Well, as my screen name says, I lurk-- a lot! Anyway, I am preparing to write my final paper for nursing school, it is a wrap-up of our final preceptorship and our impressions of the nursing workforce we are about to enter. We are supposed to share our thoughts about furthering our education, how we have witnessed nurses being treated in the workplace, how we felt our school experience was, etc. My paper has kinda veered off on a little tangent (which I am probably going to remove) because one thing that has stuck out in my mind is the way I have seen my fellow nursing students communicate on our class web program, and I see it here on a daily basis as well. I am talking about basic communication skills as far as the written word is concerned.
Is it a trend today, or are my classmates really so deficient in language skills that they can not write a professional, comprehendable sentence? I am not talking about spelling errors, gosh knows we all make those-- I am talking about stuff like this:
"i dont know what u all r talkinabout, but there crazy the way they grade us in nursing school!"
Some of my classmates actually respond to discussion questions from our instructor in this manner. Whatever, to each his own--but my question is, how can a person be taken seriously as a professional if they can not write in basic comprehensible language? And in reading the message board here, I am kinda stunned how many times I just can't understand what the heck someone is trying to say because it just doesn't make any sense!
The more important question to me is this: Do people write like this in real life? Are nurses out there writing notes like this, and communicating with other professionals in this manner? Or is it just something people do on message boards? Do any of you run into this in the workplace?
I'm not talking about simple spelling and/or grammar errors(Tweety, I love your sig about spelling!:)). In fact, in 1st semester my instructor gave me a 98% instead of a 100% on a paper, and she made a note to me that my "grammer was incorrect in one sentence.":uhoh3: Yes, she made a spelling error while correcting me, but I got her point. But if she had written this instead: "ur grammer wuz not write," I probably would have not understood what she was referring to.
So, do nurses communicate this way in the workplace, or is it just confined to the internet?
*** I'm not looking to make fun of spelling or grammar errors, we all make them, I really am just curious if this is the way nurses communicate in real life!***
Nursing is a second career for me. Until recently I worked in publishing as an editor, line editor, copyeditor and proofreader; and, strangely, bad grammar and spelling on the Internet don't bother me. Just as I don't expect people to talk in full, grammatical sentences, I don't expect to read them online.
As far as nurse's documentation is concerned, composing notes in grammatical sentences would take too much time. Brevity as well as clarity is important. (And let's not forget that perfect sentences can be maddenly obtuse.) However, it should be obvious what is meant.
I do think it is very important that communication on the job is articulate, and grammatically correct. I would think correct spelling is essential in documentation. Medical terms sound so similar sometimes, and can be misleading.... medicine is not a place for ambiguity. I would consider good grammar as indicative of education, and attention to detail.
As far as posting goes, I see it as casual conversation. Typos are expected and ignored.
Gee, hope I spelled stuff correctly! I can't get that dang spell check to work either.
I use BTW OTOH JMO LOL on message boards and IM. The abbreviates don't bother me at all, just when people say things like "whut" instead of "what". It wouldn't have taken any less time to spell that word the right way.
That's pretty much my pet peeve too. Typos are accidents, intentional mispelling is just silly. To me it just seems more of a pain in the behind to do it, so I don't understand why people would want to. But to each thier own I guess. *shrugs*. The point of abbreviations (lol, omg...) is to make communicating over the net easier...some of net speak seems to do just the opposite.
I agree with the OP...and I agree, typos are just part of being human. And I also realize that some people just can't seem to spell...I once worked for an attorney who was a prime example...brilliant but could not spell.
As for internet abbreviations...as the parent of teenagers and visitor to this and other bulletin boards I have been lured into their use somewhat. In the context of the internet, as long as we are mindful of proper use and don't over-rely on internet abbreviations, I don't see a problem with that. But some of the slang like "u r" is pushing it a little- again that is just my opinion.
What we need to realize that our postings here are open for the whole world to view, and that many are "lurking" and reading posts that we may never meet. While I am not advocating that we must be totally formal, I do strongly believe that we are representatives of our profession, and that it only takes a few seconds to review a post for errors before pressing that "submit" button to send it into cyberspace.
