Being an accountant, I tend to focus on facts and analysis to answer questions like this rather than gut feel, so let me throw some numbers out there as I answer this question.

Statistics Canada, in its report called the Canadian Population in 2011:  Age and Sex, says there were 5,825 centenarians in Canada last year - a huge 25.7% jump from 2006 in the number of people living to 100.  Couple this with the fact that for the first time, there are more people aged 55 to 64 than 15 to 24 in the work force.

Within a very short period of time, these people are going to hit retirement age.  So not only are there all the baby boomers aging at the same time, but now more people are living longer.  This is going to create a large imbalance in our population demographics.

In BC, where we live, seven of the 10 municipalities in the country with the highest proportions of people aged 65 and over are located here.  It is noted that 47.2% of the population of Qualicum Beach, located in the census agglomeration of Parksville, B.C., were 65 or over.  Elliot Lake, Ont., which has long billed itself as retirement spot in the northern part of the province, has a population with 35.1% of people 65 of over.  To the east of Toronto, Cobourg has a population made up of 26.5% seniors.

According to the US National Library of Medicine and National Institute for Health - Health Services Research papers, the annual health services requirements for people aged 50 and over is four to five times those of people in their early teens.  The oldest group (85+) consumes three times as much health care per person as those 65-74, and twice as much as those 75-84.

A huge population base moving into these years and staying in these years a lot longer will cause a huge demand for more doctors, nurses and yes – medical transcriptionists, to help address this upcoming insurgence of an aging population on our health care services systems.

To answer, will there be a demand for Medical Transcriptionists in the future – 100% yes and more than ever!

Kevin Blucke
VP of Operations

Dear prospective student,

Study Online?   What should I expect?   Is it hard or easy?   What if I need help?   How am going to juggle a full-time job and school?

Those questions are just some of the ones I asked myself when I was looking into CanScribe Career College.   I took the time to get answers to my questions and am I ever glad that I did.   CanScribe Career College Medical Transcriptionist training is one of the best things I have done for myself in a long time!

I will not say that it was easy to work full-time and go to school part-time.   It took a lot of dedication and sticking to the program, helpful tips, and advice provided by the staff at CanScribe; whom, I believe, are second to none.   I never felt like any of the questions I had were stupid ones.   I was always treated with respect and encouraged to be my best.   I developed a rapport with a select few that really helped to put me at ease, but all of the staff are knowledgeable and are there to help you be the best you can be.

My first transcribed report, oh, how I remember it well.   I did horrible on it (or so I thought).   I remember thinking that I am NEVER going to be able to do this!   How do people hear these doctors?   Also, the sheer number of reports seemed very daunting when I saw how many I had to do; however, I cannot say this enough…they helped enormously!   When I had to mark my own, I do not know about anyone else, but I was really hard on myself.   That is until it was all put in perspective by a certain counselor who calculated what I actually was getting on the reports, as opposed to what I thought I was getting.   Huge difference!   Then, I started giving myself credit where credit was due.  My advice: Pat yourself on the back when you succeed and dust yourself off when you fall and get right back into the program.

I have been working as a consultant, transcribing for an online employer, for about a year and a half now part-time, and I still have a full-time job as well.   I felt like I was back in school when I started, having to learn account specifics and new doctors.   It got easier every week and did not take me long to feel comfortable; in fact, a lot less time that I thought.   I enjoy being a Medical Transcriptionist; it really gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I will sum up by saying, “I did this!   I took initiative to better myself and used all the tools that were amply provided to me to succeed in my training and graduate with high honours”.   Success in my current position is what comes from my hard work and dedication.   You can do it too!   Call CanScribe Career College.   Check out their website and ask questions!

A new career is calling you – will you answer?

Shelley Steel
CanScribe Graduate/Medical Transcriptionist

Our Referral Program is now even better than ever!  Every time you refer a student to CanScribe’s Medical Transcription Program, you earn money!  The more people you refer—the more money you will earn! 

• Receive $75 for the first referral
• Receive $100 for the second referral
• Receive $150 for each of your next 8 referrals
• RECEIVE A $200 BONUS ON YOUR 5TH REFERRAL!
• RECEIVE A $500 BONUS ON YOUR 10TH REFERRAL!
• Receive $200 for each additional referral from here on in

JUST THINK… IF YOU REFER 10 STUDENTS, YOU WILL EARN OVER $2,000! 

You are welcome to provide my contact information to anyone you think might be interested in having a flexible career and the opportunity to work from home.  Your friends and family will be in good hands! 

