Peeds Shmeeds

Everybody calls Pediatrics "peeds" which I thought was really unnecessary at first until I fell into the habit within 30 seconds of being introduced to the term. What's the big deal with just saying the whole word? There's a lot of that in nursing... I was reading a chart one day when I found the acronym, "BRB" (NOT to be confused with "be right back") documented in reference to someones bowel movements. "What does this stand for?" I innocently asked my clinical instructor. "HA!" She replied, "Why don't you try looking it up?" So I did, and then wondered what the heck was so funny about Bright Red Blood in someones numero dos (this brings up the issue of inappropriate joking and coping methods which I hope to discuss in a separate entry).

I guess healthcare workers have lazy tongues... other abbreviations include "cath" for catheter, "segs" for segmented neutrophils (which I can get down with), "tachy" for tachycardia or tachycardic, "telly" for telemetry, and "FOB" for father of the baby (not father of a bitch, as you might have incorrectly guessed).