I want to talk about how nursing care can effect communication in their work place and
what kind of writing does a nurse do daily. A proper written communicating skill in the nursing
field is very important since all nurses must know how to report incidents clearly, keep records
and document them completely. In nursing the writing style varies according with the purpose of
the document. The need to communicate is usually informative and tends to be used as a tool to
educate or to set information. In consequence is usually informative by nature, set on facts, and
follows a strict protocol of objectivity and centered in concrete information. Examples could be
cited such as Marilyn Oermann, who wrote an article about a new standard for safe patient
handling and mobility. In this article she wrote about the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration reporting that 20% of nurses leave their direct patient care positions because of
work related injuries and risks. Oermann stated that New American Nurses Association
Interprofessional Standards of safe patient handling and mobility (SPHM) provides a structure
for developing policies and, most importantly, multicomponent programs for safe patient
handling. Now a new study of newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) find that nurses who
are verbally abuse by nursing colleagues report lower job satisfaction and greater intent to leave
their current job.
Oermann Marilyn H. PhD, RN, FAAN New Standards for Safe Patient Handling and Mobility
Journal of Nursing Care Quality/ October-December 2013 Vol. 28, No.4, pp.289-291.
Web. October 30, 2013.
The article New Standards for Safe Patient Handling and Mobility is about development
of many safety initiative and guidelines for practice written by Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN,
FAAN. This article is also a guideline to improve worker safety for handling patient in the health
care setting. One that need improvement is preventing injury and illness among nurses and other
health care organization. The best way to reduce the injuries is look around your unit and facility,
and you are likely to find nurse rounding up colleagues to help them lift or move a patient said
Oermann. He also said that the American Nurses Association has released national standards for
safe patient handling and mobility with the aim of promoting not only patients but also health
care workers from injury. The Standards of Safe Patient Handling and Mobility (SPHM) are
Establish a culture of safety, implement and sustain a SPHM program, Incorporate ergonomic
design principles to provide a safe environment of care, select, install, and maintain SPHM
technology and etc. according to Marilyn H. Oermann.
Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN, Duke University School of Nursing Durham, North
Carolina. She is a great writer and she wrote this article to nurses, health Administration and
students who are going to a nursing programs. She wrote this article to let all her audiences know
how important it is to handling a patient safely and prevent yourselves from injuries. She uses
many rhetorical appeals to logic. For example, she states “the occupational safety & Health
Administration report that 20% of nurses leave their direct patient care positions because of
work-related injuries and risks.” She also uses appeal to emotion “ the American Nurses
association has release national standards for safe patient handling and mobility” it appeal to
pathos because the standards are the guideline for the nurses to know how to handling the
patients without getting hurt and they will be happy and also the patients will be safe.
This source is really great because it well organized. Oermann explained what the sources
about and she also gives her solution to her topic. Any abbreviation that she wrote she define it
so it easy for other people to understand. This is a good sources for me to find out the
information about nursing and how they handling the patients. This source taught me what I need
to do to handling the patient safely and not injure myself. It also taught me what kind of
equipment I need to use in order to lifting the patient. I learn so many things from this source. I
also learned that the standards of SPHM are a guideline to provide all nurses with care while
handling the patient, not only the patients but also health care workers from injuries.
Aldridge Michael D. Writing and Designing Readable Patient Education Materials Nephrology
Nursing Journal, July- August 2004 Vol. 31. No.4. Web. October 30, 2013.
Writing and Designing Readable Patient Education Materials is about helping patient to
understanding the written material that was written in the nursing field by Michael Aldridge.
Determining readability base on the high incidence of functional illiteracy in the U.S., it is likely
that dialysis clinic have a significant number of patient who are functionally illiterate said
Aldridge. Strategies for simplifying reading level the goal is to have patient educate material on
fifth or sixth grade reading level. There are two aspects to consider when simplifying any
document design and writing said Aldridge. He also said that Design refers to the visual
elements of the brochure, and the Writing refers to the words that make up the text, as well as the
sentence structure and the style in which the text is written. Design new patients education
materials provide the opportunity to create something truly meaningful for patients. Educational
material should also be mindful of the culture needs of particular groups. Improving readability
does not guarantee that patient will understand or use education material; however, these simple
strategies increase the likelihood that the materials will be useable.
Michael D. Aldridge, MSN, RN, CCRN, is a Nurse Educator in the Pediatric intensive
care unit at the Children’s Hospital of Austin in Austin, Texas. He also serves as the Home
Dialysis coordinator for the Children’s Dialysis Clinic of Central Texas in Austin. He wrote this
article to all nurses and elderly people to help them understand what the problem if the patient
cannot read educational materials. He uses many rhetorical appeals to Logic. For example, he
states “A large percentage of dialysis patients are older than 65 year of age and are particularly at
risk has 40% of over 65 read below the fifth-grade level (Doak et al., 1996). This is a really huge
problem because most of the materials are written in high school lever or college level. So the
goal is to have patient education materials on a fifth or sixth grade reading level. She also use
appeals to emotion “To improve readability, several words that had more than three syllables
were replaced with shorter words and long sentences were divided into several shorter
sentences” according to Aldridge. By doing this the patient will understand and read the material
but they may not understand the concept.
