[NewRNZoe]

Hi everyone! I'm new to Allnurses.com (as a student I lurked), now I've passed the boards and have accepted a position at a cardiac interventional stepdown unit (I'm so excited!). I'm seeing a lot of abbreviations - some I know, some I have trouble figuring out. I'm eager to get to work but I'd love to have a small heads up.

So, my question - what are some of the abbreviations you either use all the time or some of the abbreviations that stumped you when you were a baby cardio nurse?

Thank you all, I love this site and I'm going to love this profession!

[dcbg]

When first entering this profession, it seems like foreign language when reading orders and reports.....there are many helpful sites online with lists of the most commonly used abbreviations...but honestly, in my expierence the repetition of constantly using this medical jargon is what helps best.....one thing to make sure you consider are "Legal Abbreviations" because this is what will save you in court one day if that were ever to happen. For example, in my facility we used to chart morphine sulfate as mso4, but legally we can no longer do that...and ml and cc although the same, we are not allowed to use cc because it is frequently mistaken for other words.....We have lists in our nursing policy&procedures book of commonly used and accepted abbreivations....
Never be afraid to ask a doc or another nurse if you cant figure it out! we have all been there! I still get the eyes mixed up....good thing i work with hearts! lol

[NewRNZoe]

Thank you and you're so right -- it does seem like a foreign language at times. I think I have the formal ones we learned in school but there are soooo many more thrown around on the floor. I'll lurk some more and work on my deciphering skills! I appreciate it!

[msn2008]

New RN Zoe,
Congratulations! CCU is my first love in nursing and I still see abbreviations I am clueless about. Ask your co-workers! Some of the most used, which you may already be familiar with:
LAD--left anterior descending
RCA--right coronary artery
Circ--circumflex artery
OM--obtuse marginal artery
EF--ejection fraction
MR--mitral regurgitation
AR--aortic regurg
ACS--acute coronary syndrome
AF with RVR--atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response
If I think of others, I'll post again.
Good luck in your career!
Melissa

[Corvette Guy]

Originally Posted by dcbg

When first entering this profession, it seems like foreign language when reading orders and reports.....there are many helpful sites online with lists of the most commonly used abbreviations...but honestly, in my expierence the repetition of constantly using this medical jargon is what helps best.....one thing to make sure you consider are "Legal Abbreviations" because this is what will save you in court one day if that were ever to happen. For example, in my facility we used to chart morphine sulfate as mso4, but legally we can no longer do that...and ml and cc although the same, we are not allowed to use cc because it is frequently mistaken for other words.....We have lists in our nursing policy&procedures book of commonly used and accepted abbreivations....
Never be afraid to ask a doc or another nurse if you cant figure it out! we have all been there! I still get the eyes mixed up....good thing i work with hearts! lol

Medical Abbreviations

OU = Both eyes... think of the U pointing bilaterally
OD = Right eye... think D as dominate & most people are right handed
OS = Left eye... Oculus Sinister [evil people are left-handed... J/K]

[NewRNZoe]

Thank you, Melissa for the encouragement and abbreviations (I've jotted them down in a notebook I'll be keeping)!

Can someone tell me what EP is?

Thank you! Z

[NewRNZoe]

Thank you, Corvette Guy, for the awesome link. I went there and printed out all 15 pages! Now, if I could just remember them all! Practice, practice...

[Holly27]

I might even check with your instructor about a list for the hospital you do clinicals at. When I started clinicals they had a book of approved abb. that could be used. (sometimes they differ by hospital).Most of us got a copy of it.It really came in handy. PLUS! Every time I came across one I wasn't familiar with I wrote it down on my list and also wrote other words down from the chart that were assoc with that entry. Then I would ask around(other students, different instructors,nurses and even the unit secretary) They do alot of entering things into the computer. I became the abb. queen!

[belfry]

EP is for electrophysiology, study of the conduction system of the heart.

Another abbreviation that is good to know is EF, stands for ejection fraction, way to determone heart failure.