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

Typing speed test - sm - L3

Posted: Mar 17, 2012

I need some help/opinions. I think I transcribe fairly fast, i.e., lines per hour. I have been looking to get out of MT and into something related and have been given a typing test (in person) on a couple of occasions. The problem is that I stink at typing from written copy as opposed to from hearing it via dictation. My brain just isn't wired to pass these tests :(

typing speed tests - greyhound mom

[ In Reply To ..]
I hope this suggestion helps. Go to Google and type in typing tests. A lot of different websites will come up. You can take typing tests for 1 minute or 5 minutes or whatever you want. Sometimes it will show you how fast other people type. There were some that typed over 200 wpm. This way, you can just practice whenever you get a chance. I do not do good at tests with someone timing me.

Rewire your brain - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If you look at this with an "I can't do this because my brain is wired wrong" it is not going to help you any.

You CAN change how your brain is wired. Really, in this case it is more that you just are not used to copy typing. If you practice copy typing every day for 10 or 15 minutes, you will be able to do it just fine.

Copy type from anything. Focus on going slowly so that you key each letter individually and CORRECTLY. NOT ONE error. Do not type words and whole phrases. Just one letter at a time. Keep your eye on the copy, not the screen and not the keyboard. SLOW.

Online tests encourage you to go real fast. That will increase errors for which you will be docked. It will make your progress slower. It is counterintuitive to think that going slow and keying one letter at a time will do any good but that is the key to this.

Literally, read the letters off the page, not words. Type letters, not words. If you do this you can rewire yourself in a week or so.

how I was taught to increase accuracy and speed - incognito

[ In Reply To ..]
Concentrate on getting the first letter of every word right, and the rest of the word just follows easily, most of the time.

That is the "whole word" method that ... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Not sure why you had to pop right up to critiize someone's advice. They offered it to be helpful, so maybe you could have let it go without pointing out the flaw you thought it contained?

The whole word method was popular for a while some years ago but doesn't pan out for most people. Also, after a certain point, we know how to keyboard. That advice might work for some students but that is about it. Most people don't have a problem with getting the first letter correct. The problem is with typos and inversions inside words.

The fastest typists get there by typing individual letters. They do not even read what it says. That enables the brain to focus on what it needs to.

Glad that works for you though.

I don't see that she criticized anyone; she simply - stated what worked for her - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
as another method to consider. Different strokes, ya know.

Most of us have seen that poster in someone's cubicle at work in the past that had a few sentences where most words were missing a letter or two in them, yet the human brain tends to subconsciously complete them, and you see the whole word in your mind. It's one reason why it's so difficult to proofread, especially your own work. It's also why the whole-word method would work (for most people) because your brain is going to tell your fingers to complete the whole word.

it was just another idea, I do believe - nm

[ In Reply To ..]

I hear ya - me

[ In Reply To ..]
I have to ask someone to read it for me! Then, thankfully, I wow them with my speed. I'm not sure my brain could be rewired after 30+ years.

can't do it either - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
after transcribing with "expanders" for 20+ years, if a word comes up that I have in my current expander, I will automatically type the shortcut and then, there you go, that's wrong.

Typing speed tests belong to the - typewriter era

[ In Reply To ..]

Then there was no faster way to get documents typed than having run your fingers like hell over the keyboard.
The people who are giving you typing speed tests now have probably never heard about fast text entry software alias expanders?
Measuring with numbers - so many words per minute - makes their task easy and reassuring, and reality is that you have to take the test to get the job.
However, you know there are smarter ways of doing the typing job lightening fast, even in other fields than medical transcription. What they should test is, of course, whether you touch type and are computer savvy.
Your fingers and hands would suffer if you continued all your life - eight hours per day -to associate speed with typing out 95 words or more per minute. We are not dealing with typewriters anymore!

Similar Messages:

Feb 17, 2011

No one seems to talk about typing speed these days. I see a huge difference in earning ability of an MT by their typing speed. I get resumes and people don't even put their typing speed on a resume often. I have to go back and ask them. It is the best ruler out there. Are there any 100 wpm typists out there looking for clinic work, M-F, 9-5? Since we all work by production, obviously the faster you type, the more you will earn (and happier you will be) bu ...

Jun 07, 2011

Does anyone know what the expected typing speed is to get a job - have lots of experience, but ASR work has slowed my typing speed! ...

Feb 17, 2011

I feel so inadequate as a typist after reading all of your posts. I can't type anywhere nearly as fast as you guys. Quality does mean a lot to me, plus at times I'm dyslexic and my fingers have a mind of their own. I may find that quality will go out the window, though, if I get a job being paid by the lines (currently I'm paid by the hour inhouse) as I'm attempting to do. ...

Aug 19, 2011

Is any body using Smart Type speed typing software? I could not find it on the net. Please let me know if it is still availabe. sf ...

May 29, 2015

It can be shocking to see what your actual typing speed averages with poor dictators, pauses in dictation, having to research, etc. Take your total lines per shift. Divide by number of hours you work. Times 11 (I believe average words per line) Divided by 60 (minutes) Equals your words per minute. So if you do what many MTSOs require, 250 lines transcription per hour, your average typing speed to achieve that is 45.8 WPM. If your typing ...

Feb 03, 2012

It is so ridiculous when these companies test you on these players where you can't control the speed or the volume especially when the sound clarity is poor intentionally. ...

Nov 30, 2011

nm ...

Jun 30, 2010

Well, I finally got an interview for a job...not totally thrilled as it's with a temp agency but it is an "open to permanent" position as a medical administrative assistance. I'm worried about taking the typing test! With all my shorthands, I have them ingrained in my brain and I'm afraid I'll flub up and want to make shortcuts when I need to be worried about my timing on the test. Has anyone taken a test for something other than an MT position and did oka ...

