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Little words can stop a transcriptionist cold . . .
Some words seem to be difficult to hear clearly when transcribing. Even a thorough knowledge of terminology, medicine and anatomy will not help if a transcriptionist cannot hear if the physician said "inter" or "intra" as these prefixes can legitimately precede many words and make sense in context. Make sure to emphasize the ending with words like this, as in "inTRA," "inTER." You could also say "intra, that's "RA." (Saying each letter separately.) The transcriptionist will know to what you are referring. Whenever possible, do not use contractions. Avoiding contractions can even improve the accuracy of transcription from poor dictators. For instance, a poorly enunciated "doesn't need" can sound like "duzzzneed" which can sound exactly like "does need." If this error is made and not caught one can only imagine the different life-threatening situations that could occur in a medical dictation. This nightmare can be avoided by dictating clearly "does not need."
Since even small words can change the whole intent of a report or thought, it is very important to get into the habit of saying them clearly. Even not clearly saying, or not saying loudly enough, words like "in," "an," "on," "and," "if," "off," "of," "has," or "is," can send a transcriptionist into a frenzy.
Here is just a short list of words that should always be said clearly to avoid errors:
adeno / adreno
fasciculation / vesiculation
has / had / have
hema / hemo
hyper / hypo
in / an / on / and
intra / infra
intra / inter
is / as / has
linguo / laryngo
of / off
para / peri
pyelo / pyloro
super / supra
uretero / urethro / utero
"Spasms stop" or "spasm stop?"
One should also be careful about some pluralized words preceding other words. For example, consider the statement: "This medication did not make the spasms stop." If not said clearly, the transcriptionist may not be able to tell if the dictator said "spasm" or "spasms." This is not a big problem if there has been earlier references to either "a spasm" or "spasms." But, if there is not an earlier reference, the transcriptionist has a dilemma, as it could well be medically significant to a physician whether the patient had a single spasm or multiple spasms. In this situation, the proper way to dictate is to prolong the "zzz" sound if the word is "spasms" or the "mmm" sound if the word is "spasm." For example, if the word is "spasms" you would dictate the sentence as "The medication did not make the spasmzzz stop. Full stop." One could also say: "The medication did not make the spasms stop." Then you say "That's 'spasms stop,' plural." Then continue "Full stop."
Dictating Numbers
Numbers are sometimes a problem for inexperienced dictators. Most "teen" numbers can easily be confused with "ty" (pronounced "tee') numbers such as: 13/30, 14/40, 15/50/ 16/60, 17/70, 18/80. Dictating numbers properly and in the accepted manner is a good way to avoid any misunderstanding and is simple. Here are some examples of how you should say numbers:
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| Number |
Dictate |
| 15 |
"Fifteen. That's one, five." |
| 50 |
"Fifty. That's five, zero." |
| 17 |
"Seventeen. That's one, seven." |
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When dictating file numbers, medical numbers, etc., Social Insurance or Social Security numbers, make sure you know the pace of the number. By this, I mean a number that is listed as "1234 567 899" should NOT be dictated as 123, pause, 4567, pause, 899. Just pausing between numbers, even if your pause is clear, as in "1234" (pause) "567" (pause) "899," is not good enough, as the transcriptionist still may not know where to place the spaces between numbers. Rather, try to keep the pattern of the number as well as stating the separating spaces, by saying "1234, space. 567, space. 899." Proper "number pace" is important to transcriptionists, as the number is more easily transcribed and is also more likely to be accurately transcribed. (Try this: sit at your computer and have someone tell you an unknown number of unknown length, without them stopping, while you type it exactly as it should be.)
If you are dictating a long number keep the numbers in groups of three or four, for easier transcription. Very important also is the point that "0" (zero) is a number; "o" (oh) is a letter. The number "506" should be dictated as "five, zero, six," not "five, oh, six." This is of the utmost importance in file numbers that include letters of course, as the transcriptionist will consider all "o" sounds as the letter "o," and will transcribe it accordingly.
Many Workers' Compensation file numbers are notoriously long without any spaces and often peppered with letters as well. The most humane way to dictate these file numbers is to say them slowly and clearly. For example, a WCB number like "XZBC89772536" should be dictated as: "No spaces. All capital letters. XZBC. That's X-ray, Zulu, Bravo, Charlie, (pause) 897 (pause) 725 (pause) 36."
The International Alphabet
If you know the "International Alphabet" please make use of it whenever you can in order to minimize errors. If you do not know it, we have included it below for your reference. (Knowing this alphabet comes in handy in lots of other areas of one's life where giving information orally needs to be accurate.)
The International Alphabet as adopted by the United Nations
|
| A |
ALPHA |
(AL FAH) |
N |
NOVEMBER |
(NO VEM BER) |
| B |
BRAVO |
(BRAH VOH) |
O |
OSCAR |
(OSS CAH) |
| C |
CHARLIE |
(CHAR LEE) |
P |
PAPA |
(PAH PAH) |
| D |
DELTA |
(DELL TAH) |
Q |
QUEBEC |
(KEH BECK) |
| E |
ECHO |
(ECK OH) |
R |
ROMEO |
(ROW ME OH) |
| F |
FOXTROT |
(FOKS TROT) |
S |
SIERRA |
(SEE AIR RAH) |
| G |
GOLF |
(GOLF) |
T |
TANGO |
(TANG GO) |
| H |
HOTEL |
(HOH TELL) |
U |
UNIFORM |
YOU NEE FORM) |
| I |
INDIA |
(IN DEE AH) |
V |
VICTOR |
(VIK TOR) |
| J |
JULIETT |
(JOO LEE ETT) |
W |
WHISKEY |
(WISS KEY) |
| K |
KILO |
(KEY LOH) |
X |
X-RAY |
(ECKS RAY) |
| L |
LIMA |
(LEE MAH) |
Y |
YANKEE |
(YANG KEY) |
| M |
MIKE |
(MIKE) |
Z |
ZULU |
(ZOO LOO) |
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In Closing . . .
Dictation is a skill that can easily be learned and always improved upon. If you make the effort to do it correctly, you will find your dictation is often transcribed easily and without error, meaning you do not have to spend time reviewing what you have already dealt with. You will also gain the admiration of your personal or pool transcriptionist(s), as there is nothing more enjoyable than transcribing the dictation of someone who knows the rules and cares about the person on the receiving end of the headphones.
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