Nursing Abbreviations
90 abbreviations · part of Medical Abbreviations
Nursing abbreviations are the shorthand of bedside orders, flowsheets, care plans and shift notes: activity and diet orders (NPO, BRP, OOB), safety and skin care (SCDs, HOB, C/D/I), lines and tubes (PICC, NGT, KVO) and quick findings (NKDA, WNL, PERRLA). Most are institutional conventions rather than national standards, so every hospital keeps its own approved list. Abbreviations that can be misread in medication orders, such as D/C and slash marks, appear on the ISMP list of error-prone abbreviations and should be written out in full.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A&Ox3 | Alert and oriented times three | Mental status shorthand meaning the patient is awake and correctly knows who they are, where they are and the date or time. |
| A&Ox4 | Alert and oriented times four | Orientation finding in which the patient knows person, place, time and situation, meaning why they are in hospital or what is happening. |
| AAT | Activity as tolerated | Activity order letting the patient move, sit and walk as much as comfort and stamina allow, without a fixed limit. |
| ADAT | Advance diet as tolerated | Diet order instructing nurses to progress the patient from clear liquids to full liquids to a regular or prescribed diet as long as each step is tolerated without… |
| ADPIE | Assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation | The five steps of the nursing process taught in nursing schools and used to structure care plans and clinical reasoning. |
| amb | Ambulate (ambulatory) | Charting shorthand meaning to walk, or describing a patient who can walk. |
| BCMA | Barcode medication administration | Safety process in which the nurse scans the patient's wristband and each medication's barcode before giving it, so the system can confirm right patient, drug, dose… |
| BR | Bed rest | Activity order restricting a patient to bed, prescribed after some procedures, for unstable conditions, threatened preterm labor or certain spinal injuries. |
| BRP | Bathroom privileges | Activity order allowing a patient on otherwise restricted activity to get up and walk to the bathroom. |
| BS | Blood sugar | Bedside or laboratory glucose level, written in nursing notes and orders as shorthand for blood glucose. |
| BSC | Bedside commode | Portable toilet chair placed next to the bed for patients who can get up but cannot safely walk to the bathroom. |
| C&DB | Cough and deep breathe | Pulmonary hygiene instruction asking the patient to take slow deep breaths followed by a strong cough, used after surgery, in immobile patients and in those with… |
| C/D/I | Clean, dry and intact | Dressing or site assessment indicating the dressing is free of drainage or soiling, has no moisture beneath it and remains sealed to the skin. |
| c/o | Complains of | Charting phrase introducing the patient's reported symptom, written right before the complaint in nursing notes and triage records. |
| CBG | Capillary blood glucose | Glucose level measured in capillary blood, usually from a fingerstick or a heel stick in newborns, using a point-of-care meter. |
| CBR | Complete bed rest | Strictest activity order: the patient stays in bed for all care, including elimination with a bedpan or urinal, bathing and meals. |
| CLD | Clear liquid diet | Diet limited to liquids that are transparent at room temperature, such as water, broth, apple juice, plain gelatin, popsicles and tea without milk. |
| CVAD | Central venous access device | Umbrella term for any device giving access to the central veins, including nontunneled central lines, PICCs, tunneled catheters such as Hickman lines and implanted ports. |
| CVC | Central venous catheter | Catheter whose tip ends in a large vein near the heart, inserted through the internal jugular, subclavian or femoral vein, or peripherally as a PICC. |
| DAT | Diet as tolerated | Diet order allowing the patient to eat whatever they can comfortably manage, often after a procedure, without a specific progression. |
| DSD | Dry sterile dressing | Simple wound covering of sterile gauze, often held with tape or a transparent film, applied to closed incisions or minor wounds that need protection rather than… |
| DTI | Deep tissue injury | Pressure injury category describing intact or broken skin with a persistent deep red, maroon or purple discoloration, or a blood-filled blister, caused by pressure and… |
| EBP | Evidence-based practice | Approach to care that combines the best current research, clinical expertise and patient preferences to guide decisions. |
| eMAR | Electronic medication administration record | Digital version of the MAR built into an electronic health record, showing due, overdue and PRN medications and recording administration by scanning or electronic… |
| FLD | Full liquid diet | Diet of foods that are liquid or melt to liquid at body temperature, including milk, strained cream soups, pudding, yogurt, ice cream and nutritional shakes. |
| FR | Fluid restriction | Order limiting a patient's total daily fluid intake, usually to a set volume such as 1 to 1.5 liters, in hyponatremia, heart failure, kidney failure or SIADH. |
| FSBG | Fingerstick blood glucose | Bedside capillary glucose test using a lancet and point-of-care meter; the same test as fingerstick blood sugar, named for the substance actually measured. |
| FSBS | Fingerstick blood sugar | Capillary glucose measurement taken from a fingertip with a lancet and a bedside meter, commonly ordered before meals and at bedtime for patients with diabetes or on… |
| FWF | Free water flush | Plain water pushed through a feeding tube on a schedule to provide hydration and keep the tube from clogging. |
| HAPI | Hospital-acquired pressure injury | Pressure injury that develops after admission rather than being present on arrival. |
| HL | Heparin lock | Intermittent IV access device flushed with dilute heparin to keep it patent between uses. |
| HOB | Head of bed | Bed position setting, written with the angle of elevation in degrees, used to reduce aspiration, ease breathing and lower intracranial pressure. |
| HOH | Hard of hearing | Charting note that a patient has hearing loss affecting communication, prompting staff to face the patient, speak clearly, reduce background noise and confirm hearing… |
| I&O | Intake and output | Measurement and recording of everything a patient takes in (oral fluids, IV fluids, tube feeds, blood products) and everything that comes out (urine, emesis, drain… |
| INT | Intermittent needle therapy (intermittent infusion device) | Capped peripheral IV catheter kept in place for scheduled or emergency medications without continuous fluids. |
| IPC | Intermittent pneumatic compression | Mechanical way of preventing venous thromboembolism in which air-filled cuffs around the legs or feet inflate and deflate to mimic the calf-muscle pump. |
| IS | Incentive spirometry | Breathing exercise in which the patient inhales slowly through a handheld device that shows the volume reached, encouraging deep breaths that reopen collapsed alveoli… |
| IUC | Indwelling urinary catheter | Catheter that stays in the bladder, held by an inflated balloon and draining into a closed bag, commonly called a Foley. |
| IVF | Intravenous fluids | Fluids such as normal saline, lactated Ringer's or dextrose solutions given through a vein to replace losses, maintain hydration or correct electrolytes. |
| JP | Jackson-Pratt drain | Closed-suction surgical drain made of a flexible tube connected to a squeezable bulb that creates gentle negative pressure, removing fluid and blood from a wound bed. |
| KVO | Keep vein open | IV order for a slow continuous infusion, often 10 to 30 mL per hour of normal saline, that keeps a catheter patent when no other fluids are needed. |
| LBM | Last bowel movement | Date of the patient's most recent stool, asked on admission and every shift. |
| LDA | Lines, drains and airways | Flowsheet section in several electronic health records where every invasive device, such as IVs, central lines, catheters, drains, tubes and airways, is documented with… |
| MAR | Medication administration record | Legal record of every medication ordered, scheduled, given, held or refused for a hospital or nursing-home patient. |
| MDS | Minimum Data Set | Federally mandated clinical assessment completed for residents of Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes on admission, quarterly, annually and when condition… |
| MFS | Morse Fall Scale | Fall-risk tool scoring six items: history of falling, secondary diagnosis, use of an ambulatory aid, IV or saline lock, gait, and awareness of one's own limitations. |
| MIVF | Maintenance intravenous fluids | IV fluids given at a rate meant to cover a patient's ongoing daily water and electrolyte needs when they cannot eat or drink enough, as opposed to boluses that replace… |
| NAD | No acute distress | General-appearance finding that the patient looks comfortable, breathes without effort and shows no obvious pain or agitation at the time of examination. |
| NANDA-I | NANDA International | Organization that develops and publishes the standardized list of nursing diagnoses, such as "Risk for falls" or "Impaired gas exchange", used in care plans worldwide. |
| NAS | No added salt | Mild sodium-restricted diet in which no salt is added at the table and very salty foods are avoided, without strict gram limits. |
| NCP | Nursing care plan | Written plan listing a patient's nursing diagnoses, measurable goals, interventions with rationales and evaluation, updated as the patient changes. |
| NCS | No concentrated sweets | Older diet order for people with diabetes that removes foods high in simple sugar, such as desserts, regular soft drinks and candy, without counting carbohydrate. |
| NDx | Nursing diagnosis | Clinical judgment about a patient's response to a health problem that nurses can treat independently, such as "Acute pain" or "Risk for infection", as opposed to a… |
| NGT | Nasogastric tube | Flexible tube passed through the nose and down the esophagus into the stomach, used for feeding, giving medications, or suctioning gastric contents in bowel obstruction… |
| NIC | Nursing Interventions Classification | Standardized list of treatments nurses perform, each with a label, definition and activities, such as "Fall Prevention" or "Pain Management". |
| NKA | No known allergies | Allergy status indicating the patient reports no allergies to medications, foods, latex or environmental substances. |
| NKDA | No known drug allergies | Allergy status recorded when the patient reports no allergic reactions to any medication. |
| NKFA | No known food allergies | Charting entry confirming the patient reports no allergies to foods. |
| NOC | Nursing Outcomes Classification | Standardized list of measurable patient outcomes influenced by nursing care, each rated on a five-point scale, such as "Pain Level" or "Mobility". |
