Nursing Abbreviations and Acronyms: Guide to Medical Terminology

Medical abbreviations and acronyms are how the team moves complex information fast: "complete blood count" becomes "CBC." Used right, they speed up care; used loosely, they cause errors. Here is what they are, the precautions, and the abbreviations that should never be used.

Medical and Nursing Terminologies

Nurses and physicians share a specialized vocabulary for precise, efficient communication, and most of it is abbreviations and acronyms. It helps to know the difference.

• Abbreviations are shortened words or phrases. "vol" is short for "volume." They save time and space and fill medical documentation.
• Acronyms are words built from the initial letters of a compound term. "CBC" stands for "complete blood count." They condense complex terms into recognizable forms.

Precautions

Meanings vary by agency, hospital, and region. To prevent miscommunication and protect patients:

• Verify the meaning of any unfamiliar abbreviation with whoever wrote it. The same abbreviation can mean different things at different facilities.
• Reference facility guidelines. Each facility has its own approved list. Know yours and check it.
• Write it out when in doubt. If you are unsure, use the full term.
• Keep documentation clear. Give enough context that the meaning is unambiguous.
• Standardize. Push your team toward standardized abbreviations to cut variability.

Official "Do Not Use" List

The Joint Commission's Official "Do Not Use" List eliminates dangerous abbreviations, acronyms, symbols, and dose designations that get misread and cause medication errors. It applies to handwritten orders and free-text computer entries, not to preprogrammed health IT systems, though organizations are urged to drop these abbreviations during system upgrades. There is an exception for trailing zeros in specific contexts like lab results. The list came out of a 2001 Sentinel Event Alert, was formalized in 2004, and was folded into the Information Management standards in 2010.

List of Common Medical and Nursing Abbreviations

Term	Meaning
@	At
A/G	Albumin/Globulin Ratio
AAL	Anterior Axillary Line
AA	Of each, equal parts
ABG	Arterial Blood Gases
ABR	Absolute bed rest
Abd.	Abdomen
AC	Before eating
ACE	Angiotensin Converting Enzyme
ACL	Anterior Cruciate Ligament
ACLS	Advanced Cardiac Life Support
ACTH	Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
AD	Admitting diagnosis
ADH	Antidiuretic Hormone
ADL	Activities of Daily Living
Adm.	Admission
Ad. Spec.	Admission urine specimen
AGA	Appropriate for Gestational Age
AID	Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AI	Aortic Insufficiency
A.K.A.	Above Knee Amputation
ALD	Alcoholic Liver Disease
ALL	Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
ALP	Alkaline Phosphatase
ALT	Alanine Transaminase, Alanine Aminotransferase
A.M. or a.m., AM or am	Morning
Amb.	Ambulation, walking, ambulatory
Amt.	Amount
AP or A.P.	Appendectomy
Approx.	Approximately
APR	Abdominoperineal Resection
ARF	Acute Renal Failure
ASA	Acute Surgical Abdomen
ASF	Anterior Decomposition Spinal Fusion
ATN	Acute Tubular Necrosis
AU	Both Ears
AV	Atrioventricular
Aqua	Water or H2O

These terms vary between agencies and hospitals, so this is a general reference only. Always consult your hospital manual or institutional guidelines for the most accurate, facility-specific information.