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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

You don't need to go to school to learn terminology.

Posted By: Good grief! Your background is much better on 2005-11-07
In Reply to: Please SM - Endiqua

than any school could teach. No transcription school can teach you speed on a keyboard. If you have good English language usage and typing speed, start with a local physician who will allow you to type at home. Trust me. I know.


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I learned the terminology in nursing school;
I learned the transcription end of things on the job. I was taught well by ladies with 20+ years of experience. They taught me how to do the job correctly and I now do my job well. You don't always have to go to college or take a course to learn how to this job and do it well.
20-week med. terminology course at nite school - had a job
The rest was on-the-job training of the sink-or-swim variety.
because in med school they learn to be even
cockier and they also learn how to dictate even faster. They also learn to pretend that everyone's physical exam is exactly the same no matter what their problem really is and, by the way, the Transcriptionist should know what that physical exam entails from the very first report. So, they all decided to save their money and just be a P.A. instead of an M.D.
first rule in riding school was: Learn how to fall...
no really. learn to tuck and curl up, and roll if you get bucked or thrown off. never ride alone.

horses sense fear; if you show it, or your voice even has one iota of fear in in, forget it, your horse will take control over YOU and have you doing what he/she wants.

use simple commands with a confident strong voice. show the horse respect and the horse will also respect you.

try bareback; it really gives you a chance to 'bond.' do you own the horse or are you just riding a different horse each time at a stable?

you need a relationship with the animal as well. groom them, show them affection, but NEVER let them have the upper hand.

when I first got my horse she used to throw me all the time. she would even throw her head so far back it would almost hit me. no one would ride her but me, but after a lot of time and patience (think of them as a 2-year-old child) they will come around. they need to trust you...

by all means, you must get right back on, if they do throw you or 'spook.' my sister had an ex-race horse, thoroughbred, who spooked at his own shadow, literally. I never did warm up to him, but he was like a one-person horse...

how lucky you are, I miss riding so much!
POLL: Home School vs. Charter School vs. Public School vs. Priv ate School...
Pros and cons of each too. I have two little ones that will be starting school soon and I would like opinions on all. Thanks in advance! :)
You took a terminology course and some
No you are not worth 75,000 a year.  Look up the salary for an MT honey, it's not $75,000 a year.  You can think you are glorified and all that, but please get over yourself.  You can be an MTSO and make that but you still have to sub out the work...  Please calm down; we know you're an MT (wanna be doctor); I've come across those types before.  Even x-ray techs think they are doctors.  What a joke!  If it walks like a duck, it's a duck, not a peacock! 
you will also need a terminology book- sm
I did oncology for a while.  I did not so much need a new drug book as a terminology book.  Stedman's makes a paperback oncology book that was a real lifesaver.  It included the drug names, including all the chemo drugs.  There were many pages of chemo drugs, and all you had to do was look up "chemotherapy" instead of trying to figure out spelling of the drug name and everything was there.  Good luck. 
Radiology terminology
HI Terry -

I am a former rad tech, but that was before PET scans were even invented! I picked up the terms on my own, had some help from the company I worked for as we were all learning this 'new' terminology together. Google is a great help.

If you Google "radiology terminology" you will come up with quite a few helpful sites. Find the ones you can navigate easily through the bookmark them. You can copy and paste the terms you don't know into your own document and print out for easy reference.

In addition to PET and MR, don't forget nuclear medicine, ultrasound, CT, mammography and possibly interventional radiology procedures. If you are on a good platform with an up to date medical dictionary including radiology installed, that can be invaluable.

You only have to worry about problem words once, as you will put them in your word Expander program or macro right away and you'll build speed quickly by doing so.

Good luck!
Old terminology video

Hello!  I was wondering if anyone remembered an old video that was used to train medical terminology. It was in cartoon style....and it taught the breakdown of terminology.....one I remember was gastr....gastruck...stomach.


 I was just wondering if anyone was trained on this.


 


 


terminology test samples
I have been searching and searching and searching google, etc. to find a written terminology test to hire two inhouse transcriptionists that I will be interviewing this week.  Everyone who comes in the door says they "know" transcription and they "have lots of experience" on their resume, but I find out they don't "know" transcription.  I need a test that is pretty broad, that is written, and that is FREE.  I can test them on digital physicians, but would really like you see how they handle a terminology test too.  Been on internet for two hours now to no avail.  Can someone help me?  I am only interviewing for inhouse positions (2), so don't everyone flood me with requests for jobs....only inhouse.....only in Southern Indiana.  Please?  Thanks for your help!!!
Sorry, wrong terminology. This company
Thank you for the catch. :)
I took A&P/terminology course through my clinic 16 years ago
nm
QAing isn't just about medical terminology. QAs have
years of experience in the MT industry & have to know the BOS inside and out, years of experience with all different accents, etc. This is no different than when nurses assume just because they know medical terminology that they can do our jobs. There's a lot more to it than that.
What's a good source for very new medical terminology? sm
I'm wanting to avoid paying for a $95 subscription to something like The Latest Word, if possible. Is there a web site that posts new medical drugs and other terms that are so new they haven't hit the books yet?

thanks!
You could buy a medical terminology workbook or textbook. SM

Those usually have self-testing questions.  Plus you could use the help of the textbook to form your own test.  I know you said you wanted something free, but that sounds a little unprofessional to me and no offense, it sounds a little like laziness.  You are hiring employees for your service and you want someone else to provide you with a ready made test for free because you can't be bothered with creating one on your own?


