Published
If you are a nurse in Colorado, or were trained there, you call a saline lock a "buff cap". Apparently a type of saline lock was invented at CU medical school and and CU's mascots are the Buffalos, or "Buffs". I remember staring blankly at another nurse the first time I heard in report that she "buff capped the patient's IV". Having grown up in Denver, she had no idea it wasn't called that everywhere.
And while we are on the topic, I am still perplexed as to why it's the University of Colorado, but everyone calls it "CU". It's a strange state I live in.
The University of Oklahoma is referred to as 'OU,' and the University of Kansas is called 'KU.' Perhaps 'OU' rolls off the tongue better than 'UO.'And while we are on the topic, I am still perplexed as to why it's the University of Colorado, but everyone calls it "CU". It's a strange state I live in.
I always wondered where "Texas cath" came from....
I have a theory on this. One day a nurse in Texas went into the room of the quintessential good ol' boy with orders from the doctor to insert a catheter. When she explained what she was going to do, the good ol' boy said, "Now darlin' you're gonna stick what up where? I think you better come up with another plan!"
OR chux for blue pads (and some aren't even blue!! HAHA)
I think this one came about because you can "chuck it" meaning it's disposable.
Please....when I moved to New England I wanted to were a sign that said "I'm not stupid I just don't know the language"
A Johnnie for patient gown. A bubbler is a water fountain.
A toomey syringe is a cath tip syringe or as we called it in the inner city a clot retractor (for levaging clots on GI bleeds)
.
Once when I was working cath lab the suction stopped working and we were coding a trauma that was intoxicated and I needed suction....I asked for a Gomco....every single person in that room stopped and looked at me like I was crazy:eek:...apparently that is what the circumcision surgical tool is called....
On time in the ED we were semi coding a trauma when a new trauma surgeon was asking for a CORDIS....the nurse New England born and bred....came up to me outraged that the MD kept talking/asking for coitis....I about fell on the floor....I knew what he wanted I told her CORDIS not COITIS....he wants a sheath introducer!
Priceless
If anyone has ever suctioned an infant with a BBG, well the BBG really does stand for Baby Booger Grabber. It was invented by some nurses. I used to have a link to the whole story, but here is proof that they really are called that.
And while we are on the topic, I am still perplexed as to why it's the University of Colorado, but everyone calls it "CU". It's a strange state I live in.
I can answer this, kind of.
It's because UCs are well known for being California schools. So UCD would be University of California at Davis not University of Colorado Denver.
Of course this doesn't explain UCCS (Colorado Springs) or either CSU school.
nurseprnRN, BSN, RN
1 Article; 5,116 Posts
All,
I am on a list for legal nurses and we got talking about why some gadget or other was called what it was called (in the context of OR documentation-- what really happened/was the stuff being used appropriate).
As conversations do, we wandered off into other like objects, and I got wondering what other gadgets you have or use that you don't know or wondered about.
Here's some excerpts from our conversation to get you started: