New Unit Clerk feeling discouraged

[Kiwi19]

Hey guys,

I was recently hired as a Unit Clerk at our Hospital. This is my first time working in a hospital. I have had a few training shifts so far, so still relatively new, but I am feeling discouraged because I cannot read the doctors orders. It just looks like a bunch of scribbles and I am afraid of entering stuff wrong/making mistakes.

I know I can ask nurses for their help, but it is literally every order. I know a big part of it is because I am new so 1 - I can't read the doctors writing and 2 - I have no knowledge of what it could possibly be to help me figure out what it actually is.

I know this will get better over time, but right now I just feel discouraged and it sucks because this is a job I have wanted for awhile!

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

It does get easier. Studying medical terminology will help.

[Boog'sCRRN246, RN]

It's weird to me that there are still hospitals that allow hand-written doctors' orders. At my hospital, orders are all electronic and the doctors are strongly encouraged to enter their own orders. This left such a small amount of work for our HUCs that the facility "encouraged" (i.e., forced) the HUCs to cross-train as patient care techs if they wanted to stay employed.