Approved Medical Abbreviations List and Sample Prescriptions

The following is a helpful list of Approved Medical Abbreviations used for reading and writing prescriptions. Please notice this list does NOT use periods in between the abbreviations, as periods can sometimes be mistaken for “i” or “o”.

IMPORTANT: Because we are using an older textbook, some of the medical abbreviations in this updated list are DIFFERENT than what is shown in the textbook.

For this course, do not use periods in between abbreviations when writing medication prescriptions.

Example of drug directions written in the sig of a prescription.

Sometimes you will encounter medication orders written using Roman numerals.

Below is a review chart of those numerals. For this course, please use standard numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.), unless otherwise directed, when writing prescriptions.

It is always a good idea to review Roman numerals and be able to identify them quickly.

You never know when you might see them.

Picture taken at the 2020 Walt Disney World Marathon.

Below are samples of prescriptions written based on medical orders.

Medical order 1: Zofran four milligrams given intravenously every four hours as needed for nausea.

Medical order #2: Liquid ten milligrams per five milliliter concentration. Give two and a half milliliters of Liquid by mouth every four hours. Dispense one bottle with no refills.