Mexico Medical Student |

On my TabletPC, I downloaded a little “powertoy” that does a handwriting analysis based on a penned phrase. I was honest; I did not change my writing at all, but I did have to rewrite the sentence twice because my writing was so bad it couldn’t “find” a particular word.

I know my handwriting is not the best and I know that doctors get all sorts of [deserved] holy hell for their writing, but I think I can help assure some of the non-medical readers that, at least in my case, medical school didn’t ruin my writing–it was already that way.

That said, I kind of like my handwriting, when it’s as legible as you see here. Most of the time, unfortunately, I have to go “huh?” when looking at my own paper notes. My biggest, #1 problem is that I have a tendency to write smaller and smaller to (I suppose) economize time. The TabletPC forces you to write larger, since miniscule wiggles of the stylus pen won’t exactly cut it on the screen, so while Niels and others feel strongly that TabletPCs are bad for medical education, more many, many reasons, I like having mine.

So here is the report [with my comments]:

Handwriting Analysis Tool for Tablet PC Results

Attitude
You have a neutral attitude about your future. You neither procrastinate nor hurry. You enjoy physical and hands-on activities.

Mental Abilty
You learn slowly, by repetition. You begin with the most fundamental parts, skip nothing, and do not jump around. [This is so wrong it's laughable. I think everyone learns best by repetition, but I most often learn on the run, am a quick learner, and usually am way ahead of the curve at understanding new concepts. My problem lies with the lack of focused discipline to cement it into place upstairs rather than simply understand it for the moment.] You make decisions very carefully. [True dat]

Communication
You keep your inner-most thoughts to yourself. However, you enjoy discussions and are receptive to other opinions. You can be deceitful to yourself. [I keep secrets from myself? Do I have MPD? Of course not. Yes, you do, shut up. No, you shut up...]

Goals
You set ambitious, long term goals, though sometimes vague. Fortunately, you have strong will-power, enthusiasm, endurance, and self-confidence, helping you to achieve those goals. [I'm in Mexico trying to be a doctor in my 30s while married and now having a kid...I think at least part of this is correct, except I definitely need more will-power.]

Self Image
You are confident and self-assured, and resultantly set ambitious, long-term goals. However, you are also sensitive to criticism and need approval.

Emotional
You are a cautious person who thinks carefully before acting. You keep feelings inside and do not express them openly, in order to protect yourself. However, you can be empathetic and sympathetic, and forgive and forget quickly. [I think anyone in class can tell you that I have no problem expressing myself. However, I am definitely sensitive to others' feelings, wondering if I upset someone, etc. by perhaps saying too much.]

Social Skills
You are a solitary person, and desire to work alone, and be alone most of the time. However, you do feel isolated sometimes. [Dead on. See my previous post about groups.]

Anyway, not bad for a little toy program. After seeing my scrawl, what comes to your mind (other than institutionalization )?