A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Acute Care and Difficult Work - Penny

Posted: May 28, 2010

Sounds silly, but what exactly falls under the heading of acute care? Also, what do you all consider the most difficult work type?

acute care - what it is

[ In Reply To ..]
Acute care is basically anything other than radiology and clinical/progress reports.
ER
H and P
Consults
Op Reports
Discharge summary

Operative reports can be difficult, but most of them are pretty routine so you can save a report and then when the doctor does the same procedure on a different patient, it is easy to recall the document and may have to change only a few things in the report. But personally, they are my favorite to do.

Most difficult work type is the mumblers - Regardless of work type or ESL status

[ In Reply To ..]
I have done long, involved, complicated operative reports with lots of arcane terminology for perfectly clear dictators. And I have done "routine" histories and physicals for some of the worst mumblers and fast talkers in the known universe. I remember a PA who tried to cram the entire physical examination into about 2 seconds flat once.

And it's not just the mumblers. Less than an hour ago I had a dictator who is usually pretty clear--but he was trying to keep his dictation secret from the people who were carrying on a very loud conversation about 3 feet from him, it sounded like. As it turned out, he kept it a pretty big secret from me as well....

So, again, the difficulties in the work types are found more in the dictators themselves and their surrounding conditions than in the actual terminology of the dictated material.

Difficulty is DEFINITELY determined mainly by the dictator. - SM

[ In Reply To ..]
Those who mumble, as the above poster stated, or those who rattle things off at 150 mph with no diction whatsoever, just in kind of a monotone rumble, are the worst. The ESL docs generally try hard to be understood (though, granted, they often fail), but as long as they don't also mumble or whisper one has a fighting chance.

If I HAD to pick a specialty or two that I have found, over time, to be more difficult than others, I'd say ophthalmology, maxillofacial surgery, and perhaps orthopedics ... only because all three generally include a lot of specialized equipment/instruments that can take some time getting used to and getting familiar with, but if the dictators are decent they are quite do-able, as well.

a secret from you LOL... but I totally second the MUMBLERS! - bad day...

[ In Reply To ..]
Once you learn the terminology, if you have clear dictators, it can be easy to look things up with all the resources, but regardless of how easy my clinic notes may be... GET THE MARBLES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!! I did one doctor for about 4 years, and at the end of those 4 years, I still was leaving as many blanks as when I first started... it was crazy (I mean not AS many, but you know)...

Now, there is a woman that I generally like, and she is generally clear, but sometimes, she will just leave words out.. or just say things that make completely NO sense. and she is not ESL.... it REALLY bugs me... or she will pronounce something OBVIOUSLY wrong, but won't correct herself and for some reason this bugs me too... and I mean like throwing an extra letter in something like.... "rello" for "hello". I mean, I can't think of an exact example... but UGHHHHHH
it's definitely not a work type I feel is most difficult... it's dictators!!!

HA! Thanks for the laugh. (nm) - heyho

[ In Reply To ..]
*

Thanks all - Penny

[ In Reply To ..]
Very helpful! Thanks again. : )

Similar Messages:

Apr 08, 2010

I know this is a really stupid question but, what does acute care consist of? What types of reports are acute care? I understand that it is basically emergency type of care or short-term care, but exactly what types of reports would you be transcribing? TIA ...

Dec 29, 2009

Alot of the job listings ask for 5+ years in this area, so how do you get into it in the first place? I don't mind starting at the bottom and moving up... But where is the bottom? I had a job with a company but they would not pay me. So now I am trying to look for a job again and not many people wantt o hire someone that does not have alot of experience. So.. How do you get into a specialty?? ...

Oct 04, 2010

That's it! I've had it with transcription companies that only offer acute care transcription and don't pay you anything for it anyway! That if you don't have acute care experience or been lucky enough to obtain it. SOL. I'm changing my profession. ...

Dec 29, 2010

I truly hope that no one applies for this job. That is even beyond ridiculous for clinic work! ...

Nov 10, 2012

I transcribe both clinic and some acute care, and the acute care that I transcribe has a higher percentage of ESL dictators. It seems like that is typical for acute care. Why is that? Are the ESL doctors drawn more to being hospitalists? ...

Sep 26, 2013

What is the difference between ped and regular adult acute care transription? I am being asked if I have ped experience but wouldn't they be the same? ...

Sep 23, 2014

As a relative newbie MT, I'm not certain what "acute care" means. Does it mean basically all reports that are from doctors in the hospital setting? That is, would any hospital operative note, hospital progress note, and all discharge summaries be considered "acute care"? I know a clinic note is basically a note by an outpatient doctor, right? And it's basically about more minor medical problems albeit could be chronic rather than "acute." ...

Nov 02, 2009

What is acute care experience? Do you work for the hospital? I am sooo green to MT! Appreciate advice about this. Still waiting to start the AIM MT internship. Anyone done it? Diane in Vermont ...

Dec 26, 2009

Happy Christmas everyone! I am looking after 2 accounts over Christmas, one Radiology and one Acute Care, neither of which I have any experience of! Can anybody out there point me in the direction of some good websites that would give me vocabulary lists or a "crash course" on these topics?! ...

