Too many Applicants....

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2010

I have been told by the other nurses to a) stop using big (read: actual anatomical terms) words when I cahrt, and b) to quit using dictionary words. Some of the notes are barely readable. No punctuation, poor spelling.

Nascar nurse, ASN, RN · Apr 30, 2010

Oh you grammar/spelling police people always intimidate the hell out of me. It's funny because I never seem to see my own mistakes despite proof reading, but I always see the other guys mistake. (For example I see a mistake in both of your posts).

Posted with "love" as I admire both of you greatly and always love to read what you both have to say.

LeavingTeaching4RN · May 1, 2010

Oh you grammar/spelling police people always intimidate the hell out of me. It's funny because I never seem to see my own mistakes despite proof reading, but I always see the other guys mistake. (For example I see a mistake in both of your posts).
Posted with "love" as I admire both of you greatly and always love to read what you both have to say.

You don't catch your own mistakes because when you proofread your own writing less than 24hours after you wrote it, you usually read what you think you wrote not what you actually wrote.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · May 1, 2010

Oh you grammar/spelling police people always intimidate the hell out of me. It's funny because I never seem to see my own mistakes despite proof reading, but I always see the other guys mistake. (For example I see a mistake in both of your posts).
Posted with "love" as I admire both of you greatly and always love to read what you both have to say.

I don't give a damn about typos. I know I made them and this is a thread, not formal communication. What I HATE are things like, temp 98 acksillary. GAH!

mamamerlee, LPN · May 1, 2010

The topic here is the quality of the applicants - not the posters!! No one seems to know the difference between there, their and they're, let alone how and when to use an apostrophe. I realize also that most people say 'I want to try and do x-x', but the correct written saying is 'try to do x-x'

I have offered to be the designated menu proofreader for the city I live in - I am tired of such poorly written menus which make me question if the recipes can be followed!!

monkeymoon · May 1, 2010

I realize also that most people say 'I want to try and do x-x', but the correct written saying is 'try to do x-x'

Yes! I get shivers when people say that they are going to "try and do something!"

Can I ask a question? Is it appropriate for someone to say "I graduated high school in 2010?" Or should it be "I graduated FROM high school in 2010?" I always think that the latter is more grammatically correct, but maybe I'm wrong.

To the original poster, how sad that qualified individuals are so hard to find. I am really baffled that cover letters and applications aren't proofread for spelling and punctuation. That is hard to understand.

greenfiremajick · May 1, 2010

You don't catch your own mistakes because when you proofread your own writing less than 24hours after you wrote it, you usually read what you think you wrote not what you actually wrote.

If you start reading at the end of what you wrote and read backwards, you can usually catch all the errors! That's a little trick I learned in writing intensive grad school, though I rarely use it here! lol. Of course, that's what the edit function is supposed to be doing for me, right?

Nrscass · May 1, 2010

I Agree! :yeah:

starletRN · May 1, 2010

That's why we had to have English Comp as a prereq for the nursing program. They recognized that it's an excellent idea for nurses to know how to write well. I know that one English class is not going to make the perfect writer but it sure helps. But for formal writing such as resumes? There's no excuse for not proofreading.

Even if they can't do it themselves they should at least find someone who can. How can they expect to land a job like that? I turned mine over to a friend who proofread mine. There was no way I was going to send out my resumes without a second opinion.

Dixiecup · May 2, 2010

I get so many applications that leave portions totally blank. Even whole pages, what's up with that. Fill in all the blanks people!

flashpoint · May 3, 2010

I used to review applications and assist with interviews. I was always surprised at misspellings of simple words...even more surprised when people misspelled the names of their references. It also frustrated me when people used unusual terminology...such as "top nurse" in place of DON or "head of facility" instead of Administrator when I knew very well that the facility used the terms DON and Administrator. LOL...one of the worst was someone who worked at the facility previously and got the name and address wrong on the application. She also claimed in the interview that she had never worked for our corporation before. I wonder what she thought the logo and the "a proud member of XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX" meant.

On interviews, I always cringed at people who wore pajama bottoms or flip-flops. I also hated it when people chewed gum or brought their boyfriend. I really hated it when we asked what they did at previous jobs and they said things like, "Took care of them old folks" or "Wiped butts." Arrgh! I'm glad the DON had the final say and was much better at overlooking things than I am. Some of our most kind and caring CNAs are the ones who I wouldn't have hired.