Pens For Docs

[nm4]

I rotate pens. Few of my pens are valuable enough that I lose sleep over damaging them, so most make it to work. An alcohol wipe seems sufficient/safe enough for most pens. If I go into a room where a patient has a bad bug (C.diff, etc.) I take a disposable BP. I also use disposable pens for patient consents.

 

For days when I perform procedures I usually bring a cheaper pen: Pilot 48G or Knight, Lamy Safari or Al-Star, Nemosine, Hero, Jinhao.

 

For days when I'm not performing procedures (ie I am wearing my coat most of the day) I will upgrade the list to include Pelikan M200s, Lamy 2000, Pilot Falcon, vintage pens with flex, custom ground nibs.

 

I don't take my MBs or Stipula to work - they're a little too special...and may give the wrong image to my patients.

 

Every day I carry a nicer pen I bring an Aston single pen case with me. It's a small case that folds flat in my white coat pocket but fits most of my pens snugly when needed.

 

Cheers,

NM

[amantadine]

It's been mentioned plenty of times but the Pilot VP is definitely the best pen I've used in the hospital. I've been through at least 2 of the carbonesque versions that haven't survived being dropped frequently. The matte black VP, however, seems indestructible (so far...). I always carry a biro around too, in case anyone asks to borrow my pen!

[mhphoto]

Perfect pen for a doctor? I'm going to out on a limb here...

 

Any fountain made-of or plated-with sterling silver. I know it's hard to imagine toting a Yard-O-Led or an especially ornate Waterman 52 around for casual use, but silver's stellar antimicrobIal properties scream "doctor pen" to me. I know there is a European-made solid copper ballpoint on the market. I have a copper Embasay Pen and a brass Render K, and I love them. I also take solice in the fact that they self-sanitize within several hours. Copper's antimicrobial nature is second only to silver's, and since I don't see any copper FP's being manufacturered at he moment, silver it is.

[ashwinsitaram]

I use a Parker Vector and a Vector Gold. I want to know which is a suitable permanent ink for use in the Vector. Records should be resistant to rain and spillage.

 

Montblanc midnight blue, Diamine Registrar's ink. i use both. excellent.

 

Where do you get your Diamine inks from? Are they available in India?

[hari317]

I use a Parker Vector and a Vector Gold. I want to know which is a suitable permanent ink for use in the Vector. Records should be resistant to rain and spillage.

 

Montblanc midnight blue, Diamine Registrar's ink. i use both. excellent.

 

Where do you get your Diamine inks from? Are they available in India?

I buy directly from Diamine in UK, they ship to India.

 

now some stuff is available in india itself

http://www.pensavenue.com/INKS&REFILLS/1

[Eyedoc]

You probably don't need more advice, but.... I have been on a similar quest, not wanting to sacrifice my love of using a fountain pen as a fine instrument despite the challenges of the medical work environment. I want the quality of that instrument for the note taking part of my day to be just as good as the quality of the instruments I use when performing ocular surgery. Reading your original post, I also agree with your desire for flexibility with a range of nibs.

 

So, to cut to the chase, I now carry a Pelikan M625 and a Pelikan Majesty 7001 along with 2 spare nibs of different sizes all together in a Pelikan patent leather pen pouch. Stainless steel construction, nibs as smooth and tough as anything I have ever come across and incredibly easy to change and clean nibs (both pens use the same size nibs, or any nib in the 600 size range). Then even if you drop the pen and the nib is ruined, you can simply get a new one!

[inkydoc]

Working mainly in an outpatient setting, my writing is limited to orders and requisitions, both one-sided forms. For this, I use my favourite pen, a Nakaya Piccolo with a M stub nib inked with J. Herbin PdL.

The occasional in-patient notes raises the issue of pen and ink selection to limit bleed-through. For this I tend to use my Edison Hudson with a 0.7mm Binderized CI nib inked with Noodler's Old Manhattan Black. I also use this pen to fill out forms where there are tiny spaces.

