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And one more thing…

19 comments

And this is important… It’s damn near fighting words up in my part of the woods….

Is it “Mursa” or “M-R-S-A”?

Honestly, we run into it enough.. Tell me how you pronounce it. And TJ, for the record, I know your answer.

Posted by on August 27, 2009 • Filed under: EMS

19 Comments

  1. Timothy Clemans says

    Don’t ask me

    on August 27, 2009 @ 00:42. Reply
  2. Braden says

    Let me speak for all nurses and say that the laziest way is always the answer (hence charting that never includes the words “patient” or “complains of” in favor of pt and c/o respectively). Thus the answer is mursa.

    on August 27, 2009 @ 00:53. Reply
  3. hilinda says

    Around here, it’s “mursa.”

    I’m a little curious about the story behind why you’re asking. :-)

    on August 27, 2009 @ 00:55. Reply
  4. ~kay~ says

    in the UK its M-R-S-A :)

    on August 27, 2009 @ 01:51. Reply
  5. Steve says

    A few peers and I pronounce it “mursa”

    Funny though…Around here noone gets plain ole staff infections anymore, anyone with an inkling of medical training will SWEAR they have MRSA…Yet it miraculously clears up after one dose of antibiotics…I give up on arguing lol

    on August 27, 2009 @ 05:47. Reply
  6. Steve says

    Oh yea, forgot to tell you Congrats on getting back into medic school and absolutely awsome on the help you received. I just finished medic school myself and passed the registry…I wouldn’t wish that hell on anyone lol ;)

    on August 27, 2009 @ 05:49. Reply
  7. Danielle (former LPN) from SW MO says

    We always pronounced it both ways. Alot of time it depended on whether it was NH or Hospital “talk” so to speak.

    on August 27, 2009 @ 07:14. Reply
  8. Tony says

    I can’t believe you’re making me think this early in the morning :-). Here’s my take.

    First of all, I refer you to this Grammar Girl post on the differences between abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms. [Actually, at first I referred you to my Canada Post tracking number, but then remembered the address doesn't get on the clipboard just because I think it there :-)]

    I’m just extending what she says, but using the differences between FBI and NASA, explained in the post, MRSA should be pronounced as four distinct letters. I think that if a word doesn’t lend itself to a natural acronym it shouldn’t be one.

    One we use all the time at work is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). I am of the opinion that it is pronounced “W C A G” since ‘w’ and ‘c’ rarely are found together in words and calling it “wucag”, like some people do, just sounds silly.

    My two cents. (It’s early, it might only be worth one)

    on August 27, 2009 @ 08:00. Reply
  9. mack505 says

    Around here, I’ve never heard it spelled out. ‘MuRSA’ it is.

    on August 27, 2009 @ 09:09. Reply
  10. Trauma Junkie says

    Its all your fault that I said “mursa” when passing on report on Wednesday.

    I got the craziest look, then I had to correct myself and say “M-R-S-A” for them to know what I meant.

    Maybe its one of those crazy Yankee things. I still get confused when I’m up there and they ask me if I want a “pop.”

    on August 27, 2009 @ 09:09. Reply
  11. peedee says

    MURSA.

    Congrats on school girly!

    on August 27, 2009 @ 09:18. Reply
  12. EMT Tim says

    I’ve only heard it pronounced “mursa” FWIW.

    on August 27, 2009 @ 09:24. Reply
  13. Ambulance Driver says

    TomAYto… tomAHto.

    Why would it make a difference either way?

    on August 27, 2009 @ 09:44. Reply
  14. Joanna (JamaGenie) says

    It’s “mursa” in my neighborhood. Glad you weren’t asking what MRSA stands for!

    on August 27, 2009 @ 17:10. Reply
  15. Southern_EMT says

    We call it M-R-S-A

    on August 27, 2009 @ 17:23. Reply
  16. Medic 7 says

    Allow me to echo the above. We all say “MURSA” out here in the Pacific Northwest, too.

    Congrats on starting school. We’re using the same book. :)

    on August 27, 2009 @ 17:25. Reply
  17. Kevin says

    “Maybe its one of those crazy Yankee things. I still get confused when I’m up there and they ask me if I want a “pop.””

    Damn skippy! It’s friggen called SODA

    and coke is a brand and type of soda. If I order a “coke” don’t ask me what kind! Coke, is coca-cola.

    Hell, even cola would be an acceptable replacement for soda.

    In conclusion: It is called “soda” NOT “pop” or “coke”

    That is all

    on August 28, 2009 @ 12:57. Reply
  18. Js says

    Here in Detroit we say mursa. But we also “axe” questions…. IS

    on August 30, 2009 @ 01:13. Reply
  19. Sean says

    Well I echo all the other statements. Common pratice lingo is just pronouncing it “MURSA”. For those using proper medical terminology etiquette it’s “EM-ARR-SSS-AAH”.
    Sometimes you gotta hate the media and how they chop up things. heh heh.

    on August 30, 2009 @ 11:29. Reply

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