31. pharm party
Definition: Where kids get together to share drugs pilfered from their parents’ pill bottles. Painkillers such as Percocet, Vicodin, OxyContin and other similar drugs are preferred for their “feel good” and numbing effect. Alcohol is routinely combined while taking the drugs.
There have been reports of kids openly sharing the pills in one communal bowl with no identifying information about the drug; sometimes the drugs are presented mixed together in a bag they call “trail mix.”
Some experts argue there is a lack of substantive data to label this as a phenomenon or a growing problem, and is more likely something sensationalized by media, law enforcement and educators.
Usage: Person 1: What do you guys want to do tonight? Person 2: Pharm party at Andy’s. I’m trying to get some of my brother’s OxyContin.
Synonyms: pharma party, pharming party, pill party
Created by hollywood, Mar 16, 2010
32. pothole sign
Definition: A clinical sign of acute appendicitis, referring to the severe pain evoked by every bump (or pothole) in the road felt on the drive to the hospital.
Usage: Yeah, he was positive for the pothole sign—said the ride in was brutal.
33. negative wallet biopsy
Definition: When a patient is transferred to a cheaper, less intensive hospital after discovering he has no health insurance.
Usage: Yeah, the negative wallet biopsy meant he was going to King-Harbor. Welcome to healthcare in America.
34. black vomit
Definition: Vomit from old black blood due to ulcers or yellow fever.
Usage: I saw the black vomit and I knew she was in trouble.
Synonyms: xekik
35. silent killer
Definition: A slang term for a condition that can progress to very advanced stages before manifesting itself clinically.
Usage: They say that obesity is the silent killer, but I’d say that it’s really all the heroin that he’s been doing for the past 10 years.
36. fluid overload
Definition: Hypervolemia. It’s the medical condition where there is too much fluid in the blood. This fluid, primarily salt and water, builds up in various locations in the body and leads to an increase in weight, swelling in the legs and arms (peripheral edema), and/or fluid in the abdomen (ascites). Eventually, the fluid enters the air spaces in the lungs, reduces the amount of oxygen that can enter the blood and causes shortness of breath (dyspnea). Fluid can also collect in the lungs when lying down at night, possibly making nighttime breathing and sleeping difficult (paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea).
Usage: I’m a little worried that we may run the risk of fluid overload if we perform the surgery.
Synonyms: hypervolemia
37. medical futility
Definition: Either a judgment that further medical treatment of a patient would have no useful result or a medical treatment whose success is possible although reasoning and experience suggest that it’s highly improbable.
Usage: What do I think? Medical futility.
38. the patient is high risk
Definition: The patient has HIV, Aids, or Hepatitis, so be aware.
Usage: Be sure to wear eye protection, the patient is high risk.
Created by hollywood on slangrn.com, Apr 06, 2010
39. questionable doctor
Definition: A physician who has been sanctioned for serious state and federal offenses and placed on a list by the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group.
Usage: Umm, he’s a questionable doctor. He’s been sanctioned for handing out painkillers like Tic Tacs.
Synonyms: impaired physician
40. NPS
Definition: New parent syndrome. A propensity to bring your child to the hospital for every trivial thing. Used in charting.
Usage: Baby had hiccups, sent home. NPS.
Synonyms: parenthood
More humorous slang terms can be found at slangrn.com.
Thank you to all the nurses who have contributed to this article! What are the slang terms you hear in your specialty? Share them below.
“circling the drain”
I’ve also heard about the 3 o’clock break — when the kid comes home, has a snack, climbs a tree, falls out of the tree and breaks his/her arm. And the Sunday Bagel, where the person decides to slice the bagel while holding it and slices their palm as an extra morning treat.
Loved this article. Thanks!
Stav
“frequent flyer”–one who visits healthcare providers, emergency departments, etc. for every little health problem, often drug seeking or wanting work excuses
Boyfriend- the cute little old men who are a joy to take care of
trainwreck- pt with multiple heath problems and multiple diagnosises that has no buisness on a med-surg floor but doesn’t “qualify” for ICU….. that is until they code in the middle of the night. It’s my favorite word/label, we’re usually pretty close to right when we label them too…… darn doctors….
We have the “whine line”. In prison it’s the inmates suddenly needing to see medical because it’s raining and they don’t want to have to go to work. In the hospital it’s the uninsured that show up in the ER at 0200 with sniffles, etc.
