Technical Writing in Nursing

Technical writing uses clear, concise, and specific language familiar to a particular
audience, such as healthcare providers in general or a specific group such as nurses. This
form of writing synthesizes complex concepts and integrates them into communication to
allow the transfer of information from one nurse to another (Mills & Walter, 2018). Technical
writing is a crucial skill in nursing as nurses are tasked with various technical responsibilities
such as creating a care plan for patients, assessing and recording vital patient information,
administering medication, and assessing conditions and reactions, including documenting
findings.
Technical communication is used in nursing to uphold the required ethical standards.
However, sometimes, unethical practices may be incorporated during communication without
necessarily resulting in anything illegal. For instance, a scenario where a nurse uses a
technical term to describe the irreversible fate of the patient without letting the patient know
what they mean during ward rounds. This is common in terminally ill patients before they are
informed of their state to allow them to prepare for their eventuality, such as stage 4 cancer
patients. This communication aspect is unethical in suppressing the veracity principle to
uphold nonmaleficence (Ellis, 2020). It is the task of the nurses to ensure they offer
healthcare services in an ethical manner
This scenario raises the question of whether it is ethical to withhold critical patient
information until it is seemingly necessary to share it with the patient. The patients have a
right to know their condition, prognosis, and the type of care they expect to receive. Using
technical terms only known to the healthcare providers during ward rounds means the patient
is uninvolved in their progress report. This should not be the case, as nursing should involve
the patient in their care (Johnson & Rulo, 2019). Using technical terms, however, may be
unavoidable during the ward rounds. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the nurse to explain

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to the patient their prognosis and the type of care they expect using understandable language.
This is the most ethical thing the nurse can practice in an event where technical terms cannot
be avoided.

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References

Ellis, P. (2020). Understanding ethics for nursing students. SAGE Publications.
Johnson, J. E., & Rulo, K. (2019). Problem in the profession: How and why writing skills in
nursing must be improved. Journal of Professional Nursing, 35(1), 57–64.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2018.05.005
Mills, G. H., & Walter, J. A. (2018). Technical writing. Holt Rinehart and Winston.
https://modps71.lib.kmutt.ac.th/xmlui/handle/123456789/127