Abbreviations and Acronyms

[radagast58]

Interesting point made on here earlier regarding the use of the above leading to confusion and ambiguity. When I was in hospital earlier this year the admitting medic wrote NOAC in the key information section on my medication administration chart as I was on Rivaroxaban.

When the registered nurse did a drug round she asked me why I was on no anticoagulants when I had Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation! This was her interpretation of NOAC! On reflection this could have been extremely dangerous if I had been admitted incoherent or unconscious. I think DOAC should be universally adopted or maybe don't use abbreviations for critical medications??

[BobD Volunteer]

DOAC is the modern terminology as they are no longer novel! Just as an aside I mentioned to a nurse once that I had an ablation and she thought I meant varicose vein ablation. The problem here is that ablation is defined as causing something not to exist so you really would NOT want a cardiac ablation! Pulmonary vein isolation procedure is such a mouthful though that ablation is commonly substitued. My view is that IF one wishes to partake in discussion on any subject then one needs to understand the language commonly used. Crank, rods ,mains and big ends, valve lift, flow bench readings etc may mean nothing to lay people but engineers will understand.

[Finvola]

Very good point radagast - no ac. Never looked at it like that before. If you combine abbreviations with rushed/bad handwriting, it’s amazing things go as well as they do. ☹️

[Hidden]

interesting article here which explains anti-coagulant acronyms and how they evolved and how they are used

pharmacytimes.com/contribut...

[radagast58 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks very much

God anticoagulation is complex!!

[Hidden in reply to radagast58]

yep - the coagulation cascade is pretty awesome. had to learn it many years ago during my biochemistry degree (now mostly forgotten!) but it really is a thing of complex beauty for a scientist. have a look at this for a good insight into it - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coagu...

[Bagrat]

On a lighter note re abbreviations . A night nurse wrote on patients notes HNPUDNT. We were all at a loss, but it turned out to be "has not passed urine" (a fairly standard abbreviation) " did not try"

[radagast58 in reply to Bagrat]

Drs used to be the worst for abbreviations until the GMC clamped down on their usage

BWAF = Boobs worth a feel!

CTPH = Circling the Plug Hole (Dying)

I've never actually seen them used so could be apocryphal. Using them now would quite rightly be a serious disciplinary matter

[Bagrat]

FLK funny looking kid was used, also NF then initial of a local town or village Normal for wherever ( to avoid offence!).

Agree they can cause errors

[radagast58 in reply to Bagrat]

Are you a nurse Bagrat??

[Bagrat]

Well I was a CNS in Palliative Care for the last 20 years of my career until I retired nearly 15 years ago, so hardly at the sharp end!! contrary to popular belief you do not have to have a halo and wings to do the job, just like people!

[radagast58 in reply to Bagrat]

I'm a registered nurse too. I worked in acute medicine for many years but I'm currently a clinical lead specialist nurse working with individuals with dementia who have complex and challenging behaviours. I'm currently looking at reducing or eliminating the use of sedatives and anti psychotics for my residents. I'm very fortunate in that we have very supportive GP's

Kind regards

[Bagrat in reply to radagast58]

That sounds a challenging job and a half but very worthwhile if it can be implemented.

[radagast58 in reply to Bagrat]

Same as you I certainly don't have a halo or wings

[Bagrat]

It's good to talk, Wendyb