Think oncology is one of the hardest specialities.
Posted By: nm on 2008-06-04
In Reply to: Question - Tam
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- Question - Tam
- Think oncology is one of the hardest specialities. - nm
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Oncology - by far is the hardest for me. New protocols every day to learn. nm
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Op reports by far are easiest for me - hardest is Oncology. nm
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Rate your favorite specialities
- Radiology
- Gastro
- ER notes
- Cardiology
I do acute care, all specialities, all
dictators, very high percentage of ESL. My work still randomly goes through QA, but I am always off 100% QA either the day I start or the next day. I may make an occasional mistake in style like not bolding something that should be bolded, but the accuracy of my reports is excellent.
I may be an exception, but I don't feel like I should be. My name or initials is going on every report and I take pride in my work. I'm frequently told that my work ethic is very strong and that I expect everyone to be level with me, which I do, but I'm also told my expections are too high.
Radiation oncology vs. hematolog/oncology
I have experience with hematology/oncology but not radiation oncology. What exactly is the difference? Is it a difficult jump from one to the other? Broad learning curve? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hardest for me are the NE (i.e., RI, NJ and the like)
Shoot, I used to date a guy from NJ and almost fell over laughing when he asked me out of "cwaffee" LOL.
I'm a Texan too :-)
One of the hardest, IMO
Been doing oncology now for 17 years. One of the hardest parts is the drug regimens.. and they are ever changing, such as the protocols and study drugs. The next hardest for me is understanding the chromosome analyses. I've got some really good websites I could share with you if you would like. Best thing is to have good references and websites.Good luck in your decision and just post here if you need websites.
Yes it is one of the hardest things to do.
:(
I think this is sometimes the hardest part
of the job, that it is at home. I did it out of house and I enjoyed it more there, maybe I was a little less productive but I am a social person. I had to adapt and it has been hard. I am forcing myself out more but there are weeks when we are on cut off when I don't leave for 3 days, feel like Howard Hughes sometimes. hahahah.
The hardest is whatever you aren't
used to. Discharge summaries have a lot of drug names, but the good thing is that it is the last report dictated (ideally), and with with many systems you can see the earlier reports for drug names and other terms.
I would say some of the most slurred dictation happens during the physical exam section of the H&P, but if you can see the dictator's previous reports are viewable, you can make normals. Lots of times they say the same thing every time, so that's an opportunity to use a normal and save yourself keystrokes.
So these are some reasons there are no pat answers.
first night of each week will be hardest
The first night of the week you work is always the hardest, especially if you have slept a normal night. Try to get a nap that first night before you start your 3 days. I always kept caffiene pills (like No-Doze) handy. I didn't take them often but once in a while they would come in handy just to get me through the night. Also, take a shower before you start as if you are starting a regular day. If you get enough sleep during the day after your shifts, you shouldn't have too much of a problem. My problem was I neve was able to get very much sleep, which is why I had to rely on the caffiene pills at times. For some odd reason when you work third shift you don't seem to need as much sleep either. Good Luck.
Hardest lessons to find out after BK
I thought health insurance was too expensive when I changed from employee to IC. I had emergency surgery and afterwards lost everything when I could not pay the bills.
First, sit down with every debt you owe and categorize everything - credit cards/loan companies/nonsignature debt/mortgage/car/medical/taxes, etc. Each type of debt has a different relief route typically. These are things to expect: Whether you enter a credit counseling program or BK, credit score will be damaged for years - how bad is relative to what you attempt to obtain credit for in the future. With BK in particular, depending on what state you live in, most major insurance companies will not sell you a home owner's policy until BK is discharged in 7+ years. You may also have increased car insurance rates. Depending on your personal circumstance, you need to check with your insurance companies. For instance, Nationwide will not sell the homeowner policy until after discharge. You need to ask whether your state uses credit for car/home insurance rating. Earlier posts are correct - student loans, Federal and State taxes are exempt from BK laws - if these are part of your debt from past years, you need to talk to both your state and the Fed about your options which might include an offer in compromise. If your student loans are just coming due, you need to talk to the company about options. If you have older student loans, most can be deferred with added interest and penalties. Some employers are now running credit checks in the application process - yes they can and will use that information in the hiring process.
