Why do all doctors write so bad?

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mrfunnyman

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I'm not saying all,
but in general I was wondering why is it that most doctors have bad writing?
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mrfunnyman said:
I'm not saying all,
but in general I was wondering why is it that most doctors have bad writing?
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Because you might get accepted?

"Why do all doctors write so badly."
 
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Smaller value for t variable --> ...

you get the picture 😛
 
eikenhein said:
The writing style acquired from years of med school, but sometimes, i wonder if it looks so sloppy because they can't spell some of the words. Drug names are like a foreign language.
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pshhh... if that were true when i get out of med school my writing will look like hieroglyphics.

my writing already looks bad. im not sure about doctors, but i'm always in a rush to write things. ill write it quick, but it's ugly.
 
Because every doctor-in-training has to pass a test on the first day of medical school. Everyone in the class has to write their name and hand it in, and if the professor can read it, you get kicked out.
 
Because they're in a hurry.

You try filling out paperwork half the day, every day, and see how good your penmanship is after a few years. I don't think it will resemble calligraphy
 
Their hand writing's horrible because they have so much to write. Haste is of the essence when most of what you have do is paper work.
 
I'm curious whether the stereotype is mostly a US phenomenon. E.g. in a state with higher quality primary education, would handwriting in general be of a higher quality as well? So maybe its not physicians that are lacking in penmanship, but anyone in our society that is in a position that requires rapid writing is predisposed to writing poorly due to low standards in primary education. Hazarding a non-tested guess.
 
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I don't care how pretty it is, but I think doctors should make more effort to write legibly. I work in a job where I have to read doctors' notes all the time, and it's quite frustrating to have to spend extra time deciphering things.
 
My handwriting has been horrific all my life, destined to be a doctor I guess. Pens should be abolished, all notes, orders, scripts, etc should be digital from the get go.
 
lol, they don't care after 10 yrs of post secondary education 🙂...
they just dont care anymore..
 
my old boss wrapped it up like this:

"sign more, care less"
 
Excelsius said:
Because you might get accepted?

"Why do all doctors write so badly."
Click to expand...

:roflcopter:

I'm so glad other people on this forum are as irritated by poor grammar as I am (sorry, OP: no offense).

I personally vow to have the best handwriting of any doctor. Until I get to my clinical years...where I won't have the time to care about my how scribbled my handwriting gets. Which is a shame because mine's pretty 🙂
 
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They have poor hand-writing because they're on q2 call and have been awake for the past 36 hours with nothing but soda and vending machine candy to keep them going.
 
Evergrey said:
Because every doctor-in-training has to pass a test on the first day of medical school. Everyone in the class has to write their name and hand it in, and if the professor can read it, you get kicked out.
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Sweet, my first pre-clinical honors 😛
 
Another reason doctors write so poorly is so that they can get away with mistakes and avoid getting sued.

Some poor soul dies because they over-dosed on a perscription. The pharmacy gave gave them 800 mg of X. Hearing the news you quickly say the "8" was a "6" and all is well for you. 😀
 
WatchMeRise said:
pshhh... if that were true when i get out of med school my writing will look like hieroglyphics.

my writing already looks bad. im not sure about doctors, but i'm always in a rush to write things. ill write it quick, but it's ugly.
Click to expand...


I think I nearly died when I read this post... Hieroglyphics HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
 
Excelsius said:
Because you might get accepted?

"Why do all doctors write so badly."
Click to expand...

Now, now, Excelsius...the OP is asking a question, which requires a question mark at the end of the sentence:

"Why do all doctors write so badly?"

In fact, I believe a more proper way to ask this question is:

"Why do all doctors write so poorly?"
 
I'm going to go against the grain here and say its NOT because we are in a hurry. 1st year med students rarely have to write hurriedly, even taking notes in class. My handwriting has been called "just this side of chicken scratch" by the general population, but every time I get picked to write on the board during small groups people say I have beautiful handwriting. Must be something about our personalities.
 
It may be quick to use poor handwriting to get all the paperwork done, but think of the day you get subpoenaed, and your poorly written handwriting is blown up on a screen for the courtroom to try to read. Imagine the lawyer making a case that because of your poor handwriting, information was either mistranscribed or missed altogether causing poor outcome. Poor handwriting is no longer a joke or an excusable fault in this day and age of lawsuits and audits.

Taking an extra few seconds to make your handwriting clear not only can prevent errors, but it will also endear you to the staff who have to read the writing. Doctors may think they are the only ones who are busy and work blistering hours, but actually there is a whole treatment team involved in patient care who need to read the info the doctor writes. None of them appreciate having to spend their time, which is just as valuable, deceiphering poor handwriting because someone considered themselves too busy or too important to make an effort.

Good handwriting, along with being polite while on call, make a huge difference to the staff on whom you depend on to carry out your orders.
 
lol @ the fact that the people correcting grammar all have errors in their own sentences.
 
because once you're a doctor, you can get away with anything, as long as you don't kill anyone.
 
according to an MD relative, some patients feel that when there is a bad outcome, there must be fault on the medical staff's side. Often numerous physicans have seen a patient and jot down notes. I was told that often every physician whose name can be deciphered (when there has been a bad outcome) may be sued. If due to an illegible signature the physician's name cannot be made out, they would not be named in the suit.
 
