Help with abbreviations

[NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Hi everyone!

I need some of y'all's help...

I am an internationally educated nurse and some of the abbreviations used here in the US are a bit strange to me..I can decode some but I have problems decoding some others.. And I have always asked questions to other nurses.. But, sometimes I feel that if I keep asking too much they may think that I am stupid or lets say it makes me feel stupid. For example, on my unit they use TKR for total knee replacement, while where I come from we say Knee replacement-total or knee replacement-partial..

Where I trained for my RN, we were trained not to use abbreviations but if you have to use them , then , do so, as minimal as possible--just so that no one will mistake the meaning/interpretations of such abbreviations. For example, CT could mean computer tomography and at the same time chest tube--- so you see my confusion atimes.. so when the nurse says.."pt so and so has a CT".. it could sound ambiguous..

I work on the medsurg floor and sometimes I get lost when the nurses giving report start dishing out these abbreviations-- and sincerely, I wouldn't want to stop/interrupt the shift change report just to get clarifications on the abbreviations-- I always asked my preceptor and I just hope she doesn't think I am stupid or incompetent...

Most of the times I also try to google such abbreviations and try to connect the most fitting full explanation to the circumstance and then I ask my preceptor or any other nurse on my shift something like this.. e.g if its ARF (acute renal failure) I will ask "so, the patient in RM....has acute renal failure, right?" You know just to be sure that I got the full meaning of the abbreviation.. By this way, I don't portray myself as ignorant or incompetent----you know.....

Im just trying to find a way to help myself... Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated..

Thanks

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

There are a lot of approved (and some unapproved) abbreviations. Does you facility have a list of these abbreviations?

You have to use context clues. If someone says "the patient has a CT on the right," it probably does not mean that they have a CT scanner sitting next to them on the right side of their bed. Also, learn the most common abbreviations. The only meaning for ARF I know is "acute renal failure" (even though AKI--acute kidney injury--is now the preferred term). Finally, if you unsure about an abbreviation some is using, ask.

As for "not to use abbreviations"…can you imagine how long report and charting would take if you had to write out "computed tomography," "acute kidney injury," "liters per minute," "nasal cannula," "transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation," etc. each time it came up?

[NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Thanks for your reply.. and hahah.. yeah reports would have been veeerrrryyy loooonngg....

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

One of the good things about electronic documentation is that abbreviations are fewer. Some of the text is without abbreviations and some allow you to hover over it to see what it stands for. I would continue to ask to be certain.

I wonder why the word for abbreviations is so long? :)