Proofreading as you go

There is really no tried and true way of proofreading...it's all in what is comfortable for you. No snippiness here just the facts:

Fill your Expander with as many phrases and hard to spell words but I'm sure you already know this.

Keep your dictation speed at a comfortable level. I keep mine at 7 which is a nomal speed and if the doc/dictator is talking too fast slow down to 6. This enables me to sort of keep up with the dictation. I slowed down my dictation which was up to about a 9 and I actually got more work done and a better accuracy rating on my QA review.

As you expand your phrases and words, look to make sure that it expanded right. Many, many mistakes can be made when you expand what you think it is and it is realy something else; case in point: You think that CTS = carpal tunnel syndrome but comes out CT scan. So, just take a quick look to make sure it expanded right.

Take advantage of pauses in dictation - don't fast forward or speed up. Use that time to go over the previous 2 sentences or whole paragraph for punctuation and any wrong words will POP out at you. Believe me this really does work! If there are no pauses, stop typing and do a 'quick scan' over the last paragraph. It doesn't take long at all. Scanning is surely an art but after weeks of practice, I have it down to a science. If you feel uncomfortable with it at first practice, practice, practice by 'scanning' the whole report (not reading mind you) after you are finished but only do this for about a week and I am tell you you will get good at it.

Pay very close attention to critical areas where major mistakes can be made such as drug dosages and diagnoses. Short reports should be a breeze to proof as you go but it is the long reports like H&Ps and DS's that need this special attention.

Remember it is better to at least scan the report as you go or at the end if you can't seem to get a grasp on the proof as you go thing than to not do anything at all! It's like driving a car or flying a plane - you have to have that peripheral vision but it only develops with practice. Good luck and I hope this has helped you!

Carol

• How do you proofread as you type? - Alexa Hoover
  • Proofreading as you go - Carol
  • Here's how - Mari
  • This is an issue of an MT not having confidence in her abilities. You can proofread while you SM - MissouriMT
  • I dunno, don't you see the words that you are typing? Can't you see mistakes that way? - sm
    • seems a little *helium* involved in this response..sm - nn
      • Nothing snitty or helium-ish, just saying that's what I do and unsure why others don't do it - sm
        • it sounded pretty snitty to me..sm - nn
      • I do the same. I am constantly looking at the screen while listening and transcribing. sm - Not at all
  • I know, don't understand it either! - sm
  • What I do is... - ABC
  • I'm as mystified as you are...sm - MTmom-of-4
  • Take advantage of... - mac
  • I just do it with......... - Ruth
    • Use your expander for common phrases. - Misha

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