Ridryder911
EMS Guru
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Some discussion of use of general language and writing skills have been discussed in other posts. To prevent from hijacking a thread, I have presented an addendum.
Ironically you brought up JEMS. Have you wondered why JEMS is so easy to read? The editorial section reviews material and does not allow anything above high school level reading level to be published. So reality, one cannot describe JEMS as a "scientific or even a professional journal.
No one is definitely describing professional writing techniques on this forum, and definitely not APA format, or a having grammar police after someone. Rather general writing techniques that represents our profession and ourselves (those that make up our profession) as being at least educated enough to make full sentences, and minimal spelling errors. As you pointed out, I myself make plenty of errors. The reason being, as you described ... "it is on a forum" ...
I am (like others) tired of seeing poor or gross writing techniques blamed upon ones medical certification level. Again, we are talking about something that should have been taught at the fifth grade level. It has nothing to do with EMT or medical levels. Again, spell check is available for free to use before posting.
Ever wonder why there is so little participation from the masses of EMS professionals? It would seem that many of those that write articles or publishes would participate in EMS forums. Sorry, many of the "professionals" rather not have a dialogue with someone that cannot communicate properly. I know I have heard physicians describe that the .."medic might be good in skills, but he places doubts, when he/she opens their mouth"... Yes, we are judged upon our basic interpersonal communication skills or lack of.
Again, I much rather be flamed or "personally attacked" , that is if I could read it. I can defend myself, and have thick enough skin to tolerate any post. Although, that itself is not necessary to get a point across.
I personally do not think anyone is asking for much. To be able to use general English grammar, punctuations, and spelling in a post. If we are going to be presumed as professionals, let's at least present this image.
R/r 911
Rid I'm going to disagree - there is a difference between writing in a professional publication and on a web forum. On a forum like this the standard decorum is a little less strict - how many emoticoions do you see in JEMS? Similarly, no one (myself included, exept that you brought the issue up) would say boo about the multiple sentence fragments, mis-used semicolon, etc. in your last post, because it is still readable despite that. I'm pretty sure i misspelled something in this post, but overall I think it's not unprofessional looking, and thats sufficent for me.
Medication names are a whole different ball of whacks, becasue there are so many that sound alike or are spelled alike, and a lack of precision can, and does, kill patients. This issue is getting a lot of attention at the moment, and some govenrment body just released thier report about medical errors, and found that the impact from errors such as misspelled medications is huge. I'm sure google could reveal the name of the report, for those interested.
Ironically you brought up JEMS. Have you wondered why JEMS is so easy to read? The editorial section reviews material and does not allow anything above high school level reading level to be published. So reality, one cannot describe JEMS as a "scientific or even a professional journal.
No one is definitely describing professional writing techniques on this forum, and definitely not APA format, or a having grammar police after someone. Rather general writing techniques that represents our profession and ourselves (those that make up our profession) as being at least educated enough to make full sentences, and minimal spelling errors. As you pointed out, I myself make plenty of errors. The reason being, as you described ... "it is on a forum" ...
I am (like others) tired of seeing poor or gross writing techniques blamed upon ones medical certification level. Again, we are talking about something that should have been taught at the fifth grade level. It has nothing to do with EMT or medical levels. Again, spell check is available for free to use before posting.
Ever wonder why there is so little participation from the masses of EMS professionals? It would seem that many of those that write articles or publishes would participate in EMS forums. Sorry, many of the "professionals" rather not have a dialogue with someone that cannot communicate properly. I know I have heard physicians describe that the .."medic might be good in skills, but he places doubts, when he/she opens their mouth"... Yes, we are judged upon our basic interpersonal communication skills or lack of.
Again, I much rather be flamed or "personally attacked" , that is if I could read it. I can defend myself, and have thick enough skin to tolerate any post. Although, that itself is not necessary to get a point across.
I personally do not think anyone is asking for much. To be able to use general English grammar, punctuations, and spelling in a post. If we are going to be presumed as professionals, let's at least present this image.
R/r 911
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