Raryn said:
Because they're in a hurry.

You try filling out paperwork half the day, every day, and see how good your penmanship is after a few years. I don't think it will resemble calligraphy
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I think time pressure is definitely a factor. I know my handwriting has gotten worse since I started med school. I often find myself frustrated that my hand won't write as fast as I need it to. I guess that's why they do dictation for the long notes.
 
It would be hard to imagine that a physician (or any other member of the treatment team) would be legally excused because the signiture could not be deciphered. There are plenty of ways to trace accountability beyond a signature.

Also, just from a professional perspective, handwriting is a terrible problem. I am a mid-level working in a state where I have essentially the same scope of practice as a physician. Same responsibilities, same documentation expectations. On many occasions I have assumed care after a physician is no longer involved or have worked in conjunction with other physicians in managing a patient. When the handwriting is unreadable, the record is useless to me. The whole point of medical documentation is so the next clinician can pick up where another clinician left off.

And as far as the idea that as long as the patient doesn't die, the doctor can do whatever s/he wants....coming from a family of lawyers, I can tell you that my undergraduate tuition was in large part funded by successful lawsuits against arrogant physicians who felt they were above the system and were not accountable to the same basic health care expectations as any other treatment team member. A doctor who feels s/he is above the need to be clear in documentation (including handwriting) is the best witness for the prosecution. They will get filleted like a fish on the stand, and rightly so.
 
Go write 1-2 full pages in one minute or less instead of 5 minutes. it's more than a few seconds you save doing this. It's more like an hour saved at the end of the day. Luckiy, I'm still a student so don't have to see 20 patients every day. I won't next year and expect my progressively worsening handwriting (which was gorgeous at the beginning of my 3rd year and 100% legible without any thought) to continue to worsen until only medical professionals can read it (surprisingly it's a skill you can pick up quite easily when you learn how we write our notes and basic abbreviations)

Signaq said:
It may be quick to use poor handwriting to get all the paperwork done, but think of the day you get subpoenaed, and your poorly written handwriting is blown up on a screen for the courtroom to try to read. Imagine the lawyer making a case that because of your poor handwriting, information was either mistranscribed or missed altogether causing poor outcome. Poor handwriting is no longer a joke or an excusable fault in this day and age of lawsuits and audits.

Taking an extra few seconds to make your handwriting clear not only can prevent errors, but it will also endear you to the staff who have to read the writing. Doctors may think they are the only ones who are busy and work blistering hours, but actually there is a whole treatment team involved in patient care who need to read the info the doctor writes. None of them appreciate having to spend their time, which is just as valuable, deceiphering poor handwriting because someone considered themselves too busy or too important to make an effort.

Good handwriting, along with being polite while on call, make a huge difference to the staff on whom you depend on to carry out your orders.
Click to expand...
 
Rendar5 said:
Go write 1-2 full pages in one minute or less instead of 5 minutes. it's more than a few seconds you save doing this. It's more like an hour saved at the end of the day. Luckiy, I'm still a student so don't have to see 20 patients every day. I won't next year and expect my progressively worsening handwriting (which was gorgeous at the beginning of my 3rd year and 100% legible without any thought) to continue to worsen until only medical professionals can read it (surprisingly it's a skill you can pick up quite easily when you learn how we write our notes and basic abbreviations)
Click to expand...

I have written plently of pages of clinician documentation quickly in urgent situations, in emergency rooms with dozens of patients a shift, many with codes and complex dispositions. Legible handwriting is not easy. No one said it is easy and no one said handwriting needs to be perfect. Yes, I know how you write your notes and abbreviations. My handwriting often leaves much to be desired as well, and I have had nurses call me in the middle of the night because they cannot read my orders. Absolutely it is quicker just to scratch something down. My point was that sloppy handwriting for physicians can have serious consequences, and doctors are not above the standard for anyone charting on a patient.
 
we actually sat through a "lecture" during M1 where we learned to write Rx's. they said be sure to write the actual drug info legibly, but that when it comes to your signature, make it elaborate/hard to read/messy as possible b/c it makes it harder for patients to copy. now, could he have been joking? possibly. but he sounded pretty serious
 
batteries said:
Every time a doctor writes a messy script god kills a puppy.
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Ceiling Cat is okay with that.

where-is-your-god-now-preview.jpg
 
handwriting is just another box limiting language.. (that was sort of stupid, haha... If u can't read it, there is no language or message)
 
olemissbabydoc said:
They teach it in med school :laugh:
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🤣:laugh:🤣. I work at a hospital. Oh man...sometimes we spend lot of time to read orders. Most times the nurses call the doctor to clarify.
 
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Doctors write bad because a lot of them are maybe smart. It is said that if you write fast or sloppy, that you think fast.

Another factor is, they are in a harry a lot or are tired of writing all the time.

Another factor is that some doctors really just can't spell. I am a pharm tech, and I tell you when I get the prescriptions in, things are spelled wrong often.
 
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