Acronyms: Where's the COW?

[Brian, ASN, RN]

Ok so as nursing students we learn many different acronyms. Which one has gotten you into trouble? I know when working at a religious based hospital we were not allowed to use SOB we had to say shortness of breath. And of course you never want to ask "where's the COW?" even when you mean computer on wheels.

[amberella123]

COW has definetly gotten me into trouble before!

[beckyboo1, BSN, RN]

Where I do clinicals, you call them "work stations on wheels" or WOWs

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Our COWs are corralled in the med room.

We don't call them COWs though.

Computer is generally what we say.

Something about a patient thinking we were calling

them a cow.

[lrobinson5]

We had someone complain about that, so the nurses that referred to them as COW's have to be satisfied with WOW's.

I just call them a computer? lol

[brianbooth, RN]

Now that patients in the UK can ask to see their medical records, a lot of acronyms have had to go. Some examples:

The Isle of Sheppey, near where I live, was once relatively inaccessible, with the result that the gene pool was, shall we say, a bit shallow. When I moved to the area, and saw in a patient's notes 'NFS', it had to be explained to me that this denoted a mild degree of learning disability - 'normal for Sheppey'. I've since heard of NFN, meaning Norfolk

In A&E (ER, ED) the card completed by the admitting nurse would sometimes say 'PAFO', alerting you to the fact that the patient's injuries had been sustained whilst intoxicated - '****ed and fell over'

And after discharge, a consultant's letter to the GP (family doctor) might end with a diagnosis of 'GOK' - 'God only knows'

[Baubo516, RN]

I just want to say that PAFO is about the funniest thing I've heard all day!!!

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

brianbooth said:

Now that patients in the UK can ask to see their medical records, a lot of acronyms have had to go. Some examples:

The Isle of Sheppey, near where I live, was once relatively inaccessible, with the result that the gene pool was, shall we say, a bit shallow. When I moved to the area, and saw in a patient's notes 'NFS', it had to be explained to me that this denoted a mild degree of learning disability - 'normal for Sheppey'. I've since heard of NFN, meaning Norfolk

In A&E (ER, ED) the card completed by the admitting nurse would sometimes say 'PAFO', alerting you to the fact that the patient's injuries had been sustained whilst intoxicated - '****ed and fell over'

And after discharge, a consultant's letter to the GP (family doctor) might end with a diagnosis of 'GOK' - 'God only knows'

Too funny!

[NurseMandaRN]

PITA, definitely never heard that one before pffft

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

Has DFO been mentioned?

Done Fell Out

[NuGuyNurse2b]

I actually don't know what PITA (the medical acronym) is...can someone enlighten me?

During that SARS outbreak we had to stop putting SAR (subacute rehab) on the discharge board cause the house keepers would report to their boss that no one told them it was an infectious room and they didn't want to contract the illness.

Not an acronym, but we had a doctor write in the progress note describing something that had puss...so he used what he thought was the adjective describing something that had puss. And it wasn't purulent.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

NuGuyNurse2b said:

I actually don't know what PITA (the medical acronym) is...can someone enlighten me?

Not sure that PITA is a medicl acronym..I use PITA for Pain In The A** . Not that the patient has a pain in their backside..but that they ARE a pain in the backside