The "new" BK laws mean that your debt will be reviewed and if you can pay back a portion, you will be required to do so - but this is major legal mumbojumbo, so my ultimate advice - do your homework and find the best BK or debt relief attorney and pay a consult fee before you make any drastic moves. They may try to 'sell' you a BK filing (obviously, that's how they make their money) but you need to pick their bones for all the info they can give you relevant to your state.
Lastly, 35k of debt with 35k of income is doable but you would have to knock your school time down to nominal or put it on hold altogether for a while to avoid BK and not assume any further debt. Whatever happens, do not let your medical insurance slide or any other policy which safeguards long-term- it may seem worth it up front but I can tell you it is the single worst decision you can electively make. Best of luck to you.
Agree...Hispanic is the hardest!
I've done everything from Indian to Asian and never had a problem with those...but Hispanic accents always throw me for a loop. For instance, I have one MD now that pronounces "violation" as vee-o-lit-on. Took me forever to figure out what she was saying not to mention her grammar was horrendous!
which accent do you find the hardest to transcribe?
I do okay with Oriental, Greek, Indian, most European accents. However for some reason when it comes to Spanish docs, forget it !  It just sounds like gibberish to me.
I love the Asians, because they TRY the hardest, and it usually comes out funny. nm
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Hardest thing was marker keys
But after about a week, I got the hang of them. Actually, that is THE thing that makes IT worthwhile for all the other features. Just choose keys that are easy for you to use.
Also, I used the expansions I had at the time from the old Expander and created a glossary from those, so my familiar expansions were already there. Once I got the hang of the marker keys, then I started utilizing more of the features.
I love my IT!
My hardest was a woman from Spain - very, very fast! NM
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Hardest: Dental surgery. Easiest: Cardiology, OPs. sm
Most interesting: Psych.
I think it's generally whatever you get the least of that you'll find the hardest. I used to hate OPs, GI procedures, and cardiology, but eventually got used to them and found they are repetitive (aka good money makers!).
In all fairness, it is a known fact that English is the hardest to learn sm
How many Americans say BP was 120 SLASH 80. Slash? How about over?
With ESLs we have no idea what their native language is like unless we speak it. It may be 120 by 80 for them and they are translating.
I don't know about you, but growing up my plan was to be a translator for the UN. To that end, I took Latin, Spanish, French, German and some Russian. I was a straight A student in these, but I have to tell you, it was not easy. All of them have "gender" to every noun which in turn governs the formation of adjectives and pronouns and even such things as "a" or "an" take gender. Sometimes even verbs take gender. English only has remnants of gender (a boat is a she, as an example).
There are also plenty of ESLs who speak more than two languages and English is only one of them. That adds to the confusion for them because gender isn't consistent. One language may have a male moon and a female sun, while the other is the opposite. In German, the verb needs to be the second word in the sentence and comes before adverb. The above languages frown on more than two adjectives for a noun, whereas English doesn't care. In English you can string together many adjectives if you want to, but this would be considered linguistically incorrect in other languages. Verbs have declensions and by and large, the cases stay the same across the board. English just think of eat, eaten and ate as an example of an exception and we have many such exceptions.
I catch myself saying that English is spoken just as it is spelled...well sometimes, but laugh isn't spelled laff.
Oh and you gotta love UK doctors...eeestroh gen spelled oestrogen comes to my mind.
ESLs can be incredibly frustrating. I know this, I have recently worked on an account with 80+% ESLs, most of whom were rather poor as they go. The fact remains, you have to either find yourself a job where there are no ESLs, which is becoming increasingly difficult, or learn to live with them. Some of my very favorite dictators of all time have been ESLs, partly because I struggled with them and when it just "popped" in my head they were easier than most Americans, and oh so redundant, they made me a lot of money with normals.
I will say that I believe that more money should be paid to MTs when the account is very heavily ESLs because they take a lot more time.
Poll - what do you think the hardest accent is? I vote Hispanic. nm
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Poll: hardest and easiest work types. I enjoy...
orthopedics and psychiatry. Do not like cardiology, oncology.
