What are some good review books?
Posted By: RT on 2005-09-13
In Reply to:
Hi everyone,
I have a question that I hope you can help me with. In short, I graduated in 1997 from college with a certificate in medical transcription. (I took a 1 year program) Even though I never worked in transcription, I have recently been offered a chance to work and do transcription from home. I was required to take a test and actually made 88% on it with no review at all. I needed to make a 90% though and am wanting to find a way to review and boost my score. I was wondering if any of you could give me the name of a good book or program that might help me out. I have seen one book called "The Do's and Don't's of Medical Transcription" but would like to have some opinions on it and other books out there. I would appreciate any and all help on this as I'm really looking forward to getting into the medical transcription field for the first time.
Many thanks,
RT
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Go for it! Good for you! I am in the review
stage of my CMT exam and plan to take it ASAP as well. No discounts here, either, but I really want to earn this! I think its a great thing to strive for, and so do lots of companies, despite the naysayers!!
Same theme, but CBS on Wed. is to review the top 100 inspirational movies. Should be good! nm
m
Good money? Can we ask how much is considered GOOD in your books????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
anybody have any good PT sites/books??
I do a lot of PT reports and some of the exercises dictated are not very clear and spelling is unknown, and having a tough time finding reference material on the web. I have the Dorland's Orthopedics book and that helps sometimes, but wondered if there were other things out there that other people use??
good link for buying books
You can get some really great deals here: http://www.bookcloseouts.com 
Reply to get a good set of specialty books
When you say specialty books by Stedman's what do you mean exactly. I have a Stedman's Medical Dictionary and a Dorlands Medical Dictionary but what other books would I need to get? Thanks so much for your help.
Can anyone recommend any good acute care reference books
I am thinking of changing from clinic to acute care transcription. Can anyone recommend any good reference books that I should have? TIA
Need good organisms and infectious disease books/sites (sm)
I have Stedman's Organisms & Infectious Diseases, but it's out of date (2002) and an updated company has not been published. Does anyone recommend any books and/or web sites that can give me quick info including on meds for specific IDs? e.g., Stedman's lists HIV/AIDS medications alphabetically in the appendix.
half.com carries used Sted's books and new ones thru Amazon. Good luck! nm
a
The Dorland's Cardiology Word Book is good, too. Might find books at half.com even if a few years
s
FYI I HAVE reference books, but in case you hadn't noticed, thing change a lot faster than BOOKS
I was simply asking for suggestions of other places on line that I might look for the latest info, especially considering that my work is on the internet, what the hell is wrong with trying to be more productive and efficient?!?! Good Grief!!
I prefer books. I'm kinda old school. I like to be able to write new terms in my books. I do
have Stedman's Medical Dictationary on CD and I do use it quite a bit, but that's more because the actual print dictionary is so darn heavy to pick up and look a word up! 
REVIEW
I think it should depend upon your experience and possibly the difficulty of the dictation. I have been working at the same place for a VERY long time, so I rarely have to listen to dictation twice. However, I have found that if I am doing a difficult doctor or cannot understand something, I will mark the spot, so that at the end of the report, I can go back and maybe after finishing the rest of the report, I may hear that portion now! Miraculously, sometimes if I go back, I have familiarized myself with that doctor's dictation and TA-DA, I get it!
If you were a newbie, and were maybe in training, etc., I think it could be a great idea. It just seems sometimes that between trying to obtain a reasonable production, it is just impossible to listen to every single report twice! Hope I helped!
here's a review
-- i don't have the actual
experience.
http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/sony-mdr-nc7-headphones/4505-7877_7-33352178.html
what is their points review
doesn't sound like its in our favor, is it part of the new mt/me rewards plan??
Hospital is probably up for review by....sm
JCAHO. If the charts are incomplete, then they could face penalties. Or, perhaps they already have gone through an audit and were found lacking.
to "me", you should further review
because there are MANY negatives posts still on this Main Board. Just look at posts where "Kikki" had anything to add to the mix. LOL. The OP is correct in his/her assessment.
Review guide...sm
It was my experience that the dictation portion was exceedingly easy, not nearly like the "snippets" on the CD that comes with the book. Pay more attention to the rest of the book.
