MD's hand writing - page 2

Physicians have been asked to read their own handwriting while they were on the stand in malpractice trials. Needless to say, It didn't go so well for physicians who couldn't even read their own orders.

This (getting rid of illegible orders) is, for me, the best argument for CPOE.

Our orders are hand written, and one MD has terrible writing. Usually I'm hovering nearby so I can clarify the order. Worst case scenario, we call. But I've learned to read the scribbles over time, which still does not make it acceptable.

I'm actually a Nursing Student, ya just passed my first semester with two As and one B. For the past 8 years I've been working as a tech in CCU at the local hospital in my town. I remember when I first started I had a hard time reading the dr's hand written orders, forward 8 yrs later and I'm the one nurses approach when they have questions about an MDs orders.

I have no problem whatsoever calling a Dr to clarify an order if it is not legible. My patient getting the care they need is my priority. I worked nights and if the order has anything looking like 'stat' or anything important, I WILL call them in the middle of the night to clarify. If not, I will wait til 5am or so to call. When cussed out, I have simply explained that all the other nurses looked at it, no one could decipher it, and if it had been written legibly this wouldn't be an issue.

I, like many other nurses undersand your frustration marcos9999. You figure at their level of professionalism, their penmanship would be ledgible. For the life of me, I just don't get it! And the ones that get ****** off, I make them clarify orders, period. Once an MD knows that you, and staff aren't going to guess what he or she put on paper, then they adjust their manners accorrdingly. I note this more in men than women physicians. Stand your ground, your not alone.............

In our setting, doctors still give handwritten orders...what I noticed is that younger doctors have much legible handwriting than older doctors=). But if ever I encounter an indiscernible handwritten order, I am really taking time to clarify it first with them...patient safety is still my first priority

The point is that you shouldn't have to call the MD to clarify a handwritten order, and you certainly shouldn't have to rely on someone else to decipher it for you. Since our docs put orders in on the computer, we rarely have a handwritten one anymore, but the problem I am having is that I cannot understand some of our doctors when they speak. Most of our doctors are from a country other than the United States, and they can speak English, of course, but with a different "accent" that makes them difficult to understand. Some speak too "low," especially on the phone. We have to ask them to repeat something 3 times, then they act like we are the idiots.