Let’s face it: Some of us have sloppy handwriting. Whether we are in a rush, in love with loopy letters and smiley faces, or prone to chicken scratch, many of us could use some improvement. And as nurses, handwriting is a big part of our jobs. One miscue could compromise patient care in a huge way. We’re here with some tips to help you avoid handwriting errors.

There was a scene in an episode of the TV sitcom “Scrubs” a year or two back. A bubbly, new nurse on the floor was charting and inserted a smiley face next to a “1.” The doctor, of course, read it as a “10″ and a medication error ensued. Here’s how you can avoid making similar mistakes:

Mistake: The handwritten “u” after a dose may be read as a zero, causing a potential tenfold error
Quick fix: Write out the word “units”

Mistake: The decimal point in the following: “1.0mg” may be missed and read as “10mg,” causing a potential tenfold error
Quick fix: Follow a whole number without the decimal point and zero: “1mg”

Mistake: The leading decimal point in the following: “.5mg” may not be seen, causing a potential tenfold overdose
Quick fix: Use a leading zero before preceding a number with a decimal point: “0.5 mg”

Mistake: The period after “Q” in the handwritten abbreviation “Q.D.” may be interpreted as an “I,” changing the meaning from “daily” to “four times a day”
Quick fix: Write out the word “daily”

Mistake: The handwritten abbreviation “cc” may be read as “00,” causing a potential hundredfold overdose
Quick fix: Use the abbreviation “mL” instead

Mistake: The handwritten abbreviation for microgram “µg” may be interpreted as milligram “mg,” causing a potential thousand-fold overdose
Quick fix: Use the abbreviation, “mcg” instead

Editor’s note: This excerpt is from Quick-E! Charting: Documentation & Medical Terminology Clinical Nursing Reference (second edition). For more information on the Quick-E! series, click the link at the top right of this page. And stay tuned, as new editions (with a new look) will be published later this year.