Does anyone know? I am using the CMT Review Guide...
to study for the CMT exam. There are practice tests on the CD. What is considered a passing grade for the CMT? I can't find this info anywhere online, or in the guide. Thanks!
performance review
How do you find the performance review going. Are yout satisfied with the way the QA people are checking your reports? I will get a correction from one and another QA will let it stay the way I typed it. One MT said that most of her reports were OP notes and the doctors say mostly the same thing over and over, so she made templates and she just has to punch in a few strokes and the OP note is done. How can you do this when the QA people are checking it word for word. I cannot set up any templates because a few words may be changed. Just curious. .
You can purchase the CMT Review Guide-sm
from Stedman's. The title is "The CMT Reveiw Guide." This book was just released last year (2005) and was developed for the current version of the CMT exam. You might also want to consider a CMT Study Group. Contact the nearest chapter of AAMT as they do have CMT Study Groups. I know that the Online Chapter of AAMT is about to start a study group that will complete in time to take the CMT in the end of July/begining of August. Oak Horizons also offers and online CMT Prep Course which I have heard is really good. You can get more info on the Oak Horizons class on www.aamt.org and do a search for CMT prep course. For more info on the OCAAMT Study Group contact certconnector@aamtonline.org.
think you need to contact the medical review
try the insurance company's medical review board for a reassessment of your bill(s). Good luck! 
A "peer review"! Sure never heard of THAT, before! (nm)
.
My last QA review was a BIG surprise. Here I thought I SM
always topped 98% and routinely cut into my potential earnings to maintain my own standard. Wrong! The QA person's explanations for my mistakes were confusing and seemed in some cases to contradict the guidelines and in others just plain wrong, but I figured my job was to pass the review and get back to work, so I tried again. Failed so completely I was going to be put on probation, allowed to do something like 10 or 15 reports a day until my performance came back up. So I contacted my account manager, who told me she'd take care of it, and that was the end of it. Something I heard later suggested that QA person was still there causing trouble months later. Maybe you should talk to your supervisor. I'd also start gathering documentation of prior reviews for the Labor Board if that raise doesn't come through. There are plenty of companies out there looking for skilled MTs.
Do you listen to every report twice, to review it,
x
Why? Why should we review every single report and in its entirety? SM
The QA bar has been set at 98% by both of my employers. I BEAT, not just make but BEAT, that QA rate every single time.
I've good a great balance between speed and quality.
If you want to take your time to do that with every report, that's great for you! Your choice.
I guarantee you that even if you score 100% on your QA'd reports, because you are not being QA'd on every single report, you're still making mistakes somewhere. So, the line has been drawn in the form of the level of QA expected.
Funny, I just got my 3rd 100% review and asked for a raise
I was told SEs are paid on a sliding scale and there are no raises at all EVER.
The CMT Review Guide is great and geared
toward the current CMT test. Published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, publisher of Stedman's. I believe you can buy it from them, or from AAMT. Good luck!
SmarType users please give review...sm
I'm thinking about investing in SmarType. I have heard good things about it. Can some of you how use it give a review? Does it take long to get used to?
TIA
CMT review guide. I'm glad I read it.
Good luck!
Review in great detail with the company first....
xx
I'm sorry, but the physicians are supposed to review the medical records for
accuracy, then sign off on them. THEY are the people who went to medical school, did their internship, and actually saw the patients. THEY know what they were trying, often badly, to say. THEY are the ones making the big bucks. NOT US. We go to maybe a year-long correspondence school, make crappy money, and watch our butts spread wider every day while we TYPE, yes, I said TYPE, medical records for them. Anyone who thinks it's more than that is kidding themselves. And save your speeches on patient care and work ethics. I know all about that stuff. The harsh reality is that this job does not require a college education to get into, and your income is tied to your production level. The doctors don't care enough about the medical records to speak slowly, enunciate, and double check everything before signing off. How are we supposed to read their minds? Anyone in this field who knows more than grammar and medical terminology ought to be working as an RN or MD, because you'd be better at it than half the medical providers we type for.
Are you talking about full QA where you send every report for review?
If you are not a newbie and are full time, then it does not seem fishy at all. If you can't figure out the platform and account specs in 3 days' time...
If you are new and will require mentoring, then that may be different depending on the quality of education you received.
