When transcribing the typing tests, some students change the tenses to match.
The provider will dictate: The patient is here with his wife. He was very nauseous. The student will want to change the tense of “was” to “is” to match the first sentence. Although this does make sense normally, while transcribing the typing test it is not permissible.
Students must type verbatim.
Just a few odds and ends.
Most bacteria is italicized.
We do not use contractions such as can’t or won’t. Type out the whole thing, cannot; will not, etc.
If the dictator starts a numbered list in the assessment, impression, or plan and goes to the next item without saying the number, go ahead and type in the number.
If there are two numbers in a row such as twelve 4-0 Ethilon sutures, always have one of the numbers in digit format and the other one typed out. This helps to avoid confusion.
If the provider states an abbreviation, then type it as such, do not expand out. CABG would be typed just like that. Do not expand.
How do I know when to use lie versus lay? This is a question many medical transcriptionists, and actually the general population, have queried.
Lay requires an object and lie does not. Example would be “you lie down on the exam table” and “you lay the baby down”, with the baby being the object.
These, of course, are present tense. Past tense gets a bit trickier and we will cover that in a future article.
Medical Transcription at Home – Interviews
Interviews with medical transcription experts, instructors and students talking about medical transcription jobs at home and medical transcription training. Listen to Med Workshops’ series of Medical Transcription interviews.
This is a highly informative interview with the owner of a Medical Transcription company talking about productivity and how to make the most money in medical transcription.
Question – Please tell us a little about how a medical transcriptionist can maximize their earnings by working in the “zone”.
This interview is in MP3 format. Listen by using MP3, Windows Media Player or Real Player.
Some thoughts off the cuff…..I think one aspect of flexibility, though at first seemingly frustrating, can be turned around to be seen as a great challenge; almost fun. I know I may sound a bit naive, as I am “only” a student right now. I also do not mean to marginalize the issues of experienced MTs who have legitimate gripes in what can be a demanding job.
I am a strong believer in re-framing thoughts, feelings, etc., in our lives. It’s amazing how a different perspective can change everything. Instead of, “Why do all these accounts, doctors, etc., want everything done a different way; why so “nit-picky?”, say to yourself, “I can be the BEST at sorting all this out! I will make notes, reminders, and think up memory tricks, etc., until I have a way of transitioning between ALL the requirements, ALL the different dictators’ preferences as they want to “throw” at me!”
Student
Q: What do I do when I can’t understand at all what word a doctor is dictating?
A: When you are actually working you will have a log to note this on. When you cannot understand what is being said you will leave a blank such as this: The patient came in with a history of ___________ for two weeks.
Q: Having had lots of experience in writing, I become nervous when I review the preferred formats page on the Med Workshops site and in the first line, see this: “SUBJECTIVE: The patient is a 35-year-old female who complain of a cough for one week.”
Clearly, the word should be complains. Also, “one week” should be “1 week” per the MT Workbook. What should I do when dictation is grammatically incorrect?
A: Good catch. We change the medical transcription samples often. The doctor may dictate “complain” instead of “complains”. We use real-life sample reports. During your training you must transcribe verbatim. The “one week” is correct in this instance. I know I know! There can be two or more correct ways and this is the preferred way—- that’s life in Medical Transcription. We can’t change it. If you went through our program and didn’t experience these inconsistencies, we wouldn’t be introducing you to the real world; the work world. As the mother of Medical Transcription, Vera Pyle said, “there are often several acceptable ways to transcribe the same report”.
Q: When a date is dictated, “April one, two thousand nine,” I must type as dictated and not 04/01/2009 as I had thought. I saw the sample report in Med Workshops with that date format so it seems my assumption was wrong. When the dictator says the date numerically, “Four, one, two thousand nine,” that’s the only time I type it numerically as well (04/01/2009). Is my reasoning correct?
A: Your assumption is correct, you must type verbatim, including dates as dictated.
Band-Aid or band aid? Band-Aid is a trademark name and needs to be capitalized.
Q: I’ve seen several different rules and guidelines regarding punctuation while going through the course. Which one is correct? Why are different sources saying to punctuate things differently?
A: Punctuation won’t make or break your career as an MT. The reason is that it can be very subjective. It’s good to know the basics and then be flexible when you go to work with your future employer – they will determine “house rules” which override all other sources of information.
Stressing over punctuation and grammar too much is counter productive because there is no universal answer in many cases. There can be 2 correct answers or even more! It is a much better idea to move along more quickly and keep the Big Picture in mind; you don’t have to be perfect. The Big Picture goal is to be employed so you can use your flexible skills. You can use these quizzes to learn several ways of doing things. The AAMT Book is excellent and is our style bible, but it is trumped by House Rules. Many of our examples are taken from our employers. One of our objectives is to introduce you to the variety in Medical Transcription so you can adapt more easily once you are employed.