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Top 40 Slang Terms Nurses Use

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Scrubs Magazine

Scrubs Magazine is the lifestyle website for and about nurses. Here you’ll find weekly giveaways, “best of” lists, and both the lighter side and the serious side of nursing with cartoons, scrubs style DOs and DON’Ts, beauty, health and wellness. Scrubsmag.com also features revealing stories from nurse bloggers ranging from a newly minted nurse to a seasoned RN to a misunderstood male nurse. Follow us on Twitter and join our conversation on Facebook.

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If you’ve ever treated a “frequent flyer” patient with a case of “Nintendo thumb” or “Avatar blues,” you may be familiar with this list of 40 humorous nursing lingo terms.

Courtesy of our Scrubs Magazine readers and SlangRN.com we present these slang terms nurses use and wonder, what are some more? Scroll to the bottom to submit your favorites!

1. Frequent Flyer

Definition: One who visits healthcare providers, emergency departments, etc. for every little health problem, often drug seeking or wanting work excuses.

— contributed by scrubsmag.com reader, Kelly

2. Boyfriend

Definition: The cute little old men who are a joy to take care of.

— contributed by scrubsmag.com reader, Grace

3. BONITA

Definition: An acronym used in the ER which stands for ‘Big ‘Ol Needle in the A$$.’

Usage: I’m about to give this patient a bonita.

— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, Tiffany Pizzimenti

RN: Acronym for Refuses/Resists Nonsense.

4. DFO

Defintion: Acronym for ‘Done Fell Out.’

— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, Nanci Leigh Nix

5. MD

Definition: Acronym for Makes Decisions.

Usage: Do you see MD after my name? That means Makes Decisions.

— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, Maranda Thompson

6. RN

Definition: Acronym for Refuses/Resists Nonsense.

Usage: Do you see RN after my name? It stands for Resists/Refuses Nonsense!

— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, Maranda Thompson