I also carry a Uni-Ball Signo 207 Rollerball pen for carbon copies or for lending to others.

[Frank C]

Perfect pen for a doctor? I'm going to out on a limb here...

 

Any fountain made-of or plated-with sterling silver. I know it's hard to imagine toting a Yard-O-Led or an especially ornate Waterman 52 around for casual use, but silver's stellar antimicrobIal properties scream "doctor pen" to me. I know there is a European-made solid copper ballpoint on the market. I have a copper Embasay Pen and a brass Render K, and I love them. I also take solice in the fact that they self-sanitize within several hours. Copper's antimicrobial nature is second only to silver's, and since I don't see any copper FP's being manufacturered at he moment, silver it is.

 

I appreciate this advice. I have been considering a Yard-O-Led for some time now. I have one of their pencils which I like. I have looked into the antimicrobial properties of silver in the past. I belong to a church that uses a common chalice and silver is the preferred material. Now I have an excuse to buy a Yard-O-Led!

[alc3261]

The Yard-O-Led Viceroy Barley Pattern is nicely understated.

[Eyedoc]

I had a disconnect when I replied in the wee-small hours of the morning. I said that the Pelikans were stainless steel when they are in fact sterling silver! (I couldn't get my mind away from surgical instruments - sad). So, one more vote, and a couple more options for sterling silver pens.

[Frank C]

The Yard-O-Led Viceroy Barley Pattern is nicely understated.

 

I was thinking of a Viceroy Grand Victorian, but the Barley is less flamboyant. I'm also thinking that it has fewer nicks and crannies to harbor bacteria etc. There is also a plain silver pen, but that may be too boring.

[mhphoto]

The Yard-O-Led Viceroy Barley Pattern is nicely understated.

 

I was thinking of a Viceroy Grand Victorian, but the Barley is less flamboyant. I'm also thinking that it has fewer nicks and crannies to harbor bacteria etc. There is also a plain silver pen, but that may be too boring.

 

Don't worry about the crannies, they're still silver and will quickly kill any bacteria that gets into them.

[NedC]

Special medical edition(s) of the Lamy nexx M—barrel & clip in either copper alloy or with Agion coating and a cap and grip in a silver infused anti-microbial plastic. The pen's form is already there, robust, not too likely to roll, replaceable nibs, integrates lanyard ring in the clip, largish but lightweight. You could double the price for the medical grade materials and it would still be a bargain—even more if you could write it off on your taxes;)

[mrchan]

It's difficult to disagree with the Lamy Safari being a good option as the giant clip makes it easy to peg onto anything. It's interchangeable nibs make a big difference when you can drop it and change it.

On the other hand, I don't think any pen'll come close to the smoothness of my Montblanc 146 with official Aurora black ink, so when I sit down to get some patient related paperwork done or I'm in clinic, that's when it comes out. Dropping pens are a big risk if using it during emergency situations so if you're handling a lovely writer, its your responsibility to keep it safe..

Otherwise, I also carry a Noodler's Ahab filled with my favourite Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki ink for the fun of it as I can doodle and flex around when certain situations start to make me lose interest.

Both pens are carried in a pen pouch that sits in my pocket so its safe from harm and falling out when leaning over.

[kenhsv]

I tend to be a brand snob and like fancy things. This has translated into the fact that i have spent a lot of money and have about 20 fountain pens.

 

After extensive trials with different pens, I mostly use some cheap Cross fountain pens that I bought at Staples during the Christmas season. They were on special for $20 each and came with a box of ink refills. Unfortunately, the ink cartridges don't last long, but they change out very quickly. Additionally, for about $5 you can get a converter and use about any ink (I prefer Noodlers blue black) in place of the little cartridges. But should you choose to use the cartridges, they are pretty cheap and readily accessible. The nibs were all medium, so I know this was a contributor to quicker need for cartridge replacement as compared to finer nibs.

