WGU Nursing Informatics Terms C790
Study Guide Exam and Actual
Answers.
Database Management System (DBMS) - Answer System software component that manages
and controls one or more databases
Clinical Care Classification (CCC) - 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 - 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) - Answer Provides a database
clearinghouse of 1,500 computer-generated images (CPGs) with standardized medical
terminology that optimize patient outcomes.
nursing informatics (NI) - 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 - 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 - 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.
, Equifinality - 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other unit may have an outdated computer system.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 - 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 - 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 - Answer Change within any part of the system will be reflected across the total
system.
chaos theory - 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) - 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 - 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
Study Guide Exam and Actual
Answers.
Database Management System (DBMS) - Answer System software component that manages
and controls one or more databases
Clinical Care Classification (CCC) - 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 - 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) - Answer Provides a database
clearinghouse of 1,500 computer-generated images (CPGs) with standardized medical
terminology that optimize patient outcomes.
nursing informatics (NI) - 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 - 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 - 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.
, Equifinality - 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 - 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 - 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 - Answer Change within any part of the system will be reflected across the total
system.
chaos theory - 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) - 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 - 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
