Should penmanship be a mandatory course for physicians?

[DichloroacetateAl]

Does anyone here experience problems or difficulties deciphering a doctor's chicken scratch? I personally think that doctor should take a course on penmanship in college; it would our job easier. Their illegible writing puts patients at risk.

Question: Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what has been written on the order?

[PMFB-RN, RN]

It just occured to me that I haven't laid eyes on a sample of physician handwriting for years. The solution is not better handwriting, the solution is to eliminate handwriting in your faciliety. In the mean time I find if you, and all the toehr nurses, call a physician EVERY time his handwriting isn't clear they eventually learn the lesson. Back in the old days when I used to have to try to read physcian handwriting I was responsible for several physicians giving up handwriting altogether and go to printing.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

They have removed penmanship at my children's school and have removed cursive altogether from the curriculum. It will be a sad day when the Declaration of Independence can't be read by the average Joe because they were never taught cursive.

*** Bad, bad idea. As we are contimplating a relocation can you please tell me what state the school is located in? Will put it on my places to avoid list.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

don't guess or agree "by committee". Call for clarification. No longer a problem here due to electronic documentation and ordering.

Once I showed slides in a MD conf (our hospital MD's) and asked them to guess. One MD failed to read his own order!

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

I used to be told that I could never be a doctor because my penmanship was impeccable, and I am a male to boot - most males don't have good penmanship, so goes popular belief. That's OK, because I am happier being a nurse and they can always read my progress notes :)

[Gold_SJ]

--.-- Horrible scrawl.

I see 30 and TDS and that is it.

I'm betting we all see completely different things XD

I have to say though, I think we sometimes deserve awards for the things we start deciphering because we see the Doctors writing so often lol

We have 'zero tolerance' here for scrawl/order rules but... the lectures just seem to roll off the Doc's backs. ^.^;; Bit of a pity.

[mindlor]

its up to the doc really.....

If I cant read their order they are getting a phone call and I dont care what time it is......

[sharpeimom]

i think computer-generated or other electronic orders should be the standard.

quick story...

my lefthanded dad had infamously horrible penmanship. it was dreaded far and wide!

while he practiced tax and banking law as his source of income, he was also an md. he had

kept his medical license too and worked in the er two weekend shifts per month.

while having a new watch battery put in during his lunch hour, he leaned too hard on the display

case and fractured his left wrist and hand. for eight weeks, either my mom, his secretary, or an

er nurse did all his writing for him.

both the courthouse and the er sent all the scribes mentioned above flowers for making their deciphering

jobs unnecessary while his cast was on!!:rotfl:

[threebrats46]

My penmanship is terrible as well. I am so envious of beautiful handwriting.

[JZ_RN]

Physicians should just write electronic orders AND PUT THEM IN THEMSELVES. I can't be sitting trying to read and figure out what they wrote, their incomplete orders, then have to call and clarify and they get mad. MDs should have to input the orders and deal with what I do instead of me wasting 3 hours typing in orders from their crap handwriting and incomplete orders, then having to call and waste more time clarifying with them, and getting yelled at for calling them, when they know darn well I can't just make up a dose cause they failed to write a complete order.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

Absolutely it should be mandatory. Just take a look at writing samples from this board and witness the amazing benefit mandatory english classes have.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

I'm still mystified as to why cursive handwriting is still encouraged in school. Even "neat" cursive is hard to read.

If everyone used print style handwriting for their orders, nurses notes etc. think how much easier it would be to read.

I read an article that said as computers become more dominant, cursive is dying out. I say good riddance!

[Asystole RN]

I'm still mystified as to why cursive handwriting is still encouraged in school. Even "neat" cursive is hard to read.

If everyone used print style handwriting for their orders, nurses notes etc. think how much easier it would be to read.

I read an article that said as computers become more dominant, cursive is dying out. I say good riddance!

Cursive is only hard to read by those who are uneducated in cursive.

It is like saying that typing is too hard. It is only difficult to those who do not know how to type in the first place. Those of us who learned cursive and who can write in cursive can read it just as easily.

I would agree that standardization should be encouraged however.