MD's scribble, and Nurse's bad grammar - room for error?

[Newby'sWife07]

I'm a pre-nursing student. I know many people who are RNs, and when I talk to them on the computer, they cannot spell or use proper grammar. Even when they give me their coursework to look over...their spelling and grammar shocks me. It makes you wonder how they got though school, or haven't messed up a chart. I'm not perfect, I will make mistakes. Also, by looking over my son's medical files to get a feel for things, I was lost. I already know much of the medical lingo because I have practiced, but all of the MD's handwriting was a complete mess. This worries me, because it seems to leave room for error. I would hate to call a doctor constantly to confirm something when I start nursing, or when I am practicing in clinicals this fall. As far as nurses go, misspelling something could make a huge difference, I would think. Nurses seem to get blamed for everything, so I don't want to make a mistake. Do seasoned nurses eventually gain the super power to discipher this mess??

[JDougRN, BSN, RN]

Actually, once you have been working for a while, it gets a lot easier. For starters, once you get some experience, you get a better idea of what the Doc will order- If you are working with the same Docs, you get to "know" their writing as well. We do occasionally have to have "huddles"- a group of nurses and secretaries going word for word trying to figure out one- so when in doubt, you can alwasy ask the charge RN. And if you have no clue, you just have to bite the bullet and call them for clarification. I've been doing this for years, and rarely do they give you tude about it- If they get snarky, all you have to do is remind them that they are responsible for writing LEGIBLE orders. If I have a Doc that I know I often have trouble reading their orders, I usually try to grab the chart after they write orders, but before they leave the floor- that way if there are issues, I don't have to call them-I have a bit more trouble reading the progress note than I do orders- some of THOSE are impossible, and it can be frustrating. Good luck!