Common nicknames for hospital items.

[LifesAJourney]

Just wanted to see if the nicknames we call certain items are the same names you guys call them lol. I work in the midwestern region.

Examples include:

1.) "Bubblier" for humidifier

2.) "Ice pack" for the polar pack and the original ice pack

3.) "Patches" for tele electrodes

4.) "Stickers" for labels

5.) "Booties" for spenco boots

6.) "Christmas tree" for O2 connector

That is all I can think of at the moment. Feel free to add to the list. I am looking forward to seeing new nicknames I haven't heard before :)

[some-RN]

Overheard terms

"gating the horse" = action when putting on nasal canulla tubing on patient's nose & around ears/neck to provide supplemental O2

"litter box" = bedpan

"turtle" = Toradol (= anti-inflammatory IV med used to decrease swelling/pain, i.e., the "magic bullet" if pain meds are ineffective)

"hush puppies" = plexi-pulses on feet

[bigred]

We had a doctor at a nursing home that I worked at refer to Trazadone as VitaminT. At the same home we would say that a resident was "tishy" as apposed to "shi__y" When I worked in a different nursing home and referred to a resident as being in a "tishy mess" I got a few looks!

[skylark, BSN, RN]

My last ER would refer to HIV as "High five" (the letter V being the Roman numeral 5)

Useful when doing handover report when folk are nearby and listening in : )

anesthesiologist = the gas man

and I like the order we use when leaving an etoh to sober up - MTF = metabolize to freedom.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

"Cock Doc" for urology is a common one around here. Not so much with nurses but with other physican specialities.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

Dexistick for a fingerstick glucose.

We call them "Chems".