This is really, really small potatoes in the scheme of it all but I've been wondering about this. Does anyone routinely use fountain pens for charting? As long as notes are neat, well done, and clean/professional in appearance (no smudges/blots/etc), would anyone mind if it was done in ink as opposed to ballpoint?
For background, I'm in a new grad home healthcare program (mostly complex pedi cases, traches, vents, g-tubes, TPN, etc.). At my new agency, virtually all charting is paper. This week has been all classroom; I've used a fountain each day but no one has mentioned it (nor have I brought it up). My writing speed is the same as it is with ballpoint (if anything a bit faster since I'm more used to fountain). I've used mostly fountain pens since I was 11; I had the opportunity to try one out and it was love at first-write :-). They really are a lot easier and cheaper than people realize. There are high end brands yes, and those are the ones doctors and lawyers tend to use, but you can get one that writes very similarly for less than $10.
For important documents, I only use a couple pens I really "trust". Ones that never blot or smudge. The right type of nib will exert enough pressure to work on "carbon copies" (technically "pressure copies" now I guess). I also use very fast drying ink (gotta clean my nibs constantly now because it can dry and form mini plugs but worth it-never smudged since switching a couple years back). None of my pens are expensive. If I ever lost one I'd only be sad for sentimental reasons (I've had many of them for several years, and a couple are from street fairs and would not be possible to replace).
I do know that fountain pens are good for legal documents because they are virtually impossible to forge. Are there any other issues I may not be thinking of?