| NPO | Nil per os (nothing by mouth) | Order forbidding all oral intake, including food, fluids, gum and usually water, most often before surgery, sedation or anesthesia, or when aspiration risk, bowel… |
| NPWT | Negative pressure wound therapy | Wound treatment in which foam or gauze is sealed under an airtight film and connected to a pump that applies continuous or intermittent suction, commonly around 125 mmHg. |
| OASIS | Outcome and Assessment Information Set | Standardized assessment that US Medicare-certified home health agencies must complete for most adult skilled-care patients at start of care, resumption of care… |
| OGT | Orogastric tube | Gastric tube inserted through the mouth rather than the nose, typical in intubated patients, premature infants and patients with facial fractures or suspected… |
| OOB | Out of bed | Activity order or charting note that the patient may get up, or did get up, from bed, usually to a chair or for walking. |
| PERRL | Pupils equal, round, reactive to light | Pupil finding used when light reflexes were checked but accommodation was not, which is the usual situation in sedated, confused or critically ill patients who cannot… |
| PERRLA | Pupils equal, round, reactive to light and accommodation | Normal pupil finding: both pupils are the same size, circular, constrict when light is shone into either eye, and constrict when the eyes focus on a near object. |
| PI | Pressure injury | Localized damage to skin and underlying tissue, usually over a bony prominence or under a medical device, caused by sustained pressure or pressure with shear. |
| PICC | Peripherally inserted central catheter | Long, thin catheter inserted through an arm vein, typically the basilic or brachial, and advanced until its tip sits in the lower superior vena cava. |
| PIV | Peripheral intravenous catheter | Short catheter inserted into a vein of the hand, forearm or upper arm for fluids, medications or blood draws. |
| QSEN | Quality and Safety Education for Nurses | National initiative defining six competencies that nursing graduates should have: patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality… |
| ROC | Resumption of care | Home health term for restarting services after a patient's inpatient stay of 24 hours or more for reasons other than diagnostic tests. |
| s/p | Status post | Indicates that a patient has already undergone a procedure or experienced an event, usually followed by what happened and when. |
| SCDs | Sequential compression devices | Inflatable sleeves wrapped around the calves or legs that fill with air in sequence to push blood toward the heart, helping prevent deep vein thrombosis in immobile or… |
| SL | Saline lock | Peripheral IV catheter capped and flushed with saline instead of being attached to running fluids, kept ready for intermittent medications or emergencies. |
| SN | Skilled nursing | Home health and long-term care term for services that legally require a licensed nurse, such as wound care, injections, teaching or assessment of an unstable condition. |
| SOC | Start of care | Home health term for the date of the first billable visit by the agency, when the comprehensive assessment and plan of care begin. |
| SSE | Soapsuds enema | Cleansing enema of warm water mixed with a small amount of mild castile soap, given to clear the lower bowel before procedures or for constipation. |
| T&P | Turn and position | Nursing intervention of repositioning a patient who cannot move independently, traditionally every two hours, to relieve pressure over bony areas and prevent pressure… |
| TCDB | Turn, cough, deep breathe | Postoperative nursing routine in which the patient changes position, takes several deep breaths and coughs to clear secretions and expand the lungs. |
| TEDs | Thromboembolic deterrent stockings | Graduated compression stockings, tighter at the ankle than the thigh, used to reduce venous pooling and the risk of deep vein thrombosis in hospitalized patients. |
| TF | Tube feeding | Liquid nutrition delivered directly into the stomach or small intestine through a nasogastric, gastrostomy or jejunostomy tube, given as continuous, cyclic or bolus… |
| TKO | To keep open | Order for a minimal IV rate that prevents a catheter from clotting while no therapeutic infusion is running. |
| TWE | Tap water enema | Large-volume cleansing enema of plain warm tap water, used to evacuate the bowel before some procedures. |
| UOP | Urine output | Volume of urine a patient produces over a set period, measured from a catheter bag, urinal or collection hat. |
| VAC | Vacuum-assisted closure | Name widely used at the bedside for negative pressure wound therapy, taken from KCI's trademarked V.A.C. system. |
| w/ | With | Charting shorthand for "with", used throughout nursing notes, orders and handoffs to save space. |
| w/o | Without | Charting shorthand for "without", used to record absent symptoms, unmet conditions or care given without a device or help. |
| WDL | Within defined limits | Charting-by-exception entry meaning an assessment matches the hospital's written definition of normal for that body system, so only abnormal findings need detailed notes. |
| WNL | Within normal limits | Charting term stating that an assessment finding, lab value or test result falls inside the expected range. |
| WTD | Wet-to-dry dressing | Traditional dressing in which saline-moistened gauze is packed into a wound, allowed to dry and then pulled off, removing dead tissue stuck to it. |
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