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!***
You should have spelled out the number two rather than using a numeral.
If I knew the grammar Nazi's were on patrol this evening I would have spelled out two lol.
Yes I put lol at the end on purpose.
I read my responses on AIM and I can't believe the way I type when using it. I don't shortcut words like are or you but I spell don't "dont" and other things similar to that. In typing anything formal such as a research paper I spend more time looking for small grammatical errors than I do actually typing it out. I kid you not. I'm fairly ridiculous when it comes to knowing someone else is going to be proofreading my paper that is a high ranking grammar Nazi.
I also try way too hard when typing papers to sound like I'm a neo-Shakespeare, coming up with all sorts of nifty analogies and such. I guess it pays off because I've had many a teacher tell me my writing is good. My sophomore year in college I wrote a paper that (I guess) was so good my teacher invited me to come to a conference (can't remember what) and read the paper aloud because it was, in his opinion, that good. I got 100% on the paper which was rare since he always found a way to knock off .3% for grammatical errors so I knew I did something right. I opted against going because I'm a wreck in front of crowds.
If I knew the grammar Nazi's were on patrol this evening I would have spelled out two lol.
The problem is that you, yourself were acting as a grammar Nazi (and the plural of Nazi is Nazis, without the apostrophe), or I would never have called you on it.
Internet language is different. Its more informal here, people dont bother to capitalize every I or put an apostrophe everywhere it may belong. Of course when documenting at your JOB, you wouldnt be as casual and informal as the way we type on this site.
No, this this not the way i talk or write at work or at school.
I post here in my offtime.
I understand the occaisional grammar/spelling thing (i realize that a lot of people that post here are tired, etc.) HOWEVER i cannot stand when people go out of their way to botch the English language (i've gotten a lot of IMs on Yahoo like "whut r u up ta, l8r"). "i dont know what u all r talkinabout" is not illiteracy or such, it's intentional that someone's writing like that.
It really irks me to no end when people post things like, "I wanna do this cuz I wanna...r u...etc.
The way I see it sloppy slang spelling equates with sloppy thinking. It's just tacky and doesn't give the impression the offenders are very mature or serious about what they are posting. I always move on to the next post when I see this.
It isn't cute or affectionate or amusing. It is just incredibly annoying.
I once worked with a nurse who could barely spell 'cat', but if I were ever in need of care, I'd want her providing it, even if she DID write 'pacient slepping well after her seazur' in my chart;)
Could this present a problem on the medical records? Just wondering.
I agree that spelling on allnurses is a not an issue. This is casual, no fuss!
I just thought I would add a bit, as I haven't read all the posts.
My husband is a 10th grade English teacher at a highly-performing (read: not inner-city) high school. You guys should see some of the writing assignments he gets. Students really do write like this, and they do it often. I've helped him grade many a paper, and I have witnessed quite a few U R instead of "you are." I'm not kidding. It's scary, really, that grammar and spelling have fallen by the wayside. The internet was the worst thing to happen to our language since... since ever, I guess.
These are students who will be graduating in two years. He fights tooth and nail to teach them the right way to write, but he's up against kids that spend hours a day in chat rooms, and rarely ever read. There's only so much the teachers can do, you know?
Specializes in PICU, Nurse Educator, Clinical Research.
Apparently you've never read too many papers produced at the college level. Recently in my Micro class we had to post a mini-paper on Blackboard about a self-selected infectious disease. Many of the people in my class already hold BS and AS/AA degrees.
The papers bordered on frightening. So yes, many are NOT able to produce a well-written document when it's needed.
(There's another one that really burns me up - "it's" and "its". "It's" is a contraction of "it is" and "its" is a possessive. Drives me mad when people use them interchangeably.)
