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Let's Talk About Using Acronyms

Posted by Sue, Volunteer Mentor @sueinmn, Feb 16 6:32pm

Hello members, some of us are accustomed to texting, and using a lot of "shortcut" abbreviations. I even find myself doing it on Connect from time to time, even though I try not to do it.

Please remember that every single day we have new visitors and members in our great MAC & Bronchiectasis group. Imagine a new visitor reading the following sentence:
"Hello and welcome to MC, I'm the VM for the MAC &BE group. Here you can learn about saline nebs, AC, NTM, MABC, SOB, whether to go to NJH, or if you need an ID doc. People share their experiences with the Big 3, PEPs, Smart Vests, Bololos and Life Straws."
Do you feel like you need a translator? Do you think a newcomer might feel as if they have dropped in on a private conversation?
Please, let's try to use the full word/term/title the first time in any post. Then it's usually OK to abbreviate with the acronym.

Feel free to flag me if I start doing this.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.

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Scott R L | @scottrl | May 5 11:10am
In reply to @sueinmn "Just a reminder to my friends here! Recently, in another group, an acronyms caused confusion when..." + (show)
Profile picture for Sue, Volunteer Mentor @sueinmn

Just a reminder to my friends here!
Recently, in another group, an acronyms caused confusion when CAD (usually meaning Coronary Artery Disease) was used in another context, where it meant Cold Agglutinin Disease. Oops ...A member, trying to be helpful, referred the poster to the Heart & Blood Conditions group.

Please always spell out the words the first time you use the in any post, reply, or especially in discussion titles. For example, we use the abbreviation AC for Airway Clearance. The most common usage of the term is Air Conditioning. Imagine your confusion if you stumbled onto this title before you knew you had BE (Bronchiectasis) - the common medical usage is Barium Enema!

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@sueinmn Amen!

I blame TV commercials. They become a game of acronym-scattering.

"Do you have TD with IBS-C that affects your T2D? Bizarromin lowers your A1C while measurably improving PAD and stabilizing LDL..."

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Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | May 5 11:45am
In reply to @scottrl "@sueinmn Amen! I blame TV commercials. They become a game of acronym-scattering. "Do you have TD..." + (show)
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@sueinmn Amen!

I blame TV commercials. They become a game of acronym-scattering.

"Do you have TD with IBS-C that affects your T2D? Bizarromin lowers your A1C while measurably improving PAD and stabilizing LDL..."

Jump to this post

@scottrl 🤪🤣 Another post that almost made me spit my coffee on the keyboard! My daughters blame text-messaging.

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Scott R L | @scottrl | May 5 1:22pm
In reply to @sueinmn "@scottrl 🤪🤣 Another post that almost made me spit my coffee on the keyboard! My daughters..." + (show)
Profile picture for Sue, Volunteer Mentor @sueinmn

@scottrl 🤪🤣 Another post that almost made me spit my coffee on the keyboard! My daughters blame text-messaging.

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@sueinmn Ironic that in our brave new world of global instant telecommunication, confusion is more than keeping pace.

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Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | 13 hours ago

Reminder time! We are seeing a lot of new members recently and they are confused by our shorthand. I stopped counting last week after five different members asked what a previously used acronym meant. In common medical use, BE means Barium Enema, not Bronchiectasis.

I know typing things out is no fun - really, I have been typing one-handed for 2 weeks now and it is truly no fun with the longer words.

PLEASE - The first time you use a term in any post, even in a response, spell out the term and add the acronym in parentheses.

And no, don't plan to publish a list of acronyms, for three reasons. First, it would have to be vetted by Mayo staff and they don't need the extra task. Second, this would force members to go on a search to learn what terms in a post mean, and that is not user friendly. Finally, the list would need to be continually updated.

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