a, an

a Royal College of Nursing member; an RCN member

A&E

acceptable acronym for accident and emergency. Note ampersand and no spaces

accommodate, accommodation

acknowledgement

acts

the Human Rights Act 1992 – no brackets, no italics – thereafter, the act

addresses

20 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0RN

Adrenalin

TM; a brand of adrenaline

adrenaline  

hormone that increases heart rate and blood pressure

adverbs

do not use hyphens after adverbs ending in -ly; for example, a newly qualified nurse; a seriously ill patient; but hyphens are needed with short and common adverbs: a much-respected nurse; an ill-prepared report

adviser

with an e, not advisor

advisory

with an o

affect (verb), effect (noun)  

the position of the word in the sentence will affect its spelling and produce this effect

African-Caribbean

not Afro-Caribbean

ageing

not aging; see also “old”

Agenda for Change 

no italics; abbreviate to AfC

ages   

she was in her eighties; a 16-year-old boy; a 16 year old; 14-16 year olds; four to 16 year olds; the woman was in her twenties; a twentysomething

Aids/HIV

A level

no hyphen

alcohol misuse and misusers

not alcohol abuse; or alcoholic

all right

two words

also

often redundant – for example, “and also”

Alzheimer’s disease

note apostrophe

American Nurses Association

amid

not amidst

ampersands (&)

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary; A&E; Yorkshire & The Humber region; and can be used in company names; otherwise avoid

annual general meeting

spell out first, then AGM

antenatal

one word

antidepressants

one word

anti-epileptic

hyphenated

antisocial

one word

apostrophes

Florence’s lamp; nurses’ badges; don’t; couldn’t. Plurals don’t need apostrophes when using an acronym or date – for example, MPs, not MP’s; 1960s, not 1960’s

From The Guardian style guide:
If anyone tries to tell you that apostrophes don't matter and we'd be better off without them, consider these four phrases, each of which means something different:

my sister's friend's investments [one sister, one friend]
my sisters' friends' investments [two or more sisters, two or more friends]
my sisters' friend's investments [two or more sisters, one friend]
my sister's friends' investments [one sister, two or more friends]

around

about or approximately are better; for example, about 300 nurses attended

Asperger’s syndrome

note apostrophe

Association of Nursing Students

name was changed to RCN Students at the RCN AGM October 2010

autoimmune

one word