Fountain Pen

Off all effects created by fountain pen, none is more eye-catching than that created by ink spillage on a white shirt.

Since I started using fountain pen over ten years ago, I came across time and again the creepy experience of wearing a white coat stained with black ink. Never shall I forget the embarrassing story which reminds me of - oh, say - say the Persian Gulf War oil spillage. I was trying to examine my patient yesterday morning, with medical students around. Before I put my hand on the patient's tummy, I noticed my dirty looking fingers stained with Waterman black ink. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, a cursory glance at my white coat pocket showed another messy ink stain. I shrugged; probably I blushed. Uh-oh.

The stubborn ink stain is not pleasant - how could it be? - but it never deters me from being a fan of fountain pens. And, oh, yes, you thought it was nuts at first, and even more so for nurses who found a drop of water falling upon my handwriting in ink. But it has made a heck of difference in how I found my footprints in the patient record. It takes more than a standard template on the computer screen (in this age of electronic medical record) to keep track of the patient story. Patient story on a computer screen is emotionally dead, that's the crux of it. If you put the story in ink, you will be surprised at how much you will remember when you look back at the handwritten record. By surprised, I mean amazed; and by amazed, I mean stunned and impressed.