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What aggravates me are normals and samples

Posted By: sm on 2006-08-19
In Reply to: I wonder why there are so many folks - in the world of MT who can't...

full of obvious typos and stylistic issues that we MTs get dinged for. In fact, I remember having a normal op at one place that had a made-up instrument name in it. It kept coming up on the spell check. Took me months to finally find the proper name.

I've come to expect sloppy and/or poorly written emails from managers and admin staff otherwise.


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what aggravates me about PAs
as much as their dictating, is when i go to see the doctor, but always get the PA instead, and still have to PAY a doctor's wages.
It aggravates me when a doctor states "will keep you appraised of" when he really means
:} 
My normals sm.
I had a supervisor accuse me of holding hostage MY normals.  I reminded her that they were documents I had brought to the job as I had done this doctor at another national previously.  Anyway, don't the ding dongs realize they can just d/l a copy of a finished job and, tada!, there is a copy of a doc for that doctor. 
What are normals?
I am new to MT and I keep reading "normals" are these macros?
normals
After creating a normal, ctrl-N to save it. Should be able to retrieve it after.
Normals
We use "normals" too but I change them to fit the dictation. I was always told those are mostly for reference to help us get through the dictations. Not every MD dictates the exact same Normal and even when there's Normals for each particular MD, they don't always dictate it exactly the same. The only time I would leave "as is" is, for instance, a radiologist says "Chest x-ray, #36, end" and I would just pull normal #36 and send off. Of course, if the Normal doesn't fit the title(I.e.#36 is a head CT) I would still pull it but mark for the QA/practice manager to see the error.
Oh and keep the standards/normals for themselves

NO EXPANDERS AND NO NORMALS

You don't believe me?  I really don't care...That's my line count.....and I do it without Expanders or normals. I love my job, I'm the best at what I do and I always strive to do better than the day before.  Maybe you could do the same if you weren't so negative....


Boss asking for normals
Is anybody working for a company where your boss is asking you to share your NORMALS.  Be very careful.  My company is asking us to share your normals and come to find out who they want us to share with, overseas.  Also asking questions like, who are the best dictators, etc. Also experiencing block of work just disappearing.  Several hours just gone.  Anybody else.
I'd say "What normals?" (sm)
I had an OM tell me that he was contemplating not paying for macros. I said, "Oh, I don't have to worry. I don't use macros, I use an expander." That was the end of that. I'm sure he had to run back to his office to try to figure out what an Expander is! LOL
Abby Normals.
z
DocQscribe normals

I will be leaving my company at the end of the week without a job to take its place.  It's taken me several years to accumulate all my normals, and I hate to think I will have to start over creating them.  Does anyone know how to transfer/move all the normals from DocQScribe to Word or to save them on my hard drive.  I hate to think I'll have to start over creating all new normals.  Thanks for your help.


 


do you mean making normals
for same docs? 
Yes, I mean making normals. nm :)
x
The majority of normals are seen
Normals can also be a repetitive statement that the dictator makes, which you then turn into a normal so you do not have to keep typing the same thing over and over again.  Some use shortcut keys or Expander program.  I am not an expert on any of these as I do not use them.  Some who work in MS Word use autocorrect to expand terms or phrases that are said time and time again by a specific dictator.  I use autocorrect in Word and like it.  Hope this helps.  
Has anyone been able to transfer their normals/standards from
nm
No way, Jose. My normals are MINE. Don't let them do this! nm
x
I never give anyone my normals. I have my own accounts and one
but it was a nice account - a surgery center with 200+ surgeons.  I told the surgery center I just couldn't continue doing the account, gave them the names of a couple of other MT companies they might want to contact.  They did contact them, elected to go with one of them, and then while I was finishing up with them while they transitioned to the new MT Company, they asked asked me for MY normals to give to the other MT Company.  Okay, there were SOME normals that the hospital associated with the surgery center had given me to begin with, but I felt that it was the responsibility of the hospital to give those to the new transcription service, not my responsibility.  Besides, I had changed the templates as needed, etc.  But most of the normals I had were ones that I spent a couple of years developing.  Now I wasn't just going to hand those over to a new MT service to make it easy on them.  Those were something I spent a LOT of time on and were, in my opinion, MY property.
Why would you create normals for doctors
and/or accounts you don't even know? That makes less than no sense. Do you just create your own things that you consider normal? Seriously trying to figure it out - I must be missing something.
Are you still cutting and pasting normals? I can't do
nm
Normals in Expansion File
Just be aware that your company may have set a size limit for individual expansions to prevent transcriptionists from making "normals" that are not really normal, that is, not always exactly what the doctor says.
EXText Question About Normals
Hi,

 

I've had trouble recently being unable to retrieve normals I've made. 

 

When I make a personal normal and then try to access it during the current work session, it does not show up in the list.  This is true even after having been logged out of the system entirely, such as overnight and then returning to work the next day. 

 

If I try to re-do/re-create the normal using the same "Properties" info., I get a ping and message stating that that normal already exists.  Any info. on this? 

 

Also: 

Could there be a limit to how many normals, personal or shared, can be created on one person's list? 

 

Can personal normals be deleted?

 

I need more help than I've already gotten, so I'm posting here.  (My next step is contacting Dictaphone)
 

Thanks. 

