Nursing mnemonics to help you prepare for the NCLEX 

Nurses can use the letter L to remember the signs of hypokalemia, which is a potassium deficiency. The signs are: 

• Lethargy
• Leg cramps
• Limp muscles
• Low or shallow breathing
• Lethal cardiac dysrhythmia
• Lots of urine

This mnemonic is designed to help nurses identify compartment syndrome, which can happen when there’s too much pressure around the patient’s muscles. The five P’s to check for compartment syndrome are:

• Pallor
• Pain
• Pulse
• Paralysis
• Paresthesia

This mnemonic is designed to help you memorize the six major causes of dyspnea, commonly known as shortness of breath. They are:

• Pulmonary bronchial constriction
• Possible foreign body
• Pulmonary embolism
• Pneumothorax
• Pump failure
• Pneumonia

The adrenal glands help regulate essential functions in the body by producing hormones, including:

• Sugar (glucocorticoids)
• Salt (mineralocorticoids)
• Sex (androgens)

This mnemonic device is intended to help nurses remember the common side effects of steroid treatment. Steroids, particularly corticosteroids, are used to treat several conditions. Patients taking steroids may experience the following: 

• Sugar ­– hyperglycemia
• Soggy bones – osteoporosis
• Sick – decreased immunity
• Sad – depression
• Salt – water and salt retention (hypertension)
• Sex – decreased libido

The basics of prenatal care can be remembered with the first six letters of the alphabet. Each letter represents a question for the nurse to ask a pregnant woman to further understand her condition. The questions are: 

• Amniotic fluid?
• Bleeding?
• Contractions?
• Dysuria?
• Edema?
• Fetal movement?

This acronym is designed to help you recognize a patient experiencing severe complications from taking birth control pills. The letters stand for: 

• Abdominal pain
• Chest pain
• Headaches
• Eye problems
• Severe leg pain

This mnemonic is designed to help nurses discover possible causes of an altered mental state. This acronym stands for: 

• Alcohol
• Epilepsy/Electrolytes
• Insulin/Inborn errors of metabolism
• Overdose/Oxygen
• Uremia
• Trauma
• Infection
• Psychiatric/Poisoning
• Stroke/Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

AIR RAID is an acronym that can help nurses identify when the epiglottis is inflamed due to bacterial infection. The letters stand for: 

• Airway inflammation
• Increased pulse
• Restlessness
• Retraction of the ribs
• Anxiety
• Inspiratory stridor
• Drooling

This phrase is designed to help nurses remember the common Parkinson’s medications. Each letter of this phrase, which starts with the name of a famous person who had Parkinson’s, the late boxing great Muhammad Ali, stands for:

• Amantadine
• Levodopa
• Bromocriptine
• MAO inhibitors

This phrase is designed to help medical professionals remember fat-soluble vitamins. “All dogs eat kibble” stands for vitamins A, D, E and K. Those four, as opposed to water-soluble vitamins, are absorbed and transported in organic matter including or similar to fats.

The first letters of this phrase are designed to help nurses remember the steps in the general nursing process. They are: 

• Assessment
• Nursing diagnosis
• Plan
• Interventions
• Evaluation 

APGAR is a standardized assessment used to gauge the health and responsiveness of a newborn at one minute and five minutes after birth. APGAR stands for:

• Appearance
• Pulse
• Grimace
• Activity
• Respiration

Some treatment mnemonics use the name of the disease or condition they’re used for to make it easier to remember. This is the case with ASTHMA, which stands for the common treatments of asthma: 

• Adrenergic (albuterol)
• Steroids
• Theophylline
• Hydration (IV)
• Mask (oxygen)
• Antibiotics

This mnemonic is designed to help nursing students remember which beta-blockers to use. B1 is for the heart (because we have one heart) and B2 is for the lungs (we have two lungs).

This mnemonic can help nurses determine whether a patient needs care at home, and what care they need. The letters stand for routine daily activities. Specifically: 

• Bathing
• Ambulation (walking or maneuvering around a space)
• Toileting
• Transfers (moving from a seated or reclined position)
• Eating
• Dressing

BRAT stands for the diet treatment for nonchronic diarrhea. The letters stand for: 

• Banana
• Rice
• Applesauce
• Toast

Nursing students may recall this is typically a short-term diet, as it is low in nutrients and easy to digest.

This acronym is designed to help nurses conduct a postpartum assessment on a pregnant patient. The letters stand for: 

• Breasts
• Uterus
• Bowels
• Bladder
• Lochia
• Episiotomy/C-section incision

The letters can help nurses identify some of the warning signs of cancer, including:

• Change in bladder or bowels
• A sore that won’t heal
• Unusual bleeding or discharge
• Thickening or lumpy tissue
• Indigestion or trouble swallowing
• Obvious change in the size of wart or mole
• Nagging cough or hoarseness

The phrase “Clouds over grass, smoke over fire, chocolate on stomach” is designed to help nurses remember the proper ECG/EKG lead placement.

As nursing students prepare for the NCLEX, they may use this mnemonic to recall that the white lead (clouds) goes over the green lead (grass), the black lead (smoke) goes over the red lead (fire) and the brown lead goes on the stomach. 

This phrase can help nurses assess a diabetes reaction: “Hot and dry: sugar high. Cold and clammy: need some candy.” This simplifies whether a diabetic patient is experiencing insulin levels that are too high or too low.

