Coining and Defining Novel Nursing Terminology. Part 2: Critical Incident Nursing Intervention

PURPOSE.  In the second of a three-part series, a novel nursing terminology is introduced and proposed for inclusion in the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC): Critical incident nursing intervention (CINI), defined as any indirect or direct care registered nurse–initiated treatment, based upon clinical judgment and knowledge that a registered nurse performs in response to a critical incident nursing diagnosis (CIND). A CIND is defined as recognition of an acute life-threatening event that occurs as a result of disease, surgery, treatment, or medication.

DATA SOURCES.  The literature, research studies, meta-analyses from a variety of disciplines, and personal clinical experience serve as the data sources for this article.

DATA SYNTHESIS.  The current nursing interventions in the NIC are inaccurate or inadequate for describing nursing care during life-threatening situations. The lack of standardized nursing terminology creates a barrier that may impede critical communication and patient care during life-threatening situations.

CONCLUSION.  Coining and defining novel nursing terminology, CINI, for patient care during life-threatening situations is important and fills the gap in the current standardized nursing terminology.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE.  Refining the NIC will permit nursing researchers, among others, to conduct studies on nursing interventions in conjunction with the proposed novel nursing terminology, CINI. The first article in this series (Part 1) introduced the novel nursing terminology: CIND; the present article (Part 2) introduces the novel nursing terminology: CINI; and the third article in this series (Part 3) will introduce the novel nursing terminology: critical incident control.