What Are Five Medical Words That Are Frequently Used In Registered Nursing

Nurses use nursing terminology—or nurse lingo—to communicate effectively with other nurses also as other healthcare professionals, in both spoken and written forms, during patient care. Notwithstanding, many of these phrases or terms are uniquely used among nurses as standardized nursing terminology.

Here are the top 15 most commonly used nursing terms you should know!
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1. Can I Get a "Waste?"

Nurses are authorized to handle and administrate narcotics to patients as prescribed. Not all narcotics come in the prescribed dosages or the amount needed by the patient. Therefore, sometimes the nurse needs to "waste" the partially used narcotics.

The word "waste" in this nursing scenario indicates the witnessing process by another authorized staff fellow member such as some other licensed nurse or a licensed pharmacist. The witnessing process involves the nurse who administered the partially used narcotics discarding the medication co-ordinate to infirmary or dispensary policy while another authorized witness observes that nurse doing so.

The witness also needs to observe the proper documentation by the administering nurse accounting the amount used and discarded. This "waste" process is very essential to ensure no narcotics are diverted, and it protects the administering nurse from whatever diversion claims.
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two. Tachy

"Tachy" is pronounced the aforementioned as "tacky." Withal, "tachy" has a whole new pregnant in nursing terminology. "Tachy" is the abbreviation of "tachycardia," meaning a fast center charge per unit. When a nurse looks at the centre rate monitor, s/he might say, "She's tachy," indicating the patient'south heart charge per unit is elevated, and their heart is beating too fast.
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3. Have You Had a Bowel Movement Yet?

You'll see the nurse asking their patients this question most ordinarily afterward an intestinal surgery. Whenever the belly is surgically manipulated, there's a chance the abdomen is not moving things forth properly. This condition is medically termed as "ileus."

When an ileus happens, the patient cannot produce a bowel move. Prolonged periods with no bowel movement after abdominal surgery may atomic number 82 to tissue death and abdominal infection. Lots of medical interventions can ensue to resolve a situation involving ileus. The nurse needs to monitor the patient and look out for the possibility of an ileus to best care for their patient.
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4. Banana Purse

A "banana handbag" is a yellow-colored Four fluid bag. Its yellow color is characteristic of a assistant, and it contains lots of nutrients such every bit vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B9 (folate), sugar (dextrose), salt water (saline), and multivitamin. The multivitamin component makes the fluid appear yellow.

They are most commonly used to treat alcohol withdrawal patients. Since nurses handle and administer medications, they are the ones who give the "banana bag" to the patient. You'll often hear nurses say, "Get me the banana bag!"
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banana bag nursing photo of banana of yellow background

5. Walkie-talkie

"Walkie-talkie" refers to a patient who needs minimal bedside nursing care in the infirmary. They ordinarily tin can feed themselves, have low fall risks, and tin can go to the bathroom by themselves. These patients are usually those who are at the stop of their hospital stay.

Typically, they are set for discharge and are just waiting on a discharge order or to be picked upwardly. Sometimes, however, they but need the nurse to bring their medications for them at their bedside.

You'll hear nurses use "walkie-talkie" when reporting to the next nurse who will exist taking over the care for this patient at the change of shift… likely something like, "Oh, Mrs. Anderson is a walkie-talkie."
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6. Full

"Total" refers to a patient who needs maximum total nursing care. These patients usually have a lot of interventions such as Four fluids or feeding bags considering they cannot eat on their ain, a urinary catheter to help drain their urine, a tracheostomy (a breathing tube in their cervix) to assist them exhale, so on.

This is a patient who will need a lot of intendance and plenty of hands-on nursing practise.
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7. Frequent Flyer

"Frequent Flyer" refers to a patient who repeatedly visits the Emergency Room or gets hospitalized repeatedly (and is oft recognized by the regular staff).
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8. Sundowner/Sundowning

"Sundowning" refers to a phenomenon in elderly patients with dementia later on the dominicus goes downwards. These patients usually become very confused, agitated, combative, delusional, and even hallucinate once the sun goes downward. Ofttimes, they are the full contrary when the sun is up; for example, they may get from gentle and overnice during the solar day to ambitious and argumentative during the night.
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9. NPO

"NPO" means "nothing by oral fissure." It's derived from the Latin term "Nil Per Os," with "cypher" meaning naught, "per" meaning by, and "Os" pregnant oral cavity. A patient may take the sign "NPO" in front end of their room door or on top of the hospital bed to remind staff non to give the patient annihilation to eat by mouth.

This is essential in many patients, peculiarly those who are about to have surgery. Undigested food or fluid in the stomach can exist aspirated while a patient is under anesthesia.
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x. Lid

A "hat" refers to a urine drove pan that can be placed on tiptop of a toilet bowl. Nurses use the "lid" to mensurate the urine output of patients. In some patients with kidney problems or heart failure, the intake and output of fluids are important to measure so the nurse tin see how the patient's body and organs are doing.

You will hear nurses say something like, "Can you get me the hat?"
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11. WNL

"WNL" means 'Within Normal Limit." Nurses ordinarily nautical chart in their patient documentation every bit "WNL" especially in electronic medical records.

For example, when the nurse examines the patient'due south neurological arrangement and finds the patient to have no neurological deficits, the nurse would write "WNL" under the Neuro section. Charting could expect like this...‍

Neuro: Warning, oriented to time, place, and person; clear oral communication; no paresis. ‍

OR‍

Neuro: WNL
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12. Lawmaking Brown

"Code brown" refers to an emergency incident of a bowel movement in a patient's bed (or anywhere non in a toilet). This commonly happens in patients who have incontinence of bowels. Nurses may ask for help with handling code browns, including getting more gloves, a bed pan, diapers, new bed sheets, clean cloths, and so on when saying, "code brown!"

Looking for a "fun" type of code brown? Trusted recently released a card game called "Code Brown: the carte du jour game for naughty nurses." Check information technology out for a good express mirth!
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thirteen. Advertising Lib

"Advertizement lib" means "equally desired." Information technology'southward the short version of Latin phrase "Ad libitum." Nurses often say, "The patient is upwardly advertizement lib," to announce that the patient does non have any physical or activity restrictions.

The patient may become in and out of bed unassisted and walk as much as the patient would like to. Another patients may take restrictions due to loftier fall risks or other hazards. The patients with loftier fall risks would demand help to go out of bed and are not "ad lib" to do activities without assistance.
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14. OOB

"OOB" means "out of bed." Some patients need help getting OOB to chair or need to exist reminded by their nurse to get OOB. Some patients experience more comfortable laying in bed all the time during their hospitalization. This is usually due to the excessive concrete try it takes to get themselves up due to recent surgeries or other physical limitations.

Nurses volition usually try to become them "OOB to chair" at to the lowest degree in one case during their 12-hour shift to help the patient's lungs expand and breathe better. Y'all'll find "OOB" more often than not in written nursing notes instead of spoken form. In written form, it is usually noted as "OOB to chair."
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xv. PRN

"PRN" means "as needed" or "when necessary." It'southward the curt version of the Latin phrase "pro re nata." Literally, "pro" means "for," "re" means "thing" or "matter," and "nata" ways "born" or "for the matter born."

Therefore, PRN, or "pro re nata," means "as the circumstance or state of affairs arises." For example, the patient is on Ibuprofen 200mg every 6 hours PRN for back hurting. This ways the patient may take 200mg of Ibuprofen every six hours simply if their back starts pain, instead of taking the medication every six hours around the clock.

In nurse staffing, PRN is also used to mean "Per Diem," especially in the case of office-time or travel nurses. And then... how much of this nurse terminology were you familiar with??
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