More good news!  CanScribe is now offering a fantastic new financing option with payments as low as $94 per month.  Now it is even easier for your friends and family to enroll! 

Samantha Carnegie
Director of Admissions and Student Services

Working from home is already very green thing to do, as you are no longer spending time and money commuting.   But there are still some things you can do to make our environment even greener.   Here’s a list of some things that we can do to help out.

1. Have 2 bins at your desk one for garbage and on for recycling.  
2. Try refilling your printer cartridge or at least recycle it.  
3. Send your invoices via e-mail.  
4. Skype- use virtual meetings.  
5. Install energy-efficient lighting around the office.  
6. Turn off your computer when you’re finished.  
7. Open a window instead of A/C.  
8. Or in the winter put on your warm fuzzy slippers.  
9. Collect any paper that is printed on one side and staple them for note paper.  
10. Save as many documents as possible digitally rather than printing them up.  

Facts

• In North America the average office worker uses 525 disposable cups every year.  
• Every year approximately 1 billion plastic shopping bags are used in America and less than 1% of these bags are recycled.  
• In the US , automobiles produce over 20% of total carbon emissions.  Walk or bike and you’ll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.  
• Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.   Enough energy to run your TV for 3 hours.  
• 77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.  
• Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy.  
• Glass can be recycled over and over again and not wear out.  
• The average person in North America creates about 3kg of trash a day.  
• Every ton of recycled office paper saves approximately 380 gallons of oil.  

Kevin Gaudet
General Manager

Flexible career opportunities. Great work-life balance.

Accentus combines state of the art technology, industry knowledge, and value-add services to deliver leading transcription solutions.  Over 70% of the hospitals and hundreds of medical clinics and independent physicians across Canada rely on Accentus for the accurate and timely capture of patient health information.

All Accentus services are supported by a team of over 800 experienced medical transcription (MT) professionals and eDoc, a hosted voice recognition enabled dictation and transcription system powered by Nuance/Dictaphone software applications.

Knowing that health care professionals and institutions face a unique set of dictation and transcription challenges and requirements, Accentus delivers personalized customer care and best-fit solutions to each individual client to ensure maximum success and satisfaction.

Accentus was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada.

Partnering with CanScribe

At Accentus we are continuously looking for well-trained medical transcriptionists, so partnering with Canada’s leading Medical Transcription School to build out our transcription team was a natural step for us.   CanScribe offers an excellent training program and practicum, so we know that when we hire CanScribe graduates we are getting some of the best trained MTs in the industry.

That’s important to us because we work with a vast majority of hospitals in Canada.  We consistently meet turn-around times with a 98% or better quality rating.  We owe that success to the know-how and dedication of our MTs, editors and account managers.

To be successful, MTs should have excellent transcription skills, a strong commitment to quality, a willingness to learn and grow, a solid understanding of technology, the ability to adhere to deadlines, flexibility to take on varied work and an overall can-do attitude.

What to Expect

MTs can expect a flexible home-based work environment where they can set their own hours.   They can also expect account specific training to help prepare them for success in their placements.

As a new MT to Accentus, we will do our best to place you on an account that closely matches your experience.   New graduates are placed with experienced team leads that help guide them through the account specifics.

Time is taken to train a new MT and guidance is given in all aspects of medical transcription.   In the beginning you are limited in production so that the team leaders can assess your strengths and give pointers on where to improve.

Once through training, MTs have the flexibility to work full or part time.   The team leader continues to give guidance and feedback to all MTs on a particular account and is available to answer questions or provide support.

We are committed to providing a team environment, growth opportunities and a flexible work schedule for a rewarding home-based career.

To find out more please visit us at www.accentusinc.com or contact Shelley Martel, Recruiter, at 1-866-282-2322 ext 2301.

Shelley Martel
Accentus Recruiter

Warmer springtime weather is slowly blowing onto the horizon.  It’s the time of year to throw open the windows, sweep away the last of the winter dust and take charge of cleaning and organizing your household.  So why not apply those same principles to your computer?  A spring cleaning can help your computer run faster and allow you to work more productively.  If you’re having major problems with your computer, you should place a call to the manufacturer or bring it in to be serviced.  But first, a little technological cleaning may put the hum back in your hard drive.

Get rid of clutter

Start your computer clean up with the most visible items — icons.  Look at your system tray or taskbar on the bottom right corner.  Those small icons represent programs that start up as your computer boots. It takes time for your computer to find the icons for all those shortcuts.  Remove or turn off unnecessary ones, like Live Messenger, with a swift right click.  And do you need immediate access to all those files, pictures and MP3s on your desktop?  Not likely.  Categorize them in the Documents, Photos and Music folders to keep them organized and eliminate the clutter on your desktop.