I recently was bashed by several people because I was critical of a post in which there was a blatant usage error ("where" instead of "wear", if I correctly recall). I think when I made the criticism I had reached my limit with bad spelling, bad grammar, and unprofessional posting and unfortunately vented it on one poor soul. I still regret the way that I handled my end of it initially - but will not back down from my conviction that it takes very little additional effort to proofread a post.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
The abbreviations of which you speak are akin to slang; I doubt their use indicates a lack of basic language skills in your classmates. I am surprised that they'd use these shortcuts in an educational venue, though. I don't think it has a thing to do with failure to proofread, and I'd be surprised if they're not able to produce a well written document when they feel it is needed. It seems the difference of opinion is when it is needed.
I was very fortunate to have an excellent english teacher while I was in high school. Everyone literally hated her because she was so tough, but I loved english and I loved her. We are still good friends after all of these years. I truly don't mean to come off sounding like a snob, but when I read what someone has posted, that becomes my first impression of them. I know that message boards and email are meant to be an informal means of communication, but I don't like it. Abbreviations are fine up to a certain point. I always worry that if I get slack with my english and spelling on these message boards that it will start carrying over to other aspects of my life. I would hate to be filling out a scholarship application or an application for financial aid and write (i reely need this money, i so broke). I think that nurses have an extra obligation to make sure that their spelling is up to par. We work in an area where even the slightest spelling error could be missunderstood and patient's lives could be at stake. It also reflects on our profession. I'm certainly not saying that I'm perfect. I also know that everyone makes type errors. That kind of thing is not what I'm talking about. I always try to write in a way that I would not be ashamed of if it were to wind up in court or legal preceedings. Please don't think that I'm putting anyone down. I know that people can be slack on message boards and still chart professionally. I'm just afraid that I might slip up if I were to do it. I guess I still see my English teacher looking over my shoulder after all of these years.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
I was very fortunate to have an excellent english teacher while I was in high school. Everyone literally hated her because she was so tough, but I loved english and I loved her. We are still good friends after all of these years. I truly don't mean to come off sounding like a snob, but when I read what someone has posted, that becomes my first impression of them. I know that message boards and email are meant to be an informal means of communication, but I don't like it. Abbreviations are fine up to a certain point. I always worry that if I get slack with my english and spelling on these message boards that it will start carrying over to other aspects of my life. I would hate to be filling out a scholarship application or an application for financial aid and write (i reely need this money, i so broke). I think that nurses have an extra obligation to make sure that their spelling is up to par. We work in an area where even the slightest spelling error could be missunderstood and patient's lives could be at stake. It also reflects on our profession. I'm certainly not saying that I'm perfect. I also know that everyone makes type errors. That kind of thing is not what I'm talking about. I always try to write in a way that I would not be ashamed of if it were to wind up in court or legal preceedings. Please don't think that I'm putting anyone down. I know that people can be slack on message boards and still chart professionally. I'm just afraid that I might slip up if I were to do it. I guess I still see my English teacher looking over my shoulder after all of these years.
If that's the case, you might want to proofread this entry. She may not be too happy. OTOH, she may just figure that you take certain things more seriously than others, and wouldn't dream of submitting a professional document without checking and double checking for the misuse of the lower case in the word English, a double consonant in the word misunderstood or misplacement of the apostrophe in the plural patients. I would certainly hope that any of my former instructors would give me the benefit of the doubt, because I just don't think it is worth spending the same amount of time checking over a message board post to people who are as likely as I am to make the occasional error as I do on a formal document, for which perfection is a realistic expectation.
