What Does RN Mean in Medical Terms?

RN stands for registered nurse. Licensed nurse qualification.

Where you will see RN

You will most often see RN in medical charts and clinical notes, nursing notes, care plans and handovers.

Example

A chart note might use “RN” as shorthand for registered nurse when documenting a patient's care.

Related abbreviations

• 1:1 — one-to-one observation
• 2g Na diet — two-gram sodium diet
• 4-point restraints — four-point restraints
• A&O — alert and oriented
• A&O x4 — alert and oriented times four (person place time situation)
• A-line — A-line (arterial line shorthand)
• a.c. — ante cibum (before meals)
• a.m. — ante meridiem (morning)

Browse the full Medical Abbreviations guide — 5,715 entries, searchable A–Z and by specialty.