Remove old programs

If you’ve never used a program that came with your computer or haven’t used it in over a year, you may want to consider trashing it.  If you don’t use it, get rid of it.  You can’t delete a program by trashing its files.  If you don’t use the Uninstall command (under Programs and Features in the Control Panel) or the uninstall program that comes with your program, it’s still there.  Don’t forget to empty the Recycle Bin afterwards.

Defrag your computer

As you work on your computer, information gets stored onto the hard drive in bits and pieces - wherever there is space.  To open a certain file, your computer runs around looking for all the components.  Think of it as having various chapters of a book on shelves throughout your home, and having to find all the sections when you want to read the full text.  The defrag tool (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter) does its best to reorder your hard drive.

Upgrade your operating system

Keep your software and hardware frequently updated to get the best performance out of your system.  Updates can be downloaded by visiting the manufacturer’s web site. Windows Update (Start > Control Panel > Windows Update) can also scan your system and present a list of updatable items.  There is a little reminder box that will occasionally pop up in the right-hand corner of your screen when you start Windows.  That reminder will let you know when you need to update.  Just clicking on it will install the necessary upgrades for your system.

Clear your cache

Not only does this make surfing the web slower, but it also takes up valuable space on your hard drive.  While on Internet Explorer, click on Tools and then Internet Options.  On the General tab under Browsing history, click Delete.  You can also set the amount of disk space you want such files to use by clicking on Settings and changing the megabytes.

Assess your memory and tools

The more programs you keep open while you work, the more random access memory, or RAM, you need to keep them running smoothly.  At least 512 MB of RAM will keep Vista Basic happy, and 1 GB is recommended for Vista Premium, Business or Ultimate.  Make sure your keyboard and office layout are ergonomically correct. 

Carolyn McEwen
Student Services Representative

Supplies needed:

• Several pieces of 8.5 x 11 paper
• Scissors

Using nothing but a pair of scissors and a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper, create a continuous loop of paper that is large enough for someone to fit through.  There cannot be any open ends – loop must be continuous!

Solution will be posted in the forum next week.

Jacky Tsui
Admissions Advisor

Our field is unique in that much of the medical transcription population works from home in a virtual environment.   For that reason, the cover letter and resume that you construct invariably create the impression, and it could be your only chance to engage a prospective employer!

As a new graduate, you will want to take advantage of this first impression by creating a captivating cover letter and supporting resume. 

Let's begin with the cover letter. The primary purpose of your cover letter is to compliment, but not duplicate, your resume.

Tips for writing your cover letter:

Customize. Adding a personal touch can be as simple as customizing the cover letter to a specific employer. Always avoid using a template cover letter.

Actively sell your strengths. How will you meet the employer's immediate needs?

Keep it simple.   Remember that the cover letter is a gateway to the resume.   If the hiring manager has to read a book before opening the resume, chances are you will not get a second look. 

Avoid stuff and pretentious language.  Some examples include:

• Confirm receipt
• Put forth
• If you deem it appropriate
• Per our conversation
• Pursuant to our discussion
• My qualifications brief is attached so that you may ascertain the appropriateness of my credentials.

First Paragraph

The objective of the first paragraph is to get the reader’s attention.

Example: Your recent advertisement for acute care medical transcriptionist caught my eye on MT jobs since my experience in _____ and ____ is compatible with your requirements.

Second Paragraph

The second paragraph should outline qualifications for the position and focus on the most relevant aspects of your background.   The best cover letters also include examples of accomplishments and quantifiable results.

Example: My background includes 15 years in sales management with accomplishments in staff development, training, and customer service.   I am a skilled team builder and have consistently met or exceeded sales goals in each position held:

• Opened and developed territory for X company.
• Set up 10 accounts for Y company.
• Generated sales increases of 30%

Closing Paragraph

• Request a meeting or personal interview.
• Mention that you will contact them to schedule a meeting.
• Explain how you can be reached.
• Thank them for taking the time to consider your application.

Remember a cover letter is useless if it...

• Is poorly written with poor grammar.
• Contains misspelled words or typographical errors.
• Is boring to read.
• Contains sexist or discriminatory statements.
• Fails to address the needs of the company.

Finally, if there is a reason why your employer should not be contacted, do not write that in a cover letter.   This sends up a red flag. You will have the opportunity to discuss any concerns during an interview.