This acronym helps nurses remember and identify the signs of mania, which is a type of altered mental state indicative of bipolar 1 disorder. The letters stand for:

• Distractibility
• Indiscretion or excessive involvement in pleasurable activities
• Grandiosity
• Flight of ideas
• Activity increase
• Sleeplessness
• Talkativeness

This phrase is designed to help nurses remember the medications most often used in emergencies. LEAN stands for: 

• Lidocaine
• Epinephrine
• Atropine sulfate
• Narcan

This mnemonic is designed to help nurses identify the signs of endocarditis, which is inflammation of the inner linings of the heart. FAME stands for:

• Fever
• Anemia
• Murmur
• Endocarditis

FAST is an acronym used by the American Stroke Association, designed to help both medical and nonmedical personnel identify the signs of a stroke. The letters stand for: 

• Facial drooping
• Arm weakness
• Speech difficulty
• Time to call emergency services

The five F’s as a mnemonic device are designed to help nurses and nursing students understand the risk factors of cholelithiasis, or gallstones. Cholelithiasis has several risk factors, but these are the most common:

• Fat
• Forty
• Fertile
• Female
• Fair

FRIED is an acronym designed to help nurses identify symptoms of hypernatremia, a condition caused by high levels of sodium in the bloodstream. The letters stand for:

• Fever
• Restless
• Increased fluid retention and increased blood pressure
• Edema
• Decreased urinary output/dry mouth

This acronym is designed to help nurses recognize preeclampsia in pregnant patients. This can be a high-risk condition for the fetus and the mother-to-be. The letters stand for:

• Hemolysis
• Elevated liver enzymes
• Low platelet count

This acronym is designed to help nurses remember the treatment for bradycardia, which is a slower-than-normal heart rate. The letters stand for:

• Isoproterenol
• Dopamine
• Epinephrine
• Atropine sulfate

This acronym is designed to help nurses remember the treatment for pulmonary edema, often caused by congestive heart failure. These letters stand for:

• Morphine
• Aminophylline
• Digoxin
• Dopamine
• Diuretics
• Oxygen
• Gases

This mnemonic is designed to help nurses remember the treatment for myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack. The letters stand for:

• Morphine
• Oxygen
• Nitroglycerine
• ASA score

This phrase can help nurses remember the systems of the body. They are: 

• Muscular
• Respiratory
• Digestive
• Integumentary
• Circulatory
• Endocrine
• Reproductive
• Urinary
• Nervous
• Skeletal

This acronym is designed to help nurses identify the signs of appendicitis. The letters stand for: 

• Pain in the right lower quarter
• Increased temperature
• Nausea
• Signs – McBurney’s or Psoas

This mnemonic is an acronym for the phrase “potassium inside, sodium outside” and is designed to help nurses remember where electrolytes are in the cell.

This phrase is designed to help nurses identify cor pulmonale, which is a condition that causes the right side of the heart to fail. The first letters of “please read his text” stand for:

• Peripheral edema
• Raised jugular venous pressure (JVP)
• Hepatomegaly
• Tricuspid incompetence

PRICE is an acronym that can help nurses, and even patients, remember how to properly treat a fracture. The letters stand for:

• Pressure
• Rest
• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation 

This mnemonic is designed to help nurses remember the signs of hyponatremia, or low blood sodium (not to be confused with hypernatremia, or high sodium levels). The letters stand for: 

• Stupor/coma
• Anorexia
• Lethargy
• Tendon reflexes decreased
• Limp muscles
• Orthostatic hypotension
• Seizures/headaches
• Stomach cramping

This acronym is designed to help nurses remember the steps in a basic health history assessment. The letters stand for: 

• Symptoms
• Allergies
• Medications
• Past medical history
• Last oral intake
• Events leading up to the illness/injury

This mnemonic is designed to help nurses identify symptoms of organs and glands being overstimulated, which can lead to life-threatening complications if untreated. The signs of these conditions include: 

• Salivation
• Lacrimation
• Urination
• Defecation
• Gastric upset
• Emesis, or vomiting

SPAMS is an acronym designed to help nurses remember the causes of heart murmurs. The letters stand for:

• Stenosis of a valve
• Partial obstruction
• Aneurysm
• Mitral
• Septal defect

The symptoms of hyperthyroidism can be represented and remembered by the acronym STING. The letters stand for:

• Sweating
• Tremors or tachycardia
• Intolerance to heat, irregular period, irritability, irregular eyes
• Nervousness
• Gastrointestinal problems

The first letters in this phrase helps nurses remember the following common drug interactions with one another:

• Theophylline
• Dilantin
• Coumadin
• Ilosone

This acronym is designed to help nurses and medical professionals identify the signs of Parkinson’s disease. The letters stand for: 

• Tremor
• Rigidity
• Akinesia 
• Postural instability

This acronym is designed to help nurses remember the treatment for congestive heart failure. The letters stand for: 

• Upright position
• Nitrates
• Lasix
• Oxygen
• Ace inhibitors
• Digoxin
• Fluid decrease
• Afterload decrease
• Sodium decrease
• Test: dig level, ABC, K+

Medications to treat HIV can be memorized with the abbreviation ZZLSD:

• Zidovudine
• Zalcitabine
• Lamivudine
• Stavudine
• Didanosine