“It’s cold and rainy out there. Gonna have a whine line this morning”
AFN was once a popular term used on the Emergency Department whiteboard to protect the privacy of psychiatric patients at a facility I worked at, until the patients realized what it stood for.=D
I heard a psych nurse use a new one the other day–drunkacidal. They come to the ER drunk with suicidal ideation, but as they sober up they deny any suicidal/homicidal thoughts or attempts.
FUBAR – we used to refer to critically critical trauma victims as FUBAR to indicate the hopelessness of the case but we were trying anyway.
MALIBU BARBIE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE- where the resident doctors who wore 6 inch heels, short skirts, and acrylic nail tips attended medical school (the higher the heel, the more help they needed making decisions about what tests to order for the patient… yipes… I know, it sounds kind of sexist, but it was a real term…)
PITA-Pain In The Ass (can be patient or family)
“Patient is great but the family is a real PITA”
NONE of the terms submited are accually ‘slang terms for nurses’. none of the terms mean “nurses”. They are more of ‘slang terms and abreviations that nurses use’ and or ‘slang terms and abreviations that are used by nurses’.
I was realy looking forward to reading some diferant terms and workds and can be used in place of the word “nurse”.
This needs to be fixed ASAP or much sooner, please. ok????
Hi…we agree, and have changed the title to slang terms “nurses use.”
All best,
Miriam
Scrubs Mag
Here are a few slangs that are used in the ER where I work…
CCFCP-Coo Coo For Cocoa Puffs (as in that pt is crazy, wierd, eccentric, etc).
WADAO-Weak and DizzyAll Over (pronounced wahdayo)
FMPS-Fluff my Pillow syndrome (used for a pt that is super demanding and acts sicker than they really are)
Chandelier Sign- (when a pt hits the roof with palpation of a specific area) That pt exhibited a positive chandelier sign when I palpated her abdomen.
Code brown – when an incontinent patient has a mishap. Most of the time a c-diff pt.
We have a code brown in room 180.
LOL,FOF – Little old lady found on floor.
LOL,DFO- Little old lady, done fell out.
Acute FOS syndrome – Acute full of sh%t syndrome.
Vitamin X- Xanax (see above disorder)
Chronic Alphabetitis – A patient who has Hep B, Hep C, HIV and most likely an STD. AKA – Double glove!
CAH- Crazy As He77
(family or patient)
The patient is sweet, but Im diagnosing her mother with CAH
FLK- funny looking kid.
Man that’s a FLK but he’s kinda cute
AJU= All Jacked Up (multiple issues)
FTF= Failure to Fly (usually head-bonks, but can be used throughout traumas)
FLK with GLM/GLD= Funny Lookin’ Kid with Good lookin’ Mom/Dad…probably a syndrome
-likewise–FLK with FLM/FLK= Funny Lookin’ Kid with Funny Lookin’ Mom/Dad…probably just genetics
Capital A circled…can mean either ‘anxious’ or ‘a**hole’, depending on the situation…one step above PITA.
I’m sure I’ll think of more later….
The “Q” sign–Dead. (Picture a round cartoon face with the X-ed eyes and the tongue hanging out )
Repeat Offender–same as Frequent Flyer
the “O” sign, not quite dead yet. Will soon become the “Q” sign
GOMER- get out of my ER.
F&N- Freakin nuts, usally a different first word.
I prefer “tanorexic” for those with too much tanning booth usage
FTD-Fixing to Die
“Celestial Discharge”-patient has passed.
bad but cute!
CTD-Circlin’ the drain. (Getting ready to die)
BSC- Bat s**t crazy
B.A.T.S. fracture
broke all to sh*t
DND: damn near dead
In the Med/Surg ICU I work in alot of our patients are DND when they hit the doors.
Drunk Tank – the hallway beds in the ER where we keep our frequent flyer, homeless, ETOH abusers that have soiled their clothing with emesis, urine, stool or all of the above.
Vitamin H–Haldol
code brown- major BM either all over the bed or floor
coo coo for coco puffs- crazy patient who needs a psych consult big time
alphabet soup- patient with extensive history that consists of acronyms: HTN, CABG, CAD, PVD, PAD, MI, DM…
DRT – Dead Right There
DQ – Drama Queen
TOBP- I get this alot working in OB. repeat visits requesting to have their baby now
Tired Of Being Pregnant
How about Code Brown= poopy pants or FOS=full of shit–literally needing some MOM stat!! LOL
HAM: Cocktail of Haldol, Atvan and Morphine used for end of life patients who are in pain and very restless.
usage: Room 212 has been hammed up this evening.
