Medical Transcription Success: What is your Best Tip?
Today I want us to take a short break from the ABCs column and share with each other. Think back to those days when you were getting started in medical transcription for a minute. What things did you do that led to your success?
I remember my “notebook” that I created when I first started doing medical transcription. I had a page for every letter of the alphabet, and I wrote words in there that I always had to look up. Now remember those were the days before word books! 
What I did was create my own specialized word book that focused on words I struggled with. That book carried me through many years of transcribing, and I often referred to it.
On the job front, I remember searching for that first job. It was persistence that got it. I didn’t have any experience and I just knew I wanted to do medical transcription. I actually think I got my first job because the transcription supervisor at the hospital just got tired of me asking and hired me to shut me up. At the time, I was working in the emergency room at the hospital and wanted to transfer to medical transcription. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today I would say learn to use your technology. It is so important to success. Be sure you have a good abbreviation expander and learn to maximize it for building your productivity. I cannot imagine having to actually type every word when transcribing, it just isn’t the most production way to do it.
What about you? Each of you has something to share that’s a good tip or a walk down memory lane for what you did that made a difference for YOU. If you’ve never made a comment, today is your day to do so! Hit that comment button and share your best tip with others! I will look forward to it.
Related posts:
- Medical Transcription Productivity: Tips for Success
- Medical Transcription: What’s Your Best Tip?
- Medical Transcription: What’s in a Line?
- Medical Transcription – What is your Vision for the Future?
- Medical Transcription: E is for Embracing Change
Filed under: Goals • Professional Development • Technology
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When I was starting out, I also created a list of every word or phrase I had to look up. I put these in alphabetical order and created my own MT “dictionary.” I also created a separate listing for drugs (with its generic if mentioned in the same report). Autocorrect and a word expander program is imperative for productivity. How about a mini-course on InstantText or other expander program?
Another valuable hint is to network and often and wherever possible! You can learn SO much and possibly even find employment leads.
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Kathy Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Great point, Shirley. I hadn’t thought of a separate list for drugs, but it sure makes sense. Hmm, now you have me thinking about another course on expanders in general!
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One strategy I learned early on in life served me well when entring the MT field, and that is to be flexible. Be flexible in accepting that some things you thought you knew are wrong. Those “oh my” moments don’t ever stop. Things you were so sure about, were told by someone some time, read somewhere … are all subject to change. You need to embrace the new lessons and go with the flow. The other reason to be flexible is that most employers will only take a chance on a “newbie” if that person is willing to work some odd hours for coverage. Many organizations struggle with tight turnaround times, and that means someone willing to fill a particular need by working weekends, or third shift, or split shifts can sometimes get that foot in the door. And your technology changes are a given. You need to be open-minded and flexible as you encounter new systems and new looks for old systems. Yep, flexibility is really important.
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Kathy Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Crystal, that is SO true! If we aren’t flexible, this field quickly does us in. Flexibility is a key to life in general, and even more so here.
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I also went the route of the notebook. However, one thing I also remembered was that any reference books I purchased were tax deductible as business expense. I worked for one company who notified all of the MTs (all independent contractors) of a VERY nice discount we could take advantage of to buy new Stedman’s word books. Needless to say, although I didn’t have a fantastic income at the time, my husband made enough money to cover our household bills and I was able to get a really nice reference library started (beyond what I already had due to the course I had taken). To this day, I make more use of my Stedman’s Surgery Words, Medical & Surgical Equipment Words, my Quick Look Drug Book, and my Medical Abbreviations book (Neil M. Davis) than all of the others combined.
The other thing I’ve done is to sign up for the free publication “ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals.” There are lots of good articles, listings in the back for job openings, information on new terminology/procedures/equipment, humor, and good general information on the field of medical transcription. It’s definitely a good thing to do!
Sherry Evans
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Something I have lived by for all of my life (not just pertaining to MT but definitely applies since our work environment and skills need to be ever changing):
If I don’t learn at least three new things today, I have wasted a day!
