Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Abbreviations of the Trade

In all professions a specialized language exists that amounts to no more than shortcuts to express longer or more complex thoughts or observations. Nursing is no different.

Acronyms are most common:
RLQ = right lower quadrant
LLE = left lower extremity
AMI = acute myocardial infarction
MVC = motor vehicle crash
LOC = level of consciousness; loss of consciousness (contextual)

Some acronyms are uncommon:
LOLnNad = little old lady in no apparent distress
FOOSH = fall on out-stretched hand (a forewarm or wrist fracture)

Some acronyms are derisive and never written on the official chart:
LLPOF = liar, liar, pants on fire
PPP = piss-poor parenting

Abbreviations are common as well:
IV = intravenous
PO = per os, orally

Some classic abbreviations have been nixed by an organization called:
JACHO = Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
MS = used to stand for "morphine (sulfate)"

Now, we have to write "morphine" because JCAHO says that some doctors and nurses frequently confuse this abbreviation for magnesium sulfate. Forget the fact that if you don't know whether or not you should be giving morphine or magnesium, it's not the abbreviation's fault!

More about Joint Commission, as it is now called, later...

1 comment:

Patrick Bageant said...

Maybe if you actually made the MS/Mag sulfate mistake more often, you would see a reduction in the drug seeker problem....