Toe Juice: Clortrimazole liquid used on toenails to keep fungus at bay.
Usage: Room 200 has had his toe juice put on this morning.
TSTL-Too Stupid to Live.
All that patient needs is a little pillow therapy-smothering with a pillow
Vitamin A shot – ativan shot for agitation.
TOP – Tired of Pregnancy
DAR – Dumb as Rocks (or it’s sister: RAS – Rocks Are Smarter)
Gorked – new baby that comes out blue, stunned, and not breathing
Princess – pt who wants (and expects) to be waited on hand and foot and likes everything on a silver platter
OTD – out the door – also known as: about to be discharged
GORKED- God only really knows. As in no one can figure out what all is wrong.
TSTL= Too stupid to live.
Samsonite Syndrome-patient arrives in ER(usually by ambulance) with fully packed suitcase expecting admission
walkie talkie- Nursing home patients that can walk and talk. Enfamil- new nurses. Psych Cocktail- benadryl, haldol, and ativan shot.
little-old-lady(man) itis – elderly person with multiple minor complaints or requests to keep you at their bedside
LT- loony toons
balance challenged- someone fell
fobs- fell off bar stool
ICI (icky)- intelligence challenged idiot- did something incredibly stupid to get hurt (lighting bottle rockets placed in their rectum, for instance- wish that was a lie! LOL)
4H- Homeless, Helpless, Hapless, Halitosis!
PITA – the patient or family member that is a Pain In The Ass.
FOS-constipated patient.
coffee grounds:
the appearance of vomit following bleeding in the upper GI tract.
CWMC- child well, mother crazy
Floppin Fish- combative drunk
Dying Swan- needs to make sure everyone who can hear knows how deathly ill (they think) they are.
all to cute and real.
PIta =Pain in the ___
HM- high maintainence
DHM- Double High Maintainence
As you explain to the new grad nurse ” This is oncology all the patiets are HM but the lady in 510 is DHM.”
Or to fellow nurse ” I have a DHM in 510, she’s all yours tomorrow.
Rotater
A patient so complex or DHM that they have to be rotated each day to a different nurse to prevent burnout of the staff.
LOL in NAD. Little old lady in no apparent distress. You don’t hear that one much any more…
“Dr Too Long” needs to speak with you……. nurse message for the physician who is tied up with a very very long winded pt and cannot escape.
And my newest term: dilaudid deficiency. This one is self explanatory?
Bergler…Pt has asberger symptoms…
Used in a sentence: I know that kid has autism but his father has bergler written all over him…
Rearranging deck chairs on the titanic
aka medical futility or treating toenail fungus of a 99 yo pt w/ MODS, ARDS, etc.
When a laboring pt. is headed for a c-section we call it “circling the runway”, or their headed for “Vaginal Bypass Surgery” or VBS. When a pt. shows up with questionable ruptured membranes and their pants are soaked we call it “positive pants sign”. Just some OB humor. We also use FLK, as mentioned by someone else, to categorize some new babies that are “Funny Looking Kids”. (mean I know- everyone thinks their kids the cutest.)
Positive Wheelchair Sign (PWS) when a pt arrives in OB and can’t sit straight in the wheelchair….time to RUN to the labor room because she’s FTHAB or “Fixin’ to have a baby”
TFTF meaning “Too Fat to Fit” a term we use in our OB department to describe a baby that is macrosomic and fails to descend. Means that mom is “headed for a zipper” AKA c/section!
synonym = CPD (cephalopelvic disproportion)
finger painting: when a pt. with dementia discovers what’s in their diaper and plays with it for awhile until they’re discovered by an unsuspecting aide or nurse.
Scooby Doo for stool collection.
DNR (Do not return) Agency nurses that you don’t want back in your unit/hospital.
Bush Gardens: The designated gyno rooms in the ER. Also known as the Fish Market.
Whack-a-do: Term for a crazy patient who is not being seen for psych issues.
FOS: Full of Sh*t/Stool
Positive or negative tooth to tattoo sign=patient or family member who actually still has more teeth in their mouth than tattoos on their body.
Ex. the patient isn’t too bad but most of her family has negative tooth to tattoo sign.
re: tooth to tattoo sign….in the area where I live people with negaitve tooth to tattoo signs act ignorant,abrasive and entitled.
POF order. (Pillow over face)
That patient’s out in left field without a glove!
