Just of the head. I flagged it with a "please proof" for the doctor.

• CT of head - No significant collecting system dilatation?? - Huh??
  • He probably meant to say... sm - RadGal
  • CT of the head - RADMT
  • Sure. - darwin
  • Maybe patient had more than 1 CT, of the head and of the abdomen - I think he is confused
    • Just of the head. I flagged it with a "please proof" for the doctor. - RadGurl

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of my supervisor, who brought it to the attention of the doc.  She said that he got huffy and argued that there WAS such a word as "equivocable" and that he wanted me to type it.  This is not a mispronounced way of saying "equivocal".  I found that out when I flagged it the first time.  The doc actually thinks that is a word, and nobody is able to tell him otherwise, not even a dictionary entry!  That was when my boss asked me to note it on my log every time he did it so that we were covering ourselves. 

Then the doc got annoyed that I was putting it on my log.  Because, after all, it was saying that the Great One was wrong! Horrors!  So then she asked me to take it off the log.  The problem with just typing in equivocal is that it is a verbatim account and this doc has it in his pea brain that "equivocable" is a word.  Secondly, there are times when he says his made-up word when the context would suggest "equivocal" and ALSO when the context would suggest "unequivocal".  I am not an MD, so I don't want to guess at which of these two very different meanings he intends based on the context, you know? 

I think I am going to take the advice of the MT who suggested keeping a copy of my files, which I do, and keeping a copy of the email where my boss asked me to stop flagging "equivocable" on the log. 

I proof after, but would love to proof during.  I'm working on it.  I'm curious as to what percentage of MTs proof as they go or proof at the end?

Thx for responding.

I finish typing...every line of every single report that leaves my desktop.  I may find a typo (and, of, or, etc.) rarely, but I still proofread.  It's just something that I do .

Depending on the report/dictator I can proof during... but I find I catch things better when I proof after. One day I will have the proof during mastered.

There was a time when I really did have to proof each and every word.  Last time I had an audit, it was better than 99% which is quite good enough.

There is a way to learn to do this and I can't really tell you want it is I do or how I do it exactly.  I have pretty high production (1500 to 1800 lines a day) and few mistakes.  I think it is just finding a flow because I have my off days when I have a lot of difficulty.

When this happens to me, I go to several reliable sources and make sure that (1) I *am* spelling it correctly and there are not any alternative correct spellings and (2) that I have a source any doctor would not be able to argue about. I then type a polite note to the doctor and send it along with my proof. In my note, I include the comment that if he has found it spelled another way in a reliable reference, I'd be glad if he would let me know what reference that was, for my own information.  Once, for the name of a medical device, I went to the manufacturer's web page and printed the page describing the device and showing the spelling.  Along with my polite note, I faxed the web page to the doc.  The next dictation I got from him, he was very nice and apologetic and thanked me for being thorough! The worst that has happened is that I didn't hear anything back from a doc, but that's fine, too.  In the unlikely event that the doc STILL wants it spelled incorrectly (which has never happened to me, but it's possible) I would have him put it in writing that he wants it spelled that way. 

Unless I'm really tired, in which case I go back and proof, sometimes even listening to the dictation as I go.

But usually if I'm that tired, I stop transcribing and email the doc's office and tell them I will finish in the morning. Since I very, very rarely do that, they are pretty understanding about it.

If ever there was proof of how out of touch AAMT is with the everyday life of the average MT, the annual meeting in Honolulu is it.  First of all, the economy is pretty much in the toilet and airfare has gone up, as has everything else.  Well, every has gone up except our wages.  My employer, a hospital, has very little money in the budget to share with everyone in medical records for educational activities.  The hospital sure wouldn't pay the $3000 bucks, or whatever the total cost is, to send any of us to Honolulu.  If I were to pay out of pocket to go, why go to the tropics in September and spend the time in windowless hotel ballrooms, attending educational sessions?

How much farther out of the way for the average MT could the meeting be?  Bangalore or Bombay?

For those who proof as you go, I would love to hear any tips and tricks on how you learned to do this and what method works best for you.  I need to increase my line speed and I know proofing after the fact is really killing my line counts. 

TIA!