Maria Delacruz

Professor Doutherd
English 5M
10/18/17
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 dif-
ferent 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 volun-
teered 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 Ro-
seville Medical Center. It also guides future students by giving them insight of what active vol-
unteering 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 Ac-
countability 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 un-
derstands 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 ac-
quired 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.
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 informa-
tion. 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 partici-
pate 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 organiza-
tion 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 writ-
ing assures the nurses what they are trying say is being interpreted correctly and the readers un-
derstand 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.
While these two formats share similarities, the differences are found when it comes to format.

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 cor-
rectly. In the Rhetorical Analysis and Nursing Writing Conventions section of the CSUS Hand-
book 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. 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
nursing practice it is important proper communication occurs among health personnel so that er-
rors do not occur at the sake of the patients life. 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.