There are many acronyms used in emergency services that are intended to make procedures easier to remember. Here is a list of some common ones and when to use them:

BSI

This is applied as a precaution for EMS providers to protect and isolate from body substances such as blood, urine, feces etc. while giving medical treatment. BSI should be applied before every call and can include gloves, eye protection, facemask, gown etc. depending on the nature of the call.

BODY
SUBSTANCE
ISOLATION

ABCDE

After you have determined the scene is safe, your first action of the physical assessment will be to check your ABCDE’s. This is an acronym that lists everything you need to initially check and maintain in order.

Airway

Breathing

Circulation

Disability

Exposure/Environment

SAMPLE (History)

SAMPLE history is an acronym for remembering what questions are important to ask during your assessment of a patient. This acronym is the gold standard for a subjective history of a patient and is used on the medical and trauma checklist for the state exam. It is intended to guide you through a detailed interview of the patient so you can get a better understanding of what lead to the patient's condition.

Symptoms- What seems to be bothering you the most?

Allergies- Are you allergic to anything?

Medications- Do you currently take any medications?

Past medical history- Do you have any current medical conditions?

Last oral intake- When was the last time you ate or drank something? What was it?

Events preceding- What were you doing when you started having these symptoms?

OPQRST

This acronym is often used in conjunction with SAMPLE as a guide for asking questions regarding a patient's symptoms, specifically pain, during acute illness. It is a great acronym to find out subjective history about a person's chest or abdominal pain. Each question should be asked to get a better understanding of the patient's symptoms.

Onset- Did the pain start gradually or all of a sudden?

Provocation- Does anything make the pain feel better or worse?

Quality- Can you describe the pain?

Radiate- Where is your pain? Does it go anywhere else in your body?

Severity- How would you rate your pain on a scale of 1-10?

Time- How long ago did you start feeling the pain?

AEIOU TIPS

This is an acronym that lists the possible reasons someone might be unconscious or have an altered level of consciousness. It is important to remember this list so you can begin trying to rule each one out as you do your assessment until you find the cause so you can treat it.

Alcohol           Trauma

Epilepsy          Insulin

Infection         Poisoning

Opiates           Strokes

Uremia

AVPU

This acronym is an acronym that is used as a tool to record and document a patient's responsiveness to determine their level of consciousness.

Alert

Voice

Pain

Unresponsive

SLUDGE

SLUDGE is an acronym for the symptoms of discharge of the parasympathetic nervous system that can occur from a drug overdose or ingestion of some poisons.

Salivation (drool)     

Lacrimation (tears) 

Urination       

Defecation

Gastrointestinal disease

Emesis (vomit)

DCAP BTLS

This is an acronym used during the rapid head to toe assessment of a trauma patient. Starting from the head, you will examine each part of the body, looking for any of these signs, stopping to treat any of them only if they are life-threatening.

Deformities                            Burns

Contusions                             Tenderness

Abrasions                               Lacerations

Punctures/penetrations      Swelling

SOAP

This acronym explains the format for writing your prehospital care report.

Subjective- What you were told

Objective- What you observed

Assessment- What you think is wrong

Plan- what you did