Agree with below, leave blanks, don't guess

• MT Frustrated - Tiffiny
  • Huh - Misha
    • Huh...What! - New MT
  • What school did you attend? - nm
    • School - Tiffiny
      • No it's not a "great school." - See message
        • Expectations for a new MT - SM
          • Expectations - Cindy
        • School - Tiffiny
          • Per your own words, you're having a hard time. - See Message
            • School - Tiffiny
  • I hear ya... - newmtalso
    • A good book for phrases is the Medical Phrase Index. $$$ but well worth it when first starting - out. nm Early Morning Oldie
  • I know when I was just starting, I was leaving whole phrases blank! sm - JoV
    • Thanks - Tiffiny
  • If you don't absolutely know it, don't type it. - ...
  • Agree with below, leave blanks, don't guess - OP Queen
    • Reports - Tiffiny
      • The newbies working on clinic accounts for me..... s.m. - An MTSO
  • Tough to say, but (sm) - me

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instructions on how to notate a blank.   I have 20 years of experience and I have only had one test in my career that I have had to leave a blank,  but there are usually different levels of reports.  One report may be very clearly dictated, clinic type work where there really isn't a lot of medical terminology.  Another may be an acute care report, possibly an Op, and then one may be a report there the sound quality is bad, an ESL dictator, or a fast talking US dictator.

The company is trying to get an idea of your skill level.  If you do very well on the first report but not so well on the second and horrible on the third, then they will probably offer you a clinic account and start you off at the bottom of the pay scale.  

Leaving a blank wouldn't count against you as much as guessing at something and getting it wrong.   I don't think leaving a blank will stop you from being offered a position, but excessive blanks would probably would. 

You said "Another thing is that if I have a blank I look it up then so I don't have to go back."

I personally find it easier/faster to leave the blanks and move forward.  There are many times that same word/phrase will come up later and I'll catch it the second time, so there is no time wasted searching for it.

occasion, and if they don't they should, because sometimes you just can't hear what is being said and guessing is worse than leaving a blank.  I can't promise you that you'll get to where you can decipher it, but experience will get you better.   When I first started doing ESLs I was majorly freaking, had a stress headache every day, yelling at my family constantly, crying because I was never going to be able to make enough money, etc.  I still leave blanks, but I have become somewhat talented at being able to do ESLs.  

Don't be afraid to leave a blank.  I am surprised at all the blanks that QA leaves in my reports.  Just do the best you can and then go back and relisten like I said before.  Make samples of any dictator that gives you problems.

I had a job once where my very first day they gave me 100% ESLs.  I was going to quit that day because I just could not do them.  The MTSO told me I really did very well and to hang in there.  When I got my corrections back and used them for the next time I could hear clearly when they were saying and got to where I could do them all day long with very little problem.  

and not put what you charge. Actually, I would do some calling. I am also in Washington State-where are you at? I also graduated from At-Home Professions and it just gave me the BASIC skills. I wish I had more but that mostly comes from learning (I read your other posts). I had a job before I graduated. I was mentored and learned a specialty. That went great until the work slowed down in January. Now I started physical therapy. It is going okay but there is a learning curve and I have no mentor. I signed on for part-time as I have 2 children and another on the way but it has been very full-time and very stressful. I may have to switch to something else. I have been doing this for almost a year. I would highly suggest seeing if you could work evenings at a hospital near you if you have someone to watch your child. This would give you the experience and you could work at home within a year or two. This is not an option for me. In January when the work slowed down I literally got on the phone with every doctors office in my area. I had about 4 job offers. But again most of them were full time or in the office/hospital and not at home. Keep trying!

My doctor recommended this course to me. He and his fellow doctors perfer AHP graduates.

And guess what? I am smart enough to research online and in other books about transcription. I love reading the word help postings and trying to find the answer myself. That is good practice. I have purchased extra dictation to transcribe too. If you want to do anything well you have to give it your all.

I worked with a great group of people who were more than happy to answer a quick question if they could, and after a while it went both ways.  I really didn't understand the competitiveness until I worked for a national inhouse when they had an office here in town.  What a rude awakening. 

1.  Why is it such a shock to newbies that the field is so hard to break into?

2. Why aren't the people who sell these MT training programs telling newbies that it is so?

What don't you agree with - that an MTSO should notice an applicant's lack of skill and move on to the next applicant?  Medical terminology is only one part of a transcriptionist's skill set.  She must also have English vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and punctuation that is better than a doctor's.  Fortunately, these things are hard to fake! 

If one applicant doesn't have the skills, she'll find somebody who does.  It's her (or his) reputation on the line.  

I believe the better schools test people before they accept them so those who don't have the background skills won't waste time and money on a career they won't succeed in. 

I guess newbies hear it all the time from the training courses they sign up for - to try to get 6-8 cpl right out of the gate. Of course the training course is going to tell you that - they wouldn't get any customers otherwise! LOL! I think if you haven't got a bite after your first go round, you might consider doing the second round at a discount. If you didn't make the cut the first time, there's too many competitors out there at the same rate. So drop your rate.