Documentation is a most important aspect of your craft as an Emergency Department nurse. The ability to communicate fluently and accurately is not only an essential competency, it is a legal fingerprint of the care you deliver.
So… you should make your charts, history’s and notes a justifiable reflection of the quality care you deliver.
With this foremost in our minds, we present the following list of useful acronyms to add to your literary kitbag.
Use them to squeeze some vital juices into your notes. Use them to add an objective and accurate sub-context to your reporting. Use them to tell it like it is. Use them at your peril.
AOX3
Alert, Oriented times 3 (person, place, time).
AEIOU DDD
Apoplexy, Epilepsy, Injury, Opium or other drugs, Uraemia, Dead Drunk and Diabetes. ( mnemonic to aid memory of possible causes of unconsciousness.)
AFOL
All fine on leaving.
AGA
Acute Gravity Attack. (Patient fell over)
ART
Assuming Room Temperature. (dead)
AWOL
All Well On Leaving.
AWTF
Away With The Fairies.
BBSS
Big Boobs, See Soon.
BUNDY
But Unfortunately Not Dead Yet.
BVA
Breathing Valuable Air.
BWS
Beached Whale Syndrome.
CTD
Circling the Drain/Close To Death.
DTS
Danger To Shipping.
DRT
Dead Right There.
DRTTTT
Dead Right There, There, There, and There.
FITH
F****d In The Head.
FLK
Funny Looking Kid.
FND
Friggin’ Nearly Died.
FRACS
Fornicates Regularly And Chain Smokes.
GAK
God Alone Knows.
GOMER
Get Out of My Emergency Room.
HIVI
Husband Is Village Idiot.
NFN
Normal For Nurses.
NOONG
Not One Of Nature’s Gentlemen.
NQR
Not Quite Right.
NYDN
Not Yet Diagnosed – Nervous.
OSINTOT
Oh Shit I Never Thought Of That.
PAFO
Pissed And Fell Over.
PANIC
Pressured And Not In Control. Descriptive and useful acronym for all sorts of situations. A reminder also that pressure alone does not produce panic – it’s whether you can control it.
PRATFO
Patient Reassured And Told to F**k Off.
SIG
Stroppy Ignorant Git.
SOB
Shortness Of Breath.
STIO/SIO SupraTentorial in Origin. (psychosomatic)
TATT
Tired All The Time.
TEETH
Tried Everything Else?..Try Homeopathy.
TOBASH
Take Out Back And SHoot.
TTFO
Told To F**k Off.
TUBE
Totally Unnecessary Breast Examination.
TWOFT
Total Waste Of Frigging Time.
UBI
Unexplained Beer Injury.
UNIVAC
Unusually Nasty Infection; Vultures Are Circling.
CRAFT disease (Can’t remember a funcking thing!)
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DFO
Done fell out
SOS
Stuck on Stupid or Same old S**t
FES
Fluttering Eye Syndrome(otherwise known as faked epsiode of syncope)
NPT
New Parent Syndrome
DPT
Dumb Parent Syndrome
WOFTAM – Waste of F**king time and money (normally associated with ICU / Resus patients
JP Froog syndrome – Just Plain F**king run out of gas syndrome