Delacruz !

Maria Delacruz
Professor Doutherd
English 5M
18, October 2017
Conventions Found Within Nursing
When writing, authors always refer to the situation at hand as inspiration for their piece.
Throughout this analysis the two texts that will be discussed were both written based on very
different situations. The first text refers to my experience while volunteering at a hospital while
the second text explains in detail how nurses are taught to write throughout their careers. Both
texts offer the different insight and explain in detail what prompted the authors to write about
those certain situations.

Part 1
At the end of my senior year one of the assignments was to write a descriptive paper to
inform my teacher and other students in my class about my experience during the time I
volunteered at the hospital. The paper was written within the context of explaining in detail what
my daily activities included and what I learned over the duration of my volunteer time at Sutter
Roseville Medical Center. It also guides future students by giving them insight of what active
volunteering is really about in a very busy, critical, and professional environment. Future
regional occupational program candidates can use this paper as a reference to what should be
expected and what is required during the course of the program throughout the year. It may help
ease some of the worries they may have as they enter this program about hands on learning
experience in the hospital setting and as they learn to work caring for very sick men and women.
My first and biggest challenge working in the medical field was having to learn and being
compliant with the bylaws of HIPAA, which stands for Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act. This Act serves to protect the confidentiality of a patients health
information. This act is challenging to follow at times because it means that without a patients
direct approval, I cant disclose what I learned throughout the time I helped care for them.
Another challenge that restricted my writing was the medical terminology used in the medical
world. When talking to hospital personnel, it is critical to use the proper terminology. This
ensures proper care and proper documentation of the patients condition. While writing, not
everyone in the audience understands medical terminology; therefore, I had to explain
terminology as I used it to ensure the audience was aware of what I was referring to. The text
was not only meant for my teacher and classmates, but to future students and parents as well.
The parents are often worried that their children might see something gruesome, but I
hoped they would understand that experiencing new things only enhances their children learning
experience and intrigues them more. I wanted my teacher to understand what I gained from my
experience and how much knowledge I acquired throughout the course of the program. I wanted
the students to see this paper as advice as well as information that they would be able to use
when deciding whether they wanted to take the course or not. Not only did writing this paper
teach me how much I knew about the program, but it also gave me the chance to explain my
experiences to others. I attempted to learn how to write in a way which would not only pertain to
a classroom setting, but to a professional setting as well.
 Delacruz !2

Part 2
Writing as a nursing major holds many expectations that one must follow. The different
types of nursing degrees also have different standards to meet. Being an associate's degree nurse
requires the nurse to write clearly and concisely and consists mainly of charting patient
information. They have to make sure that on every document everything is correct to avoid
problems from arising later on due to mistakes. As a bachelor degree nurse, it is required that one
participate in nursing research along with documenting patient information. The nurses that hold
higher level positions are required to participate in multiple writing activities that benefit the
organization they work for.
Charting or documentation is a vital task in which all nurses participate in as they use
these records to decide how they should proceed with their patients care. There are also different
types of charting that nurses have to perform. Not only does this task help patients, but all the
different types of charting serve to protect hospitals from legal issues. Everything that is done for
and to the patient has to be recorded. This is why it is so important for nurses to be clear in their
writing. Being clear and thorough in their charting, evaluations, and even their research is the
most important thing that any nurse must do as other medical professional refer back to their
writing when coming up with a healthcare plan for a patient. Following the correct style of
writing assures the nurses what they are trying say is being interpreted correctly and the readers
understand exactly what is being said. Nurses generally do not write in a personal style, instead
maintaining a professional tone as they are taught to write using medical terminology. When
writing papers as a medical professional it is required to write in APA format instead of MLA.

Part 3
At the beginning of this paper, the text that was mentioned was not written by a nurse. It
was instead written by a student who one day aspires to be a nurse. The first text was not good
enough to turn into a nursing professor for many reasons. Dr. Kelly states that, students definitely
need to learn to write in a 'scholarly fashion' for nursing [seeing how] nursing leaders need to be
able to convey ideas clearly and concisely while using technical language. (par. 36) The paper
was not written in a scholarly manner but instead was very informal and was not formatted
correctly. In the Rhetorical Analysis and Nursing Writing Conventions section of the CSUS
Handbook it states that the,purpose in writing is the aim the author wants the audience to
understand. It allows the reader to gain new knowledge and enlightenment on the particular
topic. (par. 7) While student written paper upholds parts of the styles that nurses use and it
could pertain to a medical audience, the informality of the paper withholds it from reaching its
full potential.
When writing formal papers within the medical field, it is required they are written using
APA format rather than MLA format. APA format differs from MLA format by having distinct
ways to structure the paper that is being written. The way certain things are named are also
different within the two formats. For example in MLA format, the bibliography is referred to as a
works cited while APA format refers to it as references.
Maintaining a professional tone while being articulate throughout one's writing will allow
the author to grow and learn to write as a nurse. In the CSUS handbook it clarifies that, in ones
 Delacruz !3

nursing practice it is important proper communication occurs among health personnel so that
errors do not occur at the sake of the patients life.(par. 4) While giving patient reports to other
medical professionals, less is not more. During reports it is crucial to the patient's care to be as
complete and factual as possible. Every little detail matters in providing patient care. Missing
even one minor detail can create a big impact on a patients care.