Coming here for help is one thing, but to look for a ready made test or even consider stealing a test from another service - I don't know, it just bothers me a little.


Good psychiatrist terminology site
http://medicaltranscriptionwordhelp.googlepages.com/psychiatricterminology

It's an excellent guide
I am very real, thank you. I work quickly and efficiently. I know the terminology and when I come
across something I don't know I do my best to reference until I find it. If I absolutely cannot find it, I will send it to QA. The same goes with something I can't understand. I will listen several times and if I still can't understand it I send it on to QA for their help.
podiatry terminology - sounds like "rasmooth". Anyone know what the term is? TIA.

n


 


Addendum: As well as your fund of medical terminology knowledge.


I'm sorry that should den of lions or pack of wolves. Gotta get the terminology right!
x
I did that with 2 kids with time mgmt and a high school girl who babysat 3 days a week after school
nm
I prefer Dorland's and consider it the "bible" of medical terminology. Others' mileage
x
The cost of running a private school or any school is expensive....
Why do you think public schools are so run down and can't find good teachers?  Because the government and people to not put forth the effort or $$$$ to improve the educational system.
The School of Hard Knocks is the best MT school
n
Word/terminology assistance goes on Word board. (SM)
Please use boards appropriately.

Moderator
learn something new every day - thanks
See - learn something new every day. Thanks. I just knew about some laws passed locally last year on a city/county basis.
Did you learn
on the job, or were you taught by a friend, or self-taught?

Most of those tests nowadays are geared toward grads of official MT programs.
Learn something new every day don't
you.   A consult is similar in format to an H&P, but 2 different things - for example, an elderly patient with diabetes breaks a hip and needs surgery.   Most likely they are admitted to ortho, but need an endocrine of internal medicine consult to determine if diabetes is stable enough for surgery and no other medical problems that might be a contraindication to surgery, or need treatment prior to surgery. 
You will never learn to do them...
unless you tackle them head on. You do what you can with the report, and you do what you can with the next report. You cannot avoid difficult dictations. If you don't learn to do them, you will never make any money and will probably get into trouble for abandoning too many reports.
Why would anyone want to learn it???
nm
Learn something new every day...sm

Outlook and outlook express are two different things I guess.  I never knew this, but that's what I am being told.  Outlook has a calendar option but outlook express does not.  Very interesting indeed.  Let me know if you all hear anything different from this. 


Thanks for all your help.  I have decided to try the yahoo calendar for free and see how that works.  So far, it's perfect!  Thanks for the info everyone! 


thats it! You have to learn the sm
hard way to understand. For my own personal experience, I have gone through a horrible illness and I know more than ever the importance of medical records that are perfect. I have seen some really bad stuff out there in medical records, my own included that not only is a disgrace but downright dangerous! I have always done my job with the idea that there is a patient behind all of this and they deserve the best we can give them. With all the ruckus about the state of our health care system these days, why would any MT not understand that this is not about us and lines typed and cpl etc. ITS ABOUT THE PATIENTS!!!!!!!!! you are right, the money comes later. Its a career long learning experience, one that I hope never ends on the learning part. Sounds to me like you have also been through enough life to understand all of this. The younger ones won't get it until they have been at this for many years. The only problem is, with some of the attitudes of "I won't do this and I won't do that" they won't be in the business years from now!
Learn from history

and think very carefully about this person and his sob story. Boo hoo! 


His child is cruel toward animals, chances are this child is being mistreated in some way by someone. This is a red flag that something in not right in this child's life regarding the adults. Children are NOT naturally violent--it is learned behavior.


Be friendly, but takes things very, very slow and think of the safety of yourself, your children, and your pet (s). Better safe than sorry.


newbie trying to learn

I have recently finished an online medical transcription course.  I have been reading the posting on this website and I'm very intrigued by some of the information.   Not to sound stupid, but what are word expanders, auto correct, and shorthand?  I have macros on my computer, but I never used them.  I am trying to find my first medical transcription job, but it is very difficult as a newbie.  I would love to be a productive, accurate medical transcriptionist, but it seems that no one wants to give the newbies a chance.  Any thoughts of how to get started?  thanks!


