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Nitpicky QA - lm

Posted: Jul 26, 2012

I don't mind VR itself, but the QA nitpicking is killing me. Does it really matter if the document says "Patient" or "The patient?" I personally was trained and believe that "the patient" is always appropriate, and I think it's a bit ridiculous. My account is almost 100% ESL and I feel I'm doing well if I can get the major words right.

You are correct. - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
It should be "the patient."

We should also be able to utilize our own judgement but then QA wouldn't be able to feel superior.

I worked in-house for the last several years and when I was forced to reenter the MTSO nightmare, I could not believe how HORRIBLE and HARSH QA had become. These people are out of control and they do a disservice to all.

MTs changing "Patient" to "The patient" is considered overediting. - tmt

[ In Reply To ..]
When it comes to VR, we have to change the way we think. We're no longer being paid to produce accurate AND professional reports. We have to switch gears in our brains, concentrate on accuracy of content, and just ignore the stuff that doesn't change the meaning of the sentence.

Its not considered overediting at my company - failed audits

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If I dont put in the "the," my company will consider that an error, and at 99% accuracy, it only takes a couple small misses like that and I am out of a job.

I have to edit verbatim, regardless of whether the acount is verbatim or not, because otherwise I will fail the audit. By the way, before they fire me, they will put me on performance management and dock my pay by 3 cents per line, so essentially I will be working for 1 cpl! Is that what you want for me by telling me to ignore the stuff?

Not where I work - anon

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I get an omission error for not adding "the" patient.

We are not to miss a single word, not an a, an, the, etc. These little errors add up and will cause a failing audit.

over editing - oldone

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Would it surprise anyone to know that QA gets edited as well? If QA does not "catch things," their auditing score goes down just like an MT's. Everyone has a job to do and everyone is accountable for themselves. This is the way it should be. Maybe this will explain why some MT's think they are being over "QA'd." Gotta walk a mile in someone else's shoes sometimes folks. I thank God for a job.

Maybe the problem is lack of a standard - lm

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across the board. Is there any kind of uniform style guide for editing?

It's tough to completely change your mindset and edit verbatim since you're working on an imperfect document that if it were literally imperfect would often make no sense. Especially with ESL dictators, I find it difficult to leave obvious grammatical errors as is, but that seems to be what they want. Then if I turn around and transcribe the same dictator I'd be expected to correct the grammar. It's tough to have your mind in both places.

Sorry, meant "literally verbatim" not "literally imperfect." -nm - lm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I have walked in your shoes Oldone - anon

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I did QA for quite a while and yep, I am aware that QA gets QA'd.

Here is my ONLY problem with QA, it is inconsistent, at least where I work. If they could just standardize it at the SAME company I would be happy. I hate getting a report back saying "do it this way" then I do it that way and get a report back that says "hey, stupid, don't do it that way." And, p.s., this is for the same account, so that isn't the reason.

QA usually works on a BUNCH of accounts so it is understandable that they would goof but it would be lovely if they would reverse our incorrect scoring and that NEVER happens.

yes, the patient .... as for overediting.. - just me

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I have my own clients and it is definitely "The patient" or I hear it... I am also expected to edit quite a bit behind them.... Lots of critical thinking skills.

You are corrrect about overediting, but... - MT

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...unfortunately, not realistic. The majority of QA WILL not only "grade" you, sometimes daily (inherently stressful), for trivial things that the dictating physician and hospital/facility would NEVER care about, but document it so that it affects your pay (yes, over a "the", an "on", a hyphen) and your reputation as an accurate transcriptionist. To add insult to injury, it's most often a QA who has much less experience than you do, yet they technically control your paycheck? CRAZY.

Nobody is complaining of real errors. We're talking inconsequential things that DO NOT change the meaning. Seriously, if you pride yourself on being a good QA, the first question you should ask yourself is why am I MAKING A BIGGER DEAL OVER THIS than the dictating physician would?

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