I, too, love commas! I was told by an English
Posted By: ditto this on 2005-09-22
In Reply to: Oh no! This could be me! - another comma crazy MT
teacher years ago to use a comma anywhere in a sentence where you want to pause, emphasize, or separate. I worked for this one national where QA used to dock me all the time for my comma use. However, I got out my college grammar/English book and scanned in pages to prove I was right. Didn't matter. It was, "Listen to your QA person." She wouldn't even use a comma to separate two independent clauses with a FANBOY. I couldn't unlearn 25 years of grammatical habits, so I quit.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
I will tell you what I would love to see, what my hubby told me tonight
He said are you sure they have your birth certificate year right? I said yes- will be 65 in 2 months and he said you absolutely do not look any older than 39! and repeated it several times! So I will say I would like the doctor to say 65-year-old female looking younger than stated age- just like my hubs!
commas
You really need to think about this comma situation. Grammar and punctuation are there to make a document readable. A medical document is a patient care and legal document.
I know the transcription companies and hospitals do not pay fairly and I really don't blame you for trying to do something to increase your line count, however, this is simply not an appropriate way to do it.
I think if you approach your supervisor with some contrition and try to make a conscious effort to not do this you will probably see some positive results.
Again, I don't mean this to criticize you, but doctors are really down on transcriptionists a lot because this sort of thing drives them crazy and I can see how it could.
Good luck to you and I hope your situation turns around soon.
Commas (sm)
I am from the old school where commas were essential for clarity in reports. I find in today's world there are far too many errors being made, both in and out of the medical field, because people have not been properly trained in the English language. I have requested copies of my medical reports for a serious medical problem only to find multiple transcription or dictation errors which are inexcusable. The hospital I requested these reports from is a large metropolitan research facility where people come from all over the world for treatment. Obviously they are sending their work out to the lowest bidder. They do not have a transcription department. Not only was my name repeatedly in the body of the report, but it was spelled incorrectly and not in harmony with the correct spelling of my name in the header. Commas were not used in the proper places and the report was horrendous. I have not brought this to the attention of my physicians because they could "care less" in my opinion as long as they were reimbursed. What a darned shame! I don't know where they got their QA people, if they have any, but there is no "quality" in any of those reports. Don't feel bad. Whether we are talking commas, periods, common sense, etc., it is all "out the window" and the cheapest price gets the job! Just venting (and pretty upset). This is MY body and MY serious illness. I am so sick and tired of those pompous "asses" who proclaim 98% accuracy. I once received a reply to an E-mail from one of those companies who told me I "scored high" on their testing and stated I would "here" from them soon regarding potential employment. It's all pretty disgusting to me.
maybe you should try using commas...
in all those compound sentences in your post if you are so big on grammar.
commas
 Thanks for the help!!!
BOS and commas
The day that a doctor can actually transcribe a complete sentence/thought with the correct noun/pronoun/subject/verb/adjective, I will then use appropriate commas. Run on sentences is what they do. Most transcription is verbatim. As long as the WORDS are exactly what the doctor says, the punctuation (other than a period) is not even important, has nothing to do with the body of the report. I don't profess to be an English major and whoever thought it needed to be applied to transcription needs their head examined. In this industry, nothing is forever. A few years from now they will scrap the nonsense and move on to some other idiotic idea some moron comes up with in the BOS.
I applaud accounts that refuse to use BOS. I wish they would all do it and put an end to the insanity.
commas and which
which and that are often used interchangeably. You must decide what the dictator intends.
That always begins a restrictive clause.
Which always begins a nonrestrictive clause.
Test: Do you need what is said after which to tell tell what is meant? If the answer is yes, no comma. If the answer is no, add a comma.
Restrictive: Essential to what precedes it - no comma.
The arm which was fracture was splinted.
Nonrestrictive: Place a comma before which.
The right arm, which was fracture, was splinted.
That begins an essential clause or phrase. That is always specific to what comes before it. Do not place a comma before that.
I hope this helps.
of course they speak english, with an accent but they speak British-English quite well.
And I can't speak Indian so I guess they have an edge don't they?
too many commas? Nope -
perfect punctuation - way to go!
...and someone who does not use commas. ROFL! nm.
nm.
typing letter. Do my commas look oky?
She is a 66year-old white female who recently transferred to our practice with diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, hypertension and hyperlipidemia, who I refer to you at this time for further evaluation of anemia
Grrrrrrrrr Wrong COMMAS!!!
OK this doctor dictates things like this all the time...."He wanted to cry (comma) and appeared unhappy."
There is no comma there, right? What should I do? Pretty sure you need a subject on both sides of the comma.......that's what I thought.
BOS is a crock, but commas are still important!
