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You are being too hard on yourself. Proofread after you transcribe to the best of your

Posted By: --- hope this helps you. on 2009-04-17
In Reply to: Not cut out for this - sct

ability. If errors are returned to you, then keep a notebook with the mistakes you are making. Refer to your notebook before you begin transcribing. Before you know it, the errors will be less. On the othe hand, if you keep making the same mistakes over and over again, even after keeping notes and reviewing, then you probably really do not like this type of work. Not everyone is cut out for it. It sounds like when you were in-house, you did not transcribe full-time but had varied work duties. I would try the notbook and see how what goes first.


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PROOFREAD PROOFREAD PROOFREAD
PROOFREAD PROOFREAD PROOFREAD PROOFREAD
Yes,,, and that is why you also proofread. nm
:P
How do you proofread? sm

What is the fastest, most accurate way you proofread?  I have been playing back my reports from the beginning of it on fast chipmunk sounding speed.  I catch myself making exapander errors a lot. I


 absolutely have to proofread as I usually catch at least 2 per report before I send them.  Trying to proofread 'as I go' does not work for me as I still find mistakes when I am done.  What is the Fastest way of doing this?  Does  anyone have any advice?  Thank you muchos.


I proofread as I go

The only time I go back to listen again is if I have a blank, or sometimes with a difficult ESL I will go back and listen for a second time, but 99% of the time I proof as I go. 


proofread?

I don't proofread - that is QA job. How do you think I could edit over 650 lines an hour? It's not by double-checking my own fine self.


 


It is probably better to proofread as you go
as that can be a careless way to proof.  Starting a new account can be overwhelming and cause you to make careless errors.  I would say proof new accounts, but once familiar, then proof as you type.  Put frequently made statements in auto correct or use an expander.  If the client requires QA, then it is QA's job to catch the errors of the entire document, not just blanks, otherwise, they are getting paid to simply say your work has been QA'd.  I think QA is a waste of time myself other than for a second-listen at blanks, and in my case, I have enough experience to have even corrected QA on many of occasions with a reply from QA stating, so sorry my mistake.  No one is perfect, but you should not send blatent errors to QA and expect them to correct them.  In most cases, they will not.  QA is simply a way for a company to pay you less as a typist and you think you are getting something for it in the way of them providing you a second look/listen, which is not true. 
why I proofread
sometimes my expansions get away from me. I just typed that patient -- had abdominal discomfort for the last menstrual period. Made sense until I remembered it was a male patient!
They should still be able to proofread and/or
x
Here's a term for you to proofread:
Look that one up!

LOL
Maybe I should clarify, that I would definitely proofread everything if... SM

it was a new account or I had just started a new job.  I'll be honest though, I have started jobs with services where while I'm in training, I take my time, proofread everything because I know that I'm being scrutinized.  When released from training, I stopped re-reading everything.


I also have never been afraid to argue with QA if I didn't agree.  That didn't make me popular for sure and probably my work was scrutinized even closer because they wanted to catch me in a mistake, but they also knew that if they counted me off for something, they had better be 100% right.


I'm not arrogant, just good at what I do and confident.  I take pride in my work and I've been doing this for a long time.  I just think some QA people need to consider each MT and mistake individually.  If you've got an experienced MT who is good and productive and she makes a few minor mistakes from time to time, let it go.  Maybe mention it to her in a friendly email, but don't fail her on QA for a period or hyphen or a typo.


That's all I'm saying.


Sorry, but we disagree. I proofread as I go. sm
The places I work for expect things to be ready to go directly to the client.   I guess if that works for you and you feel good about yourself, more power to you, but not for me.  I don't consider proofing your work to be sitting and re-reading the entire report before you send it -- that's nonsense -- but to think you don't have to look at what you are doing and just let some QA "correction fairy" be your safety net is not professional.  I take pride in turning out a quality product and I still manage to provide the quantity too -- there are those of who do BOTH, you know.
"dictated but not proofread"... nm
x
It would be nice if they would have proofread it first...sm
Notify "American's".... this is not possessive, people, it is plural, Americans.
I don't proofread on this board. sm
Wouldn't do any good anyway folks would still complain. Sounds like you are one of them that just want to rip me apart for telling the truth. Plenty of other MTs that hold the same opinons I do about this profession.

If that's all you can pick at me apart is a typo in a paragraph that's a good thing!
If it rains hard, the wind blows hard and there are trees
nearby, it snows heavily it will mess up the signal.  The speed is not constant, sometimes as slow as dial-up, but at least still connected.  Many companies will not allow satellite. 
After 18 yrs, I proofread as I go.. Nobody should sit and reread every word when on production.
x
Can't assume samples are correct! Always proofread everything. nm
s
So, you think it is okay for hard-working MTs to earn 7-8 cpl for their hard work?? nm
:{
I may even be able to proofread and catch spelling errors (interruptions)!

