poor spelling -- it matters

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I just read one of my own posts & cringed when I discovered all of the misspelled words. Luckily we have an "edit" button.

Yes, we're not in school. And yes, a post is not an essay. But the sloppy spelling does matter, for this is a public domain. We represent nursing to the consumers & potential nurses perusing this board, and to one another. Poor spelling makes the writer look like an idiot (ditto with charting).

Each time this issue is brought up, the messenger is beaten to a pulp. Please forgive me for pointing this out, but it does matter.

Specializes in critical care, med/surg.
Originally posted by ShandyLynnRN

You've gotta be kidding me.

Ditto that! Some of us are good spellers, and some of us are great at math and terrible at spelling! We're all human, right??

Glow worm.................I used to look at things in the same manner until I came across a great quote by Thomas Jefferson (at least I think that's who it was)..............."I would never fully trust a man who is so unimaginative that he can find only one way to spell a word", or something like that :)

Specializes in midwifery, ophthalmics, general practice.

spellings? just remember that we spell words differently over here- so what may look like a mistake could be correct!! for example- I spell color ........colour!! I'm getting used to way you all spell!!

Karen

Specializes in LTC, Alzheimers, hospice.

I take my mosby medical dictionary to work so I can check my spelling( if I'm unsure of the spelling) before I chart. Here on the BB I love the edit button & if I have typos...... "I'm only human born to make mistakes" .... that's the lyrics from a 80's song can't remember the groups name.

I apologise to all those who cringe at my typos and elipses....haha...I love knowing that what I do has a name. :p I have to say when I visit this board it's generally before night duty or after an evening shift. My brain is usually putty by then...I make typos, sometimes I even make (God forbid) grammatical errors and I put my punctuation in the wrong place from time to time. Sometimes my brain is thinking so fast....and I know you people who have a hot temper like myself will identify with this....that my fingers just can't keep up. But I really could not give a rats.

I can advocate for my patient...I can interpret handwriting FAR worse than my typing at the speed of lightning...I can communicate with all the doctors of non-English speaking backgrounds in order to get the best care possible for my patients. My professionalism, or perceived lack thereof, does not come across in how well/poorly I communicate on a BB....it comes across in the way I deal with people at work and how well I do my job.

And in the end, isn't that what really matters?

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Certainly you have better things to concern yourself with? I hope so....

As for myself; I find I judge people's thoughts not by spelling quality, but by articulation (or lack of it). THAT is a true measure to me of that person's ability to communicate. But hey, it's just me......

and no--- I am not an English grammar whiz...JMO Somethings we just need to get over and I am not too worried about professional writing in an informal forum such as this. I have bigger things to worry over and fish to fry....don't we all? This is not university here......

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

I for one never intended for this to be more than light hearted personal opinion. To me looking at spelling is just like the someone who has to straighten a picture frame or pick up a piece of lint from a table. It is an automatic thing to do. I hold no one to any higher standard than being able to communicate.

Someone mentioned math vs spelling...I am not gifted in math..it came very hard to me with much studying and constant rechecking. However, correct math is the standard and I would never "guess" at a dose or formula or drip rate.

I spell...that's all I intended to say...I spell.

My husband has a different bad habit- commas. He is SO articulate- best speaker I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Very intelligent. When he types, he types like this, you see, because, well, he was, told to put a comma, where you would pause to take a breath, or to put emphasis, and it turns out like, THIS. It drives me crazy. I'm his editor for school papers and such, and I'm like, DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!!

HA HA!!!! Finally, someone else who was taught my way!!! I must admit, I too, am guitly of comma abuse!!! And get this...I got my BA in English!!! LOL!!!! :D My friend (who became an editor) always proof read all my papers and cringed at my superfluous comma usage. Ah well...I have since discovered elipses...

Overall, I have to say that repeated mispellings and incorrect usage of common words is a bit of a pet peeve of mine too. I always try to present myself as intelligently as possible...sometimes I fail miserably at it though...Like the time I told my mom that I didn't want a salad because "I get enough cleavage at home"...I meant roughage. Or the time I told a family friend that "the Dr. gave me hemorrhoid injections"...sigh...I meant steroid. Or the time I asked my mechanic to clarify that "my knockers were lifting" when in fact "my lifters were knocking." Tee Hee...:imbar

I try not to take myself too seriously...unless seriousness is needed.

~Bean

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.
originally posted by yannadey

here on the bb i love the edit button & if i have typos...... "i'm only human born to make mistakes" .... that's the lyrics from a 80's song can't remember the groups name.

craig david - human lyrics

to the heart, tick tock you don't stop, stop x 8

come on, baby, dry your eyes

wipe your tears

never meant to see you cry

craig david's on the rise (uh-uh)

check it out

i wouldn't ever try to hurt you

i just needed someone to hold me

to fill this void while you were gone

to fill this space of emptiness (oh lady)

chorus

i'm only human

of flesh and blood i'm made

i'm only human (what what?)

born to make mistakes (tell me whatcha gonna do?)

if you wanna say goodbye

that's your deal (whatcha gonna do)

i'll just have to settle my time

till you're near (lady)

i wouldn't ever try to hurt you (nah-nah, nah-nah)

i just needed someone to hold me (to hold me, yeah, yeah)

to fill this void while you were gone (whatcha gonna do?)

to fill this space of emptiness (oh lady)

check it out and we don't stop

i'm only human (to the, to the)

of flesh and blood i'm made (to the heart, tick tock you don't stop, stop)

i'm only human

born to make mistakes

to the heart, tick tock you don't stop, stop x 9

craig david's on the rise (uh-uh, check it out)

check it out

i'm only human

what am i suppose to feel

i'm only human (lady, lady)

i'm only human what am i suppose to do

born to make mistakes (i'm born to make mistakes)

i'm only human (i'm only human)

i'm only human

what am i suppose to do now baby (what am i suppose to do?)

i'm only human (i'm only human)

what am i supposed to do (lady)

human lady, human, human baby

i'm only human hey lady, hey lady

what am i supposed to do?

i'm only human (i'm only human)

born to make mistakes

chorus to fade

Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

Y'know, when I went to school, and we had to write an essay, ( this actually pertained to ANY exam, for that matter) ... the essay in content and style could be perfect, but if you had more than one or two spelling errors, you flunked it ! They were really that strict on spelling, and I am now grateful for it. I see kids pass exams these days, and essays turned in on crumpled up paper, written in pencil (not allowed when I went to school), and the penmanship and spelling are appalling ! :eek: I just don't understand how we can pass kids with this kind of spelling, I really don't. I don't think it is right at all. It does the students a great disservice.

As for here... I don't care much. It's what you have to say that interests me more. Although I DO notice the real stand-out errors.. not the occas'l typos which we all make, myself included.

I also remember my dad doing something which really annoyed me as a kid, but am grateful for now. If we didn't know the meaning of a word, or asked how to spell a certain word... he would ALWAYS make us go look it up in the dictionary then come back and tell HIM the meaning, or the spelling. He never would just tell us how to spell it, or the meaning... nope... HAD to go look it up. :(

I'm glad of that now.

Oh! Karen G... I was taught to spell with the "OU" as well, and it will occasionally still slip in there at times. ;)

What really irks me is not spelling or even gramatical errors in everyday life (like here) but when my kids teachers send home notes or announcements that are FULL of spelling and gramatical errors. I mean these are the people who are suppose to be teaching our KIDS!

I take a red pen and circle a comma not needed or put one in, correct spelling errors, indicate where a new paragraph should go and write notes like "run on sentence" with a little arrow.

Then I sign it and have the kids return them to the principal.

hmmm...funny I never get a response.

-Russell

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