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Top 40 Slang Terms Nurses Use

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14. Malibu Barbie School of Medicine

Definition: Where the resident doctors who wear six inch heels, short skirts, and acrylic nail tips attended medical school.

— contributed by scrubsmag.com reader, Kelli Waller

15. Lantern Test

Definition: To shine a pen light in a patient’s mouth and see their eyes light up (i.e. they have no brain).

Usage: She thought Smucker’s could be used as contraceptive jelly. I think she’d fail the lantern test.

16. Young Invincibles

Definition: A term used by the healthcare industry along with the government to describe the growing population of uninsured twenty-somethings. This group is considered to be among the healthiest. There are many reasons why these young adults lack insurance: They’re no longer on their parents’ plan, they have jobs that don’t offer employer-based coverage, etc. Of the ones who do have insurance, many will decline either because of financial reasons or simply a feeling of being “invincible,” so it’s not a priority. This growing population of uninsured young adults is a concern of the United States Senate Committee on Finance and measures are being undertaken to address this problem.

Usage: Every year, more and more of our new employees are refusing our health insurance. These young invincibles will have to learn the hard way!

Synonyms: invincibles

Nintendo Thumb

17. Nintendo Thumb

Definition: A video game-related health problem classified as a form of repetitive strain injury (RSI). The symptoms are the blistering, paraesthesia and swelling of the thumbs, mainly through use of the directional pad, though any finger can be affected. This can lead to stress on tendons, nerves and ligaments in the hands, and further onto lateral epicondylitis (“tennis elbow”), tendinitis, bursitis and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

Usage: Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A. Ow! I think I have Nintendo thumb.

Synonyms: gamer’s grip, Nintenditis, PlayStation thumb

18. Another One Bites the Dust

Definition: A 1980s funk-rock song by Queen with a tempo that approximates the proper interval between CPR chest compressions when hummed in your head.

Usage: Jane: Am I performing the chest compressions too quickly?" Tammy: “Ever heard the 1980s smash hit ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Queen? Just hum that tune, do your compressions in step with the song’s tempo and you’ll be fine.”

Synonyms: staying alive