Share your mnemonics and tricks

[Teachchildren123]

Here's a few that I have found:

HYPOGLYCEMIA: TIRED

T Tired

I Irritability

R Restless

E Excessive hunger

D Diaphoresis-Depression

HEART MURMURS: SPASM

S Stenosis

P Partial obstruction

A Aneurysms

S Septal defect

M Mitral regurgitation

Thanks for sharing! Knowledge make us stronger.

[crjnursewarrior]

Pt. is FOS--Full Of ****.

[cinnyluvscats]

When I worked in OB and we had an especially demanding or obnoxious patient, I would put "PITA" on my worksheet next to her orders. It was a way to remind me to watch extra closely to everything I said and did with her and her baby.

I'd heard in nursing school that the letters "WNL" meant either "within normal limits" or "we never looked".

One of my old friends from OB once wrote "CMV" next to a patient's baby and I freaked thinking it meant cytomegalovirus, when she really mean cool mist vaporizer for the mom's cold!

Finally, if you ever hear that a patient is on Vermox and you don't remember what that med treats, think (in a thick German accent) Vermox is for the vorms!" (ringworm!):chuckle

[grace90, LPN, LVN]

CYA- cover your #$@

PIA- pain in the #$@

[Anernurse2b]

There are actually 2 memory notebooks of nursing now. I use both extensively. I graduate in May. At 44, you are never to old to be a nurse.. right! I am not CTD yet!

[ShayRN]

To apply a telemetry monitor:

White over right (top right shoulder)

Black beside the white (Over lt shoulder)

Checkers (red below the black)

Christmas (Green beside the red)

Then ofcourse, the brown will be in the middle!

[General E. Speaking, RN, RN]

for tele leads: salt, pepper, ketchup, guacamole (clockwise from right shoulder) leftover one goes in the middle

have also heard snow above grass and smoke above fire...

hand bones: Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can't Handle (can't remember the bones, tho!)

[Anernurse2b]

Get

Out of

My

E.

R.

(although usually it is used lovingly for the elderly)

[General E. Speaking, RN, RN]

Please

Excuse

My

Dear (or drunk)

Aunt

Sally

order of operations for math problems

Parenthesis, exponent, multiply, divide, add and subtract

[kgkarma]

Please

Excuse

My

Dear (or drunk)

Aunt

Sally

order of operations for math problems

Parenthesis, exponent, multiply, divide, add and subtract

One I made up for A&P 1.

Functions of porteins:

"Should Men Try By Entering College Dorms"

S= Support

M= Movement

T= Transport

B= Buffering

E=Enzyme

C=Coordination and Control

D=Defense

Don't what they're trying but the only way I could remember.

[supermo]

I have most of the Nursing Made Incredibly Easy books, did you know about their magazine now. Loving it, easy, easy and to the point.

I'll look on Amazon for Memory Notebook of Nursing .

I am bidding on a few of the books on eBay and I found a subscription for the magazine on it for only $10!

:roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll

super mo

[Anernurse2b]

Some new vocabulary here as well!

Disclaimer: DO NOT attempt to use any of these terms in medical documentation. QA/QI and medical directors usually frown upon it.