The resume, on the other hand, is a tool with one purpose:   To win an interview!   Think of your resume as an advertisement.   The biggest mistake that one can make in resume writing is to think of the resume as a history of your past, a personal statement, or a tool for self-expression.

Angela Kelly
Instructor

As my colleagues will attest to, I strongly believe that laughter is the best medicine!  Humour is infectious.  When laughter is shared it binds people together and increases happiness.  Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body.  A good laugh relieves physical tension and stress leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes later.  So take yourself a bit less seriously!  Remember a true good sense of humour is having the ability to laugh at yourself.  Yes this may seem more difficult, than laughing at a coworker that has just bent over and ripped a 10 inch gash in their pants, but if that’s you, then do try to laugh it off and share your embarrassing moments!  Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up.  Many things in life are beyond your control, particularly the behaviour of other people.  While you might think that the world is on your shoulders, in the long run it is unrealistic, unproductive, unhealthy and even egotistical.  Children tend to laugh an average of 400 times a day.  For adults however, it is a totally different story.  A recent laughter study shows that: 64 % of people smile only around 15 times a day.  What happened to the other 385 laughs?  The International Congress of humour found that laughter is down 66 - 82% worldwide of what it was in the 1950's.  In the 1950's people laughed on the average 18 minutes a day.  Today, we are lucky if we average between 4-6 minutes a day.  Pay attention to children and emulate them.  They are experts at playing, taking life lightly and laughing. 

Checklist for lightening up

• Is it really worth getting upset over?
• Is it that important?
• Is the situation Reparable?

Keep a toy or funny poster in your work space.  A funny screensaver or photos of family and friends having fun.  I’ll end with a good quote.  “He who Laughs, lasts”   Mary Pettibone Poole

Zoltan Felligi
Admissions Advisor

We have all heard about the healing power of the maggot and how leeches are used to treat some medical conditions, but some of the 'cures' I have uncovered are really out there!

Warning:  You may not be overly popular if you avail of some of these remedies but some swear by them.  I’ll let you be the judge!

Earaches call for putting drops of urine in the affected ear.

It’s been written that Elvis Presley’s mother relied on this remedy whenever “The King” had a childhood earache.

To heal a cold sore quickly, put earwax on it.

Leg cramps: Sleep with a bar of soap to end leg cramps. If you suffer from nighttime leg cramps, placing a bar of soap in bed with you may offer relief by preventing the cramps. While it’s unknown just how or why this remedy works, people who have used it swear that it stops their leg cramps immediately.

Fever fix: Putting slices of onions on the bottom of your child’s feet inside the socks is said to reduce fever.  It is thought that the onion 'draws' out the fever. 

Another fever cure: One folk remedy is to catch a daddy long-leg bug, pull its legs off, and while it’s still alive… swallow the whole thing.

Antiperspirant:  If you have a problem with sweating, take a potato, cut it in half, and rub it under your armpits.  It is not known why or how this works, but people swear success by it.

Freckle fader:Slice up an onion and apply it gently on freckles and repeat this process few times daily, your freckle will start disappear.

Apply sour milk with cotton ball to your freckles and leave it on the skin.  In case of oily/acne prone skin mix few drops of lemon juice in the sour milk.  After 15-20 minutes wash the skin with luke-warm water.

It has also been said that washing your face with snow that falls in the month of June will make freckles disappear.

Washing your face with a urine-soaked diaper is another freckle remedy.

Got eye bags?  "Shrinks swelling of inflamed tissue."  Well, apparently the tissue doesn't have to be located in the hind quarters for this product to work its magic.  When used on puffy skin below the eyes, Preparation H cream quickly reduces the swelling and puffiness.  Beauty pageant contestants reportedly swear by it.

How about warts? You likely have the solution in your kitchen or workshop already.  It's duct (or duck) tape, that gray roll of sticky stuff that is a staple for anyone who has ever needed to repair, pack, or anchor something so that it stays.  I'm not sure who tried it first, but the duct tape wart removal cure is becoming well known and widespread - and that's because it works.

Kick up a low libido by adding dried, ground-up black ants into the next glass of wine you drink.

“Yippie-i-yay, cow patty”-Dung:   The incredible cure-all.  Dung from various animals has been used to cure a huge variety of illnesses and conditions since the beginning of the human race.  Ancient Egyptians used it for skin problems.  Civilizations in all corners of the world used the application of dung to ease headaches.  Animal droppings (from cow, sheep, pigeons, dogs, cats, and even more animals) have also been used to cauterize wounds, cure baldness, rid people of intestinal parasites, eradicate jaundice and epilepsy, and loads of other useful purposes. 

