A crib list for medical abbreviations...? New job!

[Thismeanswhatnow]

I’ve worked in the NHS for years but not in an acute setting. My job involves reading a lot of medical notes/trauma booklets/doctors writing and I’m really struggling to work out a lot of the abbreviations

I don’t want to keep asking as I’m sure they’re all sick if it by now. Google is actually surprisingly useless.

So if you are medical can you give me your top 5/10 abbreviations I should absolutely know?! please?!

Also #nof....what does this mean?

And oxygen saturation sometimes just has the number 98% and sometimes has 98%RA. What is the RA for?

Thank you so much if you can help!

- fracture

F/FOOSH - Forward/Fall onto outstretched hand

Script or Px - Prescription

You’re best off checking what the abbreviations mean with someone clinical in your department as context is everything. As pp have suggested #nof is fractured neck of femur. RA in the context of Sats means room air. It may mean other things in other contexts (eg it’s a fairly common abbreviation for rheumatoid arthritis). Ø could mean ‘without’. However it could mean other things, eg Nø sometimes stands for neutrophils (or any other cell depending on the first letter...which isn’t 100% helpful).

X’s are used liberally (eg Sx, Hx, Rx...)

There’s no such thing as an ‘accepted list’ of abbreviations.

The symbol you are talking about circle with a line through it means "not" or "no".

Sometimes also done like a superscript circle in front of the word.

bear in mind I can't do superscript on here.
o SOBAR oSOBOE o PND o ankle swelling

PND in this context would be paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea not post natal depression....

I work in major trauma (TARN data), so obviously read lots of trauma documents despite being non clinical. Feel free to pick my brains...(with the usual disclaimer)

Yes definitely ,depends on where you work, to those that work in paediatric ,s PICU means paediatric intensive care unit to me as a former mental health nurse it's means psychiatric intensive care unit!

RA in gp land is rheumatoid arthritis. Cryo is cryospray. Both are above under something else so depends where you are.

Does your trust have a list of accepted abbreviations OP?

Guidance from my professional organisation is
The information must be clear to another health professional/the patient (including the use of short forms)
In practise this means typing out the words in full and then putting the abbreviation in brackets afterwards. I then use the abbreviation in the rest of the consultation notes.
It’s a pain but as this thread shows abbreviations mean different things to different HCPs.
I shouldn’t have to read a set of notes regarding a patient I’m about to see and then have to hunt to find someone to translate them for me (wasting time) or go ahead and see the patient without a full understanding of what their problems are (mistake waiting to happen).

#nof is fractured neck of femur.

Have you got abbreviations that you want help with as we could give you lots but they aren't necessarily helpful?

ECG electrocardiogram
ABG arterial blood gas
TURP trans urethral prostatectomy
FBC full blood count
Us and Es urea and electrolytes

There are so many

PFO pissed fell over
GOK god only knows
GOM god's own medicine

A few from my nurse training days which I doubt are still in use

I work in a surgery admin side though. I would ask for a list if they have one. Ones we see from doctors and when read coding are SOB short of breath, Ca for cancer , FH family history , Dx diagnosis , so many for blood tests, HX history, AKI acute kidney injury, URTI upper respiratory tract infection, AF atrial fibrillation, They also write say blood test repeated 2/12 for 2 months and take medication BD means twice daily. If you don't know just ask they have so many and we have to add the code the hospital uses to the record but sometimes they don't match and nothing comes up or ten slightly different options pop up so we have to get the Gp to sort out

TURP is trans urethral resection of prostate

Apologies my phone froze typing the first post and left out resection and added prostatectomy. Stupid predictive text.

CABG is, I think, coronary artery bypass graft. A colleague of mine has never lived down transcribing this from dictation as 'cabbage'

Interesting try to decipher who works where, lol.

@AlexC1978, OMG that’s my new job 😂

Want to be besties?!

BIBA _ brought in by ambulance
NFE- normal for Essex (joke)
Lsp _ lumbar Spine
Csp_ cervical spine
Tsp- thoracic spine
Lwr- left wrist
Ld1- first left digit (thumb)
Ld2- index finger

😄 of course! It's so rare to meet another TARN Data Coordinator.

It's a bit like when you go on holiday and meet someone from your home town !

I have sent you a PM x

C/O- complains of
AX- assessment
Pt- patient
ADL- activity of daily living
TX- transfer
STS- sit to stand

Abx-antibiotics
ORIF- open reduction and internal fixation
STEMI- ST elevated myocardial infarction
IHD-ischaemic heart disease
C?C- collapse query cause, (although that one shouldn't really be being used still!)

And re context meaning everything-
STI- sexually transmitted infection/soft tissue injury!