Recommend me a pen

I recently started my first real job which requires a lot of writing. I am a nurse practitioner and I am constantly writing patient notes, orders, etc... I am interested in trying a fountain pen around $50 but I am not sure what exactly I should be looking for.

Some details about me: I tend to write quickly because of the workload I have and I have to write in small spaces on some charts. What I am more concerned about is that some of the charts and medication orders I write in have carbon copies. Is it safe to say that the fountain pen won't be very successful on this type of paper?

Any help is appreciated!

not sure where you work but at the hosp I worked at fountains pens, gel pens, etc were a no, no. only black ballpoint pens. the last few years less and less is written most stuff is put directly into the computers. Doc's all carry something tablets

The only concern I have is if I can bring my pen into work. I provide primary care and urgent care at a prison; many items are contraband and can't be brought into the facility. The State has yet to implement EMR and tablets are way,way, way down the road. Writing it is!

Esterbrook made a stiff nib designed for writing on forms with carbon copies, so a fountain pen should be fine if you get a firm nib. One that comes to mind would be a Lamy Nexx with a converter. Use Noodler's permanent black ink with it, and make sure you get a fine nib. You can press a little more firmly on that nib without fear of damaging it. The grip is rubbery and comfortable, and it's a cheap enough pen that if you lose it (or it walks off), you won't lose sleep over it. They're great writers for little money. Bear in mind that someone will eventually ask to borrow your pen, and most folks will be put off if you hand them a fountain pen.

I had a high-strung boss (company owner) who ran into my cubicle one day and grabbed the first pen he saw, which was my Pilot Vanishing Point. It took him a second to figure out which was the business end and how to get the nib exposed. I quickly told him it was a fountain pen, hoping he would give up, and that worked... sort of. He slammed the VP down on the desk and said, "Hell, give me a real pen, will ya." This guy's in his 40's and has probably never touched a fountain pen. Like a lot of folks, I'm sure he has the "inferior, antiquated thing that will leak all over me" view of fountain pens.

That said, the most convenient fountain pen you could use would be a Pilot Vanishing Point with fine nib. It's a clicker-style, capless fountain pen, so you can use it with one hand without worrying about dropping or losing a cap. Those are spendy, though.

Personally, I'd go with a Zebra F-301 Stainless Steel Ballpoint Pen. If you need to write quickly, fountain pen ink likely won't dry fast enough, and you may end up smudging it, especially if you shuffle stacked papers around or flip sheets back and forth on top of one another on a clipboard. This is one of the few instances where a ballpoint may be the best option for you. They're refillable, and for me, they're nice enough that I always make sure I know where mine is. I've never lost the one I bought ages ago. I hate disposable pens (well, disposable anything really). Just make sure you don't lose it, lest it get turned into a shiv.

A fountain pen may better fit into your daily life for making the grocery list and corresponding with friends and family (birthday and holiday cards, etc.). Try using one at home first, then decide if it will do for work.

-Andy

I'm a clinical pharmacist, and I also do a lot of chart writing. I carry two pens - a ballpoint for grab & scribble, and a fountain pen for writing orders, progress notes, and other things where I actually sit and write for a bit. My usual carry pen is a Hero 616 that I've fine-tuned a bit. It writes surprisingly well for a $1.40 pen, and won't kill me if I lose it - I've got six more at home. Noodler's Black is a must for me, as I want absolute permanence in medical records.

andrew98 said:

Personally, I'd go with a Zebra F-301 Stainless Steel Ballpoint Pen. If you need to write quickly, fountain pen ink likely won't dry fast enough, and you may end up smudging it, especially if you shuffle stacked papers around or flip sheets back and forth on top of one another on a clipboard. This is one of the few instances where a ballpoint may be the best option for you. They're refillable, and for me, they're nice enough that I always make sure I know where mine is. I've never lost the one I bought ages ago. I hate disposable pens (well, disposable anything really).
-Andy

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+1

I always carry in my pocket the compact version of the F-301. It is a fine point and writes really well. Another option, although I haven't tried it is the F-701, an all-metal version with a stainless steel barrel.

andrew98 said:

Bear in mind that someone will eventually ask to borrow your pen, and most folks will be put off if you hand them a fountain pen.

