- Before beginning this assignment, I recommend that you watch the video posted in Unit 4 of our course titled, “Words of Wisdom from your Instructor: Letters that Have Meanings”. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO: “Words of Wisdom from Your Instructor: Letters that Have Meanings.”
- Find an acronym that is commonly used in an area of medicine that interests you. An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word.
- State the acronym and what it “stands for”. If your term is derived from another language, such as Latin, explain how the term was derived.
- Define the term for which the acronym stands.
- Use your acronym in a meaningful way in a sentence correctly as you would to communicate with another medical professional.
- Finally, rewrite your sentence in a way that you would use the term (not the acronym) to communicate clearly and simply with your patient who is not a medical professional. In your communication with your patient, be sure to use clear simple language and the definition of the term clear while being respectful of the patient. Your patient communication should explain what the term means and give the patient appropriate information related to patient care and medical needs.
- Note: Do not use the same sentence for the medical professional and your patient by just changing the acronym to words. Customize your sentences for professional communication use and patient communication use.
- Review the acronyms that have already been posted; post only acronyms that have not yet been posted on your group’s discussion board. Do not use acronyms from the examples provided or from the video. Do not use the following acronyms: BID, PRN, RN, PCP DOB, BP, BPD, DOA, or EDC.
- After you complete posting your idea, respond to two other ideas by members of your Discussion Group in a substantive manner. Address the student by name, restate his or her acronym, and explain how and why you think this will be helpful to you in your future career.
- This is a graded assignment. Refer to the Discussion Rubric for details on how your assignment will be scored.
- Original work is required for this assignment. Do not copy information from another student or directly from a reference source.
Example #1:
Acronym and definition: BID is an acronym which means twice (two times) a day. It is an abbreviation for “bis in die” which in Latin means twice a day. The abbreviation b.i.d. is sometimes written without a period either in lower-case letters as “bid” or in capital letters as “BID“.
Sentence to another medical professional: Please, explain to the patient, Mrs. Smith, that we are prescribing an antibiotic bid.
Sentence to the patient: Mrs. Smith, Dr. Jones has prescribed an antibiotic for you to take twice a day for your respiratory infection. You should take this drug once in the morning and once before bedtime. Do you have any questions about how and when to take this medication?
Example #2:
Acronym and definition: p.r.n. is an acronym which stands for pro re nata in Latin and it means “as needed or as and when the situation arises/necessary”. It is usually written with a period between each of the letters as showed before.
Sentence to another medical professional: Nadia was working as a p.r.n. nurse in the Emergency Room as she was studying full-time to become a Nurse Practitioner.
Sentence to the patient: Mr. Albadrani, Dr. Hassani has prescribed a topical spray for your ankle pain to be used as needed for pain. It is to be applied only when the pain arises as it is a very strong medication and must be carefully used.