We use the official ICD9 code for ‘anal pain’ 569.32
“Special” or “Precious”
The patient of family member that thinks they are the only patient that you have.
car fax report–used by our ED docs to request a pt’s narcotic list-as in where have they been and how many Lortabs did they get filled so we don’t have to supply them with any today. Oh and of course it is never the correct info cause “that ain’t me on that report!”
TBF…total body failure
Chest compressions to the song “Stayin Alive” by the BeeGees.
How did “Citizen” not make the list?
Some of my patient’s need TLC. Thorazine, Lorazepam and Compazine!
“5&2″… Code for “Haldol and Ativan IM”
“road test” ambulate the patient before we discharge them home.
how about PITA-short for Pain in the ass?My head nurse almost wrote this next to a patient’s name!Fortunately i was there to stop her and tell her what it meant!
“Spoda” We use this term casually in the ER, as in:
Pt was seen here yesterday, returned today cuz they were “spoda” get the Rx filled, but did not.
Pt who “spoda” stop smoking but in ER again for COPD exacerbation.
Pt “spoda” have Tylenol at home for their baby with temp of 103, but did not want to buy it.
Most of our “spoda” pts are regulars.
LMAO….love it
#1…A positive “Benton’s Sign”…when pt. rolls into ER pale, decreased responsiveness, low b/p, and knees are mottled: all criteria for septicemia/shock diagnosis. #2…”JPC”…acronym for pt. with issues/ need for psychiatric care, and a STAT order for a “B52″ ( JPC : Just Plain Crazy, B52: Benedryl, Haldol 5mg, and Ativan 2mg IM, given with an 18 gauge, while 72 year old security officer has ‘em in a head-lock )
RN
Registered Nurse
Gotta remember B52. That is hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BOBS: Big Ol’ Baby Syndrome. Diagnosis for the patient who complains that they have multiple symptoms/needs but there is not much wrong with them
“The patient says he is nauseous AND wants a second dinner tray – he’s got BOBS.”
LOLS: Little Old Lady Syndrome. Similar to BOBS but with the little old lady who wants to be waited on somewhere more exciting than home.
Broadway: The way the hall looks when every patient is hitting their call light incessently. Alternate term: Christmas
“The place looks like Christmas out there! Where are the CNAs?”
BUFA baby: baby up for adoption
The “H” word: Hospice
FOSS= Full of Sh!t Syndrome-those that feign every pain they can in hopes of a script for pain meds…usually specifically asking for “them Loratabs”. These are typically frequent flyers as well.
“We have three FOSS’s on the schedule before lunch”
RN
Registered Nurse
I didn’t see…
CCFCCP – coo-coo for cocoa puffs (crazy patient)
CTD – circling the drain
MTF – metabolize to freedom (may be discharged when alcohol has been adequately metabolized)
or
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT (Military alphabet – think about it)
RN
Registered Nurse
Cranial-Rectal Inversion (head up their arse)
We have one ER doc who is always saying, “Stupid should be painful.”
Veterinary medicine…..testing for everything because the patient is too drunk, stupid, high, combative or all of the above to tell you what’s wrong.
Vitamin A deficiency – needs more ativan
Like ol’ Ron White says, “You can’t fix stupid.” And that means nurses will always have job security!
RN
Registered Nurse
CRCI= Chronic Rectal Cranial Inversion…one of my faves!
RN
Registered Nurse
We call some of our patients walkie talkies,…. meaning they are totally independent and dont need assistance for much.
RN
Registered Nurse
We have 6 floors on our hospital and when a patient passes we say Transfered to the 7th floor
RN
Registered Nurse
I don’t use about 3/4 of the official list, more of the reply list. But here’s a few.
ECU= Eternal Care Unit (ie: That patient has is going/has gone to the ECU.)
Laying of Hands= Used for an elderly patient who is ready to die but the family is in denial and wants everything done. (ie: That patient needs a laying of hands)
Bounceback= A patient that bounces back from medical floor to ICU or nursing home to ICU frequently.
The Clicker= The quad patient (that became that way by suicide attempt usually) that clicks his tongue literally every 2 minutes for something.
CAN: umbilical Cord Around fetus’ Neck
Bili Baby: baby under phototherapy for increased bilirubin
PUPPPs rash: Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (pregnancy rash)
IOL for mat anx: Induction Of Labor for maternal anxiety
BUFA: Baby Up For Adoption
NWS: Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome
smoking breast: breastfed baby of mother who smokes