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Sentence breaks - Diane

Posted: Nov 12, 2009

Hello to all MT posters-

- Am wondering about tips about sentence breaks and comma use. Any advice/guidelines when the doctor is running fast and sentence breaks and paragraphing don't seem obvious?

-Thanks to the MT's that give advise in a professional manner. So many of the newbie posts hit right at home.

-Still waiting for my AIM internship to start. Has anyone interned with AIM?

Diane

That is where your experience comes into play - Answers

[ In Reply To ..]
Spell checking is a great way to start. You have to know the difference in advise and advice. A MT gives advice. You would advise other people.

There was a poster below who posted about AIM being perhaps not what people thought them to be. Did you read that?

Again with time comes the experience to listen and know when the doctor breaks for 1 sentence and starts another. Most doctors, in particular, dictate very fast and you have to determine what they really want, sort of half mind reader in this business. They change wording in sentence, again that comes with experience. That is why many places want 2 years medical transcription experience now when they hire.

sentence breaks - Tara

[ In Reply To ..]
The easiest way for me to figure it out is by listening to the dictation and putting it on paper as if I was having a conversation with the person. Sometimes you just have to type and type and go back and proofread to add commas, periods, or semicolons for it to make sense. What goes on the paper in reading form, has to come off as if you are listening to the doctor talk right to you, so if it is a run on sentence, you are just going to get the ramblings of the doctor instead of the full effect of what he/she is trying to say. As far as paragraphs, they usually contain the same information about a subject, so if the subject changes to something else, that is where you would put a new paragraph, usually.

Sentence breaks - Diane

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks Tara,

The info about sentence breaks is really useful.

Diane

And what happens after you do what she says is - you wind up with no lines

[ In Reply To ..]
for the day. After years and years in this business I never go back and proof. I maintain a high standard in QA but proofing is left to spell check. I am more confident than having to proof my work, talk about wasting your time.

sentence breaks - Tara

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't proof either because I've been at this long enough as well, however, a newbie, such as Diane, needs to proof her work before sending it off or she will quickly lose her job when someone actually gives her a chance. I don't think telling someone not to proof is really great advice to someone new to this business, do you? Until she gets the hang of certain doctors and how to actually transcribe medical reports, proofreading is going to be key in her keeping a long-term job with a company she worked so hard to get!! Also, how do you figure you don't get any lines by proofing? You still get the same amount of lines regardless of proofing, maybe even more if you are adding in punctuation, you just get less money per hour because it takes a little longer. However, I'm sure someone new to the business would rather take the time and make less money now to ensure they have a job in the future and a better chance at making money with the job they STILL have!!

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