Using correct spelling at work

[TroysMammy]

I'm not putting this in AIBU because being a GP Receptionist I don't want people thinking it's ok to put the boot in because of the job I do.

I've been a GP Receptionist for over 11 years, prior to that I was a Secretary within a Bank. My colleagues have been there approximately 19 years, 5 years and 18 months, all women in late 40's and 50's all having a work history in other organisations.

However it is really annoying me that they cannot spell frequently used words and don't seem to care. We use Ask My GP and if people don't have internet access they phone us and we type up the request for their records. Recently I have come across the following:- virgina, soar, white sells, goldstones and gaulstones, swoollen, patient is asking for advise, exema, wooping cough, tetnus and when we were booking travel vaccinations and typing in where patient is holidaying - Deli (Delhi) Tialand (Thailand).

I've typed up quite a lot of words we use on a regular basis for them, advised they can use google, even if they type it in incorrectly and there are medical books available and still they get it wrong.

Am I being really picky because if I saw incorrect spelling on my medical records I would think that the person who had typed them was unprofessional. I also think the same of Daily Mail journalists who can't spell either.

As an ex Senior NHS manager - no it doesn't

I wrote GP's instead of GPs. You can't have punctuation in usernames.

As a patient, I would expect 100% of the words and terminology used in my medical record or any letters to be spelled correctly, and would be appalled, quite frankly, if they weren't

So would I. A misspelt word could lead to the wrong diagnosis and wrong treatment.

@Crappyfridays7 then you would use spellcheck, wouldn’t you?

Perhaps they have a learning difficulty in which case they won’t know the word is wrong until pointed out

Would it be sensible in this case to employ someone with a learning difficulty to type up medical records? Surely, they wouldn’t be right for the job?

I think your post says a lot about you, you are somehow superior because you can spell a few medical words and someone else can’t?

I disagree. If you know you have a problem with spelling you use your common sense and spellcheck everything you write.

It would irritate me hugely, but all you can do is bring it up with the practice manager or GP partners. They clearly don’t see an issue and you do not have the authority to insist on change.

@TroysMammy

I wrote GP's instead of GPs. You can't have punctuation in usernames.

Using apostrophes after acronyms is correct, if surprising.

If they are just being careless it's annoying but if they have dyslexia it's ok. I would image most people would spell sore properly.
Recently l was seeing a very qualified medical person and he was writing stuff up on a board to explain things to me. His spellings were horrendous. As a teacher l really had to bite my tongue and l couldn't really concentrate on what he was saying as l was so distracted by the spelling. I was diagnosing dyslexia while he was diagnosing me!!
My dh has a medical qualification and he leaves notes for me that have wrong spelling. Maybe as naturally good sellers we fail to appreciate how difficult it is for others.
Do they have good people skills with the clients? Something l would appreciate more in doctor's receptionists!

I spelt speller wrong after all that.

GP isn’t an acronym- it’s an abbreviation. I meant ... people in their 40s and 50s shouldn’t have an apostrophe but I also think I need to get a hobby! :)

But surely, if you know you have difficulty with spelling you use the spellcheck facility?

@MumofSpud

GP isn’t an acronym- it’s an abbreviation. I meant ... people in their 40s and 50s shouldn’t have an apostrophe but I also think I need to get a hobby! :)

I meant abbreviation.

I am also in a job where spelling really matters because it can be used as criminal evidence and we do have a couple of people that are like this. I get your frustration.

I agree with you as those are such basic words. Spelling and grammar are important and I think it makes the GP surgery look sloppy and unprofessional. However I think it’s a bit of a cheek correcting them when you’ve repeatedly added apostrophes incorrectly to your writing.

As an aside, where are you all seeing these medical notes? I had to pay £50 for the privilege of a copy of mine when we moved abroad. Not something I imagine doing frequently!

Correct spelling in medical notes is vital, think of the difference between hypotension and hypertension for example.

@0blio

Correct spelling in medical notes is vital, think of the difference between hypotension and hypertension for example.

Exactly

Hi, I hate to do this but it’s 40s and 50s not ‘40’s’ and ‘50’s’ and also GPs if it’s plural not ‘GP’s’. I’m only saying because misplaced apostrophes also look unprofessional imo

The problem with spellcheckers is that a lot of the examples in the OP are actual words - just not the correct medical words. Can they spell people’s names right OP? Or drug names? If they attached records to the wrong name then you’d face potentially fatal consequences.

I have had to explain the difference between their and there to a man in his fifties. He is educated to master level.

It’s grim.

Also I manage people in senior positions who have no idea how to use commas.

This would drive me bonkers. I feel that there has been a significant rise in the inability of people spelling correctly. In the last week the following have annoyed me

Been instead of being (see this too many times!)
Soar instead of sore
Higher instead of higher
Brought instead of bought
Escuse instead of excuse
Advise instead of advice (see this loads!)

It's an indication of a poor education but these women are in min wage jobs and I imagine they don't need too many qualifications to be taken on.

@Holly60

Hi, I hate to do this but it’s 40s and 50s not ‘40’s’ and ‘50’s’ and also GPs if it’s plural not ‘GP’s’. I’m only saying because misplaced apostrophes also look unprofessional imo

If you’re going to correct punctuation, make sure you’ve got it right

It is perfectly acceptable to use an apostrophe after an abbreviation, for clarity.

I’ll give you the age one though, although interestingly some people argue it’s correct in decades, eg 1960’s or the 60’s, so the OP is very close to that.

Doctors writing and notes are notoriously unreadable. Adleast you can read it and know what they mean. Could you maybe offer help and clever ways to learn the words? Spelling etc there is more to life!

I'd not be impressed as a patient. And I teach dyslexic children, so I understand some of the issues. A large part of it is learning to know when they're wrong, and how to look things up to check - dyslexia isn't just an excuse to leave things wrong, but a condition that makes things more difficult to get spellings right. They need to learn some of the common spellings, or what words they need to look up; same with homophones - they don't have to memorise the correct spellings, but they need to know when there are alternatives, and when they need to look them up/check with someone else.

It does look unprofessional, if someone hasn't bothered to check properly. It's not dyslexia much of the time, but lack of knowledge of the correct words/spelling, and in most people, that can be learned if they want to.

Thanks for pointing that out RosesandHellebores still trying to put the boot in with GP Receptionists I see. I'm minimum wage too, but it doesn't mean I'm uneducated. I take pride in my job, take an interest in it and I enjoy learning things about the environment I work in and remember what I've learned.

No, my colleagues don't always spell people's names correctly, sometimes they book the wrong patient in for an appointment because they are not paying attention.

I do agree with you Op- I have the same problem in my job (support staff in school) when teachers misspell words