 

Also have errors in normals I am told to use--sm
Does your platform allow you to have Transcriptionist normals? Mine does and i have corrected the normals and saved them in my set of normals. I also complained for over a year and they were not corrected. One of the most notable is an ultrasound abdomen that has the technique for an MRI. The transcriptionist has to remember to make the correction on every report she transcribes.
Expanders and normals...not mormals
just felt the need to correct your mistakes since you are picking apart others.
yes of course I use tons of expanders. At the most 25% normals though.
x
Try putting in the normals by blocking and control Y....
then name it the name you want and then use control R to retrieve it. Works for me.
Will be variable depending on the normals and shortcuts you have and how
s
Hi, I've gone the personal normals-only rte., still no luck. NM
x
Shutting it on and off doesn't restore normals? Are you
s
normals, templates, shorthand programs, etc
I was reading an earlier post that refers to companies making adjustments in our line counts because we are using these word expanders.  I have been wondering about that because even using as many as I possibly can, it seems like it does no good. I do about as many lines as I would normally do just typing the darn things out.  How are they making these adjustments, does anybody know and is it legal? Seems we have no standard anymore as to how lines are counted and companies are doing whatever the heck they want to us.
Re your normals: keep a list handy, name them with short names..sm
then use Control R after you have typed the normal name; i.e.: Dr. Joe Blow has a ROS that he uses all the time - name it JBROS or something like that, then in the document type JBROS and use the control R to bring it automatically in.
MY samples

I am the poster accused of holding MY normals hostage.  Cleaned off the sample and just left in headings.  And this was a sample with a table in it and I omitted that even.  Then I sent the doc.  But again, all they had to do was make a copy of a done job and that would have been the end of it.  The only thing, I don't think this person was ever smart enough to figure that out.  lol.  


You need samples
of the work or offer to a do a trial for a week so you can get an idea of what a page contains and average it out.

I charge my NJ client $3/page but first did a one-week trial and gave my estimate based on that. They also claimed they had local transcriptionists willing to do it for $2. I did not drop my rate, and they went with me anyway. Just thought I'd share that to prove you can charge a higher rate and still get the account. ;D


samples, samples, samples. That is sm
the way she will learn what her dictators are saying. Surely they have some available to her?
Samples
Go to www.mtdaily.com. They have samples of a lot of reports done by transcriptionists. The job board, classifieds, and samples are free services.
I would never voluntarily give them "my" normals, my work product. SM
The nerve of these people. 
Maybe if it is gross lines, lots of headers and footers and normals......sm
Other than that, I really can't imagine it.
report samples

Does anyone know of a web site with surgical report samples and EMG reports?  I've searched google for hours and can only find informartion ABOUT them, not actual reports....


Thanks for ANY help!


seeing samples like that just makes
you realize just how valued and appreciated you are by the nationals and AMMT who believe offshoring is good for the industry, doesn't it??? NOT!!
Can you ask your supervisor for samples of
the ESL doctors' other reports? This will help you can get a handle on what they say frequently.

You have a great attitude. Remember if you can transcribe ESLs, you can transcribe anything. Good luck!
Definitely agree with getting samples. Get
lots of them. They'll save you a lot of time.

For me, I'll listen to a word a couple of times and if I can't understand it, I leave a blank and finish out the rest of the report. Then, I go back to the blank and re-listen again and if I can't for the life of me figure out what the dictator is trying to say at all then I go ahead and leave the blank.

I use Google also. I'll type in the phrase after the blank or before the blank in case something comes up that looks familiar or sounds right.

And lastly, I also stop and walk away for a second from my PC just to clear my head and re-listen again and sometimes just doing that helps.

Good luck! If you can conquer those dreaded ESLs you can conquer anything.
Ask for samples of work...nm
x
You must get samples of their reports so you can see what they are saying. sm
Most ESLs say the same thing, in the same way, over and over.  If English is difficult for them, then they learn a way to say something, and always say it that way.  Good luck.
Ask for samples. It really helps to see what they are saying. sm
Most ESLs say the same things the same way, over and over.  You just need to see what they are saying.  Then you get it.
I believe MT Desk has samples.
xx
Can't you get any samples from your doc? Eyes are
s
dictation samples
I sent you an email with some info.
Samples? It depends. sm
Sometimes you'll get a large set of sample reports for various physicians. Sometimes you have access to prior reports in the system (which, I have always felt, is a bit dangerous, as far too many times I've seen errors carried over from report to report on a difficult dictator simply because people pulled their samples/canned text from earlier reports that contained mistakes).

Usually, though, when starting out and you have no samples for a particular dictator you just do what you can with him/her then request a corrected copy (or sample) from QA ... that's what I have done, anyway, when I've come across a particularly challenging dictator.

Good luck.
MT Desk also has samples.
nm
I'm afraid the deodorant samples were not a gag...
tho I wanted to gag after opening the box! Yes, that could be true about wanting others (strangers) around since our parents died - I suppose it IS easier emotionally, in a way. Its like being at an office party.
Does anyone know where I can find samples of brochures for....SM

business proposals? I paid to be a member on another MT website, so I can find that information out, but no one has emailed me or responded to any of my posts regarding this question. I am trying to put together a brochure, so I can hand out to the local clinics in my area. I thought I saw a thread somewhere, but I can't remember if it was here or on the other MT website. If anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.