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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   1266 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for March 26, 2025

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

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Anyone hate their signature, or is it just me?

Well, hate is a strong word, but I see people penning all kinds of fancy scrawls, while mine is just initials in cursive with a small flourish. Even the other variant on some legal documents is an initial and surname in the same.

This can be convenient. God knows most professions don't need to sign their names nearly as often as medics do.

I suppose I could change it, if I really wanted to. I'm just put off by the mild logistical headaches I might face if someone asks me why existing samples on various documents don't match what I put elsewhere.

I'm just put off by the mild logistical headaches I might face if someone asks me why existing samples on various documents don't match what I put elsewhere

As is the doctor classic, my signature is so bad that nobody can forge it...not even me. It has never caused problems.

I've had a boss insist I start putting initials next to mine, on the paper drug charts. To be fair, he said that to the other doctors too. Fortunately, the facility has just been dragged kicking and screaming into the information age. With wifi working, I can finally prescribe electronically.

paper drug charts

plz no. I thought I had escaped

My signature is merely my name (first, abbreviated middle, last) in ordinary cursive. I personally like how the capital letters look, but it does perhaps take a few seconds longer to write than would be ideal.

My dad is a doctor, and his signature is allegedly his initials but is really just a sort of loopy squiggle that he can write quickly. It's distinctive so it's not like it needs to have legible letters I suppose; my own signature is also pretty much just a squiggly line with a passing resemblance to my name (to me, anyway: according to my fiancée nobody would ever identify the letter parts of the squiggle without me explaining what they are). When I was younger it more closely resembled actual letters but has smoothed/devolved over time. It's probably more consistent now than it ever was when I was trying to actually "write" it versus "drawing" it, if that distinction makes sense. I rather like it, personally. It's satisfying to quickly swoosh it out on a restaurant bill or the like.

How's your handwriting in general? I have never met a practicing doctor with good handwriting -- as best as I can tell that stereotype is very much based in fact. I suspect many doctors begin with a recognizable signature and then it devolves as they get used to writing it faster and faster, the same as their handwriting seems to inevitably deteriorate over time.

My handwriting? Average for a normal person. Good by doctor standards! It's usually clear and legible, if not ornate, but you can tell that by the end of a long day and work it's devolving into something you can interpret as an ECG.

It's probably more consistent now than it ever was when I was trying to actually "write" it versus "drawing" it, if that distinction makes sense. I rather like it, personally. It's satisfying to quickly swoosh it out on a restaurant bill or the like.

Sounds appealing. I'm fond of the aesthetic of whipping out a fountain pen and just going for it haha.

you can tell that by the end of a long day and work it's devolving into something you can interpret as an ECG

Ha! Yeah, give it a few years and I bet you'll be illegibly scribbling with the best of your field.

I'm an engineer but I've noticed my own handwriting deteriorate a bit compared to when I was in school, just from having to write fast to take notes during meetings and site visits. I have to consciously change how I write if I expect someone else to read it now.

I remember my dad making a big deal about me "choosing a signature" the first time I got a debit card or something and had to sign it, saying that it would stick with me for the rest of my life. I've not always liked the one I picked then, but I've made my peace with it and even been complimented once.

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