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?