Several years ago, several friends and I went to visit a mutual friend who was very ill and heavily sedated. I had stepped out of the tiny room, to give some space for the other visitors, but went dashing back when one of the them was trying to sit the patient up and get her to drink water. My first reaction was to say “didn’t you see the sign on the door?” but I stopped myself. She very well could have, but she would have no way of knowing that the NPO sign meant “nothing by mouth.”
So to help you understand what a doctor or nurse is telling your, or if you want to just sound like a medical professional, try the following links:
MedTerms Medical Dictionary A- z List
Medical abbreviations of general interest
Medical Dictionary: This site also has a medical vocabulary tutorial.
Remember that there is no shame in not understanding what something means.
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