I agree. Eyes are always scanning, but never review enitre report.
zz
Are you kidding? After reading the health department's annual review, I NEVER eat out.
Especially at a fast food place. They always have long lists of violations, plus, after a look at the fingernails and hair on some of those people, I wouldn't feed my dog there.
They do list restaurants that maintain high standards of cleanliness with no violations, so if I'm in the mood for a long drive, I'll go to one of those.
I do miss eating out.
I think she is talking about full QA review not occasional blanks with a new dictator.
As a newbie I was off full QA at the halfway through day 2 working on acute care. However, I had an excellent trainer/mentor available to answer any questions, and I could send unlimited blanks to QA.
Now when I work on a new account, even with a new platform, I am off full QA within a day. If the platform instructions and account specs are clear, it should really not be a problem.
Hospital where I worked cut raises from 12% possibility to 6% with excellent review. Which means
dd
books
I usually stick with Stedmans, they are pretty comprehensive, but require a different book for each specialty. Tessiers is good too.
no books here
is it Grey Turners or Gray Turners sign? thanks
no books here
 I have books up the ying-yang for every specialty. I am willign to sell you whatever you need. Let me know. Deb
books
John Grisham, Terry McMillan, Dean Koontz (sp), Eric Jerome Dickey.
which books
personally, unless money is no issue, i would wait until you are going to be hired, and find out which work types you will be doing. Then i would get as many of those main books, that would apply, new if possible and get used and/or older books to round out your library for less-needed subjects. I use on-line sites for looking up drugs, with partial words, etc, but still prefer a new drug book to CD form myself every year. i prefer the stedman's and my most used books are the GI/GU, cardiovascular/pulmonary and med/surg equipment. Abbreviations is a very used one as well. Good luck to you and congrat's on your scores!
books
Hi Angie, welcome to MT'ing. Preferences vary quite a lot and many people (not me) prefer to rely on only websites for their references or CDs. I do think Stedman's word books are very very popular however and use many of them myself (14 now). Keep in mind, that some jobs have a program to buy discounted books, and sometimes you may get some 2nd-hand off of ebay or the classified site here too. What books you need may depend upon what job you have, ie whether you do a lot of surgery or something specialized. I like the Dorlands dictionary better than the others. I prefer the Quick Look Drug Book and i have the 2nd edition of BOS (book of style), which is good if not necessary to be familiar with anymore. I also use a few websites frequently. Good luck, e/m me if you have further questions!
I have 25-30 books. (nm)
(nm)
30+ books. nm
x
books
I know what she meant about spening $ every years for books. I have been doing this almost 9 years and I own no Stedman books at all and have a copy of an old med book 2004. I pull all my info off the internet.
I like my books the best.
I have a ton of notes written in them all.
Books
Any good MT knows how to use the internet as a resource. I rarely open a book anymore. Everything I need is on the internet, which is also faster.
Books
Some may feel this is dishonest, but honestly how are they going to know? Do you have to send them a picture of the book or a copy of the receipt or are they asking you to purchase this book through them? I have purchased many books over the years and have found the Internet as well as the many, many specific sites for anything I have ever wanted. Yes, I have one specific book for my specialty that I adore and use all the time for those weird names that I sometimes cannot figure out how to spell and it has helped, but with all that is available on-line I don't see how they can expect this of you. I too used to send away for the yearly drug book, but have not had to do so in many years since I started using the Internet. Good Luck and too bad for them.
Ref books
Hey there. I do a wide variety of reports myself but there are only a couple reference books that I use. First and foremost is the Stedman's Dictionary which I have the electronic version of. I also use the Stedman's Equipment book a lot (again electronic). I used to use the abbreviation book but can't find the CD to install on my new computer so I use http://www.medilexicon.com/ for abbreviations and codes. Good luck!
Ref books
I have most of the Stedman's, The Medical Phrase Indes (which I very seldom use), The Surgical Work Book, BOS, Stedman's, Dorland's and Mobsy's Medical dictionaries, several drug books and Current Medical Terminology. Of all of those I only use a few, mostly Stedman's (depending on the specialty I'm doing). As I do this more and more, I use the Internet (making sure I can rely on the information found there). I think it depends most on what specialties you do.
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