What could "HA" be an abbreviation for?

[hubbellr1]

For clinical this term, we had to participate in a game of "Nursing Trivial Pursuit"--although the material covered is not at all trivial. More or less it's review, but one question that had the 6 others in my clinical group and my instructor stumped was "How many nurses check the contents for HA before a new bag is added?" Could it be a typo? The answer to the question isn't necessary (I don't mind looking it up), I was just curious (knowledge is power!). Thanks in advance!

Becky

[MomRN0913]

Hyperalimentation is the first thing that came to my mind.

[Ftr_NurseJackie]

We use HA as headache....

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

We use HA as headache....

Yeah- but this op was about checking the HA before hanging a new bag :)

Unless someone with a headache, who is of advanced years, gets HUNG where you work Killer treatment for h/a's

[Ftr_NurseJackie]

Yeah- but this op was about checking the HA before hanging a new bag :)

Unless someone with a headache, who is of advanced years, gets HUNG where you work Killer treatment for h/a's

Ha! I definitely need to read the post again. That's what I get for "browsing", hey I'm tired studying right now....give me a break!

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Ha! I definitely need to read the post again. That's what I get for "browsing", hey I'm tired studying right now....give me a break!

[diva rn, BSN, RN]

Yeah, back when I first started we used the term Hyperal instead of TPN...or they were just starting to be used interchangably....I know that's the first thing I thought of when I saw HA...........I didn't realized that everyone wasn't familiar with it.

[hubbellr1]

Thank you so much! Can't wait to share it with my clinical group:)

[llg, PhD, RN]

BTW: We used to talk and write about "HA + IL" or "HA with IL".

The IL stood for Interlipids -- the brand name of the fats that were/all also infused. The IL abbreviation was also pretty standard.

[Illinurse2010]

HA stands for hospital acquired-- ex Hospital acquired MRSA- when I was in nursing school.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

HA stands for hospital acquired-- ex Hospital acquired MRSA- when I was in nursing school.

In relationship to hanging an IV, and checking the labels?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

come on, there are too many hints there. hyperalimentation, no doubt.

however, this highlights the problem with abbreviations. headache, health assessment, and hard-ass come to mind, though only the first two are likely to make any institution's approved list. don't use abbreviations unless you believe that anyone who reads it, from anywhere, at any time (like six years from now, someone who has never worked in your hospital or attended your school, and may not even be a nurse) will know what it is.

i read a lot of charts for a living and this sort of thing makes me nuts. i can generally figure it out by context and because i am older'n dirt so i've seen about everything since clara barton was on the battlefield, but people have no idea how bad charting is.

quick review: name nine (yes, nine) functions of the medical record:

1) documenting patient assessment

2) contents for research, both ongoing and retrospective

3) communication with others-- shifts, disciplines, departments

4) insurance reimbursement/financial audits

5) legal evidence

6) documenting plans of care (medical and nursing)

7) documenting response to care

8) quality assurance/improvement data

9) education

trust me, that chart you're rushing to finish will be reread in the future for a lot of these purposes. you have no way of knowing when or by whom, but hey, it's there. now, how can all these things occur if the record is laden with obscure scribbles, abbreviations nobody knows, and illegible signatures (was this written by a nurse, physician, housekeeping aide...)?

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Either hyperalimentation or pharmacy is making fun of you.