Please let me apologize. I didn't mean to upset anyone. I enjoy reading these boards very much, and I certainly don't want anyone to be mad at me. I never said that I was perfect. I know that I'm far from it. I just meant to say that I try to pay attention to my spelling and grammar on the boards and e-mails. I'm glad that you pointed out my mistakes to me. I've always remembered a quote that I heard on tv "If we're luck, we never stop learning until God calls us home." Thank you for correcting me, and again, please accept my apology.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
Mercyteapot:
Please let me apologize. I didn't mean to upset anyone. I enjoy reading these boards very much, and I certainly don't want anyone to be mad at me. I never said that I was perfect. I know that I'm far from it. I just meant to say that I try to pay attention to my spelling and grammar on the boards and e-mails. I'm glad that you pointed out my mistakes to me. I've always remembered a quote that I heard on tv "If we're luck, we never stop learning until God calls us home." Thank you for correcting me, and again, please accept my apology.
Oh my gosh. Honestly, no apology is necessary. I wasn't offended in the least. And I didn't consider your errors any big deal. In the course of typing quick responses on a bulletin board, we're all prone to these kinds of slip ups. My point was just that we do have a difference of opinion, in that I don't think posting entries with this or that mistake in them compares to submitting a legal document with the same errors. I hate to think that anyone would take the time and effort to look over a message board post three or four or five times, to make sure it is perfect. Believe me, my posts have as many mistakes as those of most posters, and far more than some. At the same time, I hope it is rare that anyone would be able to find the number or type of mistakes in any ''important'' document I ever produce. Of course, spell check is also a huge help in this area.... What I was trying to get at is that I don't believe your English teacher would be disappointed to know that your real time, casual message board entries are less polished than any formal work you ever submit.
Well Madam Lurksalot, I happen to agree with you. Now people who have a hard time spelling can still make themselves understood, but what really irks me (in capital letters) are the people who apparently have never learned basic English and apparently don't know the difference between: your and you're and yore; their and there and they're; etc. I understand when someone is posting, especially if they're doing it on their break at work, why they might misuse a word. But I have seen it done in charting by Nurses who have GRADUATED from COLLEGE! I sometimes think that people are either (1) too lazy to proofread their writing, (2) too uneducated to know the correct words to use, or (3) too ignorant to know how they come across to people. As I said, I understand in posts, IMs, etc. using "no" for "know" but I have read CHARTING that does it. I've been working for 31 years to get Nurses to act in such a manner that we will be regarded as professional by other professions (Doctors, Lawyers, etc) and have been told that I'm TOO PICKY! Well boys and girls I'm going to retire soon (a couple more years) and then I won't have to worry about it. Thank you Madam Lurksalot (and others) for being willing to pick up the pen (mightier than the sword after all) and continue my crusade. Madam Lurksalot, I hope your career is as satisfying and rewarding as mine has been. Also, please, please, please become a preceptor as soon as you can so you can help shape our young Nurses into Nurses who know how to write a coherent sentence. Alan
Oh, God, I totally agree.
Do NOT let me get started on the PROPER USE OF THE APOSTROPHE WITH THE LETTER "S". When is someone going to impress it upon these folks that it IS NOT A PLURAL!!! GRRR!!! Drives me nuts. Along with the there/their/they're and your/you're fiascoes.
You're right - I too think it's just laziness. And since no one calls the question, people continue to do it. Please, we learned this stuff in the third grade. What is happening in college? Can you not CORRECT someone's writing anymore; is that deemed too damaging to one's psyche? They proved whole language didn't work in the grammar schools, so why are they still letting it slide in college - or is that the problem?
Grr. This is my biggest pet peeve! Glad to see I'm not the only one.
Anyway, I am preparing to write my final paper for nursing school, it is a wrap-up of our final preceptorship and our impressions of the nursing workforce we are about to enter. We are supposed to share our thoughts about furthering our education, how we have witnessed nurses being treated in the workplace, how we felt our school experience was, etc. My paper has kinda veered off on a little tangent (which I am probably going to remove) because one thing that has stuck out in my mind is the way I have seen my fellow nursing students communicate on our class web program, and I see it here on a daily basis as well. I am talking about basic communication skills as far as the written word is concerned.
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Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN
12,126 Posts
(You did it again lol)