anyone else think British accents are sometimes difficult?
Posted By: SA on 2007-11-09
In Reply to:
There are few doctors with British or Australian accents compared to Indian, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, East Asian etc....but perhaps because I don't hear them as often I am sometimes really thrown off by them.. not ESL! But I find myself relistening before I get some of the words. Also difficult are some of the other European dictators...do not get as many of those either. Used to get a guy - I looked him up on the hospital web site - it said he spoke about 6 different European languages - he had a very unusual accent.
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Right as usual Hayseed! And what about British dialects - sm
such as a strong Cockney accent compared to upper-crust Londoners.... it's like a different language. Every country in the world has similarities in their respective languages as well. Has less to do with color than it does social class, location, education (or lack thereof), etc.
Asian, Indian, British, Hispanic..sm
I am old and tired and just can't stand ANY ESLs anymore, and the sad thing is the good dictators are going offshore because the Indian MTs cannot even understand the ESLs. Unfortunately, most companies are filled to the brim with difficult ESLs and i guess if you don't do ESL, u won't have a job. That is why I am sticking like glue to where I work, NO ESLs.
I just picked up a UK account. I need a spellcheck for british medical. Any suggestions?
tia
Accents - sm
Just wondering - do you southern MTs have as much trouble with northern accents as I do with southern accents? They sure take some getting use to; no disrespect intended, but some words are pronouced so differently that I have to listen several times to get them. I suppose I'll adjust eventually - I hope!!
accents
YES! we do, I'm from Texas.
to JWJ on accents
You are SO RIGHT. I do a LOT of ESLs and I rarely have problems just because of what you said - think with an accent and pay attention to where you are in the report. If you can't beat 'em - join 'em. When you are done, you can go back to your real thinking but in the meantime, think like them.
accents
White males who make long, convoluted sentences with improper sentence structure.
southern accents
Being a Yankee who now lives in the south, I can relate! Had far more trouble with the southern dictators than with the foreign ones.
And yest, those British & Australian ones are sexy!
Spanish accents. sm
I worked on an account out of San Diego once, heavily thick Spanish (Mexican), brilliant docs, but very difficult. I work on an account in FL now, still Spanish but Cuban and very, very different. Those of you who say you don't do accents, try another field. This job is all about dialects and learning and hanging in there. If you are pompous enough to say, "you don't do this or that", bet your pay reflects it.
Spanish accents. smC
Clarification: You probably still make good $$$$ if you are the perpetual cherry picker. I hate cherry pickers, that is cheating, lying and stealing. Most managers even those Rhit sort of people, do not realize how much cherry picking hits those of us in the pocket who do any job assigned. I hope all cherry pickers rot in hello.
No accents/ESL. PERIOD!
Okay, I have a confession... I cannot understand accents. Period. So, when going to see a new physician, etc., I make sure to ask right off the bat whether the doctor speaks clear English, and if the answer is no, then I tell them that I am sorry for wasting their time and I go to the next doctor.
Just the same, when I was being considered for the accounts I have now, I told the lady I work for that I cannot do heavy accents or ESL doctors. I know - - could have kept me out of work, but you know what? I don't need the money that bad, because I would just be spending it on psych meds because trying to do the work would make me crazy!
I know you can learn accents
Ever wish you could take your post back after more thought? I spent alot of time thinking about this topic of ESL/accent/ignorant dictators, and I guess I would like to clarify now.
I understand that if you listen to the same dictator or dialect repeatedly, you learn to understand it, and there are several that I have become quite familiar with. But, my point was that for the $2.00 +/- per page that I get paid, I choose to listen to someone who is willing to take the time to speak with courtesy and clarity into the microphone. I understand that at some point I may not have the choice, but while I do, I choose to work for someone who gives what they expect. They expect clear reports, I expect clear dictation. And they get paid ALOT more than I do to hold up their end of the bargain.
