Are You a Member of the allnurses.com Grammar Police?

[PacoUSA]

Please give a shout out if you are a grammar or spelling cop!

My two biggest pet peeves on here:

(1) Definately

(2) HIPPA (I have been known to publicly reprimand the offenders!!)

There are others, but enough for now ... what are YOUR contributions? I know your out there (and YES I did that on purpose) ...

[sharpeimom]

drives me nuts when someone says "click." it's "clique," people! like creek, but with an "l" substituted for the "r.":eek:

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Very funny story:

My friend who works in the sales industry absolutely loves the show "Nurse Jackie". She is an educated woman, but she has a learning disability and sometimes does not understand what she is hearing, especially when it comes to medical terminology. I have encouraged her to expand on her vocabulary, and she has a comfort level with me that allows her to "try out" big words without the fear of ridicule. She was telling me about one particular episode where the new nurse, Zoe is trying to get Jackie's attention for a code that was rolling through the door. Zoe comes into the room yelling, "Jackie, this patient needs to be intubated STAT!" It was Jackie's hilarious reaction to the flustered Zoe that my friend was trying to convey, but instead of saying the word "intubated", my friend said "incubated" and I missed the entire point of her story. I was laughing so hard I was crying!

[sharpeimom]

it's voila and not walla or woila.

my bad...?? shriek!!

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Love to see this thread I started to have blossomed so ...

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but it's like someone scratching a blackboard with fingernails when I hear people say they "conversated" with someone or that they were "orientated" on something. What is wrong with people?

Also, (and I know I am now encroaching on verbal faults) what about the people that say they "liked" it, and they pronounce it as "liketid" ... don't get me started, please ...

Oh, how the "conversated" word just slays me! When I was in nursing school, I took a part time job as a Nursing Assistant. My preceptor was a good NA, but had horrible grammar. We were walking into a patient's room one morning and she politely introduces me and tells the patient that I am "orientating." I had to make a conscious effort not to immediately correct her, but I did manage to tell the patient that I was glad to be ORIENTING in such a wonderful hospital. I figured she would get the hint, but as soon as we walked into the next patient's room, I was again "orientating"!!

[Bortaz, MSN, RN]

In to. Into.

"I'm going to tun you into the BON!"

*POOF* You're the BON.

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

utilize versus use

People don't seem to know the difference. Utilized is terribly overused (and improperly so). Perhaps people think a bigger word sounds better but it really just shows they don't know how to use it properly. Like nails on a chalkboard to me.

As for conversate -- waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa you are killing me!

I blame sportscasters. Their English makes me wince.

[sharpeimom]

it bugs me when someone says "proceed to go to bed..." instead of "i went to bed.":eek:

don't proceed. just do whatever it is!

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

I just thought of another thing that perplexes me, and I wonder if anyone else is bothered by this common redundant phrase: Past Medical History. Hmmm....doesn't "past" suggest "history"? Why not just Medical History?

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

I just thought of another thing that perplexes me, and I wonder if anyone else is bothered by this common redundant phrase: Past Medical History. Hmmm....doesn't "past" suggest "history"? Why not just Medical History?

You are so right. You know what will happen though -- we hear these things so much that someday we will use them ourselves (aaaaaaaaaaah).

If you hear me say conversate you must shoot first and ask questions after.

[patientlywaitinagain]

I take time in class to show them how to set up and use the proofing function in Microsoft Word to find and fix spelling, grammar, and style errors.

My son always challenges me about learning the spellling words the old fashioned way. He insists that he does not need to learn correct spelling because computer programs can do that for him.

[sharpeimom]

i take time in class to show them how to set up and use the proofing function in microsoft word to find and fix spelling, grammar, and style errors.

my son always challenges me about learning the spelling words the old fashioned way. he insists that he does not need to learn correct spelling because computer programs can do that for him.

problems with that theory:

spell checker systems frequently don't distinguish between synonyms,homonyms, or antonyms.

you won't always be allowed to use your computer, so you won't have access to spell checker system.

you can write more quickly if you don't have to use spell checker, which is useful if time is a problem.

you may may not always have your computer available to use.

spell checker systems vary widely. most miss certain words.

if a student, you will have to write some tests and papers out in longhand so your professor can assess your spelling and grammar knowledge and ability along with your grasp of a topic.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

I just thought of another thing that perplexes me, and I wonder if anyone else is bothered by this common redundant phrase: Past Medical History. Hmmm....doesn't "past" suggest "history"? Why not just Medical History?

Well, there is a difference between past medical history and history of present diagnosis.