I’m simply relating what I was told by a long-term member of that particular college’s admissions staff. I was not about to debate the issue, or try to play Philadelphia Lawyer with that person when–in fact–causing that student to “learn” how to sign her name in cursive script was a useful life skill for her.
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When I have to sign one of those little electronic signature pads at a medical office, and I have remarked that my signature didn’t look like what I had tried to write, I have always been told something along the lines of…
Dont worry about it. Whatever you scrawl there counts as a signature.
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I keep telling my English teacher wife that I can’t read her cursive. Maybe it’s me. I’ll try to do better.
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Happy wife happy life. 
If they provide a stylus for an electronic signature I’ll provide a reasonable facsimile of mine. If I have to use my finger I don’t waste my time. Any old junk is fine.
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You could go to a pharmacy, and asks them what they think your wife’s note says. A pharmacist would have experience reading indecipherable physician handwriting.
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Only if they are “older”!
Most MDs have been doing online prescribing for quite a few years. My current pharmacist looks like she is ~16 years old, but I’m sure that she must be at least a few years older in order to have earned her Pharm.D. She opened her pharmacy a couple of years ago, after her affluent parents financed the venture for her, and it is likely that she has never seen an Rx in paper form.
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I have a niece who’s a pharmacist. Works for one of the big chains. Only a handful of universities across the country off this degree. Right out of college, the starting salary is over $100,000/yr.
Like many other people, I used to get my prescriptions from one of the big chains.
I won’t say which one, but their name begins with a “C”, and it ends with an “S”. 
The waiting time at their local store was always ridiculously long, and they actually screwed-up my prescription a couple of times.
Then, a new indy pharmacy opened a few blocks away, and the difference is amazing. Quick service, no screw-ups, and I have the satisfaction of supporting a local small business.
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That’s a tragedy.
When folks no longer study or know how to write - in cursive or otherwise, as a society we are in deep 
!
I say it IS needed. The service writer couldn’t read the maintenance request because he wasn’t taught cursive.
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If I’m dropping off my car for service, every time I type out a letter on a computer, with my name, contact info, the make model , color, and mileage of the car, the scope of the work I want done, and any foibles or minor things that I think that they need to be aware of. One copy goes in the dropbox, another copy is in the passenger seat. If the shop is doing me a solid, by working me in, or allowing me to supply my own parts. I also leave a box of donuts.
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Include this at the bottom for the mechanics that can’t read it:
I do the same thing if I’m using professional services. Heard every time that they appreciated my information…
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Since this has taken a turn from service writers who cannot read cursive to pharmacist who can or cannot read cursive so they can prepare a medication reminds me of the Movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
In the following excerpt, George (as a young boy…) realizes Mr. Gower, the Druggist, in his grief of learning that his son died, mixed up some medication with poison (at 1:02…), George does not deliver the medication and when Mr Gower learns this, he slaps George in the side of his head (at 3:30… you can see the blood coming from his ear… which ultimately causes George to be deaf in that ear…). When George is finally able to explain, Mr. Gower tastes the medication and realizes he did mis-mix the medication and it would have killed the patient. Mr. Gower then apologizes to George and hugs him…
Well, I have a Cat (my avatar photo…) who needs heart medication and our Veterinarian sent me to a drug store that would make the compounded medication for my cat. The druggist asked me if I wanted it flavored. I said, “What???” and the druggist said I could have it fish or chicken flavored. Well, my cat loves chicken and that’s what I ordered.
When I came back to pick up the order, I jokingly asked if it’s white or dark meat. He said he didn’t know so I shook the bottle, placed my finger over the opening and wet my finger tip and tasted it…
I choked out, “Holy S–t, what is this stuff, it tastes just like S–t…” The druggist looked at me with astonishment and said, “That’s not for you…” I told him that I wasn’t taking it, I was tasting it and I told him if there’s any chicken taste here it’s what comes out the back end of a chicken…
I asked him if he ever tasted it and he said with a big smile on his face, “I’m not crazy…” 
Well, I drove back home in my vehicle (car analogy…) and found out that the cat and I have similar taste and we agree, it tastes like chicken excrement… 
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Actually I can’t remember the last time I got a hand written prescription to take to the pharmacist. It’s usually typed on the computer and wired to the pharmacy. The pharmacist is from india anyway. Has pretty good English but don’t know about his ability to read cursive.
Now just because this place has been very light in traffic lately, I’ll go on. I’ve had a couple days to ponder this whole issue and I like to trace things back to the starting point to discover why something was adopted. So I have been studying ancient western civ back to the time of stone tablets and advancing to written documents in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. There were no bic pens and I suspect it would have been difficult to print long manuscripts with a quill pen or feather. Thus cursive where stops and starts were minimal. Maybe I should just google it but you can’t depend on internet accuracy either.
At any rate, I’m just thinking in modern times with computers and typing, it is far faster to type than hand print or use cursive. Also fewer errors unless using apple that corrects everything you type. So I’m kinda coming down on the side of it being a dying form of communication that has outlived its usefulness unless you are a general sending combat orders. But even these are typed and transmitted now. I have found using a magnifying glass helps me to decipher what I have written to myself in cursive.
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@Bing, you might be interested in the non-fiction book, “The Bookseller of Florence”. Part of the story involves the transition in technology from scribes hand-copying books to the first moveable-type printed books.
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May be but I can only retain so much. I have been kinda feeling sorry for the monks though that had to copy the books by hand. Early to bed, early to rise. I feel better just going back as far as the printing press, then the cotton gin, and electric starters on fords.
I guess I was a little off according to the internet and the history channel. Who knew there was a national handwriting day though? Maybe it will not be lost. At any rate you can’t believe everything you read. Right at the top they refer to the fall of Rome. This is long term disinformation from lazy historians. As the professor explains, Rome did not fall but went through centuries of controlled transition. Big bang theory next.
Although I use a computer keyboard or cell phone keypad to type most of my written communications and long ago became proficient at doing even creative poetry writing via keyboard (instant editing is great that way!), I still like to handwrite letters in cursive fairly often. Recipients are often delighted to get an old-fashioned missive.
To keep this car related… I learned here in the forum to print out complete but succinct info regarding my car service requests and pertinent info when taking my car in for any service. One copy for the service writer, second copy for the mechanic. It has proven to be quite appreciated by every mechanic so far. Kudos to you folks here in the forum for teaching me that.
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