I find that by rewinding and relistening to the dictation as I proofread...sm
I will find a few little things I missed that I wouldn't catch just by proofing because it actually made sense but I might have missed something.
Actually it's years to ears. I can spell just fine, just don't take the time to proofread eve
post as I'm busy transcribing at the same time.  Sorry to say my priorities are such that you guys here don't rank perfect posts.  Now, if you guys want to pay per post....  
I hope you proofread your reports closer than you proofed this post
No offense, but it kinda makes me cringe. And, no, I'm not the OP. I just had to read your post a couple of times to comprehend it through all of the typos.


I've proofread legal documents; not difficult, but extremely dull.
In addition to MT QA, I worked for a large law firm proofreading about 15 hours per week. The pay was good. The work was incredibly dull. The terminology was new and different at first, of course, but there are resources on the web for legal terminology just as there are for medical terminology.
you proofread all business letters you receive in the mail and have fits over the errors! LOL (nm)

transcribe it
there is no reason not to. You are a "professional" which presumes the information will remain confidential no matter who it is. I happen to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else and half the town is related. Nothing would ever get typed if that was a consideration.
I tried to transcribe one of those

*mask* things once (and ONLY once).  What a crock!  It's like trying to transcribe an auctioneer.  I always wondered how the accuracy couldn't suffer with this method.  (I guess I was right, considering the government is now using it.)  They make less money because there isn't much skill involved in doing it that way.  Legitimate court reporters go to school for quite some time and have to learn what's basically another form of shorthand.  (It's been years, and I might be wrong, but I believe, for example, the letters PB=N (or something like that.  LOL). 


I was around when the court reporters in my area went from straight dictation to *the computer.*  In fact, I did editing/scoping work for one court reporter who bought the new system, way back when the technology first became available.  (She also bought my computer for me to do her work and anything else I wanted to do on it, and part of her *offer* was that after two years, I would own the computer outright!)  It's a whole different world than transcribing.  I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now.  It's easier for the court reporter, who can pull his or her notes right up on the screen when something doesn't make sense and see where the *typo* was and figure out what it actually should have been.  So in order to be an Editor for a court reporter today, you basically not only have to know how to read their notes, but knowing how to read their TYPOS is the important thing.  This particular court reporter had the wisdom to know when her notes weren't that good, and rather than give me a very sloppy transcript to edit, she'd dictate it instead.  She was a great person, and I miss her a lot.


Scoping/editing for a court reporter is a great field to get into if that's your cup of tea.  If you're a typist, it's real difficult to get the "rhythm" that you can get when transcribing, and that's what I don't like about it.  (Very same thing with VR in medical transcription today.)  However, after doing this kind of work for 20 years, I might wake up tomorrow with carpal tunnel and might be forced to pursue it.


One thing about court reporters, from my own personal experience in my area:  They are the most generous, easy-going, NICEST people I've ever encountered, considering the enormous amount of stress they're always exposed to.  Back in the 1980s, I remember reading stats on suicide rates, and court reporters and DENTISTS were right at the top of the list!!


Do you transcribe too? How much are you
required to transcribe per day/pay period? What are your responsibilities.

Sorry for all the questions, but I think one of the biggest problems in this industry is lack of consistency. If the positions were the same, we could compare apples to apples, in terms of hiring and applying :)
How many of you transcribe while
using your telephone line as in you're 'on the phone' the whole time you work?  How does that work out for you both with your phone usage but also with unlimited LD.  Could you recommend any unlimited LD plans that are good?  Our local one isn't that great as far as a high price, so I'm looking around.  Thanks for any help!
I transcribe ...
IMEs, Consults, Re-exams, Followups, Treatment notes,etc.

I am located in Texas, but I work directly for a doctor in Florida and then I transcribe for a small MTSO out of New York also doing chiropractic.
Why don't you just transcribe it?
Get creative - and type ... the patient...peeing, peeing, peeing, more peeing... is a 38-year-old

sorry i could not resist

transcribe from CD

Is there a way to transcribe a church audio lecture from CD?  It is a .cda file.  I have "associated" the .cda with Start/Stop and ExpressScribe, but I still have no control with my foot pedal.  any suggestions? 


