Abbreviations

An abbreviation that can mean rheumatoid arthritis, right atrium or room air.

A memory aid for the steps to take in a fire: Rescue, Alarm, Contain, Extinguish or Evacuate.

Tracking an item by a small tag that answers a radio signal, so a reader can find it without seeing it.

A fast way of putting a patient with a full stomach to sleep and placing a cuffed breathing tube, to lower the risk of aspiration.

Randomized controlled trial: a study in which people are assigned by chance to a treatment group or a comparison group.

Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy: an FDA-required safety program for certain drugs with serious risks.

Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation: a memory aid for first care of a sprain, strain or bruise.

The upper right quarter of the belly, from the person's own point of view, when it is divided into four parts at the navel.

Registered Nurse–Board Certified: a credential showing a registered nurse has passed a specialty certification exam from the ANCC.

Ribonucleic acid: a molecule in cells that copies genetic instructions from DNA and helps build proteins.

Ribosomal RNA: the RNA that forms much of the ribosome, the part of a cell that builds proteins.

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction: a lab test that finds the genetic material of a virus or other germ in a sample.