remembering lab values r.o

[jlynn167]

Any sayings that help you remember lab values? Here are a few I use:

I eat 3 1/2 to 5 Banana's daily (K)

8-10 years old milk (Ca)

If you eat cinnamon BUNs you will gain 10-30 lbs. (BUN)

[PayitForwardHolistic]

This may be stretching it but it helped me...

Hemoglobin normal value is 12-18 (that's the low end for female and high end for male). So I focus on the MO in heMOglobin and think that kids 12-18 tend to MO( or mow) lawns for money.

The only thing I would add would be kids mow lawns for money from ages 11-16. (bc when they turn 16 they can drive and get a different job)...Normal Hgb levels for child= 11-16

[gailordfocker]

How I remember it! and the values are in order

Miss Mg 1.5-2.5

Piggy Phos 2.5-4.5

And

Kermit (K)Potassium 3.5-4.5

Came Calcium 8.9-10.8

Home Hco3 24-26

On O2 sat >95%

Cloud Chloride 95-105

Nine (Na) Sodium 135-145

Off Nclex Cram 5th edition

[pinkyfromtheblock]

I have 140,000-400,000 plates (plt) for my party. I'm gonna need 10-20 buns (BUN). Then I seen 34-52 crips (hct) on the road carrying 12-18 bloods (hgb)...Sorry for using this word but that's how I remember it with my friends lol.

[ChazzW]

I do not have a easy way to remember labs. I just created about 10 or so index cards with all labs in summer b4 my 2nd semester in RN Nursing school and had them committed to memory before I stepped into Med Surg I.

below are some key labs (not saying these are all you need to know for NCLEX & labs #s vary slightly with diff labs/books):

Sodium 135 - 145 meq/L

Potassium 3.5 - 5 meq/l

Magnesium 1.5 - 2.5 meq/L

Phosphorus 1.7 - 2.6 meq/L

Chloride 96 - 106 meq/L

Calcium 9 - 11 mg/dL

RBC - 4.5 - 6 ( x 10⁶ /ml)

WBC - 4500 - 11,000

APTT - 20 - 35 seconds. for anticoagulation therapy 1.5 - 2.5 times normal

PT - 10 - 13 seconds. for anticoagulation therapy 1.5 - 2.0 times normal

Platelet - 150,000 - 400,000

Protein 6.0 - 8.0 grams/dL

BUN - 8 - 22mg/dl

INR 2.0 - 3.0

creatinine 0.8 -1.6 mg/dL

albumin 3.5 -5 g/dL

amylase 60- 160 somogyi units/dL

lipase - 20 -180 iu/L

osmolality 280-300 mOsm/kg