Thanks, Debbie


This is how I do it. I transcribe

a minimum of 2000 lines per day x5 days a week for 8 hours a day, making 9 cpl which equals out to $180 per day. That comes out to $900 per week or $46,800 per year. That is just at 2000 lines per day. This is w/o shift differential and line differential added in. We get a bonus for going over a certain number of lines per pay period and we get a shift differential for working 2nd and 3rd shifts, which then works out to over 10 cpl. Transcribing 2000 lines per day works out to 250 lines per hour. W/o using an expander, I probably type about 100 words per minute and with my Expander it is a lot more. My pay stub shows how many lines per hour I average each paycheck. This week it was over 300 lph. I use my expander to its fullest. I have macros for everything and anything you can think of. I do radiology, oncology, and ER transcription - lots of phrases said over and over. I do not cherrypick. I cannot see what report or doctor I am going to get, the chart just pops up and I type it. Some days are all good docs, lots of days they are horrible but in this profession you take the good with the bad.


Everybody's work habit is different. Focus on what you can do instead of what person A or person B can do. When I first started I set goals for myself. I wanted to be typing 1000 lines by so and so date in 8 hours. When I reached that goal I made the goal higher by 100, 250 and then 500 lines. To me, it's all in the attitude you have for work. I look forward to work each day because every day there is something new to be learned.



This sits over my desk: Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." - John Wooden 


 


Does anyone use Transcribe+
that you can use Dragon naturally with? Starting the new platform and just wondering? TIA
You know ... just transcribe (nm)
what you hear!

I transcribe
250 to 300 lines an hour, is it possible to edit voice rec up in the 600 lines per hour to make an equivocal line rate to transcribing?
I don’t even know if I could transcribe
without my expanders. I have basically typed so long using them it would really be hard.
Sorry, but our job is to transcribe
what is dictated. If you leave out a word, you did not transcribe what was dictated. Where I work, leaving out a word is considered a "major" error, but it is "discounted" if it does not change the meaning, however, it was left out, therefore transcription was not correct. Not sure what you mean when you talk about deleting paragraphs. Our job is to be as accurate as possible for patient safety, if nothing else. Audits are needed.
Well, at least we don't have to transcribe Elvish (yet?)

I don't think fat people should be able to transcribe either.
They have personality problems that may lead to selling info about famous people just to get more food. They also munch while they type and they are slower in getting the work out. I think there should be a weight test throughout the year to ensure MTs don't gain weight sitting at their computer.
MANDATED to transcribe?
By who? Harvey the rabbit?


Correct way to transcribe

Can someone please tell me the correct way to transcribe 10 to the fifth E. coli.


Thank you very much for your help.


Transcribe it and keep quiet. sm
We're professionals. We do our job and we keep any info learned to ourselves. I've even typed reports on family members. Never disclose any info you learn as a part of your job.
I transcribe anywhere from 25 to 40 per hour. sm
However, on one account which is mostly MRIs, CTs and ultrasounds, I only do 20-22 per hour. Expanders, expanders, expanders.
Every day I transcribe an op report on someone who is REALLY having a bad day, sm
and no prospects at having any kind of a happy life.

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, especially when you're feeling down. And never lose faith as you're supposed to be learning something from this, and God really is looking after you.

I'm sorry things aren't going well. My very best advice,again, is for you to be positive--look at the ever-present bright side--COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, and never, ever lose faith.
I used to transcribe for a county (sm)
agency where they interview sexually abused children. I can't describe all the emotions that ran through me while listening to them try to bare their little souls to complete strangers.
The hospital I transcribe for uses it. I know
about Smartype.  I HAVE Smartype, but I've never tried to use it with ExText. 
I PRAY that you NEVER transcribe my
Your attitude is scary!  You think we don't need knowledge or skills and are just "hamsters on a wheel?"  Believe me, I QA work for people with your attitude and it shows.  I pray to God that someone who thinks like YOU, never, ever touches my medical records!!!!  Maybe you should look for a different career option.
Do you transcribe on Word with that?
Thank you!
To MTs who transcribe via tape- SM

I found great, low-cost software that allows you to convert tapes to digital files (MP3, WAV, WMA, etc.).  Check out www.dak.com !  Your PC needs a sound card and a line-in connection (usually next to your line out to plug in your headset or speakers), as well as a tape player and an actual line that plugs from your PC line-in to your tape player.  Think they call that line a male-to-male or male-to-female or something like that (got my line from www.martelelectronics.com).  Use Dak to convert your music cassettes, too.  Hope this helps!


P.S., I'm an MT, not from DAK


and you should buy Wavplayer to transcribe in. nm
x
Do any of you transcribe using a laptop?
I'm just looking for information about how laptops work for transcribing. If you answer, would you give me a little information to let me know how much transcription you do on your laptop, etc. In other words, if you only do a few reports on one, that's one thing. If you do major transcription on it, that's another. Thanks for the information!!!