As a child, and now as an adult, I've always wondered why doctors have such poor handwriting. Perhaps it's just those doctors I've come to know, but there appears to be a pattern. It seems though, that as you acquire more education, your handwriting becomes worse. Having myself spent nearly a quarter century in school, my handwriting is also virtually indecipherable, much worse than it was during highschool. Of course I have no scientific evidence to support this claim, but it shows that handwriting is not a necessary characteristic of good writers.
All doctors have to be proficient writers to become doctors.
Nowadays, in institutions of higher education very little handwriting is done. Most writing is done on a computer. As a result, keyboarding skill has come to replace handwriting. While handwriting is still a valuable skill, it's emphasis in early writing instruction as a necessary writing skill may be misconceived. If a young writer continues to show poor handwriting, teaching keyboarding skills may be a better alternative than remedial handwriting instruction.