In order of decreasing taboo-ness.

1. Same sex marriage.
2. White guys and brown girls.
3. Hetro and Homosexual Sex.
4. Anything sex related.
   
5. Kissing in public.
6. Girls and guys doing anything before getting married.
   
7. Anything related to exercise.
8. Health problems in detail.
9. Misfits of society.
   
10. All jobs that are not "mainstream". if you are a waitress, tour guide or a garbage man, you suck, no one likes you or will talk about what you do.
    
11. Talking about the poor
12. Anything related to mental illness
13. Not honking and traffic signals.
14. Losing a argument
15. Not gawking at you if your white
16. Following any kind of instructions
    

Now you have a list of topics to talk about the next time you visit India.


Source: Friends

It is called "idiopathic", a term which means no known cause or origin when applied to diseases or disorders. From Greek, idios (one's own) + pathos (suffering).

Groundwood is an inferior-quality printing paper used for mass-market books, marked by its course texture. Generally, this is not an acid-free paper; the life expectancy is under 25 years.

As stated earlier: if so, why state it again?

Wrong

The Venus flytrap, which as stated earlier is an insectivorous plant, grows only in a restricted area of New Jersey.

Right

The Venus flytrap grows only in a restricted area of New Jersey.

Next time at a presentation, do not say this phrase. Unless you are talking to folks in a nursing home, people do not have short term memory loss.

Sources

Lepan, Don. The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.

Lumbar spinal puncture (spinal tap) is performed for extraction of cerebrospinal fluid from the lumbar cistern for examination of the chemical constituents and pressure. A spinal block entails introduction of an anesthetic into the cerebrospinal fluid thorough a lumbar puncture. Spinal Epidurals are more in use today since they provide analgesia (pain relief) rather than anesthesia (complete loss of feeling). This is most common in labor.

Source
Gould, Douglas J. Clinical Anatomy Flash Cards. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007.

If your a Nerb you don't know anything about babies, lets start of with the basics. When a baby is due here is the proper method to find the delivery date using Naegele's Rule.

A typical pregnancy lasts 250 days or 40 weeks. Before 37 weeks is called preterm.

To calculate the delivery date:

1. Find the first day of your last normal menstrual period (LMB); this is day 1.
2. Count backward three calendar months from that date.
3. Add 1 year and 7 days to that date.

This method is based on a normal 28-day cycle. Delivery 2 weeks after or before due date is considered normal.

Example

1. LMP began July 1, 2008.
2. Three calendar months to April 1, 2008.
3. Add 1 year and 7 days to get April 8, 2009.

Weight Gain (1 Trimester = 3 months)
First Trimester - 2-3 pounds.
Second and Third Trimester - 3/4 pound every week.
Total Weight Gain - Approximately 25 pounds.

Now you know. Not that you will be needing it anyway. See you all online in Left 4 Dead


Sources
Jackson, Lee, Marilynn, and Ph.D. Jackson. Clinical Nursing Pocket Guide. Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2006.

Like playing nurse at a car accident, you can also play pretend paramedic.

ABCDEFGHI: Primary and Secondary Assessment of Trauma Patient

Primary
A - Airway
B - Breathing
C - Circulation
D - Disability (neurological status)

Secondary
E - Expose (remove clothing, keep patient warm), good if the accident victim is a woman.
F - Full set of vital signs.
G - Give comfort measures, offer yourself.
H - History/Head-to-toe assessment
I - Inspect posterior surfaces, ie. ass, again good if it's a woman.

Sources
Jackson, Lee, Marilynn, and Ph.D. Jackson. Clinical Nursing Pocket Guide. Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2006.

The plural form is not normally used, and should not be.

Wrong

Computer/Electronics Accommodations Program More Widely Available to Wounded, Ill and Injured Service Members

Right

Computer/Electronics Accommodation Program More Widely Available to Wounded, Ill and Injured Service Members

Same goes with Brains, which is slang and should not be used in formal placements.

Wrong

He is the brains of the operation.

Right

He is the brain of the operation.

Sources

Lepan, Don. The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.

http://www.emilitary.org/article.php?aid=13738

Onset: When it started.
Provocation: What makes it worse? Position? Deep breath? Palpation of chest? Steady pain?
Quality: What type of pain? Feels like..? Heavy? Pressure? Burning? Tearing? Ache? Stabbing? Needle like?
Radiation: Travel to another part?
Severity: 1-10 scale?
Time: How long does it last? intermittent? continuous?


Sources
Jackson, Lee, Marilynn, and Ph.D. Jackson. Clinical Nursing Pocket Guide. Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2006.

The prepositions used in English often make little sense. For example, there is no reason to say inferior to and worse than?. There are no rules to help learn those combinations that were accepted over the centuries by coming together with certain verbs, nouns, etc.

Some authorities have argued that is poor English to end a sentence with a proposition. The best answer to them is Winston Churchill’s famous remark upon being accused of ending with a preposition: “This is the sort of pedantic nonsense up with which I will not put.” Obviously such awkwardness as this can be avoided only by ending with a preposition. It is surely true that in many other cases ending sentences with prepositions is awkward. In practice, however, these situations that we are already likely to avoid. The following dialogue (a version of which was passed on to me by Prof. A. Levey of the University of Calgary) provides in dramatic form another demonstration of the absurdity of strictness against ending with prepositions:

“Where do you come from?”

