening. The person listening to the words is the destination.
per Blum model, data - CORRECT ANSWER - Uninterpreted elements such as a person's
name, weight, or age.
per Blum model, information - CORRECT ANSWER - Collection of data that have been
processed and then displayed as information, such as weight over time.
per Blum model, knowledge - CORRECT ANSWER - Results when data and information
are identified and the relationships between the data and information are formalized.
per Nelson model, wisdom - CORRECT ANSWER - The appropriate use of knowledge in
managing or solving human problems.
