Language stripped to its basic essence is not just a means to communicate. More rudimentary than this is its evolutionary advantage. It is what makes man the highest living being of all. Through the course of history, language has been polished, refined and cultivated much like any other aspect of culture and society.
Words form the framework of language and ultimately of communication. This makes it a powerful tool. Medical transcription is essentially a medium of communication. The medical transcript is a link between the doctor and the patient, the patient and the hospital, the patient and insurance companies. A bridging of sorts takes place.
Medical transcription also involves listening acuity, thus making it not only a written form of communication but also a heard form of communication between the physician dictator and the medical transcriptionist. It is imperative therefore that between a good pair of ears there is an alert and deductive mind. Words will not convey a message unless there is a connection and coherence among them.
What is most helpful to medical transcription is a good fund of words, a “treasure house” if you will, where all the shining, glittering goodies are not gems but words. Although in reality there is no direct conversion of words to a specific monetary value, they are wise areas to invest in. How does one invest in words? Simple. READ. Will reading make one a better medical transcriptionist? MOST DEFINITELY! There is nothing that stimulates the mind more than reading. Any reading material, terse or lengthy, as long as intelligent, is a source of a wealth of words. But don’t just read for reading’s sake. Enjoy it and learn from it. For every new word that you encounter, look it up in the dictionary. Know its meaning and pronunciation. Remember the spelling. Use it in a sentence during a conversation. If you cannot remember the meaning, use the thesaurus to find a synonym. The thesaurus, after all, literally means “treasure house.”
For instance, the word “nervous” is synonymous with “agitated,” “panicky,” and “anxious.” A dictation about a patient suffering from generalized anxiety disorder would feel any of these. The dictation may not always contain all, but word association and synonyms and antonyms would help you with your hindsight. You can actually second-guess what the doctor is going to say. Although it is not allowed that the doctor’s words be supplanted with our own, that word you could not decipher from the dictator could be solved by foraging through your memory bank. The more impressive your vocabulary is, the better you will be at anticipation.
Therefore, feed (nurture and nourish) your mind. Do some extra reading (perusing and probing). Befriend (associate and fraternize with) Roget and Webster as well as their Internet counterparts. Investing in all these little extras will, in the long run, amount to a huge advantage not only in medical transcription but also in other areas where communication and proficiency are crucial. Allowing your eyes and mind to immerse in the company of words is personally and professionally enriching and empowering. If you are already doing it, then you are on the track to reap its rewards, if not, then today is the best day to starthttp://www.manilatimes.net