“From a place where we don’t end sentences with prepositions.”

“Let me rephrase. Where do you come from, you stupid pedant?”

Sources

Lepan, Don. The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.

Appeal to someone, for something

Wrong

The Minister of state for finance Fred Omach of Uganda, appealed for financial institutions to lower interest rates.

Right

The Minister of state for finance Fred Omach of Uganda, appealed to financial institutions for lower interest rates.

Sources

Lepan, Don. The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.

http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/news.asp?about=Minister appeals for low interest rates &ID=7216

The seven warning signs of cancer.

C - Change in bowel or bladder habits
A - A sore throat that does not heal
U - Unusual bleeding or discharge
T - Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere
I - Indigestion or dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
O - Obvious change in wart or mole
N - Nagging cough or hoarseness

Sources
Jackson, Lee, Marilynn, and Ph.D. Jackson. Clinical Nursing Pocket Guide. Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2006.

Annoyed with someone; annoyed by something

Wrong

Rivers annoyed with Garnett’s suspension.

Right

Rivers annoyed by Garnett’s suspension.

Wrong

One could cautiously say that McCain is no longer annoyed by Palin now, as to when she first appeared in gawky interviews.

Right

One could cautiously say that McCain is no longer annoyed with Palin now, as to when she first appeared in gawky interviews.

Sources

http://www.patriotledger.com/sports/x601012402/Rivers-annoyed-with-Garnett-s-suspension

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/11/mccain-american.html

Lepan, Don. The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.

Accuse someone of doing something, not to do.

Wrong

Dean Corll was accused to have killed many, including Harvey around 1971.

Right

Dean Corll was accused of having killed many, including Harvey around 1971.

Sources

Lepan, Don. The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6127116.html

I have a sendmehome.com account, and stickers on my mementos, do you?

Ankles are the most frequently injured joint in the body. Ankle sprains are most often inversion injuries. The lateral ligaments are weaker than the medial and are injured more often since they resist inversion.

Source
Gould, Douglas J. Clinical Anatomy Flash Cards. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007.

So you got into a multiple collision on a highway, your fine but the guy in the car in front of you is not, what do you do? You can skip the SAMPLE part and go to DCAP-BTLS and play pretend nurse, even if your a guy. Even though you won't know what to do, reassurance isn't all that bad.

SAMPLE - When interviewing a patient.

S - Symptoms, your chief complaint.
A - Allergies, what happens when come in contact with the object, what type of allergic reaction.
M - Medications, why you are taking them, when did you last take them.
P - Past medical history, have you had this problem before.
L - Last oral intake, the last time you ate or drank something
E - Events leading up to illness/injury, how?, what lead to the problem?

DCAP-BTLS - When rapidly assessing a patient

D - Deformities, twisted ankle, arm, finger.
C - Contusions, bruises.
A - Abrasions (Bony Prominences/Pressure sores), superficial damage to skin.
P - Punctures or Penetrations, tree branch in neck.

B - Burns, from the car fire when you watch them burn.
T - Tenderness, in places which you have to touch to know.
L - Lacerations, part of skin is gone.
S - Swelling, probably indication broken bones.

Sources
Jackson, Lee, Marilynn, and Ph.D. Jackson. Clinical Nursing Pocket Guide. Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2006.

The term Midclavicular refers to a line through the middle of the clavicle, parallel to the midline, which goes through through your body. Midaxillary is also parallel to the midline but goes through the axilla (Underarm).

Your toes and fingers are distal (away from midline), as oppose to your proximal shoulder. However, your shoulder is lateral, as oppose to your sternum which is medial.

Your head is superior, and your feet inferior.

Your abdomen is ventral as oppose to your spine which is dorsal (caudal).

Palmar, is the front region of your hand, but the bottom of your foot is called plantar.


Sources
Jackson, Lee, Marilynn, and Ph.D. Jackson. Clinical Nursing Pocket Guide. Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2006.

Childish is a term of abuse, childlike is a term of praise

Wrong

Gray Bartlett, one of New Zealand's most successful guitarists, has accused McGlashan of having a "childlike rant"

Right

Gray Bartlett, one of New Zealand's most successful guitarists, has accused McGlashan of having a "childish rant"

This makes sense for obvious reasons; people are less likely to be formal during a negative moment; thus childlike could be an insult, and it sounds smart too.

Sources

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10544533

Lepan, Don. The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003

Some nouns are unusual in the way that a plural is formed. Here is a list of some cumbersome nouns and pronouns.

Singular Vs Plural

Basis, bases

Crisis, crises (No need to say multiple crises, like commonly heard)

Criterion, criteria

Datum, data

Emphasis, emphases

Focus, foci (Rarely used, but it should be, They are losing focus vs. They are losing their foci)

Medium, media

Thesis, theses

Sources

Lepan, Don. The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.