ETA - when I was living in Saudi Arabia, I used to work as an assistant to the General. I used to proofread and edit articles for the base newspaper, as well as all correspondence and paperwork that left the command office. Officers in the military must have a four year college degree. Trust me when I say that a large majority of them cannot write worth a hoot. Captains and majors with ten or more years in the military have grammar and punctuation just as bad as some SEVENTH GRADERS my mother taught. And it is DISGRACEFUL.
Amen.
When I worked in clinical trials, we were asked to flag any errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation we saw in someone else's charting. When you worked (especially if you worked multiple shifts on the same study), you were expected to take a look at the study notebook to see if there were any flags on your previous entries, as the original author was supposed to correct his or her errors. Things were so meticulous because these documents would eventually end up with the FDA.
(Personally, I think charting in *any* setting should be treated as if it WILL end up in court. I'm not saying nurses should flag errors they see in someone else's charting in a hospital setting, but we *should* all write with that standard in mind.)
I saw my fair share of 'all subject's in bed at 2300', as well as 'subject #21 reported that they're urine was darker than usual'. It irked the crap out of me, but at least these errors were corrected when they were caught. I'm not saying I never made errors (I certainly made plenty), but these aren't just *errors*- they're examples of incorrect useage, and the more they are (mis)used, the more ingrained in the language they become.
I've seen both of these (the apostrophe 's' and their/they're/there) in the New York Times, in a headline ticker on CNN, and on product packaging. And yes, when I read a document that's even remotely formal (an email to colleagues on a work-related topic, for instance) and it's rife with such mistakes, it affects my opinion of the author's intelligence.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
I hate to tell the members of the spelling and grammar police this, but I can point out at least one mistake in every one of your posts. Not that I will, of course. I consider them errors, not indications of inferior intelligence, as are my own mistakes.
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.
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.
Yes, it is a problem and it annoys the daylights out of me at times.
When I went to Nursing School (late 1980s, early 90s), we did case studies that ran 40-120 pages long, with endnotes. Our instructors deducted 1/2 a grade level for each and every spelling/grammar/punctuation error. And we were required to do all math calculations manually.
Now we have posters discussing professionalism, while writing like a "Prince" lyric sheet and having meltdowns over not being permitted to use a calculator for pharmacy class or for basic hospital medication tests.
The math used in pharmacy is BASIC MATH that we all should have learned by sixth grade, if not earlier. It is not rocket science.
If you point out that it is rather odd to be complaining about "professionalism" and professing the need for a BSN requirement, while committing horrible errors in syntax/grammar, you will get accused of being a grammar nazi. And if we cannot understand your post because you have lost all ability to punctuate, spell, set up a paragraph, then your point will be lost
We all commit errors when typing and that is okay, but come now, if one wants to be perceived as a professional........act like one. Learn how to use basic math and utilize basic language skills.
I can get over the minor spelling or grammar errors. My problem is when there are so many that you cannot understand what the OP is even trying to say. I also have a hard time with the posts that are one very long paragraph. It makes it so hard to read.
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.
dano
76 Posts
If I knew the grammar Nazi's were on patrol this evening I would have spelled out two lol.
Yes I put lol at the end on purpose.
I read my responses on AIM and I can't believe the way I type when using it. I don't shortcut words like are or you but I spell don't "dont" and other things similar to that. In typing anything formal such as a research paper I spend more time looking for small grammatical errors than I do actually typing it out. I kid you not. I'm fairly ridiculous when it comes to knowing someone else is going to be proofreading my paper that is a high ranking grammar Nazi.
I also try way too hard when typing papers to sound like I'm a neo-Shakespeare, coming up with all sorts of nifty analogies and such. I guess it pays off because I've had many a teacher tell me my writing is good. My sophomore year in college I wrote a paper that (I guess) was so good my teacher invited me to come to a conference (can't remember what) and read the paper aloud because it was, in his opinion, that good. I got 100% on the paper which was rare since he always found a way to knock off .3% for grammatical errors so I knew I did something right. I opted against going because I'm a wreck in front of crowds.