It is your job to learn the ESLs and if you can't/won't then you need to
find a new job because you are in the wrong one.
However, once you learn it, it's great!
I averaged $21-23 an hour doing radiology, about $15-17 doing acute care. If I were to go back into transcription, it would be doing radiology.
Thanks, i'd be interested to learn more

welcome; love IT and sure you will too when you learn it. nm
;
It depends on what you need to learn. Sm
Right now I have a gal starting Sep. 1 who has absolutely no med. training whatsoever so we are starting from scratch. She is paying for textbooks, cd's, materials, etc. I am having her pay as she goes along. I am not making any profit on any materials, but when she gets to the transcription part, I will have to start charging minimally for my time. Not sure yet how to go about that.

The second gal has some formal training and needs dictation practice and I am actually in the process of working with a company getting copies of microcasette tapes with approximately 800 minutes of dictation on them and will give those to my students.

I have a few accts. myself so when my students show that they are ready to tackle digital dictation, I may consider "hiring" them in the future. Right now, our goal is to get them trained and ready with my help, and to be able to pass a co. test.

I don't know where that box is to place my email address is and I don't want to post it in this spot. I will try to get my email available for anyone seriously considering getting into the field and being trained with an experienced MT who is willing to mentor them along the way to meeting their career goals.
It was very frustrating to learn but

after 3 months, I have grown to like it.... well maybe I have grown not to dislike it so much.  I would still rather work in MS Word.  It is NOT the best platform out there to be certain.  The spell check is awful and I copy everything into a Word document to double check.  You cannot copy back into Emdat though.  If there are any changes to make you must type them.  For some reason if you copy from Word, although it looks okay to you, on the physician's end it is wrong.


It is nice not to have to worry about the line count.  It is VERY nice not to have to save each patient separately.  It is nice to have the patients name available (although that is not always the case).  Overall, I give it a C. 


Hope this helped.


I had to learn the same program sm
Whether it is worth it - is only a question you can answer.

Personally, the platform is so easy; however, I do not get the high line counts I am used to even with their expander. I am so used to working in a Word-based platform with over 5000 auto-correct entries. For me, the transition was not worth it. I could only average 240 lines per hour compared to my usual 350 - 400 lph.

You have to realize, every one is different with different needs and wants.

The packet of policies you mention really is no big deal. Just print them out and read them over and within a week you won't even look at them again. Starting any job is overwhelming at first, but then it becomes routine.

I would suggest you give it a shot. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

As for the ESL account, I have no idea which one that would be - mine is a good mix of all.
Thank you! Learn something new everyday!
.
I like it. Once you learn it, it is easy.
x
Is this so you dont have to LEARN which is which?
If so, no, theres no way.

If you need a shortcut, just put the nongenerics in your Expander as capped. Put your others in like ddiphenhydramine and it will catch on spellcheck and you will know it is generic.
Yes. Use MT while you learn something else. It's never too late. nm
x
Was very difficult to learn and there are
still some things I cannot get the hang of. But, it is the only Expander I am permitted to use so had to bite the bullet after resisting for a few months. Takes about three months go use it effectively. Try using it for a few hours every day. When you get frustrated, close it and type everything out. On short-fuse days, skip it altogether. Over a few months, with this method, you will begin to develop speed and each new problem will be solved one by one so your line count will not get suffer greatly. Using IT requires doing a massive amount of reading initially. But, I have to say, I love it now (and am still learning how to use it six months into using it).
That rate is better than most. You do learn

the ESLs.  You just have to "train" your ears.  I remember my first day on my current account.  I had all ESLs and I had so many blanks and was so stressed, but now I would rather do these ESLs than some of my American docs.  I still have times when I will have a blank with these docs but it is rare.    When you get corrections back print them and keep a file for future reference and if you can relisten to the report once you get corrections and see if you can hear what they are saying this time. 


Took me about a week to learn it. I sm
forced myself to do it the IT way (using their marker keys), and started out using it 1 hour a day. I purchased mine at fitaly.com for full price. I have seen it used on ebay & here on the equipment board.
yep, for some it's a big deal so learn it *LOL*

The patient will be seen for followup in a week.


Followup one week.


The patient came in for follow up of her acne. (I believe this can be hyphenated to follow-up.) 


The patient will be seen for followup care in a month. (This, too, some MTs hyphenate to follow-up but I do not.)


The BOS has this very issue - Book of Style by the AAMT 2nd edition  - discussed in it. 


 



Where did you learn all these tricks?
I have the program and have really not got into it too much yet, but the manual leaves a lot to be desired. It is very highly recommended so I intend to keep on trying. I bought it about a year and a half ago, and admit I finally gave up and put it on the back burner, but I really want to learn how to use it. I will add, though, that I have had a lot of trouble learning the tricks with Word, since I am on my own and having to teach myself.
Is it easy to learn?
Thanks