Nurse Supervisor Jobs >> Browse Articles >> Work-Life Balance
Top 40 Slang Terms Nurses Use
Featured Author:
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.
More articles from this author:
Scrubs Magazine
October 13, 2010
7. TMB
Definition: Acronym for ‘Too Many Birthday.’
— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, Amanda Belcher Klumpp
8. Jack in the Box
Definition: A patient who can’t stand or walk yet insists on trying.
— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, Susan Broadway
9. FDGB
Definition: An acronym used in the ER which stands for ‘Fall Down Go Boom.’
— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, Tiffany Pizzimenti
10. F/U
Definition: A shortened version of ‘Follow Up.’
Fun (and cautionary) fact: The contributor of this term actually got in trouble by the state surveyor for using it in his charting!
— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, John Allen Hough
11. Crispies
Definition: A patient who is a tanning booth victim.
— contributed by scrubsmag.com Facebook fan, Ruth Metzger
Would You Survive Your 1st Year as a Nurse?
12. Trainwreck
Definition: A patient with multiple health problems and multiple diagnoses that has no business on a med-surg floor but doesn’t “qualify” for ICU until they code in the middle of the night.
— contributed by scrubsmag.com reader, Tabatha
13. The Whine Line
Definition: A term used among prison nurses referring to inmates who suddenly need to see medical because it’s raining and they don’t want to go to work. In the hospital they are the uninsured that show up in the ER at 0200 with sniffles, etc.
Usage: It’s cold and rainy out there. Gonna have a whine line this morning.
— contributed by scrubsmag.com reader, Linda
nursepatti2010
over 2 years ago
2 comments
Some I haven't heard and some I have used...often. For those who think they are *offensive*...don't use them. For those that do...keep doing it. Those little things allow you to cope with the harsh realities of healthcare ... especially over the last 10 years...and keep doing what it is you do...WITHOUT becoming a cranky, old Nurse Ratchet. I've worked pediatrics for years...and if you don't think nurses... especially pediatric nurses...need some kind of valve release in the work place when we, as nurses, deal with SO much on a daily basis... well...you all must be saints then. Every profession has them. I'd love to hear the ones lawyers have...
neerukp
over 2 years ago
6974 comments
Review
neerukp
over 2 years ago
6974 comments
Made me to smile
neerukp
over 2 years ago
6974 comments
Good one!
neerukp
over 2 years ago
6974 comments
Good to learn
neerukp
over 2 years ago
6974 comments
Thats' nice
neerukp
over 2 years ago
6974 comments
Funny
firelyte42
over 2 years ago
16 comments
these always make me smile
NIATHENURSE
over 2 years ago
30 comments
SERIOUSLY? O WOW I NEVER KNEW THERE WAS SUCH A THING!
gemini52981
over 2 years ago
8 comments
I have to admit, just about all of these seem to be un-professional and a bit vulgar. Obviously these didn't come from a college or buisness that I would want to be schooled or treated in...sry...truth hurts...
kgarrison
over 2 years ago
20 comments
A few others I've heard -
Shart - Combination of S**t and a Fart. Usage: "Did the resident have a bowel movement?" "Not really, he just sharted."
FLK - Funny Looking Kid. Often comes from FLPs. (Funny Looking Parents). Usage: "Does he have a disability? No, he's just a FLK."
Skin Funk - any combination of skin conditions. Usage: "make sure to wear your gloves when tranferring the patient. She's got some skin funk going on."
ScotS
over 2 years ago
4 comments
World is way too serious.
Lighten up and smile.
sandspaws
over 2 years ago
2 comments
I have never heard any nurse use half this so called RN "slang" in 20 years...if I ever did I would think their days of having a humanitarian heart are over and so should their career...and working in the ICU and ER is no excuse for bad manners...your idea of having a sense of humor is just plain having a BAD ATTITUDE...believe me no sick or injured person needs a "burnt out" nurse in charge of them, you better rethink you career Tricia!
desertgypsy
over 2 years ago
2 comments
One saying that is popular in the south - FTD. Fixin' to die. Also DRT - died right there.
triciapatterson58
over 2 years ago
10 comments
Oh, lighten up a little! It's gallows humor, nothing more. I've worked ICU; you have to have some humor to survive. As long as a patient doesn't hear it, I think it's okay to let off steam.