Nursing Mnemonics: How You Can Easily Recall Difficult Concepts

• Studying for the NCLEX-RN exam? Or looking to brush up on your nursing knowledge? Look no further!
• Nursing mnemonics are a great way to memorize pertinent information that you will need throughout your nursing career!
• Want to learn more? Check out Nursing CE Central’s list of the best nursing mnemonics!

Needing help remembering nursing skills or concepts?  

Nursing mnemonics helped me so much during nursing school, and I still use them today! 

In sum, they are a fun way to remember important tidbits of information that will be useful in practice throughout your career. Let’s get into it!

What Is It? 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines mnemonics as, “assisting or intended to assist memory.” In this case, we are specifically covering nursing mnemonics that will follow you throughout your career.  

Trusted online health resource, VeryWell Health, outlines the various memory-improving types and strategies of mnemonics that are beneficial to all ages! These include: 

1. Keywords 
2. Chunking 
3. Musical 
4. Letter and Word Strategies 
5. Rhymes 
6. Making Connections with Previously Learned Information 
7. Loci Strategy 
8. Peg Method 
9. Anecdotal and Image Linking Strategies 

If you are searching for ways to make your NCLEX-RN exam studying easier, or simply need a refresher, I’ve got you covered on some of the best nursing mnemonics, check them out! 

Nursing Mnemonics 

• Health History: SAMPLE 

Symptoms 

Allergies 

Medications 

Past medical history 

Last oral intake 

Events preceding injury 

• The Nursing Process: ADPIE or “A Delicious PIE” 

Assessment 

Diagnosis 

Planning 

Implementation 

Evaluation 

• Emergency Trauma Assessment: A-I or “A through I” 

Online healthcare job source, Swipefox, highlights this nursing mnemonic trick, check it out!  

Airway 

Breathing  

Circulation 

Disability  

Examine  

Fahrenheit 

Get Vitals  

Head-to-toe assessment 

Intervention 

• Lab Values  

Potassium (3-5)

You usually only buy 3-5 bananas at a time.  

Chloride 95◦ -105◦

Sounds like chlorine in a pool. When is the best time to go swimming? When it’s 95-105 outside!  

BUN 5-20

Think of a hamburger bun. How much money would you spend on a burger? Maybe around $5 but no more than $20.  

Creatinine (0.5-1.5)

Think of a meal that you dislike. On a scale of 0-10, the dish is only a 0.5-1.5.  

Calcium (9-11)

Call 911.

• Hypernatremia  

Think, “You are fried.”

Fever – (low) flushed  

Restlessness – irritable

Increased fluid retention and increased BP 

Edema  

Decreased urinary output (dry) 

OR   

Skin flushed 

Agitation  

Low grade fever 

Thirst 

• Hyperkalemia  

Think, “MURDER.”  

Muscle weakness 

Urine oliguria, anuria 

Respiratory distress 

Decreased cardiac contractility 

ECG changes 

Reflexes, hyperreflexia, or areflexic  

• IV Solutions  

Isotonic Solutions: “Stay where I put it”  

HypOtonic Solutions: “Go Out of the vessel” 

HypErtonic Solutions: “Enter the Vessel” 

• 5 P’s of Circulatory Checks  

1. Pain  

2. Pallor  

3. Paralysis 

4. Pulse  

5. Pallor 

Of course, there are hundreds of other nursing mnemonics out there, but these are just a few to get started; I hope they are as helpful to you as they have been for me over the years!

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