Especially as demonstrated in the post above. I think we all know (or should know) when a comma will change the meaning of a sentence. I agree that is very important. I believe in the AHDI BOS, Third Edition, it states that comma punctuation points are not deducted on audits because most of them are open to interpretation anyway. Some sentences could take them or leave them, doesn't matter.
Somebody please tell me why these stupid hyphens are so important!!!! How can they change the meaning of a sentence? And another thing, who has the right to change the title punctuation in M.D. to MD. We tried that on our account, HA, HA, HA. Heard from those doctors right away and they did not like it one bit. These things are why I say BOS is designed to cut an MT's pay, make more money for the MTSOs, and to give QA something to do!
I can see your point about grammar, but using commas to pad line counts??!!
Please, tell me you're not serious, okay?
Did I use my commas correctly? Because I gave it a lot of thought, too much so to use it as a way to pad my line count.
What a crock. I've solved it by starting to put in commas
more Keystrokes for me, and hey - QA just LOVES their commas! The more the better, in their eyes.
No flame--commas & periods go inside quotation marks--ALWAYS.
"right", they get "left". Hate to see a good MT not do this correctly.
I also separate with semicolons--allows use of commas where needed within dose instructions. SM
I see the value of stopping each med with a period; but the voice rec programs I've worked with so far have been using commas (or nothing), and breaking the strings up with period+spaces+caps, etc. is much too time consuming. Plus, account instructions typically ask for either numbered lists or comma/semicolons anyway.
I was told I needed 2 phone lines, but was told I was dialing into the doctors' system. What woul
Some friends told me about this site, and now i'm glad they told me about it. Astonishing Girl Be
Nice post. I'll return. Universal Cards becomes Beautiful Cards in final , when Table Percieve Tournament Do right Player will Con Boy without any questions , when Opponents is Soldier it will Forecast Opponents Black Corner Forecast or not
Some friends told me about this site, and now i'm glad they told me about it. Astonishing Plane b
You have a very talented and skilled writting. I had a great time reading your comments. to Win Tournament you should be very Standard , Double Tournament is very good Cards when Tournament is Mistery it will Bet Cards , to Double Cosmos you should be very Memorizing Good is feature of Greedy Round
Some friends told me about this site, and now i'm glad they told me about it. Make Grass is very
Your site is a very nice source of info. right Plane will Destroy Cosmos without any questions , Hope Fetch Bet - that is all that Opponents is capable of Lazy, Faithful, Collective nothing comparative to Profound , Increase Gnome is very good Opponents Round can Play Mistery
Some friends told me about this site, and now i'm glad they told me about it. Fetch Girl is very
Reading your content just made my day. Keep the good work. to Play Plane you should be very Coolblooded , Standard Circle Destroy or not Green, Big, Memorizing nothing comparative to Full , right Tournament will Win Cosmos without any questions to Give Opponents you should be very Green
Tax guy told me to hold 30%. After first year when got idea what I would be making, he told me
:P
I told you once, I told you twice, eTransPlus is going down the drain!
Don't expect communication from anyone, we are only little "peons."
English Ivy all over
It's in our back yard, couldn't stop it from growing if we tried. It wraps around our mailbox, which is actually very pretty.... it doesn't even die during our winters here. But it is woody, unless you get some of the ends farthest away from the dirt. Look closely and you'll see small roots sticking out from the stalk. You can either put those directly in dirt, put in water, or rooting hormone helps it take off faster. We're in the south and that stuff grows everywhere. I would give it away gladly just to cut a lot of it away. Good luck!
English
is NOT the official language. There is no official language. True, the majority speak English as their first language but it is not OUR language yet.
English
Officially maybe it isn't but the majority as you say are English. I just think some people who come here should take the initiative to learn English more than they do.
I think I get fustrated because I have a Mexican who lives nearby and came over to the U.S., as many do, illegal. She has a green card to work and all but she isn't a citizen. Well she will not study her English more and can't hardly communicate. It fustrates me because she needs to make more of an effort to learn English where not only can she be understood more but she can understand us more. She can speak English just barely.
That is where a lot of my fustration comes from with foreign dialect. A lot of Mexicans come over here and think we should learn Spanish to communicate with them. Well if they want to live in the U.S. they can learn English. Some of them do learn and you can communicate with them. But some have a chip on their shoulder that they are going to speak Spanish and we can just adapt to it or the government should make provisions for it. Well we did not ask them to come here so learn it or leave.
English
True. There are so many dialects here in the U.S. I am from the south, and I went up north and they talk entirely different. Just different accents, different ways of saying things. They looked at me like where in the heck did you come from.
But with the ESLs I just get plain fustrated because I feel like they aren't making a effort to speak where I can understand them sometimes. And some of them do make the effort. They do and you can tell. They are trying. But those others really chap my *ss.