I just left after 16 years of marriage. Hardest decision I've ever made, but something that I ha
My husband doesn't want to work. Never has and probably never will and it took me 16 years to figure out that nothing was ever going to change. He has been in and out of college over the years with a number of different majors and when he is on the verge of actually finishing something, he up and quits, because I believe he doesn't want to actually go out and get a job. He loves the going to school part, the studying, etc., but the actual finishing and putting his education to work, that's too overwhelming.
For years I made excuses for him, supported him, and actually believed that as he got older he would mature and finally find his way. He's 42 now and runs off every day with one of his unemployed friends to play frisbee golf or go hiking or water skiing or fishing while I'm sitting at home at my desk typing until my nose bleeds!
I was one of those women afraid of being by myself. I recently had a major depressive snap where I cried nonstop for three weeks. I found a great doctor who became a great friend and she helped me find the right medicine to get my head clear and then she helped me realize that I don't have to be afraid of anything. I was already supporting myself and my kids without anyone elses' help. What was so frightening about leaving my husband behind?
So quietly I made my plans to leave. I let my husband know that I was going to move back home to the area where all my family still lives when school let out this summer. He didn't believe me because I had said it all before. So I just made sure he knew I was thinking about it again. Then May came along and miracously a job opened up at the hospital in the small community I wanted to move back to. This hospital never has openings because they virtually have no employee turnover whatsoever. Everyone's been there at least 5 or more years. I took it as a sign and made my move. Within two days of submitting my resume, I had an interview set up. Without even waiting to see if I had the job, I packed up my kids and our stuff and told my husband "I'm going. I love you, but if you want to be with me you need to get a job and actually be my partner not one of my kids." And I left.
I got the job, thankfully. I've been here a month and I know without a doubt that it was the best thing I've done in a long time for me and my kids. My teenage son had built up a lot of resentment towards his father and their was a lot of anger and tension between the two of them before we moved. Now, my son is happier than I've seen him in years. He's more social, made a lot of friends, and even has a girlfriend now. My daughter misses her dad, but she has always been remarkably wise for her young age and is very open about saying how calm everything is up here.
So there's my story. I would never encourage anyone to divorce or leave their husband, and I haven't actually taken the step to file for divorce yet myself. But sometimes separation is liberating and therapeutic. It has been for me. I can't remember the last time I felt so peaceful.
oncology
Especially because there are always new drugs, especially if you are doing a hospital that uses experimental drugs. Can't ever find them anywhere
ONCOLOGY
I am just starting an OR an oncology account and would appreciate any good sites as well.
I have done some oncology
I really did not mind it that much at all. Much easier to me than orthopedics and physical therapy notes. I did have Stedman's Oncology word book, as well as the internet. I agree with the other poster, the hardest was the chemotherapy protocols, but there many resources to help with this.
Oncology because there are new
drugs/protocols all the time. Psychiatry because it can be very depressing after a while.
oncology
Hi, I work at an oncology clinic. Our transcriptionists are paid hourly and make between 11.50 to 14.75 per hour. I've always heard radiology is the best pay because of the short length of the reports. Some oncology notes can run 10 minutes. It is an enjoyable specialty though.
Oncology
I am actually intrigued by all of the neat things they have done to help with cancer, and people are not suffering or dieing from cancer like they used to. The oncology field has grown so much and I think it is interesting to learn the new changes that are coming out. It does get depressing at times, although it is more so encouraging. I like to keep up-to-date on the new technology and watching the people get better rather than worse. It definitely has its ups and downs, but it has also advanced so much. It beats the same old, same old of everyday repetition with colds and cuts 
oncology
Hi for those of you that work in oncology I have a question. I just started working in oncology. I have worked in radiology, orthopedics and limited acute care doing discharge notes. How long do you think it will take for me to become proficient with oncology? I have been a Transcriptionist for about 10 years and have been exposed to hospital radiology, clinic ortho and limited discharge summaries.
ONCOLOGY
Oncology involves all the organ systems and it is a challenge. I find myself praying for the patients sometimes. It is interesting to me the choices patients make regarding their treatment; some stoic, some adventurous, some depressed, some more concerned about their families than themselves, etc. It definitely makes me appreciate my health and my faith.
