Originating from Toronto, I hold a degree in social work and am currently a registered social worker within the province of BC.  I have been fortunate enough to have worked for some of Toronto's most progressive "career oriented" social agencies and even landed my first entry level position before graduating school.

I believe in social change and am proud to be a part of a company that has the ability to reconstruct the way we think about "work."  Having options is empowering and I feel good that I am able to give people the option of working from home.  To me CanScribe offers more than just an education, rather, it offers a complete lifestyle change!

When I am not helping people on their path to success, I lead an exciting life that consists of spending time with my cat, snowboarding and online jewelry shopping!

- Wendy Campbell
Student Services

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark

You'll want to stuff your stockings, gift baskets and cookie tins with this festive peppermint bark that's sure to delight kids of all ages.
Drizzle melted semisweet chocolate overtop for a beautiful two-tone effect.

INGREDIENTS

• 10 regular size candy canes
• 2 pounds (1 kg) white chocolate

METHOD OF PREPARATION

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Unwrap candy canes and place in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag.  With a hammer or rolling pin, crush the candy into chunks (less than 1/4-inch in size).  Or let the kids do this as they seem to like smashing things. Set aside.
2. In a double boiler or saucepan set over a pot of hot (not boiling) water, melt white chocolate, stirring until smooth.  Be careful not to scorch the chocolate, as white chocolate scorches easily.  Stir in most of the crushed candy canes, reserving about 1/4 cup of chunks to sprinkle on top.
3. Pour chocolate mixture onto prepared cookie sheet, spreading into an even layer.  Sprinkle the reserved chunks on top.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until set.
4. Remove bark from parchment paper and break into chunks by hand.  Store in a tightly covered container.
5. Fancy shmancy variation: Drizzle the bark with melted semisweet chocolate before refrigerating for a two-tone zebra-striped effect.

In my house this disappears fast, enjoy while you can before the kids get it.  Ethan and Joel approved!

B.C. Apple-Glazed Roast Turkey

If you are bored with the traditional Christmas turkey try this apple-glazed turkey.  It is a snap to make!  A sweet glaze with a touch of heat that takes just a minute to make is brushed on the turkey just before it's removed from the oven.

INGREDIENTS

• One 12 pound turkey
• 1/2 cup B.C. apple jelly
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

METHOD OF PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove giblets and neck from cavity.  Place giblets and neck (not the liver) in the roasting pan.  Place rack in pan and put turkey on rack.
2. Roast turkey until the skin is browned, about 2 1/2 -3 hours.  Tent turkey with aluminum foil.  Continue to roast until temperature in thickest part of thigh is 175 degrees F, about 1/2 hour more.  Do not overcook; this isn't your mother in law's turkey!
3. In a small pot, melt apple jelly.  Stir in cinnamon and pepper to mix. Brush turkey with apple glaze and broil 4 inches from heating element about 3 minutes, until browned and bubbly.  Keep a close eye on this or browned will turn into blackened.
4. Remove turkey from oven, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest 20 minutes before carving.
5. Pair with Ex Nihilo Vineyards Riesling $22.00 a perfect pairing or for you beer drinkers pair with Granville Island Pale Ale.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 - 3 1/2 hours

http://www.exnihilovineyards.com
http://www.gib.ca/

- Shane Larsen
Vice President of Operations

The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
Exam of the genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.
The patient refused an autopsy.

Doing a search for medical bloopers will keep you laughing for hours.  There are countless examples.

Here are just a few examples of phrases I've seen in student transcriptions in the last 3 months.

The Manchurian rectal fascia was incised.
We proceeded to place a penal pixie stitch.
No edema of the retinoids.
No clubbing, cyanosis, or extremities.
Corneal regions of the uterus were clamped.

Can you spot the problems with all of these lines? Some are easy.  There is no lab test for lover function (so much the pity some would say), and it wouldn't be nice to make sport of someone with elephantiasis in their medical record.  What alert and oriented patient wouldn't refuse an autopsy? There wouldn't be clubbing or cyanosis without extremities so it's redundant.  Clearly, the nationality of the patient's rectal fascia will be the same as his own and is irrelevant in terms of the incision no matter what it may be.

