Nursing Roles
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| RN | Registered Nurse. Requires nursing degree + NCLEX-RN exam. |
| LPN/LVN | Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse. 12-18 month program. |
| CNA | Certified Nursing Assistant. 4-12 week training. |
| NP | Nurse Practitioner. Advanced practice with MSN/DNP. |
| Travel Nurse | RN taking 8-13 week temporary assignments. |
| PRN | ”As needed” work with no guaranteed hours. |
Certifications
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| BLS | Basic Life Support. Required for most healthcare jobs. |
| ACLS | Advanced Cardiac Life Support. For ICU, ER, cardiac nurses. |
| PALS | Pediatric Advanced Life Support. For peds and L&D nurses. |
| CCRN | Critical Care Registered Nurse certification. |
| CPC | Certified Professional Coder (AAPC). |
Hospital Units
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| ICU | Intensive Care Unit. Critical patients, 1:1 or 1:2 ratio. |
| ER/ED | Emergency Room/Department. Acute and trauma care. |
| Med-Surg | Medical-Surgical. General nursing care, 1:4-1:6 ratio. |
| L&D | Labor and Delivery. Also called OB or birthing unit. |
| Tele | Telemetry. Cardiac monitoring, 1:4-1:5 ratio. |
Compensation Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Sign-on Bonus | One-time payment for joining, often with commitment period. |
| Shift Differential | Extra pay for nights/weekends (+$3-8/hour typical). |
| Nurse-to-Patient Ratio | Number of patients per nurse (e.g., 1:4 means 4 patients). |
| Magnet Status | ANCC recognition for nursing excellence. |
JobLeap Features
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Career Mode | Research mode searching web, jobs, and YouTube. |
| Job Mode | Focused job search mode (jobs only). |
| Sponsored Jobs | AI-enhanced listings from partner employers. |
| Job Copilot | AI chat assistant for sponsored job Q&A. |
| Smart Tags | Auto-generated labels like “Night Shift”, “Sign-on Bonus”. |
| Citations | Numbered references [1], [2], [3] linking to sources. |
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