OCN

Abbreviation for:
Oncology Certified Nurse
oculomotor nucleus
Open College Network
optically clear nuclei
osteocalcin

OCN

Abbreviation for oncology certified nurse.

nurse

(nurs) [Fr. fr. L. nutrix, nurse] 1. One who provides health care. The extent of participation varies from simple patient care tasks to the most expert professional techniques necessary in acute life-threatening situations. The ability of a nurse to make self-directed judgments and to act independently will depend on professional background, motivation, and opportunity for professional development. The health care team includes the technical nurse, who is technique-oriented, deals with commonly recurring nursing problems and knows standardized procedures and medically delegated techniques. Also included is the professional nurse, who is prepared to assume responsibility for the care of individuals and groups in collaboration with a physician. The roles of nurses constantly change in response to the growth of biomedical knowledge, changes in patterns of demand for health services, and the evolution of professional relationships among nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals. 2. To feed an infant at the breast.3. To perform the duties of caring for the sick.4. To care for a young child.

advanced practice nurse

A registered nurse with additional education, skill, and specialization in various fields of medicine. See: nurse anesthetist; clinical nurse specialist; nurse midwife; nurse practitioner

nurse anesthetist

Abbreviation: CRNA
A registered nurse who administers anesthesia to patients in the operating room and delivery room. The knowledge and skill required to provide this service are attained through an organized program of study recognized by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. Nurse anesthetists hold at least a master's degree.

certified emergency nurse

Abbreviation: CEN
A nurse who has passed the examination administered by the Board of Certification of Emergency Nursing. To maintain certification as a CEN, a nurse must recertify every 4 years; a formal examination is required every 8 years, and continuing education credits can be submitted as proof of professional competence during alternate 4-year cycles.

charge nurse

A nurse responsible for supervising the nursing staff on a hospital or nursing home unit. This nurse reports to the nurse manager.

circulating nurse

A nurse who participates in surgeries by taking a preoperative history, educating the patient about the upcoming operation, monitoring the patient’s vital functions, ensuring the sterility of instruments to be used, and making certain that operating room equipment is available for the procedure and functions well.

clinical nurse specialist

Abbreviation: CNS
A nurse with particular competence in certain areas such as intensive care, cardiology, oncology, obstetrics, or psychiatry. A CNS holds a master's degree in nursing, preferably with emphasis in clinical nursing. Clinical Nurse Specialists are licensed registered nurses who have graduate preparation (Master’s or Doctorate) in nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. Clinical practice areas may be organized according to population (pediatrics, geriatrics, women’s health, etc.), setting (critical care, emergency room, etc.), disease or medical subspecialty (diabetes, oncology, etc.), type of care (psychiatric, rehabilitation, etc.), and/or type of problem (pain, wounds, stress, etc.).

nurse clinician

A registered nurse with preparation in a specialized educational program. At present this preparation may be in the context of a formal continuing education program, a baccalaureate nursing program, or an advanced-degree nursing program. The nurse clinician is capable of working independently in solving patient-care problems..

community health nurse

A nurse who combines the principles and practices of nursing and public health to provide care to the people in a community rather than in an institution. A 1985 consensus conference report of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defined community health nurses as any nurses working in the community, whether or not they had preparation in public health nursing. Public health nurses are nurses with specialty education and clinical practice in public health nursing. Public health nursing specialists have advanced nursing preparation, either a master’s degree or a doctorate, with an emphasis on public health sciences.

dental nurse

A dental auxiliary trained to provide oral hygiene instruction and dental health care to school children. Formerly, the term applied to dental hygienists, but now it refers to persons trained according to a program developed in New Zealand.

enterostomal therapy nurse

Wound ostomy continence nurse.

epidemiologist nurse

A registered nurse with special training and certification in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections in patients. See: infection control nurse

flight nurse

A nurse who cares for patients being transported in an aircraft.

general duty nurse

A nurse not specializing in a particular field but available for any nursing duty.

graduate nurse

A nurse who is a graduate of a state-approved school of nursing but has not yet passed the National Council Licensure Examination–Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN).

head nurse

An obsolete term for nurse manager.

health nurse

A community or visiting nurse whose responsibility is to give information on hygiene and prevention of disease. See: community health nurse

home health nurse

A nurse who visits patients in their homes to provide skilled nursing services, such as assessment and patient and family teaching.

infection control nurse

A registered nurse employed by an agency to monitor the rate and causes of nosocomial infections and to promote measures to prevent such infections.

licensed practical nurse

Abbreviation: LPN
A graduate of a school of practical nursing who has passed the practical nursing state board examination and is licensed to administer care, usually working under the direction of a licensed physician or a registered nurse. Synonym: licensed vocational nurse

licensed vocational nurse

Abbreviation: LVN
Licensed practical nurse.

nurse manager

A nurse responsible for a unit in a hospital, nursing home, or ambulatory care setting. The nurse manager supervises staff performance and patient care.

nurse midwife

A registered nurse who has completed specialized theory and clinical courses in obstetrics and gynecology and is certified by the American College of Nurse Midwives. The nurse midwife's practice includes providing primary obstetrical, neonatal, and preventive gynecological care to essentially healthy women and their normal newborns, usually in collaboration with an obstetrician-gynecologist.

nurse practitioner

Abbreviation: NP
A licensed registered nurse who has had advanced preparation for practice that includes 9 to 24 months of supervised clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of illness. Most contemporary NP programs are at the master's degree level; graduates are prepared for primary care practice in family medicine, women's health, neonatology, pediatrics, school health, geriatrics, or mental health. Nurse practitioners may work in collaborative practice with physicians or independently in private practice or in nursing clinics. Depending upon state laws, NPs may be allowed to write prescriptions for medications. See: nurse clinician; nurse midwife; advanced practice nursing

oncology certified nurse

Abbreviation: OCN
A nurse with special training and experience, who has passed a certifying examination in core areas of knowledge pertinent to the care of adult cancer patients.

prescribing nurse

A nurse who is allowed to prescribe drugs. Certain U.S. states permit nurses to prescribe only certain types and classes of drugs; most states require that prescribing nurses work with a supervising or collaborating physician; approval for prescribing is granted only to nurse practitioners.

private duty nurse

A nurse who cares for a patient on a fee-for-service basis, usually in an institution. The nurse is not a staff member of the institution.

psychiatric nurse practitioner

A registered nurse with advanced preparation who combines medical and nursing skills in the care and treatment of psychiatric or mental health patients.

public health nurse

A community health nurse with primary responsibility for the health concerns of large groups of individuals within a community.

registered nurse

Abbreviation: RN
A nurse who has graduated from a state-approved school of nursing, has passed the professional nurse licensure examination (NCLEX-RN), and has been granted a license to practice within a given state.

school nurse

A nurse practicing in a school or college who is responsible for the health of enrolled children, adolescents, or adults.

scrub nurse

An operating room nurse who directly assists the surgeon, primarily by passing instruments and supplies.

special nurse

Private duty nurse.

specialist nurse

Clinical nurse specialist.

visiting nurse

A community health nurse with primary responsibility for individual patients in their homes.

wet nurse

A woman who breast-feeds someone else's child.

wound ostomy continence nurse

A nurse specially trained in the use of ostomies, the care of the patients who use them, and the problems associated with them. Synonym: enterostomal therapy nurse

oncology certified nurse

Abbreviation: OCN
A nurse with special training and experience, who has passed a certifying examination in core areas of knowledge pertinent to the care of adult cancer patients.See also: nurse