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Kelsey Hall
Ms. Camargo
Eng. 1101
8 November 2012
Writing in the World of Nursing: Uncovering the Unknown
As one can imagine, the world of nursing is a whole other world. If an individual were to
simply walk up to another individual and ask, “What does the acronym, “BP” mean in the
nursing field?” One probably wouldn’t know, implicitly, because they have no knowledge of this
career field and its jargon. By the way, “BP” means blood pressure. However, it’s not about
quizzing one another and asking an individual how much knowledge he/she has. The nursing
field is about understanding and communicating the universal language that is understood by the
entire medical staff. Although it is understood by many that the medical jargon is a very
significant aspect of the nursing field, it has a purpose. Everything that is written (genres) and
how it is written (APA citation style) serves a purpose in this field of study.
Within every discourse community, there is always a certain jargon, or a certain way that
each set of people’s write according to their own social situation. In the nursing discourse
community, where writing is a huge part of nurses, doctors and other medical staff’s everyday
lives, abbreviations and acronyms are the main jargon for this community. According to Leigh
A. Zaykoski in the article, “Abbreviations Used In Medical Records,” abbreviations regarding
medical jargon, are used in order to communicate in a way that is universally understood among
a medical staff (Zaykoski). These medical abbreviations are not there to confuse or frustrate
nursing or medical students/new nurses, they actually have very specific uses and can be
extremely helpful once an individual learns the diverse acronyms and abbreviations. In an article
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written by Urgent Care Kansas City, medical abbreviations are used, because there are many
medical terms that are too long to write out. Therefore, using abbreviations saves time (Urgent
Care Kansas City). Now that doctors can start communicating using less time, doctors can now
spend more time on direct patient care. Also, abbreviations and acronyms are used to describe
the health status of a patient, used when a patient is first being admitted to a hospital, and used
on standard medical documents that contain very important patient information, such as medical
history, discharge instructions, etc. (Zaykoski).
In the scientific fields of study, such as psychology and nursing, professors and others
reading over nursing research papers look for unbiased, clear, consistent information and
credible, current resources. This is why APA (American Psychological Association) citation is
used within nursing (Seas, and Brizee). According to the article, “APA Writing Style
Resources,” APA citation is used to minimize distraction and maximize precision in the
processes of writing. When one speaks of minimizing distraction within a research paper by
using APA citation style, an individual means that they need to have a very clear focus and that
no content is misleading or confusing (VickyRN). Also, according to Purdue Owl, APA citation
makes it easier for readers to understand a text by providing a familiar structure they can follow.
When APA citation is used, it is less distracting to the audience or readers because it is a
formatting that the audience is familiar with. APA citation also makes it easier for readers to
follow one’s ideas more efficiently and to locate specific pieces of info of interest to them (Seas,
and Brizee). It is also used in scientific fields of study, because scientific research papers demand
that it consists of current research. Professors and readers want consistent, credible sources; so
therefore, APA citation is used, because it shows how current or timely the research actually is
(VickyRN).
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When individuals think of nurses’ occupation, many think that all they have to do is
perform physicals, take the weight of a patient, give shots, etc. Even though these many things
are what nurses do, however, there is so much more than performing just these daily tasks.
Believe it or not, nurses consume a considerable amount of time just with writing. In my research
I found a quote by author, Michelle Crouch that stated: “People have no idea of the amount of
red tape and charting we have to deal with every day (Crouch).” Various genres of writing in the
academic and nursing field include: care plans, case studies, lab reports, research papers, medical
charts, shift summaries, SOAP, patient notes and many more (Benac). According to my research,
very common types of writing in the academic nursing field would be the care plans, case
studies, and research papers. These common genres are not only written within the nursing career
field, but they are common genres for nursing students in training. Many purposes of writing a
nursing research paper would be to share experimental findings on a certain topic, to convince
another individual to adapt to a certain technique and to inform people of current information.
Some purposes of writing case studies are: to challenge the reader and for nursing students to
work through problem-solving techniques or strategies. Common purposes of writing care plans
is so that nurses from different shifts who have never taken care of a certain patient before, will
have access to the specific type of care that a patient should receive (Carroll, Hayes, and
McDonnell). For example, a certain patient may need to have a bed bath instead of a shower,
because they are confined to their bed due to physical complications. Not every patient is the
same; therefore, each patient has different wants and needs. Care plans can be very useful,
because of that aspect.
According to others, a nursing career involves a lot of writing. However, my research
also portrays that nursing is a very rewarding field of study. Writing is very necessary in order to
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reach the shared public goals of the nursing discourse community, but that is for any discourse
community involving the practice of writing. According to Purdue Owl, no matter what the
convention or genre is, always remember to be precise, be objective and keep emotions to one’s
self, and remember who your audience is when writing. Nurses can get caught for many
liabilities; therefore, each nurse must be aware to keep subjective comments to one’s self and
chart objective statements when documenting information about a patient (Tompkins, Tompkins,
and Angeli).
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Works Cited
Benac, Eric. "What Types of Things Do Nurses Have to Write?." Charts, Shift Summaries,
SOAP, Patient Notes. Demand Media, Inc., n.d. Web. 7 Nov 2012.
<http://www.ehow.com/info_8618365_types-things-do-nurses-write.html>.
Carroll, Laura, S. Rye Hayes, and Margaret McDonell. "Common Genres in Nursing." Nursing
Research Papers, Nursing Case Studies, Care Plans. N.p.. Web. 8 Nov 2012.
<http://www.csus.edu/wac/WAC/Students/Major Sites/nursing_genres.html>.
Crouch, Michelle. "50 Secrets Your Nurse Won't Tell You." 2011: 6. Web. 8 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.rd.com/slideshows/50-secrets-your-nurse-wont-tell-you/
Seas, Kristen, and Allen Brizee. "APA Style Workshop." Why Use APA?. The Writing Lab &
The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University, 03 2012. Web. 6 Nov 2012.
<https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/664/1/>.
Tompkins, J. Case, Eden Tompkins, and Elizabeth Angeli. "Writing as a Professional Nurse."
Three General Rules . The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue Univerisity,
25 2010. Web. 8 Nov 2012. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/922/01/>.
Urgent Care Kansas City, . "Common Medical Abbreviations." What is a Medical
Abbreviation?. HubPages, Inc., 20 2011. Web. 6 Nov 2012.
<http://tamarind.hubpages.com/hub/Most-Common-Medical-Abbreviations>.
VickyRN, . "APA Writing Style Resources." . allnurses.com INC, 26 2011. Web. 6 Nov 2012.
<http://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/apa-writing-style-583693.html>.
Zaykoski, Leigh. "Abbreviations Used In Medical Records." LIVESTRONG.COM: The Limitless
Potential Of You . Demand Media, Inc., 28 2011. Web. 6 Nov 2012.
<http://www.livestrong.com/article/21909-abbreviations-used-medical-records/>.