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Glossary of Terms
academic information See education history.
academic level The highest level of formal education attained by a person; typical values are: primary level; secondary level; college; university/graduate school. Also education level.
agent See facility agent.
applicant A person who has applied for an open position. Also job applicant.
application The official submission of a form to apply for a job, take the national exam or become registered as a health professional.
band See salary grade.
benefit A payment made to an employee that is separate from the employee's salary; the payment may be one-time or recurring. Also special payment.
birthplace The country, district and county where a person was born.
cadre A broad category or subset of health workers characterized by the specific training, degree or other qualifications required to practice or be licensed in that field (i.e., Nurse). Also health cadre.
certificate Certifies that a particular academic level has been achieved; typical values are: certificate of primary education; ordinary level certificate; advanced level certificate; certificate; diploma; bachelor's degree; master's degree; PhD. Also classification, degree, diploma.
change date The date when an employee moves from one position to another as the result of transfer or promotion.
citizenship See nationality.
classification See certificate.
closed position A position within an organization that has been filled by an employee; when a position is marked closed, the organization is not actively hiring for the position. Also filled position.
CME See continuing education.
competency A skill performed to a specific standard under specific conditions.
competency model A collection of competencies that together define successful performance in a particular work setting.
competency type A broad category of related competencies.
contact information Mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and similar information for a person.
continuing education Credit hours required for a health care worker to renew his/her license while practicing. Also CME, continuing medical education, continuing professional development, CPD.
continuing medical education See continuing education.
continuing professional development See continuing education.
county The smallest geographic subset, typically located within a district; equivalent to a sector. Also sector.
course See training program.
CPD See continuing education.
credit hours The number of credits a person receives for taking a continuing education course. Also hours.
current position The position that an employee currently holds within an organization.
current residence The address or country, district and county where a person is currently living; this may be different than the person's home residence. Also residence.
degree See certificate.
demographic information Statistical information about a person, such as marital status, gender, birth date and dependents.
department A division within an organization, typically around similar job functions and following supervisory lines.
dependent A legal spouse or child of an employee.
deploy To move an employee into a particular position at a particular location.
deployment The process of being employed in a health facility as a licensed health care worker.
deployment date See hiring date.
deployment history A history of all positions a health professional has held.
designation See job.
diploma See certificate.
disciplinary action A warning or notice issued to a health professional or employee as a result of an infraction. Also disciplinary notice.
disciplinary notice See disciplinary action.
discontinuation An interruption in a training program. Also disruption, training disruption.
discontinued position A position that is no longer required by an organization; no employee fills it and the organization is not soliciting applications for the position.
disruption See discontinuation.
district A smaller geographic unit within a region created by the central government for easy administration; equivalent to a state or province. Also province, state.
duty station See facility.
education history Information about a person's academic history and qualifications, or a history of all diplomas, degrees, certificates and other educational qualifications obtained by a person. Also academic information, education information.
education information See education history.
education level See academic level.
education type The type of qualification or certificate/degree that a person has received, such as college/university, continuing education or informal.
effective date The date when something, such as a salary change, officially takes effect.
employee A person who is paid by an employer to perform a specific job.
employer See organization.
employment history A history of all jobs held by a person, including the company name and salary history.
end date The date at which an employee leaves a position; also the date at which a license expires.
ending position The last position that an employee holds with an organization.
ending salary The salary that an employee is earning when s/he leaves an organization. Also ending wage.
ending wage See ending salary.
endorser A person who recommends a student graduating from a training program to take the national examination.
exam See examination.
exam number See examination number.
examination A test that every student graduating from a health training program must qualify for, take and pass in order to qualify for registration. Also exam, final exam, national exam.
examination number The number issued to a student who has applied to take the national exam and has been verified as qualifying to take the exam. Also exam number.
facility A specific division within an organization that is defined by having its own budget and often has a unique facility code. Often a facility is responsible for providing health care services. Also duty station, health facility, office, responsibility center.
facility agent The owner of a health facility or training institution, which also refers to the classification of the facility; typical values are: government; mission; private. Also agent.
facility status The status of a facility as either open or closed.
facility type A type of health facility; typical values are: dispensary; domiciliary; health unit; hospital.
filled position See closed position.
final exam See examination.
foreign-trained health worker A health worker who has received training outside the country and has applied to practice inside the country.
geographical location Refers to any geographical division, such as a country, region, district, state, province, county or sector.
grade The assessment attained at an academic level, which determines whether a student has met the minimum requirements to attend a training institution.
graduation Official completion of a training program.
health cadre See cadre.
health facility See facility.
hire To fill an open position.
hiring date The date on which an open position is filled. Also deployment date.
hiring decision The official decision whether to offer a job to an applicant.
home residence The address or geographical location where a person permanently lives. Also permanent address.
hours See credit hours.
identification Non-changing information (such as Social Security Number, national health insurance identification number or passport number) used to identify a person.
identification code Unique code used to identify a facility or training institution.
index See intake.
index number The number issued to a student when s/he enters a new training program.
individual information Data about an individual captured in that person's record; includes personal data such as name, nationality and demographic information. Also personal information.
in-service training program A training program that is completed while the worker is an employee of an organization, usually to update skills or gain new competencies.
inspection The process of certifying that a health facility, private practice clinic or training institution is qualified to provide services.
intake The process of entering a training program. Also index.
