SOMETHING FOR ALL DICTATORS! - JustMe Posted: May 23rd, 2016 - 4:06 am
I've compiled a comprenensive list for anyone who dictates. If you'll follow these guidelines, you'll be a much-loved dictator. Feel free to share!
Find a quiet area to dictate.
Speak in a NORMAL TONE at a NORMAL RATE and speak CLEARLY.
DO NOT speak through yawns or ringing telephones.
Do not waste our time reading. Read all documents, reports and pertinent information before you turn on the dictation equipment and have an idea of what you are going to say ahead of time. There is not a whole lot that is more irritating to a transcriptionist than having a 30-minute long dictation that we HAVE to listen to while the dictator is sitting there having lunch, reading and not dictating. We cannot skip over it in the event that they decide to say something during their lunch.
This is the most important one of all. DO NOT EAT, DRINK OR CHEW GUM OR CANDY WHILE YOU ARE DICTATING. Smacking and chewing is REALLY loud in our headphones. We cannot get away from it and it makes our job a lot harder to do….plus it makes us despise you.
Put your cell phone on vibrate and put it far AWAY from the dictation equipment. Those ringing and/or vibrating phones are LOUD and INCREDIBLY ANNOYING.
Do not play music. It is distracting to us, especially if it is too loud or if we know the song. We want to sing along rather than listen to the dictation. If you must play music, play only instrumentals and play it very low in the background.
DO NOT TURN ON THE TELEVISION.
Do not have outside conversations with anyone on my time. Do not answer your phone. Do not text. Do not chit chat with other people who happen to come into the area where you are dictating. For every second you are not dictating, I am losing money.
Spell your OWN NAME every single time when you start dictating each report. Your name is difficult for most people to spell phonetically plus it will save a lot of time when the transcriptionist does not have to look up the spelling. Even after you get married, spell your name.
Spell the name of EVERY PATIENT and EVERY PHYSICIAN the first time they are used in a dictation. There are MANY ways to spell the name Ashley, for instance. If you do not spell it, we have to take the time to look it up. TIME is money.
When using abbreviations, specify what you are using them for…actually, try not to use them at all because they can be confusing. ABI - ankle-brachial index, acquired brain injury, AMA - advanced maternal age, against medical advice, antimitochondrial antibody, American Medical Association.
When it comes to medications, if you cannot easily pronounce it or if you are unsure of the pronunciation, SPELL IT. If it is a brand name medication, start the spelling by saying CAPITAL LETTER since all brand name medications are capitalized. AcipHex, for example, has 2 capital letters. As transcriptionists, we are supposed to know which medications are brand name and which are not, but we cannot remember or learn everything and if you want to make our job easier, and have completely accurate reports, take a moment to spell it.
If you are dictating a surgical report, spell the name of the devices the first time they are used in the report if the word seems difficult to spell. You cannot take the time to spell every single device but you can spell ones like this one: Finochietto.
When it comes to medical terms that sound exactly alike, spell the word the first time you use it in the dictation (example: dysphagia and dysphasia, ilium and ileum.)
Try to be repetitive from one report to the next. The more you say the same things, the faster and more accurate your reports will become. We love repetition from one report to the next. However, we do NOT like repetition in the same report. If you say that the patient is vomiting…don't tell me again 2 sentences later because I have to erase one of the sentences so YOU won't look like an imbecile for constantly saying the same thing over and over.
If you want a numbered list, say so. If you are going to do more than make a list of one or two words per number, then say NEXT NUMBER when you are finished with that particular thought so we know that you are finished with all the information you wanted for that particular number. We cannot read minds.
Numbers are very important in dictation, specifically in laboratory values. If the number has a decimal point in it, STATE IT. For hemoglobin, for instance, say thirteen POINT 2 and not 132 or one three two. It is hard to remember which numbers should contain a decimal point and which ones do not. We have to remember a TON of information to begin with and since YOU are looking at the numbers and you SEE the decimal point there, state it to us to save time and to make your completed report as accurate as it can be.
If you are dictating numbers, lab values for instance, say 1 - 5 for 15 and 5 - 0 for 50 because they sound so much alike. We need a distinction with all numbers that sound alike.
If you are unsure of punctuation (commas, periods, quotation marks) then do not dictate them.
The easier you are to transcribe, the more accurate your reports will be. You will not have blanks to later go back and fill in or any corrections to make.
Lastly, it is not required but it is nice to have your dictator say something like, "Thank you transcriptionist. Have a great day." Without us, your job would not be nearly as easy because we make sure your information is accurate and in your hands BEFORE you need it. It is always nice to hear a nice thank you for our hard work.
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