I had a high-strung boss (company owner) who ran into my cubicle one day and grabbed the first pen he saw, which was my Pilot Vanishing Point. It took him a second to figure out which was the business end and how to get the nib exposed. I quickly told him it was a fountain pen, hoping he would give up, and that worked... sort of. He slammed the VP down on the desk and said, "Hell, give me a real pen, will ya."
-Andy

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I had a similar recent experience with my wife. She was somewhat frazzled, doing multiple things at once, and probably prone to irritability. I was signing a birthday card, handed the pen to her at her request so she could add some words and her name. She started to write, I think not noticing that it was a fountain pen, became instantly frustrated, and slammed the pen down, splattering ink on the card.

P.S.
She's OK with it now. She likes to tease me some about using an antiquated pen, but she gets some enjoyment out of it.


This has pretty much blown over, but for a while this was a sore point and I felt that fountain pens were a delicate subject and didn't talk much about my newly acquired interest.

Probably best not to hand someone a fountain pen who seems to be in a rush, but if you must do so, make sure to point out that it is a fountain pen.

For ball points it is hard to beat the price on the Zebra F-301. I like the Parker Jotter due to the size of the refills and for me it is at a price point where loosing it wouldn't be a hardship. I really don't loose pens.

For the last . . . almost 30 years . . . I've used an HP 12C calculator that uses reverse polish notation. Now with fountain pens . . . nobody is going to want to borrow anything from my desk. I do keep a jar of Werther's on my desk for visitors. (and I do keep a simple calculator in my desk drawer for the non geeks)

Bruins4 said:

I recently started my first real job which requires a lot of writing. I am a nurse practitioner and I am constantly writing patient notes, orders, etc... I am interested in trying a fountain pen around $50 but I am not sure what exactly I should be looking for.

Some details about me: I tend to write quickly because of the workload I have and I have to write in small spaces on some charts. What I am more concerned about is that some of the charts and medication orders I write in have carbon copies. Is it safe to say that the fountain pen won't be very successful on this type of paper?

Any help is appreciated!

Click to expand...

I would not recommend a fountain pen, inks behave differently in papers. on some papers the ink writes very well other times it may feather quite bad. I would hate for you to get in some kind of trouble over this at work. If you still insist on getting a fountain pen get something with a fine nib, also get Noodlers bullet proof black. on anti feather ink.

I also write checks and the carbon copy looks fine

Lamy...a superb writing implement..(in fact I prefer it to my Mont Blanc)..and you haven't lost a fortune if it gets "misplaced"...I too do a lot of writing and its a joy to use.

Altair said:

I would not recommend a fountain pen, inks behave differently in papers. on some papers the ink writes very well other times it may feather quite bad. I would hate for you to get in some kind of trouble over this at work. If you still insist on getting a fountain pen get something with a fine nib, also get Noodlers bullet proof black. on anti feather ink.

I also write checks and the carbon copy looks fine

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Cheque altering is mostly done as to the payee and the amount. The few cases it has been done for cheques I've signed I have been amazed at how obvious the alteration has been which has led me to be highly suspect of collusion/collaboration of bank employees in the crime. If you are in business . . . of a size to have many cheques cashed each week I highly recommend a daily bank reconciliation and a review of cashed cheques as soon as they are returned from the bank. The banks do take responsibility for these problems but only if you catch them and point them out. There are time limits.

I haven't had any problems with any company checks being altered, we've been around for 20 years. Al though I have written a check for a rebate to a customer and one of our old sales reps tried to deposit it into his account. That didn't materialize because our checks can only be paid to the person they're made out to. I will check with the bank for a daily reconciliation. Although I do go online and check on the account every few days.

Thanks for the tip

Bruins4 said:

The only concern I have is if I can bring my pen into work. I provide primary care and urgent care at a prison; many items are contraband and can't be brought into the facility. The State has yet to implement EMR and tablets are way,way, way down the road. Writing it is!

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My Mom works in a prison in California and fountain pens are forbidden for prisoners or employes because the prisoners will use them for tattoos.