ISCO classification code See job classification code.
job A general set of qualifications, duties and responsibilities that matches a particular job description and has a unique job code. There may be multiple instances of the same job within an organization. Also designation, post.
job applicant See applicant.
job classification A broad category used to organize jobs; the job classification may or may not be equivalent to the health cadre.
job classification code A unique code that identifies a job classification, preferably a standard coding system established by the ISCO for classifying professions; may also be applied to health cadres. Also ISCO classification code.
job code A unique code associated with a particular job that identifies that job for the organization. Also post code.
job description A written document that specifies the responsibilities, scope, duties and qualifications required to perform a particular job.
job title The label used to describe a job, or a specific set of duties and responsibilities. Also post title.
language proficiency A person's reading, writing and/or speaking ability in a foreign language.
license Certification that a health worker is eligible to practice in a country. The license must be renewed regularly, and a separate license must be obtained for each cadre in which the health worker intends to practice.
license history A history of all licenses a health professional has held to practice in a cadre.
license number The number issued with a license to practice as a health worker; this number may or may not be identical to the registration number.
major A person's primary field of study.
marital status A person's legal status, such as: single; married; divorced; widowed.
midpoint The average salary offered to new hires in a salary grade, which may not be equivalent to the true average of the salary range within that grade.
name history THe history of a person's name changes due to marriage or other reasons.
national exam See examination.
nationality The country where a person is a legal citizen. Also citizenship.
office See facility.
old applicant A person who previously applied for an open position, but who has not applied for any positions that are currently open.
old employee A person who previously worked for an organization but who has left the organization.
open position A specific position within an organization that is required for the organization to operate and that the organization is actively hiring to fill. Also vacancy.
organization An employing institution, such as a company, government or nonprofit. Also employer.
organizational chart A report that visually displays the supervisory structure of an organization by linking supervisors to their supervisees, usually using boxes and connecting lines, with supervisors above their supervisees.
out migration The process of a health worker leaving the country where s/he was trained in order to practice in a foreign country.
password A hidden phrase that provides secure access to the system.
permanent address See home residence.
personal information See individual information.
position An instance of a job that can be filled by one employee in one facility and represents one box on an organizational chart. There may be multiple positions for one job in one organization.
position description A supplement to the job description that describes the duties of one specific position in the organization.
position history A record of all positions an employee has held with the organization.
position status The status of a position as open, closed or discontinued.
position title A specific title different from the job title that defines one particular position within an organization.
position type A classification of a type of position, such as temporary, permanent, consultant, seconded, etc.
post See job.
post code See job code.
post date The date a position is opened for hiring.
post title See job title.
practice type The type of registration issued to a health worker, generally temporary or permanent.
pre-service training program A training program that is completed before a health worker enters employment, usually to obtain necessary qualifications to practice, such as a degree or certificate.
private practice license An additional license issued to a health worker who has applied to practice in a private clinic.
promotion A move by an employee from one position to another at a higher level or salary grade within the organization, often with a corresponding pay raise.
proposed end date Date at which funding or the role for a position is tentatively scheduled to end, as distinguished from the end date.
proposed salary The salary that is proposed for an open position before it has been filled; does not refer to the actual salary of the position.
province See district.
qualification A competency, education level or training that a person must have in order to perform a particular job or to be certified in a specialty of a cadre.
record Collection of all data about one person stored in the system.
region A major subdivision of a country containing districts.
registration The process of applying for and being licensed to practice professionally in a country.
registration number A number that is issued when a health worker enters the profession within a particular cadre; the health worker retains the registration number as the primary identification number as long as s/he is licensed to practice in that cadre in the country.
reinstatement The process of reissuing a license to a health professional after a suspension due to a disciplinary action.
renew The process of reapplying for a license and receiving a valid extension of the license for a period of time; often, a health professional is required to receive a specific number of continuing education credit hours before qualifying for license renewal.
report Display of data from the system as a table or graphical chart; typically, filters can be set on a report to determine the range of data displayed.
residence See current residence.
responsibility center See facility.
resumption The process of returning to a training program that was previously discontinued.
role Determines the activities that a user can perform within the system.
salary The amount an employee is paid per year for a particular job.
salary band See salary grade.
salary grade Defines the pay range for one or more jobs. Also band, salary band.
salary history A record of an employee's past and current pay.
salary source A monetary source for a person's salary. Also source.
scholarship A monetary award given so that a person may defray the costs of a pre-service or in-service training program.
secondary school The school attended before entering a training institution, college or university.
sector See county.
skill Specific knowledge or proficiency required to perform a particular job task.
source See salary source.
special payment See benefit.
specialization A field in which an employee has acquired a great deal of expertise through educational training and/or on-the-job experience. Also specialty.
specialty See specialization.
start date The date at which an employee starts working in a position. Also refers to the date that a license is issued.
starting position The first position that an employee holds with an organization.
starting salary The salary that an employee earns when s/he first joins an organization. Also starting wage.
starting wage See starting salary.
state See district.
supervisor A position that manages one or more employees of a lower grade. Also supervisory position.
supervisory position See supervisor.
surname Family name or last name.
suspension A disciplinary action in which a health professional's license is revoked.
trainer A person who has been assessed competent in training and in the skills s/he is teaching and who is conducting training programs.
training Refers to pre-service schooling to become qualified to practice as a health worker as well as to in-service training to upgrade or add to professional qualifications.
training disruption See discontinuation.
training funder An organization that funds and sponsors in-service training programs.
training history A history of training programs that an employee has requested or completed while employed by the organization.
training institution A school that offers one or more programs to train health workers.
training program A course offered by a training institution that, when completed, qualifies a person to be registered or licensed in a particular cadre. May also refer to an in-service program that enables an employee to gain a new competency needed for a job while employed. Also course.
transfer A move by an employee from one position to another at an equal level or salary grade but usually located within a different department, facility or geographical location.
upgrade The process of returning to a training program to qualify for registration in a new cadre.
username Name used to log in to the system.
vacancy See open position.
verification The process of verifying a student's qualifications before s/he is registered or verifying a health worker's qualifications who is applying for out migration.