We often think that top floor executives or professional writers are the only people who should be writing on the job, right? Wrong. Ask any nurse or police officer if he or she should write when the job requires it and you'll get a resounding YES. At work, nurses must write letters to grieving relatives, notes to doctors, and reports that may be needed if a nurse or hospital has to defend a lawsuit. Sometimes nurses need to write the unusual and the unexpected.
A nurse told me, "I was beaten once by a relative and had to describe it in a report." Many colleges have specific instructions for nurses and the need to write. For example, the Purdue Online Writing Lab website has an entire section devoted to coursework and study plans for student nurses:
“In the field of nursing, a lot of writing is required quickly and accurately. You must complete reports and charts correctly and completely, and honestly record your interactions with doctors and patients. In addition, you must always be prepared to defend the information you record. Be objective , be precise and remember your critical audience.'
Before a nurse can enter the nursing corps, he or she must complete training, and many schools require applicants to write an essay about why they should be admitted. That's not easy unless you know what writing an essay entails. Here's what a survey of legitimate websites had to say about the admissions essay:
“After all required academics have gone to a nursing degree, nursing school applicants must write an essay for admission to nursing school. This essay, while short, is arguably one of the most important essays an aspiring nurse will ever write. several standardized tests helps the essay determine whether a nursing school candidate passes nursing school or not. Writing a nursing school admissions essay is not difficult if you plan carefully and know what to include and how to stand out from the crowd of the candidates. One mistake in a short essay will make you look sloppy, which is not desirable in a nurse. Attention to detail is key in the final presentation."
There's more to it than guns and guts
Police officers also have to write, including daily reports that they often have to write while sitting in patrol cars typing on a laptop. However, there are times when agents need to write a full report without the help of software. Chris Livingston, a retired police officer and district manager for a large Georgia city police force, sees evidence that students joining the police force also need to learn how to write good old-fashioned reports to ensure they are accurate and complete. This is what he had to say:
“Many new officers these days look at automated report writing programs, but when they actually have to write a report, many of the fundamentals of good writing are missing, I mean everything from punctuation to verb tenses to point of view — all the grammatical elements of simple, cohesive I had to return maybe thirty percent of those reports because they were so poorly written. Remember that a report not only has to be correct, but the content and presentation have to be right for it. Those reports are scrutinized by lawyers dealing with capital crimes, and they look very closely for written evidence that can be used in court. If a report is poorly drafted, the arresting officer can get into trouble."
For decades, law enforcement trainees have watched cop and robber TV shows in which officers chase, wrestle, handcuff and interrogate suspects — plus a few gunfights. In other words, the Hollywood version of police work. However, those same shows don't show police and detectives sitting down to write reports after every incident. It's not as exciting as the chase, but in real life, reports are an essential follow-up to any police action. Men and women who have their eyes on state or federal law enforcement agencies can look forward to the same demand. For example, the FBI has its own crime reporting manual devoted entirely to the who, what, when, where, why, and how of report writing.
Sister... Police officer. In any case, the person who knows how to write clear, cohesive and correct reports will not only be in an excellent position to pass all the entry requirements that require good writing skills, but will also be able to develop those same skills. show on the job itself, where, as we know, good writing pays off.
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