On the same token, for the hundreds of dollars that I pay out in medical expenses every year, I choose to give that money to someone I can understand and that I am relatively sure understands me, without the language barrier. I don't want to chance a compromise in care because of a misunderstanding in communication; there are enough other things that can cause a compromise in care.
The medical language is hard enough when everyone is speaking the same language, with all the sound-alike words and similiar words, etc. I don't want to confuse it even more with any extra variations. I know it is here to stay, but I want to stay under my rock as long as I can.
Hope I haven't I haven't worsened my "foot-in-mouth" disease, or made anyone else even more upset...
I'd estimate about 200+ - all accents
x
worst accents
I agree with the person who said not really an accent. Those who chew, yawn and dictate while falling asleep are the worst. the only Hispanic I ever worked for was very precise and even said comma, period etc. his words were very distinct but some of his pronunciation was difficult but once becoming accustomed to that it was no problem.
Vent on accents. SM
Why oh why does a doctor who has been in the United States practicing medicine for over 20 years continue to have the same thick accent and poor grasp of the English language, as well as inability to grasp proper grammar and punctuation. It's like they do not even attempt to lose the accent. I understand young foreign doctors who have not been here long and are struggling to deal with language barriers, their residency, etc., but these older docs who I know have been around for a long time, drive me insane. I would in no way, shape, or form see them for my medical care, if they have made no effort to improve communication with their U.S. patients. Hello, what country are we in here? Thanks for listening to my vent.
vent on accents
I think most of the larger Medical Schools do offer the remedial courses, at least the 2 I worked for did, in fact, it was required for all foreign docs at first. Just wish that all ESL docs would take advantage of it.
I prefer non-Southern accents
I'm from the south but lived out of the area for several years. My favorite accents are Northeast and MidWest. For a while I did MT for a hospital in rural Alabama where a resident from Cuba was working. He had acquired a number of southern altruisms that cracked me up with his thick Hispanic accent. I'll never forget when he treated an elderly woman who had received a rattlesnack bite to her foot through her "teenie shoes." (if I hadn't been from the south, I wouldn't have known he was referring to "tennis shoes!")
Once my dryer needed servicing and the repair man came out. After talking for a while I asked if he was from somewhere near southern Russia because of his accent. He got so excited that someone knew the geographic area of his origin! He was from a tiny little country bordering southern Russia! (one of my neurologists was from Russia). I love to try to place someone's accents
d~ 
I have a bad time with southern accents too
Their words just sort of fall into one another and it seems like they put emphasis on the wrong part of the word, so I need to concentrate with them. The worst however is the Chinese accent by far. Especially when they do try to slow down and enunciate, it makes it worse.
middle eastern accents
I had one yesterday for that sang and hummed most of the report. He dictated in a sing-song voice that made me think he was casting some sort of spell. In between words and sentences he would say, ahhhh, ummmmmmm, and then speed ahead with the sing-song again. And it was all in a middle-eastern accent. It was an extra long report and awful. I was so jittery by the time I finally finished.
No, not for me! I love European accents
and do well with them. However, the middle eastern accents throw me. There's something about the tone or pitch that I simply can't hear. Maybe I have a deaf spot or something. It's caused problems at jobs because MT employers think I'm "refusing" to do those work types when it's actually a hearing problem. Some of the Hispanics are the same way. I can do Asian, French, German, Scandinavian, east coast, American Indian, southern, British, whatever, just not east Indian/Arabic accents.
I have as much trouble with southern (USA) accents (sm)
as I do with most ESLs!
chiefly British past and past participle of SPELL
nm
My mom is from the south. Thanks to that I have no problem with southern accents. nm
:+
Hope you're good with accents! sm
All customer service is outside of the US and I had a really tough time communicating with them. Also if you choose to discontinue early there's a whopping $90 fee that's buried in the fine print.
I used Vonage with broadband satellite for 2 months and it disconnected frequently on me....my satellite has been stable for years with multiple platforms so I suspect Vonage is just not suited for satellite. Just a heads up!
