Abbreviations

bellcollector · Dec 25, 2004

I don't know what the u is for either. I have heard that the list of acceptable abrev. has been decreased and in some facilities not used at all. My former employer did not allow them at all. The one I work at now allows them. A few I thought of:

os =mouth

NPO =nothing per os(mouth)

c with a line over it =with

p with line over it =after

a with line over it =before

BLE =bilateral lower extremity

PRN =as needed

BS =blood sugar or bowel sounds

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Dec 25, 2004

The move to eliminate abbreviations relates to those which, especially if messily written, can lead to errors which hurt patients.

Your best bet is not to learn your abbreviations here (you can see there are differences in understanding of what they actually mean), but to get ahold of a book with the abbreviations in it, or find a credible website.

Here's one you might like:

http://www.jdmd.com/glossary/medabbr.pdf

It has 15 pages of abbreviations and their definitions. I found it by using http://www.google.com and typing in "medical abbreviation" (but without the quotes).

BTW, medical terminology pretty much has to be consistent within and between offices, hospitals, agencies and people, because otherwise what you think something means, and what I think something means, will be different, so we will not understand each other....

You will find some differences between what is accepted in Canada, Great Britain, and here in the US, for example--those are language and cultural differences. But within the US, the abbreviations are what they are--they must be consistent. One cannot make up one's own.

Good luck with school!

BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN · Dec 25, 2004

We have residents that come from other hospitals and each hospital also has its own approved abbreviations. So, I'd go by the list that is in your hospital's manual. :)

For example, our QID can mean q6hours or 4 times a day, with the times all being between days and eves shifts so that you aren't waking the patient at night, therefore our orders have to be specific.