 

I have several pens. A 'freebie' Noodlers that doesn't work at all, a couple of Waterman pens that are ok, several Omas (unenthusiastic but ok), a Mont Blanc (which was in the $1800 or so range), a Parker, Visconti, Montegrappa, and a few other scattered brands here and there. So, in short, I am pen poor.

 

But the $20 Cross pen is as acceptable as any others I have and preferred over my more expensive pens including my Mont Blanc. The pen is reasonably 'unmessy' which is remarkable because I am a leftie (even with the stock cross ink but I like the Noodlers for the fast drying properties). The nib is smooth. It writes on really good paper and really crummy paper (ie, dmv forms on crummy copy paper albeit with a little bit of feathering). Feed is a little on the wet side, so even when I'm in hurried chicken scratch mode the pen doesn't skip. And if I drop one (which I have), it's practically disposable, so a banged up nib goes in the trash. No major loss. And if perchance i run across someone really likes my pent, I can simply present it to them without any reservation.

 

Although they normally sell for $40, I stocked up and can't wait until next holiday season in hopes that there will be another Cross promotion. In case you thought Cross pens were American, these are outsourced from China. At any rate, as a daily pen, these are as good as any. I was only able to find these pens in medium nib, but this happens to be the nib I prefer. They come in a variety of colors mostly marketed as the 'Beverly'. I only bought a different Cross pen in a blue plastic finish and it didn't have the weight or durability of the metal ones. The only issue with construction is that one of the pens didn't cap very well; however, this appears to be an isolated incident.

 

Hope this helps !

 

Ken

[Pen Nut]

Joe:

 

What a lucky guy you are. How did you convince MR to be so nice. I can't tell you the number of hours I've sat in the Chief of Staff's Office or Clinical Director's office with Gary Russell-King, Chief MR, NNMC, discussing my infractions of Indian Health Service Policy. I am not allowed to colour code Sub Conjunctival Haemorrhages, Hyphema's, or Retinal Exudates and haemorrhages with red ink, on my sketches or notes. I am told, in spite of my demonstrations to the contrary, that red ink won't Xerox. The only ink you can Xerox is Black ink. Only Black Ink is allowed in official USPHS-IHS records. I am truly envious. I didn't know MR people could be so easy to work with. Jim

 

Why do a lot of people presume that as technology has advanced leaps and bounds over the past few years the copier/fax macine has remained as it was invented?

 

I had this debate with a "black ink only here as other colours cannot be photocopied" co worker some years ago and set off to the main office to run a few tests and guess what? Yes. . the multi user, and multi £, machine could do blues greens reds pinks and any other colour we could find. Amazing !

 

So when you say Xerox do you mean copy or fax and if the Xerox wont then return it to its museum as its not fit for purpose and buy one of the many that will.

[jimhughes]

This is the Government and Rules is Rules is what I was told by the Chief of Staff, Do what Medical Records asks...Please. Logic has no place in the government run facilities, IMHO. But then I have a reputation as a rule breaking troublemaker to uphold. I won't use a government issued Ball Point like everyone else does. Jim

[WOBentley]

There may be a new pen to test with the introduction of the new Wahl Eversharp Doctor Tribute pen...I have one on order and will report back. These are Skyline reissues and this one has both a caduceus and the Hippocrates oath engraved in the cap...I am retired from active practice but do some consulting work so this may be just the thing.

[Pen Nut]

This is the Government and Rules is Rules is what I was told by the Chief of Staff, Do what Medical Records asks...Please. Logic has no place in the government run facilities, IMHO. But then I have a reputation as a rule breaking troublemaker to uphold. I won't use a government issued Ball Point like everyone else does. Jim

 

:roflmho: Yes I will have that. Them 'rules' sometimes send you bonkers put trying to bend them can have negative results. Use a black pen. Its just easier.

[alc3261]

If I give in to Black, the next thing will be "You cannot use a Fountain Pen".

I have drawn a line........