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Just took the tier 3 test. That was challenging for me.... - Kiki

Posted: Apr 16, 2010

Four OP reports; have never done OPs before. Not sure I will pass though, as I had to leave 11 blanks in one report. Left 1 or 2 in the other reports. And it wasn't because the dictator wasn't clear; I just either could not hear the surgical term/equipment/suture and/or could not reference it. Other than the blanks, I think I did pretty well. I think you have to get 96.00 to pass.

Can someone who has taken this test before tell me if you get points deducted for blanks? Are you allowed a certain number of blanks? I'm sure they have to penalize that somehow, especially since it was my fault because the dictation WAS clear, but hoping someone knows about this.......Thanks in advance!

why.... - ***

[ In Reply To ..]
will they give you a sh*tload more $$$ at tier 3?

I've done this 30+ years and still have to look stuff up, but it seems your line count might go waaaaay down if you get tier 3 dictation routinely.

Good luck, if that's what you want. Please let us know.

Thanks, but I was hoping for an answer to my question... - Kiki

[ In Reply To ..]
I guess I'll just have to wait and find out.

No, I do NOT expect any more $$. I knew that before taking the test. I was just hoping to reduce chances slightly for NJA being able to do every type of report. Also, the MAIN reason I want to do OPs is in case MQ is a bust someday soon. I think I'd have a better chance of getting a job elsewhere if I can do OPs.

I do agree, they ARE more difficult and you do have to look things up more often, so I imagine my production could very well take a nosedive and while I don't like that, I think it's in my best interest.

Believe me, I thought about this a lot before deciding to go for it. If I send too much to QA, and I may have to, well, we all know what happens then. Pay deduction. Well, I really won't let that happen; I'll send blanks if I need to.

I was hoping for a little encouragement and maybe some tips on how to handle OPs, some tips on the best/quickest way to find surgery terms, best references online and books.

Even though we all are pretty discouraged here, we ARE still here, and I would hope while that is still true we could support each other instead of just responding to posts with non-helpful questioning.

what I use - ***

[ In Reply To ..]
Get a copy of Stedman's Medical & Surgical Equipment Word Book. It is a good baseline and the very minimum.

I also use a lot of the manufacturing company web sites...St. Jude, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Fisher, etc. These are the BEST for newer products. The sites for joint replacements and cardiac catheterization equipment are really good. One thing that will throw you, if you are a perfectionist, is that most of this stuff is in irregular case with some/all letters capitalized.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at ginorman at yahoo dot com.

I agree with above poster, I use all the - things she stated SM

[ In Reply To ..]
and I also have a problem with the upper/lower case discrepancies. I love OPs and I find that I can make a lot of expanders for certain dictators as they say the same thing in each report.

Smart - Vicki

[ In Reply To ..]
You're smart to learn all work types - plus it breaks up the monotomy. There was a time I used to do almost all ER reports and that can get really boring. After you do them for awhile, you'll zip right through them - I think I make better line counts with ops than discharge summaries personally. Agree with use of Stedman's Med/Surg Equipment book. Good luck - I hope you pass it!!

Thank you, Vicki! n/m - Kiki

[ In Reply To ..]
:)

Also great - Surgical Word Book by Tessier - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
...

Thank you so much.... - Kiki

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you for the web sites...and for the heads up on the capitalization aspect!

I do believe we get the CD version of that surgical equipment book with Benchmark...am I correct?

I do have Tessier's surgical word book, but it's a bit outdated, so not of much use....

Thanks again! :)

Even out-of-date Tessier is useful - Mine is - 3rd edition, 2004 and is

[ In Reply To ..]
still extremely useful. Lots of the same equipment is being used and for standard things like names/types of manipulators, clamps, forceps, sutures,valves, prostheses, tubes, catheters, wires, tables, etc., etc, even my 2004 tessier is still very helpful.

For the brand new stuff not in my outdated Tessier or Stedman's I am able to find it all on line pretty quickly. And as one of the above posters said -- head for the manufacturers' websites when you see a term presented several different ways (spelling as well as upper/lower case) when Googling. One of the Google entries always manages to mention the manufacturer.

Yes, at the beginning it will be very time consuming and with FTR, it does not perhaps seem the best time to be doing this ? Because right now it is all about speed and no blanks--not learning/training.

On the other hand, you're right to want to expand your knowledge. I quit a couple of months ago when I realized that every single MME paycheck was minimum wage and I just could not pay my bills with that. Being able to do all work types helped me sail through all the testing I did for several companies and all offered me a job. If you do eventually get away from MQ, you will find smaller friendly companies still have QA and will work with you on learning/filling in your blanks, considering it an investment in you for the future ! QA is going strong outside of MQ. Good luck -- you're definitely going in the right direction -- just not too sure it's a direction MQ can absorb right now -- then again, you are the CA person just taunting them to lay you off, right ? Sounds like you'll be fine no matter what MQ does.

kiki - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I took the tier 3 test about 3 months ago. I went from tier 1 directly to 3,skipping 2. My CCM said I passed with flying colors and I got a substantial raise.

I didn't leave any blanks, but I believe you are better off leaving blanks than using incorrect terms.

I used my Stedman's Medical and Surgical Equipment Words and Stedman's Surgery Words, along with Stedman's Anatomy and Physiology Words as reference material. They were all extremely helpful. Take advantage of the MQ discount and payroll deduction for these reference materials.

Remember, even if you don't pass the first time, you can retake it in a few months, with a better idea of what you need to know.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you sm for that helpful reply! :) - Kiki

[ In Reply To ..]
I'll definitely pick those 2 books up! If I didn't pass, at least I'll have these for next time. If I did, well, I need them too. :)

Also, you can find sample op notes on line. - Mayo Clinic, for instance

[ In Reply To ..]
has samples of every possible imginable procedure and op. The samples are most helpful. When I was first learning ops about 10 years ago, I printed out a sample of each kind. They helped me understand exactly what was going on so that when I got a poor or ESL dictator at work, I could often figure out what was being said just because I knew what was probably being done next in the procedure.

Thank you so much--I'm going to check this out...n/m - Kiki

[ In Reply To ..]
:)

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