The journal that is written by Michael D. Aldridge is a really great source. I learn many
things from this journal. He used many tables chart to show how the materials were used. It was
really great because the tables are showing the different of the materials that were used in
nursing field. I also learned that the average adult in the United States cannot read about the
eight-grade level, most patient education materials are written in a high-school or college reading
level. If the patients cannot read educational materials then there is little hope of them using or
understanding the information said Aldridge. The reason I like about this journal is because it
show me step by step how the material are uses to make the patients understand.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 2002 Guidelines for records and keeping. NMC, London
Nursing documentation, record keeping and written communication. November 11, 2013.
Nursing Documentation record keeping and written communication is an accurate record
keeping and careful documentation of nursing practice. The Nursing and Midwifery Council
(NMC 2002) state that “good record keeping helps to protect the welfare of patients and clients.”
It is equally important that you can also communicate by letter and email with other health and
social care professionals, to ensure that they understand exactly what you mean. Nursing
documentation and record keeping is relevant information about your patients or client.
Documentation may include nursing assessment sheet, nursing care plan, vital signs, fluid
balance chart, observation chart, Fluid balance chart, medicine/drug chart, informed,
incident/accident form and etc. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2002) has said that
patient and client record should be based on fact, correct and consistent and be written as soon
as possible after an event has happened to provide current up to date information about care.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is everyday English for international nurses. This
article is written to all nurses and people who want to become a nurse. There are many rhetorical
appeals to logic. For example “Basic chart may also have space to record urinalysis, weight,
bowel action and the 24 hour totals for fluid intake and out” this are important because these are
need to chart every daily according to the patient care. This article also appeals to emotion “your
patients are due to have any invasive procedure, always check their level of understanding before
it is scheduled to happen.” It appeals to pathos because you want your patient to understand the
information very well before doing something to them. If you are not sure about your patient
answer, ask the healthcare practitioner who is doing the procedure to see the patient and explain
again. Also the use of email is increasingly important for both professional and private
communication. According to NMC it is not appropriate to use email abbreviations for nursing
abbreviation in professional email.
This source is about how the documentation record keeping and written communication
in nursing field. I learn a lot of things from this source because it shows me the example of how
nursing document were record and what kind of documentation nursing do daily. The source is
easy for me to understand because it shows me the graph and the pictures that represented the
material and the documentation. I also learn about the medicine/drug chart because it explaining
the patients biographic information, history of allergies or others. The important part that I
learned about the guideline for documentation and record keeping is patient and client record
should based on fact, correct and consistent, be written as soon as possible after an event has
happened to provide current up to date and written clearly in a way that the text cannot be erased.
Lane, Crystal. Nurse, Hurley Hospital, Flint MI. Personal Interview. 21 January 2005. Mastrian,
Kathleen G. Writing On the Job. Toronto: John Wiley and Sons, 1986.“Watch Your
(Charting) Language.” May 2001:67. Web. November 13, 2013.
The article technical writing in nursing skills is required throughout nurse careers because
documentation and record keeping constitute the bulk of nursing duties. Writing is such an
integral part of everyday tasks of nurses, accuracy is crucial and when doing documentation and
charting on a patient said Crystal Lane. In additional to being accurately recorded information
needs to be accurately expressed and watch your charting language according to John Wiley.
Besides using the proper medical terminology to maintain accuracy, a nurse must take other
measure to ensure that all date is correctly record and finished as soon as possible after you make
an observation. Creating and accident report is another practical application of the technical
writing skills used by nurses.. Lastly, nurse often time much prepare for their patients
educational materials that describe or explain various procedures, diseases, medications, and
treatments according to Nancy Rushton and Gloria Mayer. These technical writing skis are
needed in order to effectively communicate with other members of the medical community as
well as the patients themselves.
The article technical writing in nursing is written by Crystal Lane, Mastrian, Kathleen,
Nacy Rushton and Gloria Mayer. They all wrote the article to all nurses in the medical field.
They wrote this article to let other nurse know what kind of writing is important in nursing
programs. The article is appealing to logic. For example, “nurses need to constantly keep in mind
that as many as 45 million adults read at or below the fifth-grade level., while most medical texts
are written at the seventh or ninth-grade level” (Nancy Rushton and Gloria Mayer) because all
nurse need to know what kind of language they should use to communicate with patients to
prevent misunderstanding and treatment failures. This article also appeals to emotion “with the
integration of computer technology into many hospitals, charting a patient’s information is make
much easier” because it make it quicker to record the documentation For example Lane said
“when I need a doctor for something, I can easily e-mail him or her a note to get a response from
them.”
After reading the article about technical writing in nursing I had learn many of the
information. I learned that technical writing skills are not only important in the records and
charts written by nurses, but also in the various other documents read by them. Nurses must
prepare for their patients educational materials that describe or explain various procedures,
diseases, medications, and treatments. By doing this, Not only must nurses refrain from using
medical terminology when preparing these materials, but they must also avoid using complicated
syntax and diction. These technical writing skills are needed in order to effectively communicate
with other members of the medical community as well as the patients themselves. And while
technical writing has always been an important part of nursing, “the field of nursing itself
exemplifies a growing trend in most careers in today’s world, a world in which technical writing
skills are increasing necessary in order to succeed and excel.”
