Why Are Doctors' Writings Worse All-day?
By Wahab A.O
Hello there! It's been a while. I just want to ask why doctor's medical inscriptions/writings getting worse day-by-day? Perhaps I got it all wrong. Maybe it's actually not all of them sha, but I ain't playing pranks neither am I poking a trifle at our dokitas. Instead, I desire to inquire whether it's because they're among the league of people who thinks faster than they write ni or not.
It is pertinent and maybe sancrosant to note that ONLY Pharmacists could decipher virtually all of the dokitas' writings on prescription papers. Dokitas either from Private or Public Hospitals and Clinics would instead of them to 'farabale' and write legibly, the good english that me and you, the common man can read and understand, he would go ahead and write on paper, some drugs with an higgedy-piggedy, k-legged, etchy but sketchily disarranged letters that you'd think even a professor - preferably of English and Linguistics discipline or the Nigerian grammarian, Senator Patrick Obahiagbon - would have a field day trying to figure out the expressional-content of the paper.
I'm almost discerned at the way such instances when a dokita would then intentionally put pen on a prescription paper for only the skilled professionals among pharmacists to read, understand and finally sell out drugs. Maybe the dokitas' do fear the unseen but prevalent circumstances where patients would, instead of visiting a pharmacy that is so within the confinement of the Hospital, persistently go to a nearby roadside or market-side drug seller whose licence to operate was neither originally granted by the Standard Organization of Nigeria, [SON] and registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission, [CAC] nor his goods checked, standardized and approved by the National Association of Foods and Drugs Agency and Control, (NAFDAC). If that's one of the reasons, then it's good but if otherwise, then I ask, "Why Are Doctor's Writings Worse All-day?".
About 2-years ago, while I was in undergoing my diploma, I took ill and went to the School Clinic. I had an appointment with the doctor and upon visitation, he diagnosed me and wrote down some medical jargons as prescriptions on a small clinic's official piece of paper and I was wowed at what I saw. I couldn't decipher an alphabet there, save for the 'mg' written at the very end of each line. Of course, I'd recognise mg to be milligram.
Upon reaching the clinic's pharmacist, I tendered the paper and I must tell you, the pharmacist just glanced through for about 10secs and viola, she understood. I became blue immediately. As in, I was so so flabbergasted at the pharmacist as she doled out my drugs almost instantly. "So, A Pharmacist is the 'Sole' Interpreter of a dokita's drug prescription?" I asked within.
Then today, while surfing the net, I saw a post by the popular Media Political Analyst, Sir Sunday Akoji of the Ossussu Ministry something that looks so much like a joke or maybe a satire. I was overwhelmed with the rendition that I was moved to juxtapose it with my experiences with the our Nigerian dokitas and I'm sure, you, yes you would be able to answer my status quo question when you catch a glimpe at the satire which goes thus:
______A doctor was giving a speech at a Local Awards Ceremony. He looked at the notes he'd jotted down and didn't understand what he wrote.
"Francis!" the doctor calls out. "Is there a pharmacist in the house?"
It is on this note that I'd ask Nairalanders one more time that, "Why Are Doctor's Writings Worse All-day?"
Source: http://mobile.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1016139505119360&id=100001699612422&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1016139505119360%3Atl_objid.1016139505119360%3Athid.100001699612422%3A306061129499414%3A2%3A1451635200%3A1483257599%3A5863164866172445736&_tn_=%2As
cc: Lalasticlala, Ishilove, fynestboi

I advice u ask google.

yomi007k:
I advice u ask google.

Guy trust me, I don ask Google Oracle tire but na jonse e dey jonse me, no authentic answers. But you know, I'm a real Nigerian, a real man! I love real things. Lol.

Lalasticlala and Ishilove, I don do my part o. I don add the link. Now over to you.

Doctors are taught a form of medical shorthand that is meant for pharmacist to decipher, they are also taught the short hand in school. One major reason is so that a prescription written by an English doctor can be interpreted by a French or Germany or Spanish medical person.

allycat:
[b][size=16pt]Doctors are taught a form of medical shorthand that is meant for pharmacist to decipher, they are also taught the short hand in school.[/size] [/b]One major reason is so that a prescription written by an English doctor can be interpreted by a French or Germany or Spanish medical person.

Now where did u that load of crappy bollocks from?

Lagusta:

Now where did u that load of crappy bollocks from?

I practise that crappy bollocks .That's why if I prescribe a drug to be given twice a day , I don't write twice a day I write b.i.d. , that's why duration of drugs is written as fractions eg 4/7 for 4 days or 1/12 for one month. Having actually lectured medical students and post graduate students I don't just do these things. I have to know why I do them in order to explain to my students why they need to learn to do those things. Am I making any sense. Same reason many medical terminologies use the Latin roots e.g. ology, otomy, ectomy this is done so any medical person who speaks any language with a Latin root can understand these terminologies.

allycat:


I practise that crappy bollocks .That's why if I prescribe a drug to be given twice a day , I don't write twice a day I write b.i.d. , that's why duration of drugs is written as fractions eg 4/7 for 4 days or 1/12 for one month. Having actually lectured medical students and post graduate students I don't just do these things. I have to know why I do them in order to explain to my students why they need to learn to do those things. Am I making any sense. Same reason many medical terminologies use the Latin roots e.g. ology, otomy, ectomy this is done so any medical person who speaks any language with a Latin root can understand these terminologies.

Oh, now I understand what you are saying sir.....

I am a junior colleague.....

I thought you meant that the "handwriting" was deliberately taught to us, I didn't know you were referring to the abbreviations....

I'm sorry for the misunderstanding....

Apology accepted and I am Ma not Sir. Please dear junior collegue try to reply people civilly. I actually don't get offended at what people write on nairaland because I told myself that it's a faceless forum and for all I know I may be replying my gateman or my cook and I really don't expect us to reason on the same level. So when you write remember that you are representing a group of cultured persons. Don't descend to the level of those whom you are superior too. Have a lovely day.

allycat:
Doctors are taught a form of medical shorthand that is meant for pharmacist to decipher, they are also taught the short hand in school. One major reason is so that a prescription written by an English doctor can be interpreted by a French or Germany or Spanish medical person.

Oh oh...but how does that affects one doctor or pharmacist from a particular country? I mean the shorthand, as you've asserted here, does it mean a Spanish or French prescription can be readily read by an englishman? I'd say NO!

Ramwab94:
Oh oh...but how does that affects one doctor or pharmacist from a particular country? I mean the shorthand, as you've asserted here, does it mean a Spanish or French prescription can be readily read by an englishman? I'd say NO!

Actually Yes! If a prescription is written in France and taken to Nigeria a doctor or pharmacist can still interprete it. The drug names remain the same and the shorthand is universal. Its just languages like Russian, Arabic which do not use the same alphabet that will have issues.

allycat:


Actually Yes! If a prescription is written in France and taken to Nigeria a doctor or pharmacist can still interprete it. The drug names remain the same and the shorthand is universal. Its just languages like Russian, Arabic which do not use the same alphabet that will have issues.

Now I understood better.

Lalasticlala, abeg help move this to front page. Na beg I dey beg.

I disagree with the shorthand issues, as regards this particular post. He specifically said he can't read the names of the medicines.

We're talking of the names of the drugs themselves.

They are names a non medical personelle isn't used to seeing.
If those same Drs write a story for you without any medical jargons, you'd find it easier to read their writings because they're using normal words you come across daily and can always extrapolate or guess easily the words they wrote down