Medical abbreviations...

[LorraineCNA]

I'm looking for a listing of common medical abbreviations, either to download to PDA or just a list I can print out and enter myself.

I have Taber's on my PDA so all of the harder abbreviations are on there (tests, chemical elements, etc.) but not the really common ones like WM-white male, oc-office call, tx-treatment...those types of things.

TIA,

Lorraine

[leslie :-D]

Within the past several months, the medical/nsg abbreviations that we were accustomed to using are now no longer valid and we're not allowed to use them anymore. That's because there were too many errors reading these abbreviations.

Your facility or school should have the current list of acceptable abbreviations.

[allamericangirl]

LorraineCNA said:

I'm looking for a listing of common medical abbreviations, either to download to PDA or just a list I can print out and enter myself.

I have Taber's on my PDA so all of the harder abbreviations are on there (tests, chemical elements, etc.) but not the really common ones like WM-white male, oc-office call, tx-treatment...those types of things.

TIA,

Lorraine

Lorraine: This is a list that I have of some of the basic abbreviations that we learned in my CNA class last week. Hope this is helpful to you.

Diagnoses

CHF congestive heart failure

COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

CVA cerebrovascular accident

DD developmentally disabled

HOH hard of hearing

MI Myocardial Infarction

MS Multiple Sclerosis

SOB short of breath

staph staphylococcus

TIA transient ischemic attack

URI upper respiratory infection

UTI urinary tract infection

VD venereal disease

Measurements

c centigrade

cc cubic centimeters

F Fahrenheit

gm gram

ht height

lb pound

mg milligram

ml milliliter

oz ounce

ss one half

tbsp (Tbsp) tablespoon

tsp teaspoon

wt weight

> greater than

= equals

# number, pound

Times

ac before meals

ad lib as desired

ASAP as soon as possible

bid two times a day

pc after meals

prn as necessary

qh every hour

qid four times a day

stat immediately

tid three times a day

x times

No longer abbreviated times and must be written out:

hour of sleep

every day

every other day

Patient Orders and Charting

ADL activities of daily living

amb ambulate or ambulatory

BM bowel movement

B/P (BP) blood pressure

BRP bathroom privileges

Ĉ with

cath catheterize, catheterization

c/o complains of

CPR cardiopulmonary resuscitation

dc, DC discontinue

DNR do not resuscitate

FF (ff) force fluids

I&O intake and output

L with a circle drawn around Left

NPO nothing by mouth

N&V nausea and vomiting

OOB out of bed

peri perineal

po (PO) by mouth

Pt pt patient

R with a circle drawn around Right

ROM range of motion

ŝ without

SSE soap suds enema

TLC tender loving care

TPR temperature, pulse, respiration

TWE tap water enema

VO verbal order

VS vital signs

WC wheel chair

♀ female

♂ male

Places and Titles

DON director of nursing

GI gastrointestinal

Gyn gynecology

NG nasogastric

Ot occupational therapy

Pt physical therapy

SLP speech / language / pathologist

SW social worker

Miscellaneous

30 cc 1 ounce (oz)

6 tsp

2Tbsp

H2o Water

O2 Oxygen

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Per JCAHO, we are no longer supposed to use the term "cc"......now everything is in "ml".

[RN4NICU, LPN, LVN]

Anything that is not on a facility's list of approved abbreviations I would clarify, just so the doc (or whoever abbreviated) can't alter what the abbreviation was meant to represent at a later time. Most hospitals are really cracking down on abbreviations anyway to comply with JCAHO.

[LorraineCNA]

Thanks so much for the list. I went to the JCAHO site and found lists of abbreviations that are now NOT acceptable, but nothing on what IS (aside from recommendations on what to use in place of the NON-acceptable abbreviations).

Lorraine

CNA

almost MA

[LorraineCNA]

Greatly appreciated!

Lorraine

CNA

almost MA

[nurse2be07]

I am a fresh, new nursing student, beginning my first semester of the ADN program. We have just completed a 6-day orientation, and were bombarded with abbreviations and medical terminology that just overwhelmed me. I have no background in healthcare, unlike many of my classmates, and I fear that I will be behind the 8-ball from the start! Do any of you have any suggestions as to where I can find free, or cheap cheap cheap publications to help with this? I am a father of 2 trying to work, raises a family, and go to school full time, so I dont have the money for these expensive books. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

Hello and welcome to the wonderful family of allnurses.com. Enjoy your stay, and best of luck to you. :)

[Nathalie]

look it up on google under medical terminology

ill try to find u a website and post it here for u

i found one for myself in the past so ill try to find it for u again

[Nathalie]

here are some that i found:

http://users.ugent.be/~rvdstich/eugloss/EN/lijst.html

http://www.cancerindex.org/medterm/medtm15.htm (this one is for cancer)

http://www.geocities.com/~mlshams/acronym/acr.htm

http://www.medindia.net/acronym/index.asp

http://www.medilexicon.com/ (more of a dictionary)

http://www.efn.org/~nurses/acro.html (this is the onw I have)

http://www.studystack.com/frames.jsp (this is a game to help you)

http://www.rtstudents.com/rnstudents/rn-abbreviations.htm

Well I hope these come in handy for everyone!!!! Good Luck

[lola4525]

Thank you Nathalie for the links, you are an . These sites are very helpful.