One thing that is nails on chalkboard to me is when I hear my fellow nurses use double negatives and other blatant grammar mistakes. I'm speaking of English as a first language, domestically born and raised people.
I feel as this detracts from the professional image of nursing. We are supposed to be educated professionals. Poor grammar makes nursing look like a blue collar trade to those who are educated, such as our physicians and many members of the public.
Let me clarify that I don't harshly judge the intelligence or moral character of people with poor grammar. But, I feel strongly that nurses should project an image of being educated professionals in our speech and demeanor. Thanks for reading.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I don't like it either. What I see at work is nurses who will WRITE THEIR NOTES IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS WITH NO PERIODS, or Begin Each Word With A Capital Letter Within The Sentence, Again With No Periods. Then, there are those who have run on sentences, writing out of sequence and many of the things that really make us look unprofessional. I am embarassed to see the notes that my collagues write. I can overlook a mispelled word, anyone can do that, as long as it is at least close to what they are trying to say, but I really get irritated myself seeing this.
I think much of this ties in to the fact that people don't think that first impressions and manners matter these days. Most people have no idea how to dress properly for an interview, a funeral, church, etc. To me, grammar comes under the category of presenting a professional image to others. I can't blame young people for not knowing these things-it's up to their parents to teach them and failing that, the schools. Schools now can barely teach kids to read and do simple math though, so I'm not holding my breath.
One thing that is nails on chalkboard to me is when I hear my fellow nurses use double negatives and other blatant grammar mistakes. I'm speaking of English as a first language, domestically born and raised people.
I feel as this detracts from the professional image of nursing. We are supposed to be educated professionals. Poor grammar makes nursing look like a blue collar trade to those who are educated, such as our physicians and many members of the public.
Let me clarify that I don't harshly judge the intelligence or moral character of people with poor grammar. But, I feel strongly that nurses should project an image of being educated professionals in our speech and demeanor. Thanks for reading.
I don't understand what you mean by double negatives. Can someone explain? please?
Definition: use of two negatives: a phrase containing two negatives
Word UsageDouble negatives of the type "I don't know nothing", in which two negatives close together are intended to reinforce each other, are considered illiterate in current standard English, acceptable though they were in earlier usage. These are to be distinguished from the acceptable, if somewhat uncommon, construction "That's not a good idea, I don't think", in which the reinforcing negatives appear in different clauses. The more usual type of acceptable double negative is seen in "It is not impossible" (= it is distinctly possible), in which the negatives are intended to cancel each other out. This is a figure of speech called litotes, a form of understatement.
I don't understand what you mean by double negatives. Can someone explain? please?
A double negative is simply when you negate something twice.
For example, "I don't need no advice" is a double negative which is actually equivalent to saying, "I need advice." Here's why: If you add one negative (e.g. "don't") to the phrase "I need advice" you are negating it. That is, you're saying, "I don't need advice."
If you add another negative (e.g. "no"), you're negating a negative which converts it back to the positive. For example, "I don't need no advice" is logically equivalent to "I don't need (no advice)".
Using my example, two proper single-negatives would be: "I need no advice" or "I don't need advice". Combining the two produces the double-negative of "I don't need no advice."
It's the equivalent of mathematical negatives where -1 x 1 = -1 but -1 x -1 = 1
Ok, so poor grammar under any circumstance makes me cringe. I don't claim to speak perfectly, but obvious mistakes really annoy me. When I met my BF he had horrible grammar and he decided to fix it to make himself a better person. So, two years later all of the double negatives, "I seen" etc. have disappeared. One thing remains that makes me cringe - ending his sentence with "at". This drives me up a wall. In elementary school we were taught that it is improper, but I am starting to question that because it is used so frequently.
So I am wondering if I could have some insight on this. Is it alright to end a sentence with a preposition?
Specializes in Psych, Assertive Community Resource Team.
Regarding the use of "et" for "and"... I work on a psych unit and SOAP note on paper. Everyone (and I mean everyone) uses et instead of and when writing. I had never seen this before when I started working there (5 years ago) but I did it just because everyone else did and now I can't stop. I even use it when I am writing notes to my husband and it drives him crazy. (It also makes him mad when I use c with a line over it for "with" and a triangle for "change".)
I actually asked at work and supposedly the medical director had everyone start doing it years ago because "et" is latin for the word "and", and he felt it was more appropriate in medical charting. I guess it has just stuck, even though he is gone.
I actually asked at work and supposedly the medical director had everyone start doing it years ago because "et" is latin for the word "and", and he felt it was more appropriate in medical charting. I guess it has just stuck, even though he is gone.
I was taught to chart that way back in the dark ages... it's a hard habit to break
I couldn't help it. 
EmmaG, RN
2,999 Posts
'Conversate' and 'disrespected' set my teeth on edge ...