will this hurt me in school

missnurse01, MSN, RN · Jul 7, 2012

did you take med term yet? I took it as a separate class prior to nursing school and it really really helped. If not, and you are starting school, I would see if it would be doable to take it with your nursing classes. It so helped my learning in school. For that class it was all fill in the blank. If it was misspelled it was wrong. I would get a med term book now and start studying, as well as look at learning how to spell. meaning spelling rules, etc, root words, etc. All that will make it easier than it just being straight memorization.

good luck!

allnurses Guide · Jul 7, 2012

You are going to have to learn a lot of new things in nursing. A good deal of it is memorizing things and/or knowing the right reference materials to find out how to do them correctly. Why would learning how to spell be any different? I don't know how to spell everything, and if I'm not sure I look it up in another tab in my browser window.

As a first step, start proofreading your own work instead of having your wife do it.

how did u do with med term

I'm pretty sure you didn't think the above was spelled correctly. I'm sorry if you think I'm mean but if you care about the impression you make and you have the ability to be a successful nursing student you can learn to spell.

If you have a diagnosed Learning Disability the school would probably have to allow special considerations but since you don't mention anything like that I'll assume it's just a longtime force of habit.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2012

as i pinted out in your other post.........

spelling is important in nursing especially with drugs as there are many look alike sound alike drugs that are completely different entities. i can spell disease names and drugs without looking and it is an important factor in being a good nurse.

confusing drug names, or "look-alike/sound-alike names" (lasas), are among the most common reasons for medication errors worldwide. in 2007, the joint commission and the world health organization (who) made this problem the subject of their first aide memoir on patient safety solutions. and for several years the united states pharmacopoeia (usp) center for the advancement of patient safety (caps) repeatedly addressed the subject in its capslink newsletter.
lasa errors can lead to both morbidity and mortality. a retrospective study published in the american journal of health-system pharmacy assessed deaths related to medication errors, including those resulting from confusing drug names. of 5,366 medication errors identified between 1993 and 1998, 16% resulted from administration of the wrong drug and 10% from employment of the wrong administration route. many of these errors were connected with lasa drug name

http://formularyjournal.modernmedicine.com/formulary/article/articledetail.jsp?id=579387

the institute for safe medication practices, institute for safe medication practices, is a not for profit healthcare organization educating the healthcare community and the consumer about safe medication practices has a list that is supported by the joint commission (accrediting body of hospitals/facilities)

a list of these common drugs.....http://www.ismp.org/tools/confuseddrugnames.pdf

this can be a learning disability and you should be evaluated so you can get the help/tutoring that you need. you will have to be careful and study maybe a little harder than the next guy.....remember spell check in your friend.

good luck with your nursing journey!

LynnLRN · Jul 7, 2012

Having bad spelling is not an excuse. Carry a dictionary or use spell check........... problem solved.

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 7, 2012

i agree with all previous posters on this subject. having said that, one can't deny that spelling is a very important when dealing with patients medications or other medical staff. however, is like everything in life once you get the hang of it, it will become an easy task, this is coming from a native spaniard, if i excelled so can you :cool: wishing you the very best in all of your endeavors...aloha~

margritamix · Jul 7, 2012

I was very young when my family and I moved to America. I remember being 11 years old and not knowing how to speak english to any of my classmates. It was a very frustrating year for me.

However, I was able to learn how to speak english, use proper grammar, and above all, spell english words correctly simply by reading a lot. I remember going through newspapers, periodials, short stories, comics, scientific journals, anything I could get my hands on just so I can read and learn more english. I also tried speaking and writing to other people, such as my teachers, friends, and family members and have them correct any grammar or spelling mistakes that I have made in my notes.

I learned how to speak, read, and write English 11 years ago. If I can do it, you can too! :yeah:

rvd4now · Jul 7, 2012

I thank every one for the kind words.

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Jul 8, 2012

The school systems are only partly (IMO) to blame. Social networking "says" it's perfectly alright to use "u" for you, numbers for entire words, etc. My kids know better than to send me a text with any sort of text speak, I am hard core when it comes to that. I tell them that someday it WILL matter and they'll thank me =)

Laziness abounds, too, with safety nets like spellcheck that can't tell a writer when they've used the wrong "your" in a sentence.

Being aware of your weakness is huge. Take your time in your work and triple check anything you submit for a grade! Best wishes in school!!!