Accents (Kim Komando's Cool Site of the Day), 8/10
Always something interesting in Kim's world:
TO VISIT TODAY'S COOL SITE, GO HERE:
www.languagetrainersgroup.com
What's the worst part of it? Accents, research, TAT, etc.? Hope
x
No, not at all, plenty of people with accents, not all sound dopey.
Then again, maybe it's all the pot he smokes, kills a lot of brain cells, ya know?
LOL
For me, it 's more difficult after 2 p.m.
doesn't matter what it is. But that's only because I've been doing it since 4:30.
It can be difficult...
to know the right thing to do. So many companies are unfair to their MT's, but is it right to dish it right back to them?
I would say it depends on how they treat you. If they are great to work for then be fair to them. If they are awful to work for then, well, use your best judgment.
If you do lower your rate just be sure that they understand this is your rate for THIS account of mostly macros. If they want you to do an account with straight typing they need to readjust.
Good for you for having high values in an industry that is getting more and more amoral every day :-)
Not difficult for you maybe
But obviously she wouldn't have posted if she didn't have feelings of uncertainty about it. I know when I have had to make a decision about something being right or wrong I find it difficult. You have a clear opinion on this, she didn't. I was just trying to be supportive. I WAS NOT making a blanket statement that it is difficult to treat a bad company badly, or playing the SAME GAME that your company is playing. Geez!!!!
Not only is it the most difficult sm
it is also extremely depressing, or at least it was for me. I used to work for M. D. Anderson years ago and did a lot of Peds. Also, the protocols change faster than you can keep up with them so expect to spend a lot of time searching but internet would probably make it easier. Good luck and I hope you like it...somebody has to do it but not this body anymore.
How difficult is it to set up?sm
Also, what equipment do I need? I have a Linksys wireless broadband router.
Yes but difficult! nm
x
I was LPN 30 yrs ago. It is more difficult now. SM
I would encourage you taking the course, but then try working in a doctor's office, clinic or private duty. Most definitely, not in a hospital.
I remember loving the course, but hating it when I got out into the real world.
So difficult
It is very difficult for me too sometimes. So many tragedies.
It seems life is often so tough. My views and understanding of where and why we came from have been changing over the last few years, and I am having a very rough time trying to make some sense of it.
I don't know if any particular field is more difficult
than the next, if all you do is type one speciality. I think ER and Psych are mentally hard because with ER a lot of the patients die and it is depressing and then psych is depressing because of the severe dysfunction of the patients and/or their families. Oncology can be depressing too cause outcomes are not always great and like the previous poster said frequent new meds.
I used to transcribe for a teaching hospital connected to a medical school and that dictation was very hard, much more technical than your normal hospital, lots more dictators too and a new crop every July.
It's difficult but necessary to be in control
Otherwise you are simply allowing little Hitlers to grow up and become *adults* - your job is not to be their friend, your job is to be their parent.
Why would you allow your kids to have friends that you wouldn't allow in your house if they were your friends?
Why would you allow filthy language, out-of-control behavior, and downright liars even on your property?
Are you afraid of your kids? if so, why?
Good luck
It is so difficult for MTs these days
With voice recognition, hospital cut backs, and companies overseas. I have been doing this 30+ years and have enjoyed it up until now. I can so relate with you. I have been looking at a company SilentType? Any input on them or any others who do not consider you an IC, I don't mind paying my own cable or DSL as I have that for home anyway.
It is difficult, I won't deny that.
I stretch quite often.
I take breaks, too, or I couldn't do it at all.
I won't be doing this more than about 2 years so I can hold out.
I'm not kidding though, I have to work hard and I'm not bouncing around like Tigger at the end of the day. I'm tired and sometimes sore. I can't make this kind of money from the comfort of my home anywhere else though!