*Hyperlisteremia: *n. Condition in which unresponsive patient suffers from excessive amounts of ETOH on board in the form of mouth wash.*Bag-O-Meds:* n. Large plastic sack containing all of the meds a patient is currently taking or has taken in the past 10 years. Usually contains multiple prescriptions for the same medication from several doctors.*Paragod:* n. A paramedic who feels that they know everything there is to know about prehospital medicine and claim to be able to save any patient they contact.*Cell Phone Samaritan:* n. People who think they saw an accident as they drive by and call 9-1-1 to report it, but never stop to see if an accident actually happened or if an ambulance is necessary.*Famsycian:* n. Bystander (usually a family member on scene) who has determined the patient's condition prior to your arrival by consulting either the Time Life Home Medical Guide or WebMD.***EMT-P:* n. Expensive Medicare Taxi Provider*Paramadness:* n. Condition in which paramedics become delusional because they have been running without food, drink or restroom breaks for several hours, causing irritability and ill temperament.*Vitamin HEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!:* Street term for Narcan, inspired by the common side effect during drug administration when the patient bolts straight up on the stretcher and exclaims "HEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! What the #@%&! is going on?"*FACBP:* acronym. Fellow of the American College of Bystander Physicians.*HIPAAtitis:* n. Condition occurring when safeguarding PHI causes you to inflame your own liver!*Ejectstrication: *n. Self-extrication of driver or passenger of a vehicle that has been involved in a collision.*Ohmygod Squad:* n. A group of onlookers at any MVA, medical call or scene where anyone might be hurt. This group is usually in your way, making it virtually impossible to administer the proper care to your patient. Someone in this group will always walk up and ask you for information concerning the patient. Examples: "Who is it? What happened? Are they dead?"*Ecnalubma (ek na lub' ma):* n. A rescue vehicle that can only be seen in the rearview mirror.*W.N.L.:* acronym. Used to mean "Within Normal Limits," but after precepting and doing QA/QI with several providers in the past, now means "We Never Looked."*Proximity pain: *n. Discomfort that increases and is expressed more loudly as an EMT, triage nurse or doctor approaches, rapidly dies away as providers recede, and rapidly and loudly recurs when providers return. Rapid and effective relief is obtained when the patient can no longer see any medical personnel at all.T.A.B. Syndrome: n. A condition in which an EMTs bladder produces an urge to empty upon call tones (Tone Activated Bladder).*AAT (Advanced Accelerator Therapy):* n. That wonderful feeling of euphoria you get when you're screaming down the road with lights and sirens.*Acute Evaluation Syndrome: n.* Describes the condition of a patient sent to the hospital by a nursing home and the only reason given is "to be evaluated," usually for snoring respirations at 0300.*TVR: n.* Modified CPR administered on television shows . TVR is typically done using only the fingertips of one hand at a rate of 3 to 5 compressions per minute while an airway assistant squeezes only the bag during the repeated attempts to defibrillate asystole. (Note: The BVM must be attached to an unsecured ET tube.) Unlike CPR, TVR does not produce annoying deflection of the monitor's baseline. This keeps the viewer from wondering why on earth a doctor would shock a patient that wasn't flat line.*HONDA: acronym.* Hypertensive, Obese, Non-compliant, Diabetic Adult.*Cybershock: n.* A relatively common shock syndrome that effects EMS workers waiting on certification exam results. Usually occurs when checking NREMT website for exam results three times a day, every day, for two weeks, and the scores page actually appears. Depending on the result, the patient usually becomes catatonic momentarily, then erupts in either shouts of joy and elation, or moans of depression. Shouts of joy may be interrupted by wild gyrations, flailing of arms, and non-stop talking. This condition is usually benign and self-limiting; supportive care is all that is required. More importantly, massive supportive care is required for the patient that has a depressive form of this condition, as deep self-doubt may occur. Encouragement and friendly help with studying can do wonders. (See Mailbox-stalker shock.)*Manikin-American: n. *The politically correct term to refer to a dummy used for CPR practice.*Drama alert: n.* Any minor complaint that is exacerbated by numerous family members/friends believing it to be life-threatening (aka the infamous stubbed toe call). Usually results in having a hysterical patient on your hands.*Incarceritis: n*. Any complaint that mysteriously presents when the patient discovers they're about to be in custody.*Tachylordy: n*. A serious patient condition categorized by rapid (greater than 100 lordys/min) and repeated calls for intervention by a higher power. Can result in headache and shortness of breath. "Ohhhhh lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy." [Related: Bradylordy: n. A serious condition categorized by exceedingly slow (less than 40 lordys/min) and often loud calls for intervention by a higher power. "OHHHHHH looorrrrdddyy, looooorrrrrrddddyyyyy!!!!!!"]*Mister Gadget: n*. The EMT/paramedic/firefighter who just happens to own every piece of EMT/fire-related gadgetry available from Gall's catalogue. Mister Gadget can be beneficial in a multi-jurisdictional/multi-problematic event because he does possess all the equipment that would be necessary to run the Incident Command from his POV.*Justtookaclassitus (Just-took-a-class-i-tus): n*. A condition in which someone who has just taken a specialty class wants to implement everything from that class into his squad or department. Example: "Joe wants us to buy all new (expensive) Peds equipment, he must have caught JUSTOOKACLASSITUS in that PALS class."

[Biol20fan]

I'm sure some of you have seen these before, but they really helped me out:

Remembering Cranial Nerves

On Olfactory

Old Optic

Olympus' Oculomotor

Towering Trochlear

Top Trigeminal

A Abducens

Friendly Facial

Viking Vestibulocochlear

Grew Glossopharangeal

Vines Vagus

And Accessory

Hops Hypoglossal

And as for remembering how many cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae there are:

You eat breakfast at 7 (cervical),

you eat lunch at 12 (thoracic),

you eat dinner at 5 (lumbar).