Do you need help with understanding clinical handovers? The pocket sized reference book ‘A Guide To Australian Healthcare Acronyms And Abbreviations‘ can help decode the acronyms and abbreviations commonly used in clinical handover and patient notes.
A GUIDE TO AUSTRALIAN HEALTHCARE ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS (AHAA): TO ASSIST WITH INTERPRETING CLINICAL HANDOVER, 3rd Edition, 2016.
Jennifer L. Irvine, RN, BN, Dip VET
Cost: $25 plus postage and handling.
Postage: $3.00 for 1-2 Copies, $8.00 for 3 Copies, $15.00 for 4-20 Copies . For over 20 copies there is normally no delivery charge. Please contact Jennifer Irvine if you need to purchase more than 20 copies.
A Guide To Australian Healthcare Acronyms and Abbreviations (AHAA) 3rd edition was launched in May 2016 and is available for purchase online. AHAA now has over 1,600 acronyms and abbreviations. There are significantly more maternity, paediatric, anatomy, allied health and medication terminology including common chemotherapy regimens are now included.
AHAA is a reference book that lists acronyms and abbreviations commonly found in clinical documentation. A brief description of the terms is provided. All departments are represented including pathology, psychiatry, midwifery, pharmacology, physiotherapy, dietetics and all specialty areas. Terms have been sourced from current documentation and approved organisational lists.
Foreword
As a clinical facilitator of both Bachelor and Diploma of nursing clinical placements, I have found that students had a great deal of trouble with understanding written and verbal handovers. Indeed, some students were overwhelmed by the handover experience. This is due in large part to abbreviations and acronyms used by different departments.
A resource that will enable students to be better prepared, and more able to participate in handover, as a valuable learning opportunity.
Although each facility has a list of accepted abbreviations, often abbreviations that are found on handover sheets are omitted. I have also focused primarily on terms that are relevant to patient conditions, investigations and treatments. The complexity of the definitions varies depending on the amount of information needed to be of use in understanding the term when considering patient care.
Will help nursing students, along with anyone who is required to access and understand relevant clinical patient information.
This resource may also be of benefit to students of other healthcare professions, the novice/newly graduated, clinicians moving to different areas of health care, agency nurses, and even lawyers who may need to refer to medical records.
Comprehensive catalogue of terminology that is commonly used in various clinical settings
This book provides a comprehensive catalogue of terminology that is commonly used in various clinical settings including, Melbourne Health, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Mercy Health, Melbourne Private and Sunshine Hospital. The list is not exhaustive and I invite feedback and suggestions from readers, regarding other terms that might be considered for inclusion in the next edition of this publication.