Dumbest question ever...

Nocturnal.

To OP - this was NOT a dumb question. I asked the VERY SAME question some time ago when I joined AN. I hadn't even a clue that it meant the night shift!

Hello medsurgrn95,

Not a dumb question at all! When I joined AN, it took me a while to figure out what "OP" meant ! :)

Thanks for asking;I never knew that either. Totally makes sense now.

I am kind of curious about where the term came from. Has anyone actually heard "noc" uttered in real life, and where are you from if you have? Is it a regional thing?

Thanks for asking;I never knew that either. Totally makes sense now.

I am kind of curious about where the term came from. Has anyone actually heard "noc" uttered in real life, and where are you from if you have? Is it a regional thing?

I say it at work and I chart it lol

It is from "nocturnal" which is English and Latin for "night." Latin is where most medical abbreviations come from. Some examples:

PRN = pro re nata = as needed

NPO = nil per os = nothing by mouth

qAM = quaque ante meridien = Every morning or more literally "every before noon"

OS = oculus sinister = left eye

OD = oculus dexter = right eye

OU = oculus uterque = both eyes

(The last three have been banned due to confusion, but it's still nerdycool.)

It is from "nocturnal" which is English and Latin for "night." Latin is where most medical abbreviations come from. Some examples:

PRN = pro re nata = as needed

NPO = nil per os = nothing by mouth

qAM = quaque ante meridien = Every morning or more literally "every before noon"

OS = oculus sinister = left eye

OD = oculus dexter = right eye

OU = oculus uterque = both eyes

(The last three have been banned due to confusion, but it's still nerdycool.)

As someone who took three years of Latin in high school- I thank you for enlightening the masses.

And OP- if you don't know something, it's NOT a dumb question. Ask away!

It's confusing because we present it as though it's an acronym, as "NOC", even though it's an abbreviation and not an acronym, it would make more sense if we represented it as "noc."

It's confusing because we present it as though it's an acronym, as "NOC", even though it's an abbreviation and not an acronym, it would make more sense if we represented it as "noc."

I thought we DID represent it as "noc."

I thought we DID represent it as "noc."

I kind of liked the OS term- the "evil" sinister left eye.

Here's some more Latin....

nares (n.) "nostrils," 1690s, from Latin nares, plural of naris "nostril," from PIE root *nas- (see nose (n.)).

It's from the Latin, harkening back to the days when educated people all learned some in school. "Nocturnal" refers to "of the night," right? It is not an abbreviation, so it is not properly capitalized. It's "noc."

Ever wonder why it's "OS" for "left eye"? or "pc" for "after meals"? or NPO for "nothing by mouth"? Latin, Latin, Latin. Look them up and read the derivations.

The big capitalized "NOC" is an abbreviation, and it has nothing to do with nighttime. It stands for "Nursing Outcomes Classification," as in the terrific book, "NANDA, NOC, and NIC Linkages," a really good helper for students who haven't a clue about how to think about interventions and outcomes and put them all together when they have to make nursing diagnoses and plan care for actual patients.