Was very difficult to learn and there are
still some things I cannot get the hang of. But, it is the only Expander I am permitted to use so had to bite the bullet after resisting for a few months. Takes about three months go use it effectively. Try using it for a few hours every day. When you get frustrated, close it and type everything out. On short-fuse days, skip it altogether. Over a few months, with this method, you will begin to develop speed and each new problem will be solved one by one so your line count will not get suffer greatly. Using IT requires doing a massive amount of reading initially. But, I have to say, I love it now (and am still learning how to use it six months into using it).
Difficult to remember
I also have struggled with that. I have been trying to think of a creative way to remember, but I keep coming up empty. If you think of someway to keep it straight in your mind let me know.
Why would you find this so difficult to believe?
Especially considering that Brad PItt - famous movie star - had the world by the family jewels with a beautiful wife, Jennifer - multimillion dollar mansions and $$$$ coming out the ying yang, yet he up and left it all to be with a woman who's a lesbian, Angelina Jolie, PLUS he adopted her two orphan children to boot, as well as knocked her up.
Now .... who do you think has more power over Brad - his mother or Angelina? Think about it, not that it needs a lot of contemplation...Angelina can do things for Brad his mother never can, if ya' know what I mean, which is why I told the original poster to LET IT GO because she's FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE SHE CANNOT EVER WIN.
Radiology is not that difficult ...
it does take some extra study of anatomy, and a good radiology word book, and there are websites where you can learn a lot about radiology. I do both acute care and radiology, and I like both.
Almost always the first except if a difficult dictator. (sm)
Then I am constantly listening again to make sure I have it correct.
Difficult decision
Hi,
It sounds like, despite all the problems, that you love him and want to remain a family, particularly for the sake of your son.
Without disrespecting that, what I would suggest is that you tell your husband to either grow up already (and pull his weight around the house while he is at it) or please go ahead and divorce you and marry his mama.
In the meantime, make sure that your name is not on his credit card bills, etc. and that you DO expect him to provide child support while he is absent from the family, the home, the marriage. If he fails or refuses, take him to court--that should make him wake up and smell the coffee and grow up fast. Otherwise, let mama figure out how to manage his payee check with that new expense.
HTH.
It isn't that difficult to create your own...
Yes, it will take a bit of time, but you will then have a test that belongs to you. Any that you might find on the internet are most likely not meant for the use of others.
You have a very difficult situation
and I wish you the best. For many who work outside the home, they can stop and forget for a little while the problems they have at home. They are able to socialize, confide, and have outside relationships. You have made a hard and a valid choice for your priorities. Stick to it. Be proud of the choices you made. As for the family, pretend they are just background noise and turn down the volume.
difficult dictators
I'd advise to stick with it also, even the difficult ESL ones. That's how you get better. Just plan on not making much money initially but look at all the experience you are building. I made peanuts when I first started out and I'm sure a lot of us did. It'll pay off for you in the end when you are able to pick and choose your jobs because of all the experience you have under your belt.
another difficult thing for me...
...is the fact that relatives and friends just don't understand the obstacles we have to deal with as an MT. They think we have it made "getting to work at home" and that we are just typists. Do they realize the constant battle to stay focused and remind people that even though we are home, YES, we are working, and quite hard at that, I might add! No, we can't babysit, we're WORKING! No, I can't talk on the phone, again, I'm WORKING! We probably work harder than a lot of people since we are paid on production and live and work under that stress - we can't have a "bad day" where we just take it easier at work if we don't feel good or had a fight with our husband. We have to be on at all times or our income suffers. My husband doesn't get it when I get really stressed and in a bad mood and fed up when I get horrible dictator after horrible dictator and my line count suffers and I have to sit there for longer than expected; nobody does. Thankfully we have each other - we're the only ones who TRULY know what it's like.
Most difficult: Americans!
I absolutely cannot get the American accents in which the doc sounds like he/she is running an auction. At least with the ESLs I can get into the rhythm. Not with these guys. Although once I figure out what a grunt or a cough means I make a normal LOL.
I understand that they are difficult
and it's frustrating, but why are they low class? There are probably few MT jobs without ESL.. they are here to stay.
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