| Posted by Sharon Allred ® , 11/30/2002, 13:26:55 | Reply | Forum |
Time off from school! Extra time to write another column while I'm on a roll!
Let's explore some final ideas for realizing maximum productivity through increased glossary entries. Actually, maximum productivity is a misnomer, because as I've said before, I continue to add entries practically every time I transcribe (even though my personal glossary currently has over 10,000 entries). Continue to listen to your dictation and think longer phrases and more shortcuts.
Completion of common phrases and sentences is an easy way to further increase phrase expansion. For example, consider the phrase or sentence beginning "Abdomen is . . .." The phrase can be completed with soft and nontender; soft and nondistended; soft, nontender, and nondistended; and on and on with lots of possibilities. Create a new macro for each of these possibilities with the same "root" macro for "abdomen is". One other common sentence with several possibilities for completion is "Cranial nerves II-XII are . . .." Use all common completions to then create additional shortcuts.
What about shortcuts for words or terms for which you need to remember certain distinctions, such as followup and follow up? According to current standards of style, "followup" is a noun or adjective and "follow up" is always a verb. An MT using IT might remember that "followup" is in the first position of the advisory and "follow up" in the second position; or a unique distinction can be designated to allow expansion from memory. My way for remembering followup is "fu" and "fuz" for follow up. You can decide your own naming convention, (even "v" for verb); or again, glance at the advisory to choose the macro you want to expand.
For left/right distinctions, I have entries for left arm (larm), right arm (rarm); left leg (lleg), and right leg (rleg). Again, one gets so accustomed to transcribing using shortcuts, it becomes second nature never to type out right and left. I even use IT when making out tests for school or writing letters, tasks unrelated to actual medical transcription. Because I've gotten used to typing with IT, it's difficult for me to stop and type something without the shortcuts-I'm waiting for an expansion that never happens.
Another way to save unnecessary keystrokes is glossary entries for common abbreviations. Why type "p.m." when "pm" can be expanded to the proper form? This works as well for the many medication abbreviations we use such, such as b.i.d., t.i.d., and q.i.d. That list is a long one with many saved keystrokes.
Consider too how many times we type the same physician name with his/her respective credentials. Because I used a text expander before IT was available, I memorized all docs at my hospital by their initials. I realize for some of you that's an impossible task, either because of sheer numbers or that's not the way you use IT (better for you). But you can still shortcut physicians by their last name (or a combination of first and last) and decide on a system for how you want their names to appear. My system is pretty easy to remember and works like this:
1. John H. Doe, MD, FACS (kjhd)
2. Dr. John H. Doe (zdjd)
3. For Dr. Doe's address, my shortcut is "ajhd" to signify address:
John H. Doe
199 Hospital Drive
Anytown, MD 26151
Since I have committed these to memory, the fact that the extra letter comes before the initial doesn't slow me down. However, if you use the advisory to select your macro, add the additional letter to the end of the doctor's initial: jhdf (for formal name), jhdd (for Dr. name), and jhda (for doctor address). That way when jhd is typed, an MT sees all the choices on the advisory.
Transcriptionists use common headings frequently, and IT aids production by allowing an MT to choose which way a heading is expanded. I'll detail the possibilities for one heading, then these conventions can be applied to the many headings used by an MT.
1. HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: (hpiuc - for upper case)
2. HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: (hpiu - for underline)
3. HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: (hpib - for bold)
4. History of Present Illness: (hpis - for standard)
5. history of present illness (hpilc - for lower case)
Again, if glossary entries are sequenced consistently, a number can be substituted for the additional letter, or one can glance at the advisory each time a heading is typed.
What about entire paragraphs, even entire reports? You bet! Possibilities are limitless. Because I did not initially use Instant Text for normals (entire reports), I am in the process of adding over 700 normals to my IT glossary. It's tremendously exciting to type a few characters and watch an entire OP report appear. Start with the standard paragraphs-the paragraphs the doctors say all the time, such as "Thank you for the opportunity to assist in the care of this patient", or whatever yours says. From that, build entire reports with the headings already in place. I've realized the most benefit from normals of OP reports, but there are also many other reports and specific doctors on which you can build a normal report to increase productivity.
In my next column about productivity, I will discuss some of my ideas for being the best MT one can be. I'm sure most seasoned MTs already use the majority of my ideas, (I can learn some from you), but there are new grads and students who will benefit from additional suggestions. It never hurts to think outside the box once in a while-we might learn something new. This career is one where learning never stops; I love it!
Till next time,
Sharon B. Allred, CMT
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