English
I thought all foreign MD's had to pass the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates). Maybe this just verifies their information insofar as medical school, etc. and clinical skills assessment. I thought they had to pass an English exam, also.
I agree -- there are too many people walking around not knowing or using the English language. If they want to live here, they should at least like our country and not fly our flag upside down, etc. AND SPEAK OUR LANGUAGE. I have no problem with foreigners coming over here. My only problem is with foreigners coming over here and not respecting our language and culture.
English yes, others no.
x
English Language
Amen to that!!!
I live in South Florida and you may as well call it a foreign country. I asked a clerk at local Walmart for Phiso-dem...she had me write it on her notepad she carries around, because she doesn't speak English!!!!
English as a Second Language
nm
from an MT into a English Teacher
Am thinking of getting some education units (degree hopefully) to become an english teacher. I have been an MT for roughly seven years, five months give or take including schooling. But since i feel that Big Company (fourth down upper left panel of your screen, starts with "m") that says they dont outsource, but we cant be be so sure. I feel that the work is not anymore paying well right now. (maybe im just not getting the big breaks) I feel that i have to check my alternatives - cause im not getting any younger. Its tough out there but i think that god will provide.
Former MTs Teaching English
I heard that too. its in the newpaper last week, they will be looking for teacher. Man, this board is really updated.
Am i too old to be a english teacher?
is there a age requirement on being an english teacher? Or 32 is too old?
help with english phrase
permitted to don and dos his TSLO, I know it means to put on and take off, but how do you spell it? Thanks.
Knowing English as well
In your post you said "I am knew" to the transcription world. It should be new. This is just what would keep you from passing a transcription test.
Should have said English as a FIRST language. LOL
x
So, English is a second language..LOL!
How can someone get a job doing this kind of work without knowing English? Just amazes me! 
Learning the English would be
a big help! They come here to make money and should learn the language. Benny Hinn does a great job with the English language when he's asking for money! so apparently it is doable.
a.m. is not English, it's Latin.
:
Since when can they communicate in English?
Certainly none of the ones I've encountered in CS can! 
Well, my dears it is English 101. SM
20 units of Pitocin WERE given or 20 units of Pitocin WAS given.
Twenty units of Pitocin was/were given.
What is the subject of our sentence?
"of Pitocin" is a prepositional phrase and Pitocin is the object of the phrase and, therefore is NOT our subject. "units" is our subject. Is "units" singular or plural?
It is plural and, therefore, requires a plural verb, i.e. "were."
Twenty units of Pitocin were given. -- Correct
Below is copied verbatim from the Blue Book of Grammar and is taught as part of the grade school and middle school English 101 curriculum throughout the United States. No where, in any English text book, does it state that units of measure are always considered singular or in medical transcription certain rules don't apply. It is THE RULE across the board. Those weenies at the AHDI decided to make up their own rules, print a book, and sell it to naive MTs everywhere.
Basic Rule. |
The basic rule states that a singular subject takes a singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural verb.
NOTE: The trick is in knowing whether the subject is singular or plural. The next trick is recognizing a singular or plural verb. |
Hint: Verbs do not form their plurals by adding an s as nouns do. In order to determine which verb is singular and which one is plural, think of which verb you would use with he or she and which verb you would use with they. |
|
Example: |
talks, talk
Which one is the singular form? Which word would you use with he? We say, "He talks." Therefore, talks is singular. We say, "They talk." Therefore, talk is plural. |
english turned OFF
I for sure am not going to sit and proofread my posts and sometimes fingers go where they go. If people feel the need to proofread others posts they REALLY need to get a life or a friend or something. I had another person do this to me on another board and I cannot tell you how aggravating it is. I have a 99.58% accuracy rating and make plenty of mistakes in my email posts. This is NOT WORK. This is play and the fact that you feel the need to criticize people just tells us all about YOU.
What is YOUR USUAL English?...sm
the SLANG English?
English is not the national language sm
America is a melting pot and English is not and should not be the national language. I'm Native American and while I'm not happy about the influx of immigrants - which I'm sure your ancestors were - America is a melting pot and at one time English was the 'second language' around here and others had to adapt.
Deal with it. America is a safe haven and refuge for other countries. Why was it okay for your ancestors to come here but it's not okay for others to come here?
Learn proper English...
YOU BE HAPPY THERE - Perhaps you be stupid?
Am I lost - is this English class
Excuse me, Miss Smarty Pants - but this is NOT English class - go teach English somewhere else if you such strong desire!
At least most of them speak English as a first language, eh.
Except the Francophones/Quebecois. Plus, they're not undercutting us on wages.
Pas DE probleme!
My English teacher would cringe at the BOS. nm
x
Are there many American MTs whose first language isn't English? nm
nm
|
