I just learned the mnemonic below while reading Caring for a patient with mental illness in the acute care setting (Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, May/June 2013). Remember the word ESCAPE to help you care for a patient with a mental disorder in an acute care setting.

E = Early assessment

S = Symptom identification

C = Choose communication techniques based on symptoms found

A = Assess for history of prior effective treatment

P = Psychiatric medication regime reconciliation and maintenance

E = Eliminate or decrease stressors

For more mnemonics, check out previous blog posts here and here. Have one to share? Please do!

Reference:
Ahern, J. & Kumar, C. (2013). Caring for a patient with mental illness in the acute care setting. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 11(3).

I’m drawn to articles that offer tips, top ten lists, mnemonics, and quick-reads to make our days and lives as nurses run smoother. That’s why I’m happy to share that we’ve just added a new article to our Recommended Reading list with not one, but two handy mnemonic devices! Plus, the topic is ECG interpretation and you may recall that one of my most memorable days as a nurse began with analysis of a Six-Second Strip. 

Please allow me to share one of these clever mnemonics with you here (you can click through to the article to learn the other – enjoy free online access while it’s on our recommended reading list). 

So, what are the H’s and T’s referred to in the title of this post? They are the reversible causes of cardiac arrest, which include:

* Hypovolemia

* Hypoxia

* Hydrogen ion (acidosis)

* Hypo- or hyperkalemia

* Hypothermia

* Tension pneumothorax

* Tamponade, cardiac

* Toxins

* Thrombosis, pulmonary

* Thrombosis, coronary

Do you have any similar mnemonic devices to share? Let’s help one another to remember all that is nursing and healthcare!

Reference:

Craig, K., (2013). Heart Beats: Rhythm self-quiz: Fast and deadly. Nursing2013 Critical Care, 8(1).

Hi again! Here’s part 2 of my mnemonics list. These tips need a little more explanation, but they worked for me, so perhaps you’ll find some value in them as well.

To remember the types of white blood cells and their descending proportion in a blood sample…
“Never Let Monkeys Eat Bananas” = Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils, Basophils

To remember where lymphocytes mature…
B cells mature in the Bone marrow; T cells mature in the Thymus

To remember the cranial nerves…
“On Old Olympus Towering Tops, A Finn And German Viewed Some Hops” = Olfactory, Optic, Oculomotor, Trochlear, Trigeminal, Abducens, Facial, Acoustic, Glassopharyngeal, Vagus, Spinal Accessory, Hypoglossal

And to remember the functions of the cranial nerves (sensory [S], motor [M], or both sensory and motor [B])…"Some Say Marry Money But My Brother Says Bad Business Marry Money."

To remember the location of the adrenal glands…
Think ADD RENAL; they're "added" to the renal organs, the kidneys.

That’s all for now! Here’s R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R (Part 1) in case you missed it!

As you can imagine, I do a lot of reading about nursing. Journals, books, newsletters, blogs - you name it and pretty much I’m reading it! I think I’ve mentioned before how some titles really hook me. I love lists, so when I come across anything that starts with “Top 10” or “Tips for” or “List of” chances are that I will open to that page or click that link. Another one of my favorite things are mnemonics, or easy tricks for remembering complex things, which in nursing school and in practice, are very helpful!

Here are some of my favorites:

To help organize your day…
IMAGE: Introduce yourself, Medications, Assessment, Goal, Explain & Educate

To evaluate a symptom…
PQRST: Provocative/Palliative (what makes it better/worse), Quality/Quantity, Region/Radiation, Severity, Timing

To assess skin lesions…
ABCDE: Asymmetry, Border, Color/Configuration, Diameter/Drainage, Evolving

To assess pupils…
PERRLA: Pupils Equal, Round, Reactive to Light and Accommodation

To include in your documentation…
PIE:  Problem, Intervention, Evaluation

More to come soon...do you recall the one for remembering all the cranial nerves?