acronyms...arrgghh

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gregoryjoel82

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I'm only a Basic, so I'm still picking up on a lot of it, but the acronyms/shorthand that are used on this site, and i guess the medical field in general, drive me craaaazzzy. I can use "context clues" for most posts/books, but I know that out there in the nether regions of the internet there has to be a site with some sort of medical acronym guru encyclopedia that can atleast make it somewhat easier to learn everything.

Would I find what I'm lookin for in a general medical terminology book?
 
Just google "common medical abbreviations acronyms" and you will get several hits.
 
You will find medical acronyms there (e.g. CHF), but not slang (e.g. LEO). As far as what you are expected to know as a health professional, we were given about 8 pages' worth of abbreviations during our PCR program, so we could condense our PCRs and also better understand hospital paperwork. As far as colloquialisms, just ask. For example, this forum was the first time I heard the term LEO, so I simply asked and someone explained that it means "law enforcement officer." Some of these terms may mean different things in different areas, so it's always best to clarify with a local.
 
Start demanding they speak English.

You use jargon when it is appropriate and not elsewhere, and if it interferes in understanding, it goes bye bye along with tens codes.
 
mycrofft said:
You use jargon when it is appropriate and not elsewhere, and if it interferes in understanding, it goes bye bye along with tens codes.
Click to expand...

Why would anyone still be using 10 codes?

My instructor told me the best thing to do is pick out several acronyms that you can remember and use them. Just spell everyting else out.
 
Here's some that might help get you started.

Pt patient
CxPx chest pain
Hx history
Tx treatment
cc chief complaint or co complaining off
Fx fracture
LEO Law Enforcement Officer
SOB Short of Breath
DIB Difficulty in Breathing
PCR Patient Care Report
MIR Medical Incident Report
RS Run Sheet
Most of us also have our own favorites that exist within our system as a sort of short hand.
PIA Pain in nether regions
POS Piece of excrement
if you see one in a post you don't get, post a question and someone will explain it to you. Of course that might set off a whole new tangent on a thread about whether or not a pt is A&Ox3 or 4 (Patient alert and oriented to person place and time or person place time and event) and which is the 'best' way to write it.

Generally a system will develop jargon that works for them. I still hear new ones once in a while.
 
lightsandsirens5 said:
Why would anyone still be using 10 codes?

My instructor told me the best thing to do is pick out several acronyms that you can remember and use them. Just spell everyting else out.
Click to expand...

One service I'm with uses 10 codes still. They aren't requiring new medics to learn them and say that either the 10 code or plain english is acceptable but they are still used by 99% of the medics as well as dispatch so really if you don't know them you're hosed.

We don't use a lot of them only 6 or 7 but they work just fine and as long as the person on the other end understands what you're trying to get across it really isn't a big deal use them or not.
 
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