Jan 20, 2011

I so badly needed to slow the dictation down but was not able to. I listened to two places a million times and just could not make out what the heck he was saying. Had to leave 2 blanks. That is going to look absolutely horrible. Rrrrrg, so disappointed. ...

Dec 29, 2009

I am going to take the typing test for a data transcriber position at the Census Bureau soon and was wondering if anyone has ever taken this test before? What do they have you type? Thanks in advance ...

Jan 18, 2012

x ...

Jul 10, 2012

nm ...

Apr 10, 2012

I've been transcribing for 23 years. I recently got switched to pretty much all ASR and I really like it. However, the pay is only 4 cents per line plus my shift differential, so that's 4.75 cents per line. I started ASR three days ago. I find it totally non-stressful, pleasant, and interesting. But I am averaging about $7.50 an hour! I don't necessarily need to get tons of money, but this isn't even minimum wage in California (which is $8.00 per hour). How can I get speed? I ...

Jun 09, 2012

Does anyone know what a safe speed is for QA? Some MT's I know can edit at 180 to 190 on the speed bar on Nuance Escription. Managers say these are their "top performers," but I would like to be a fly on the wall to see how their reports are finished on QA. ...

Nov 04, 2012

So tell me, how do I pick up speed? I average about 184 lines an hour. The stats they send out say most of you are doing 220 lines an hour. What can I do to pick up speed? My accounts do not allow templates of more than 75 words. The 7.1 is better with regard to looking up reports, but I still don't know if I am supposed to hit enter after one section before moving on to the next one (history and physical...enter???, then past medical history, for example).&nbs ...

Jan 05, 2010

.. ...

Jan 26, 2010

Just wondering how many lines and hour an MT who uses no expanders or macros whatsoever can type. Anyone know? The fact that there are so many variables kind of sucks because an MT can't really argue if their company gives them a hard time about their speed since there may be no one else to compare with (in an fair way). ...

Mar 15, 2010

I am just curious as to what speed setting to most of you keep it on when doing ASR? I try to keep mine between 8 and 9 unless it's an extremely slow dictator. I would like to increase my line count, but I'm afraid if I speed it up too much I might miss something. ...

Sep 25, 2010

Does anyone have any hints/suggestions/help for working more quickly in Powerscribe editing radiology reports? The program seems a bit sluggish and you have to wait on it when you want to go on to the next step/next report. Any hints for copying/pasting more quickly, etc? Any info would be greatly appreciated as I am trying to increase my speed. TIA ...

Jan 21, 2011

I'm wondering if anyone else likes to keep the VR speed above 100% when doing VR? What number are you comfortable with? I know there are some docs that have to be slowed down to 100% speed or below, but what's your comfortable speed? I have mine set at 115%, but I'm trying to creep up to 120% to see if it helps the line count a little. ...

Feb 24, 2011

I was wondering how long it would take an experinced MT to transcribe a 1:20 (one hour and 20 minutes) report? I am new at this and I think this took me waaayyyy longer than it should have. Can't help but to think I chose the wrong path....lol I guess my speed was about one hour per 9 minutes....The company told me a good transcriber would be one hour for 15 minutes....Is this correct....Turn around time was 24 hours and I barely made the deadline.... ...

Aug 08, 2011

I know everyone's different, so just asking for an avg. Just found out today (after finally getting to a somewhat stable line count) that my former Spheris acct w/ be switching to it shortly. ...

Aug 29, 2011

I am so tired of these docs and PAs screaming through their PEs that I am just so tempted to just put a big fat QA marker for the whole thing. Yes we can go back and look at old reports (full of conflicting info, blanks, plain wrong) but between that and listening over and over, geez we sure do spend a lot of time "working" for which we are not paid! ...

Sep 08, 2011

How long do you give a new job a shot before you know whether or not you will be able to be productive with it? I really want to give up my current full-time job, but I have tried a couple of other MTSOs and their platforms are so much more time-consuming and I end up not being able to make any money. I know that it will take a bit of time to get totally up to speed. Just wondering how long it takes others to get up to a comfortable speed at a new company or when you know you have to throw ...

Mar 01, 2012

Not only their mail server but the DocQmanage server as well. Its ridiculous. There have been so many times where I knew I could fill in one of my blanks if I could just look at some of the old work in DQM, but when doing a search, it takes so long, I end up just saying the heck with it and sending it off with the blanks. It's not like I have a slow connection either. I'm on fiber at 10 mbs, so that's not the problem. ...

Jun 20, 2012

A lot is being said about stepping up speed and productivity as far as keyboard techniques, but I think my problem is mostly that I cant think that fast as far as sentence structure and meaning. And if I speed things up, I worry about whether I actually heard it right and if I have left out words here and there. I like to quickly proof the report but I have read that an MT should proof only 2 reports per day. Any advice? ...

Sep 26, 2012

On every single report, the speed starts out so fast that it is hard to keep up with even the dictators I am familiar with. I have to adjust it on every report. Can some one please tell me a way to fix it permanently? Thanks. ...

Apr 30, 2013

I am planning to purchase Speed Type within the next couple of days and would appreciate hearing from others who use it. I'm wondering: Do I actually need to purchase the training resources in order to learn how to use it? About how long did it take you to learn how to use it? Just how beneficial is it for an MT to have? ...

Jan 05, 2014

Same speed that I always have it marked, but sounds like the dictators are dictating at the speed of light today..Bet the company changed it to try and speed us up ...

Mar 27, 2014

Don't you just *love* it when the system decides to speed up certain dictators to so fast that no one can comprehend - and theoretically they want you to edit them that fast? Gees - so annoying to have to slow them down to a reasonable level all because some idiot who doesn't do transcription thinks we can go faster! ...