Feb 22, 2010

I completed my education with Everett Community College in their Career Step program for MT training in Dec. 2006. I have been working ever since in a rehab/therapy clinic. I am the only one who does the transcription for 7 therapists and it is a rather busy office. I have wanted to find work doing hospital transcription and certainly not from lack of trying to locate work on my part. What frustrates me is that I was told by my instructors that I should be able to find su ...

Apr 13, 2010

How long does it take for a clinical MT to become an acute care MT, or I am losing my mind even trying? I have an interview with WalMart today and am actually considering it.... my confidence is down the toilet. Any thoughts? Thanks. ...

May 26, 2010

I have been an MT for 11 years and am wanting to expand my knowledge base beyond the realm of radiology. I have been applying for acute care positions but I am not even given the opportunity to test most of the time because I don't have any acute care experience. I would like to know what I would have to do in order to get some acute care experience behind me so that I can become eligible to apply for and test for acute care positions. Any information anyone has on this would be most a ...

Jun 06, 2010

Can anybody tell me if you can make more money doing Radiology or Acute Care? ...

Jun 04, 2010

And get hired? Opportunites are limited with clinic work, which is all I have experience with, but nobody will give me a chance. Should I apply for acute care positions anyway? Anyone MTs who only did clinic work have any stories about breaking into it? ...

Jul 25, 2010

I have been doing clinics for 10 years. Now I am learning acute care and it is very tough. Lots of doctors and no time to learn each one of them. Very tough. Does it usually take a long time to learn this. They say I am doing great, but lots of blanks! ...

Dec 28, 2010

What categorizes acute care? I mean i have typed clinic notes for family practices and have done endocrinology ( i have not been an MT long and am still learning the lingo). when they say looking for acute care experience, what does that consist of? thanks guys!! ...

Aug 11, 2011

I see that TransTech just placed an ad for acute care MTs. I was hoping that someone who currently works there or has worked for them in the past could share how your experience was. Do you run out of work a lot? Are they an overall good company to work for and treat their MTs well? I remember reading in the distant past that a lot of people there were running out of work a lot. Is this still an issue or a thing of the past? Any feedback on this company w ...

Dec 06, 2011

. ...

Dec 21, 2011

Are things like EEG, EMG, EGD, inpatient H&P, discharge summary, inpatient consults, neonatology, and ED reports considered acute care? ...

Mar 28, 2012

Can anyone tell me the cpl range for a Tier 2 acute care MT at M*Modal? I was given an offer and just wanted to see if it is typical. Thanks. ...

Jul 28, 2012

...nobody is willing to hire you so you can GET that experience!!! So, short of lying on your resume, how exactly does one go about this?? And what is so special about AC experience anyways??? ...

Aug 01, 2012

Can someone please tell me how to get acute care experience? ...

Aug 06, 2012

I would love to know how you get acute care experience when no one will give you the opportunity without it. I am good at what I do and work hard. I am very frustrated because my current job went to voice recognition (which I am sure everyone is on that boat with me). My pay has been cut in half and I am looking for extra work but no one will look at me without acute care experience. Does anyone have any suggestion? ...

Oct 03, 2012

I want to work in acute care and have transcribed for almost 30 years. I know I can do it. Why can't I find someone who will hire me and give me a chance since there are so many acute care transcription jobs out there? I have good experience in orthopedics and a good work ethic. Just wondering. ...

Nov 09, 2012

I feel dumb asking this, but I have done many types of transcription and I'm wondering if any of them apply as "acute care." ...

Nov 12, 2012

I have been looking for full or part-time work for quite some time now. Most of the ads require acute care experience. Is it worth taking a course for acute care or should I work on getting my CMT certification? With all of the changes to health care recently, I didn't know if it was worth pursuing. ...

Mar 23, 2013

Does anyone know why Accentus Acute Care seems to always have the same job ad hiring for acute care MTs that pays a sign-on bonus? It seems as though either they never fill these positions or they are so difficult nobody stays. I would be interested in applying, but the last time I tried to apply with them on the ambulatory side, I could not get the voice file to work. Is this even worth applying for? What is their cpl rate and do they pay for spaces? Thanks for any ...

Apr 29, 2013

I've been in transcription since 1998, doing clinic work for about 13 of those, then moving to acute care consisting of H&P, consults, and discharge summaries....but not op notes. I see so many jobs for acute care work, but they only want people who've done all four. My question is, how do you go about learning to do op notes in order to obtain one of those jobs? I've been tempted to fib and say I have experience just to get the job and then figured maybe I could learn on the job ...

May 10, 2013

I have been a transcriptionist for the past 22 years. I have worked in hospitals and clinics as well as an IC. Early in my career, I transcribed acute care, autopsy, pathology and radiology reports. For the past 15 years I have concentrated on transcribing radiology reports which has been profitable for me since I did not mind typing difficult dictators and ESL physicians. Currently, am fortunate to be working as a full-time employee and have my hourly rate.&n ...

Aug 01, 2013

Considering Accentus Acute Care/ER, but looking for feedback on anything you can tell me about the company people, QA, work, pay scale with incentives, etc. Also, how has the Nuance purchase affected anything or will it? Thank you. ...