Johnson, R. Foundation, Verbally abused new nurses less likely to stay, American Nursing
Association; July-August 2013, RN works project. Web. November 11, 2013.
A study of newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) who experience verbal abuse
and/or being delivered with insufficient or inaccurate information see their professional skills
and work satisfaction diminished. A verbally abused new nurse is less likely to stay according to
a research conducted by the RN project, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Also, the study affirms that newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) find that nurses who are
verbally abuse by nursing colleagues report lower job satisfaction. The research surveyed 1407
NLRNs about how often they were verbally abuse by nurse colleagues. Nearly 49 percent of
respondents experienced some verbal abuse, although only 5 percent had experienced abuse
more than five times in the last three month. Verbal abuse was found to be most common and is
best characterized as passive-aggressive said Budin. The article appeals to the reader’s emotion.
It says “ rather than yelling, swearing, insulting or humiliating behavior most early career RNs
reported that the abuse they experienced involved condescension or lack of acknowledgement.”
The study shows that this abuse not only has an impact on their attitudes toward work, but also
influences their decisions about whether stay in their current positions, said Brewer. The article
afirms that “if hospitals and health systems want to retain these new nurses, they need to make
changes that will end this kind of abuse.” The research note that there is a need for evidence
based strategies to decrease and eliminate verbal abuse and to help new nurses cope with abuse
including structured interventions. The NLRNs suggest that therapeutic communication,
assertiveness training and conflict management strategies may help new nurses cope with
perceived abuse.
This article is about an issue that often happens in nursing. Verbal abuse in nursing is an
ordinary occurrence. Registered nurses (RNs) working day shifts had experienced higher levels
of verbal abuse than those working evening and weekend shifts. I also learned that RNs who
reported no verbal abuse were least likely to plan to leave their carriers in the next three years.
The researchers note that there is a need for evidence based strategies to decrease and eliminate
verbal abuse and to help new nurses cope with abuse, including structured interventions. The
researchers suggest that therapeutic communication, assertiveness training and conflict
management strategies may help new nurses cope with perceived abuse. These are great ideas to
all the researchers to come up and plan for the future RNs.
Walden University Writing Center Staff. Writing in Nursing. Walden University, Web.
November 13, 2013.
Writing in Nursing by Walden University Writing Center Staff said that when writing in
nursing, however, students must also be familiar with the goals of the discipline and disciplinespecific writing expectations. In consequence, nursing students are expected to learn how to
present information briefly, and even though they may often use technical medial terminology
(“writing in nursing.” n.d.). Nurses are required to document knowledge and research
demonstrating critical thinking and expressing creative ideas as well(Wagner, 2001-2011, para.
2). Walden instructors often ask nursing students to write position and reflective paper, critique
articles, gather and analyze data, response to case studies, and work collaboratively on a project.
Nursing students also must learn how to evaluate evidence in nursing literature and identify the
studies that answer specific clinical questions (Oremann & Hays, 2011). Nursing should follow
the format of APA style paper.
This article is written by the Walden University Writing Center Staff and it about writing
in nursing. This article is written to all nursing student appealing to their logic. For example, it
says “students are expected to keep up with the most current research in their field and support
the assertions they make in their work with evidence from the literature.” It also appeals to their
sense of professionalism “Walden offers a series of research methods courses to help students
become familiar with the various research methods.” So that your method will have an impact on
the credibility of your work, it is important that your methods are rigorous.
I learned that all academic work is required to follow basic standards such as writing
clear, concise, and grammatically correct sentences; using proper punctuation; demonstrating
critical thought. I also learned that in practice, nurses are required to become familiar with
standardized nursing language. This because a better communication among nurses and other
health care providers, increase visibility of nursing interventions, improved patient care, and
facilitated assessment of nursing competency (Rutherford, 2008). Lastly, writing nursing
students should demonstrate that they have cultivated thinking skill that are useful in their
discipline and be able to communicate professionally and appropriately (Colorado State
University, 2011).
For my conclusion, I can visualize better that nurses write to deliver information to an
extensive diversity of audiences. Good written communication is critical for the care of patients,
research, and staff supervision. Good writing promotes the use of critical thinking and analysis
and ensures the different audiences for which a nurse is writings that they will understand what is
being said. In consequence, good nursing writing is a skill that could be different than other
forms of professional writing. Nursing communication relies on writing in brief, clear terms,
making difficult ideas and procedures, and explaining them to a specific audience. That is,
nursing writing has to describe or explain complicated concepts or processes in understandable
terms. It relies on knowing purpose, audience and how much knowledge the specific audience
has on the topic. Hoping to be a nursing student, I understand that I need to apply this skill in my
education and coursework as well as clinical experience, internship and optimally in preparation
for licensing exams. Understanding the specifics of nursing writing could become valuable in
helping me to meet career goals.