Nursing mnemonics is an excellent tool for nursing students and practitioners alike. They provide an easy-to-remember reference to key concepts related to different aspects of patient care. From medical terminology to pharmacology, nurses can use these helpful memory aids to quickly recall essential facts and data to make better clinical decisions. With the help of nursing mnemonics, nurses can significantly speed up learning and mastering new concepts.
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What is Nursing Mnemonics ?
Nursing mnemonics are memory aids nurses use to remember important facts, concepts, and principles related to patient care. They use a combination of letters, words, or phrases to create a “memory trigger” that helps recall otherwise difficult-to-remember material. Nursing mnemonics can cover medical conditions, laboratory values, medications, etc. By associating seemingly unrelated words or phrases with a medical concept, nurses can quickly recall the needed information without looking it up elsewhere.
What is the Use of Nursing Mnemonics ?
Nursing mnemonics can be especially helpful for nursing students just starting their clinical rotations and learning to apply classroom knowledge in real-world scenarios. In many cases, these mnemonics are the only way to remember specific facts and procedures in a short period. Experienced nurses can also use them as a refresher on topics they haven’t encountered.
Using nursing mnemonics effectively requires practice and repetition over time. To get started, try creating your mnemonics for topics you find difficult to remember.
For example, if you need to place the order of assessment during a physical exam, create a phrase like “LLRAP” (Look, Listen, Roll, Palpate). If you struggle with remembering lab values related to kidney function, try creating an acronym like “SIGCK” (Serum creatinine, Uric acid, Glomerular filtration rate, Potassium). Once you have a list of mnemonics that work for you, practice using them in different scenarios and commit them to memory. With enough repetition and use over time, nursing mnemonics can become an invaluable tool in your everyday practice.
How to Remember the Nursing Mnemonics?
- Mnemonics can be tricky to remember, but you can do a few things to help. First, try breaking up the mnemonic into smaller parts and repeating it. For example, if you’re trying to remember the mnemonic ‘ABCDE: Assessment, Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Status, Diagnosis/Disease Process, Evaluation’, you could break it up into chunks like ‘Assessment Blood Pressure Cardiovascular Status’ and then ‘Diagnosis/Disease Process Evaluation’.
- Create a mental image for each part of the mnemonic. This can help your brain to make connections between the parts and store them in memory. For example, for the mnemonic above, you might visualize taking a blood pressure cuff and using it to check someone’s pulse rate (Assessment), then visually represent their blood pressure reading on a chart (Blood Pressure), followed by an image of a heart with veins and arteries (Cardiovascular Status) and so on.
- Use repetition to help your brain store the information. Once you’ve got the mnemonic down, say it out loud or write it down a few times until your memory has stored it firmly in place. You should find that nursing mnemonics become second nature with practice and repetition.
General Nursing Mnemonics
1. ABCDE
- Assessment
- Blood Pressure
- Cardiovascular Status
- Diagnosis/Disease Process
- Evaluation
2. OPQRST
Onset, Provocation, Quality, Radiation, Severity, Timing
3. I&O
Input and Output
4. H&P
History and Physical Exam
5. HPI
History of Present Illness
6. ROS
Review of Systems
7. LOC
Level of Consciousness
8. V/S
Vital Signs
9. BLS
Basic Life Support
10. ACLS
Advanced Cardiac Life Support
11. GCS
Glasgow Coma Scale
12. MAR
Medication Administration Record
13. LFT
Liver Function Test
14. CBC
Complete Blood Count
15. PFT
Pulmonary Function Test
16. EENT
Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat
17. PE
Physical Exam
18. BMP
Basic Metabolic Panel
19. CXR
Chest X-rays
20. MRI/CT Scan
Magnetic Resonance Imaging/Computer Tomography Scan
21. ECG
Electrocardiogram
22. EKG
Electrocardiography
23. UA
Urinalysis
24. BUN/Cr
Blood Urea Nitrogen/Creatinine
25. INR
International Normalized Ratio
26. PT/PTT
Prothrombin Time/Partial Thromboplastin Time
27. C-spine
Cervical Spine
28. L-spine
Lumbar Spine
29. Hx/HP
History & Physical Examination
30. Px/Tx
Diagnosis & Treatment
31. Hellp
Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, Low Platelet count
32. SOB
Shortness of Breath
3. DOB
Date Of Birth
34. NPO/IVF:
Nothing By Mouth/Intravenous Fluids
35. TIA: Transient Ischemic Attack
By understanding and using nursing mnemonics, you can become a better, more efficient nurse!
Final Words
Nursing mnemonics are a great way to help nurses remember the important facts, information, and processes that they need to recall while on the job. They serve as an effective aid in organizing thoughts and remembering key concepts without having to spend hours memorizing them. Nursing mnemonics can be tailored to fit any nurse’s needs, from medical conditions to drugs. Whether you’re a nursing student or an experienced nurse, try nursing mnemonics – they could be the perfect study and memory aid for you.
Mrs. Marie Brown has been a registered nurse for over 25 years. She began her nursing career at a Level I Trauma Center in downtown Chicago, Illinois. There she worked in the Emergency Department and on the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. After several years, she moved to the Midwest and continued her nursing career in a critical care setting. For the last 10 years of her nursing career, Mrs. Brown worked as a flight nurse with an air ambulance service. During this time, she cared for patients throughout the United States.