As technology changes, new diseases are identified, new cures are found, new equipment is used, our work world is going to keep changing–be open to learning new things all the time and you’ll do well. If you are stubborn enough to believe that “what was right in the past will still be right 1000 years from now,” you are probably in for a rude awakening. Also, remember that “he/she who signs your paycheck MAKES THE RULES,” no matter what you learned in school!
Sherry
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Kathy Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Good point, Sherry. I think the fact that we learn something new every day in this field is part of the attraction. I hate for my mind to be stagnant and not learning new things.
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pardon the error “autocorrect and word expander program” IS… should be ARE. Another tip: Proofread, proofread, proofread. lol
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I would recommend Instant Text to anyone and everyone! It is awesome! My tip would be to invest time in learning everything you can about your specific expander and macro programs. I stay late at the hospital or come in early to experiment with IT and learn as much as I can. I know I’m not getting paid for that time, but I consider it an investment in productivity. Don’t be afraid of your expander program – jump in with both feet – master it, personalize it, and have it serve YOUR needs. Ever since I began MT, I have asked myself this question several times a day: Is there a better/faster/more accurate way to do this? Then I figure out how!
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I would LOVE a course on maximizing the use of my expander! Great suggestion!
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Kathy Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 9:53 am
I think that’s a great idea as well as it is one that really makes a difference. Stay tuned!
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Instant Text and practice!!!! The more I transcribed, the easier it became so grit your teeth and bear with the difficult dictations. After enough of them, they will be easier and easier.
IT is a life saver as well. I absolutely love it and use it regardless of the expander programs provided by the companies I have worked with. Every word I look up goes into IT so I will have it for next time.
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Microsoft Office OneNote! Absolutely love it. A place to store notes, word lists, references. Keep that up on your screen when transcribing to reference when you hit a roadblock.
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Kathy Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 7:59 am
Sonya, I’m going to have to look into that. I’ve never used that one before. Thanks for the tip!
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FYI
If you are looking for an easy to use word expander software for windows. Please give “Rocket Typing” a try.
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Kathy Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
I haven’t used that before. Anyone else?
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Yes Kathy, One Note is awesome. It take a little work to set it up and organize like you would like. But once it’s organized you’ll never turn back. You can scan, print to, copy into…etc. I have set tabs up for each specialty, and then specific notes, pictures, vocabulary, websites on different tabs within each specialty. I have appendixes and glossaries to certain books scanned in to references, a tab for drugs, a tab for sample reports, my own scratch notes, and the list goes on and on. Then when I am transcribing all I have to do is have One Note up along with what I am typing and I can just click on the tab I need to research all in one place. I’m still learning it, there’s so much. You have to have a full day to begin setting it up. That’s the hardest part, after that it’s a cinch.
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Kathy Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
You know, Sonya, that sounds like a perfect topic for a guest post here!
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Just wondering if anyone else has some useful tips. Sound quality when listening to dictations? Keeping up with research and speacial wordlists, or checklist of…,etc. Trying to set up my office in such a way that I have everything at my fingertips. Newly enrolled in a course, however have been around the medical field practically half my life. Just new to MT. Thanks for the input.
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Kathy Reply:
May 14th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Sonya, I found my “notebook” very helpful when I started transcribing. I got a regular notebook and set up a page for every letter of the alphabet. On those pages, I would write words I struggled with that it seemed I always had to look up. In the end, I ended up with a cool word book developed just for me with things I had trouble remembering! I kept that notebook handy for years. As for keeping up with new things, network and continue your education. If you have an AHDI chapter close to you, that’s a great way to do both. If not, things online where you can continue your education and also network with folks are good. As you go through your program, be sure you are looking everything up and understanding the meaning of words and not just memorizing how they are spelled. It’s important to understand meaning as so many words sound alike and not knowing their meaning could lead you to putting the wrong word in a report, which could be really bad for the patient. That’s my two cents’ worth this morning after only one cup of coffee, now I must get more!
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My best tip is to put every drug you type into your word expansion program. I start each entry with an “x” (because it is a little used letter)and then name the drug phonetically, i.e. “Norgesic” is named xnrjsk. It is time consuming to get it started but it really pays off.
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