If you can do Oncology, you can certainly
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Oncology
Oncology is so experimental and thus we see all these protocols and new drugs popping up all over the place. If you can do that,you can certainly learn a more generalized field such as internal medicine which less specific than oncology. I would say a lot easier also.
oncology
Has anyone ever heard of "Schimmel" solution for oral mucositis?
Oncology because of the always changing...sm
meds. And I have to admit, though I have done ortho a lot in the past and know it well, I just don't like it.
oncology links
Thanks!!!
janet mills
plant city fl
been doing oncology since 1987
Once you know a field, it becomes a piece of cake. I do not agree that you need ANY books if you are transcribing ONLINE. There are many govt sites belonging to NIH and end in a dot gov which have all the current chemo drugs to date. We also have other rx websites to check out like drugs dot com and rx dot com to find drugs and proper spelling and when all else fails there's always Google dot com search engine.
hope that helps and hope I didn't cross any rules here for posting, if so please let me know, moderators *S*
Rheumatology and oncology. nm
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And oncology is my favorite! nm
Radiation oncology....
I normally type Radiology and love it but was asked to cover a radiation oncology account until my Radiology account is ready. Heres my dilemma....
I think I really like doing oncology! Can anyone tell me what the earning potential is for (full-time) oncology work? I normally get paid by report for radiiology (1.25/report + incentive).
Transcribe oncology now...sm
I transcribed ER notes at several other MT positions, in addition to most other basic 4 reports, and I usually had no trouble getting the required lines with ER work. I enjoyed it from a variety standpoint. You never know what you're going to get, just like Forrest Gump! I, too, am tired of the repetition of oncology, hematology, radiation oncology, etc., and it does seem to sometimes drone on with some physicians. However, it can be a good line count, too. I would think you would be able to adapt quickly to ER work if you are looking for a change. Hope this helps.
Oncology or Dermatology
Which is less complicated Oncology or Dermatology???
You never catch up with oncology....
there is always different meds and procedures more than any other field I've done. I quit after about a year. Great experience but ya don't make the money.
Hematology/oncology
If anyone knows of any hem/onc jobs, please e-mail me...except if they use Emdat/Inscribe, then I am not interested. Thanks for any help.
Oncology information
Some other ideas to consider:
If you are transcribing for an oncology practice, find out where they are on staff and check the websites for those hospitals. Many hospitals feature their cancer programs.
Most states have at least one comprehensive cancer center. There is a list of them in the back of the Stedman's Oncology Words book that includes the web addresses. They do cutting edge research, and your patients may end up there or may be coming back from their to get their treatment locally. By all means, buy the Stedman's Oncology Words book if you don't have it already. New 5th edition just came out.
The National Cancer Institute has a massive list of oncology clinical trials. I find it a bit clunky to use, but it is a resource. Your tax dollars at work!
CenterWatch lists clinical trials and new drug approvals. These parts of the site are free, but other parts aren't (and those are expensive). This site is well regarded by those who work in clinical trials.
I hope you find these suggestions helpful. I love oncology!
Radiation Oncology
Do any of you oncology transcriptionists know of any good sites for radiation oncology terms?. I am a seasoned oncology Transcriptionist who has a new oncology account that includes radiation oncology dictation, which I have never done before. Help, please.
Thanks
Radiation Oncology
Does anyone do radiation oncology dictation, and if so, what sites do you use for help. I am a very experienced oncology Transcriptionist having to face doing radiation oncology (which I have never done before) and I am having so much trouble finding the words I need. Help would certainly be appreciated. TIA
oncology is part of the
Internal Medicine here at the hospital I work for. I have onsite employment and home transcription.
Oncology accounts
Anyone know if oncology accounts generally have a higher rate of pay?
Hematology/Oncology
Generally the pay is the same for acute work of all specialties. I'd recommend having a copy of Stedman's Radiology and Oncology. If you haven't done this specialty before, as someone else mentioned, you'll spend time researching chemotherapy drugs/protocols, etc., so the better your reference resources, the more productive you'll be.
I have Oncology experience.
But not for $.065 cpl as has been offered by other companies. Perhaps a few more details in your job ad? Estimated lines per day, pay rate, TAT, company website, full-time or part-time, employee or IC?
Agree with oncology. Glad I don't do it! nm
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