...and, finally, who needs Botox anyway?  In an effort to achieve fuller, rounder lips, plump them up by using a vacuum cleaner nozzle.  You turn the vacuum on and press the nozzle to your lips and do this for a few seconds.  Some women swear by this.  In actuality, you can damage your lips by bruising, scarring and breaking blood vessels and the risk of bacteria infection. 

And there you have it.  Try at your own risk!

Susan Cunningham
Instructor

Below are some fun definitions found on you-can-be-funny.com

• ADR -- Ain’t Doing Right.
• Aggressive Euthanasia -- A procedure that obnoxious patients would benefit from.
• AGMI-- Ain't Gonna Make It. (won't survive)
• AHF -- Acute Hissy Fit.
• Alimentary -- What Holmes said to Watson.
• Anally - Occurring yearly.
• Barium -- What doctors recommend when their patients die.
• BWCO-- Baby Won't Come Out (needs Caesarian)
• Cat Scan -- A search for kitty.
• Cauterize -- Made eye contact with her.
• Cystogram -- A cable sent to your sister.
• DAAD -- Dead As A Doornail.
• FDSTW -- Found Dead Stayed That Way.
• FTD -- Fixing To Die.
• GOK -- God Only Knows.
• GOLP -- Generalized Old Lady Pains.
• GPO -- Good for Parts Only.
• Herpes -- What women do in the Ladies Room.
• ICU-- Peek-a-boo.
• JAR or JAR Syndrome -- Just Ain’t Right.
• Labor pain -- The result of a work injury.
• Lactose-- Person without digits on the foot.
• NARS -- Not a rocket scientist. (Low IQ)
• NETMA -- Nobody Ever Tells Me Anything. (Generally a doctor's gripe on a patient's chart)
• OFIG -- One Foot In the Grave.
• PPA -- Practicing Professional Alcoholic.
• Rectum-- Nearly killed him.
• SALT -- Same As Last Time.
• SEP-- Somebody else's problem.
• SFS -- Stinky Foot Syndrome.
• TOBP -- Tired of Being Pregnant.
• WNL -- Will Not Listen; patient won't take medical advice.

Deb Albert
Instructor

As you now know all too well, one of the hardest things about transcription is developing the listening ear and untangling complicated phrases in what is essentially a foreign language, the language of medicine.  Almost all the words we are trying to untangle are brand new to us if we've heard them at all yet, but the brain is desperate to please and give us something, anything, in its memory bank that sounds right to fill that blank.  It doesn't matter if it is or isn't right.  If our mind thinks it sounds right, we will skim right over it.  It doesn't help that there are some pretty crazy sounding medical terms out there that turn out to be real.  Transcriptions are a new puzzle for the brain and ears in every sound file.

To let off steam in my classroom, we used to play MadGab to work on taking what we think we hear and turning it into what was said.  Playing this game helps exercise phonetic listening and logic skills without the added difficulty of brand new medical words (though there might be a couple medical terms in the mix).  These skills are essential for developing the listening ear and for hearing the real words in our dictations. 

In the game, the idea is to play with a partner and have them read the phrase to you.  You listen to the flow of the words to figure out what the phrases really are.  If you can get someone to do this with you, it will be even more beneficial.  If they don't peak at the answer first, it will also be a better exercise.  If you can't get a partner, say them out loud to yourself. 

See how you do on these phrases.

1. Eye my tough guest
2. Chain jeff pays
3. Us punk kick hid
4. Bologna am pew day shun
5. Star charred hay all fright
6. Feet verb list her
7. Ape hick jurors wharf eighth house inwards
8. Agnostic training jury
9. Haste hat assemble
10. Ape lay onwards
11. Oh beef nick
12. Once tip clothes her
13. Able us tarried hay
14. Won whee keg hoe
15. Drinks oaf ate
16. Bay camp outer
17. Ooze tar ted debt
18. Lit stay cage ant sewn knit
19. Row linen thumb honey
20. Hi coal less drawl

If you enjoy this game, it's a great family games night activity (which is why I knew about it to bring it to the classroom) that will help you with your phonetic listening skills.  You can buy MadGab or use one of the many websites that generate phrases for it.

Combine this exercise with saying your medical vocabulary words out loud to yourself and you will find that your dictations get clearer all the time.

Hun till necks tie muh!

The answers to this editions Mad Gab will be posted in the forum!

Marcia Gordon
Instructor

We are so proud of all the CanScribe graduates and would like to congratulate you for a job well done!  Please keep in touch and share your experiences with us!