Nurses are superheroes in scrubs but sometime even nurses need help! There is a constant flow of information and to keep all this information saved in their memory, mnemonics come into play. mnemonics are techniques and memory tools to remember important information. In nursing, mnemonics help the nurses to make the toughest concepts easy to recall. Ready to boost your nursing knowledge with the help of mnemonics? Let’s dive in.
Mnemonics for nurses
Mnemonics is a trick that nurses use to recall important medical information. There are several types of mnemonics such as.
- Acronyms: Creating a word where each letter stands for something.
- Acrostics: A sentence where the first letter of each word helps you remember the information or list.
- Rhymes and songs: To make the information more memorable the information is set in the form of music or song.
- Chunking: Breaking down the large information into small meaning full parts making it easy to remember.
Examples of nursing mnemonics
Here are some examples of nursing mnemonics.
ABCs of life support:
During medical emergencies, the “ABCs of life support” mnemonic helps nurses to prioritize their actions. Here is the list of what each word stands for.
- A (Airway): The first priority of nurses during medical emergency is to make sure that the patients air way is clean and open.
- B (Breathing): The second step for nurses is to check if the patient is breathing or not.
- C (Circulation): The third important thing to assess is to assess circulation, i.e., checking for pulse and blood circulation.
ADPIE for Nursing Process
Another nursing mnemonic is ADPIE (A Delicious Pie) for nursing processes. The nursing process is the systematic approach with which the nurses provide patient care. Here is the list of what each letter stands for:
- A (Assessment): assessment means to gather information about patient’s health status like health history lab results etc.
- D (Diagnosis): In this step of nursing process the nurses analyze the information to identify patient health problems.
- P (Planning): Planning is the step of nursing process where the nurses come up with care plan for patients. It is based on SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) goals.
- I (Implementation): this step in nursing process is the action phase where nurses provide care to the patient like administering medications etc.
- E (Evaluation): In this step of nursing process the nurses evaluate to see if the patient’s goals have been met or not and change the care plan if they don’t see the difference.
Mnemonics to remember 12 cranial nerves
There is another nursing mnemonic to remember 12 cranial nerves which is.
“Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel Very Green Vegetables, AH!”
The first letter of each word in this phrase matches the first letter of each nerve, making it easy for the nurses to remember the 12 cranial nerves.
- Olfactory (I)
- Optic (II)
- Oculomotor (III)
- Trochlear (IV)
- Trigeminal (V)
- Abducens (VI)
- Facial (VII)
- Vestibulocochlear (VIII)
- Glossopharyngeal (IX)
- Vagus (X)
- Accessory (XI)
- Hypoglossal (XII)
Mnemonic to remember potential causes for Acute Abdominal Pain
The mnemonic to remember the potential causes for acute abdominal pain is “I GET SMASHED.” Here is what every letter stands for:
- Infectious (e.g., gastroenteritis)
- Gallstones (cholelithiasis)
- Endometriosis
- Trauma
- Stomach ulcers (peptic ulcer disease)
- Medications (e.g., NSAIDs)
- Alcohol (alcohol-related pancreatitis)
- Shock
- Hernias
- Extraperitoneal (e.g., ruptured ectopic pregnancy)
- Diverticulitis
Mnemonics to remember safe medication administration
It is important for the nurses to administer medication accurately and correctly to the patients. the mnemonic to remember the safe and accurate medication administration is “TRAMP”
- T(Time): To check the time when the last medication was administered or given to the patient.
- R(Route): The method of administering the medication.
- A(Amount): The amount of medication that should be given to the patient.
- M(Medication): The name and order of the medication is correct.
- P(Patient): Identifying patient’s name and ID.
Nursing mnemonics to remember the signs of Inflammation
The four classic signs of inflammation help the nurses and healthcare providers recognize and assess the presence of inflammation of the body. The mnemonic that helps the healthcare providers and nurses to remember the four classic signs of inflammation is “PRISH.”
- P (Pain)
- R (Redness)
- I (Increased temperature)
- S (Swelling)
- H (Heat)
Mnemonics to remember Pain Assessment
The pain assessment mnemonic helps the nurses to gather understanding of patient’s pain. The mnemonic they use is “COLDSPA.”
- C (Character): This indicated the quality of and nature of the pain such as throbbing pain, sharp pain etc.
- O (Onset): The time when pain started.
- L (Location): This refers to the location of the pain.
- D (Duration): This indicated the duration of the pain, for example how long the pain started.
- S (Severity): This refers to the intensity of the pain.
- P (Pattern): The change of pain through time. This means whether the pain increased or decreased with time.
- A (Associated factors): The other conditions or symptoms that are associated with the pain.
Mnemonic to diagnose Stroke
To diagnose stroke symptoms the mnemonic “FAST” is used. Here is what each letter stands for:
- Facial drooping
- Arm weakness
- Speech difficulty
- Time to call emergency services
Conclusion
Mnemonics is an effective way to recall important medical information, it helps the nurses and other healthcare providers to simplify the learning process and recall critical information or knowledge. Nurses work in high pressure situations such as in emergencies, mnemonics help them to remember things under pressure and not to overlook important things or miss something. This can lead to better patient care and effective outcome.
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