But what about edema of the retinoids? Can you tell me what a retinoid is and why that is wrong or did you skim over hoping to get the next "joke" knowing it is wrong only because I included it on the list? Not being able to say why this word is wrong is just why it was missed by the many students who transcribed it.  It is a word, though it makes no sense in the context of edema, and sounds just like the word it should be in the accent of the ESL doctor talking about his patient's arytenoids.

How about corneal regions? Where are they? I've heard of eyes in the back of the head, but a uterus with a cornea? Hmmm…better keep looking.  Do seamstress pixies really have a special stitch style for their prison garb? This question could keep me thinking for hours.  I didn't even know pixies had prisons.  These are the kinds of things you have to think about when you are proofreading.  What are you really saying? These nonsensical errors are funny when we list them out and make fun of them, but it wouldn't be so funny to read in your chart.  What did your doctor actually clamp?

I've spoken to many students about how doing medical transcription is much like playing MadGab in a language foreign to you.  You have to get past what you hear to hear what is being said.  In my classroom, we used to take a break once in a while and just play MadGab to let off some steam from the pressure of understanding dictation and laugh a little.  MTs are typically very good at this game.  Thinking outside of what we hear is a basic skill and the game develops that.  For those not familiar, you play with a partner.  One of you draws a card and reads it.  The other has to figure out what the phrase really is based on what the partner said.  A great game to have around to play with the family and develop your hearing skill at the same time.  "How sweet the sound" when what you hear clicks.

When you are proofreading, you should be able to explain in very basic terms what each individual line means.  Keep researching your terms until you can.  This little article isn't about proofreading and researching techniques though.  It's about what to do when you simply can't find what you thought you heard and can't find anything better to replace what it sounds like.  Are you really okay with "Corneal regions of the uterus were clamped"?

If you can't explain what section of the rectal fascia is specified by the Manchurian reference or what retinoid edema is exactly and you can't find a single credible reference to help sort it out, use a blank and (guess) because they are wrong.  Blanks are a tool of our trade.  QA editors will never be upset when you admit to not knowing what was said.  They'll help you grow in your knowledge.  The doctor will gladly fill in the blank when the dosage was too slurred to be absolutely understood.  Transcribing nonsense can and will cost you your job at best and cause harm to a patient at worst.  "But that's what it sounded like" won't avoid either if your transcribed dosage was lethal.

- Marcia Gordon
Medical Transcription Instructor

Every medical transcriptionist from time to time wonders how to increase work production.  Here are a few tips that I have found helpful over the years to increase productivity and accuracy whether I worked as an independent contractor or employee for a hospital or clinic.

Invest in a good word expander.  Word expanders are essential to increase productivity and to aid in accuracy.  Once you have programmed your own short cuts, which take a bit of time initially, they will save many keystrokes and time later.  Paragraphs that have repetitive information, such as in investigative reports, can be created with an expander or even macros.  These tools will significantly increase your productivity.  Creating templates is another great way to save time but this would depend on your employer's preferences and they usually provide you with the templates anyhow.  If you are planning on running your own business, then templates would need to be created for your work according to your client's preferences.

Install a medical dictionary, medical spellchecker, and medical word books onto your computer.  Some MTs prefer to have books rather than E-books for word searches.  Whichever you prefer, this is a necessary investment and well worth the money.  Keep in mind that some employers provide some, if not all, medical word books, spellcheckers, and dictionaries, so do not run out and purchase everything all at once until you know for certain they are needed.  Ask during your job interview if you need to purchase such materials.

Manipulate the settings on your audio player to speed up the audio when needed.  Don't go too fast in case silly errors are made in trying to be a little too hasty!  Purchase a good quality headset that cuts out the background noise.  Try to be as accurate as possible the first time around when transcribing as this will also make things flow easier and faster.  Proofreading after each paragraph is a great way to get your editing done in a timely manner as well.

Finally, use Google or other search engines whenever possible.  You don't have to go into any of the hits you see on the internet.  It will give you a great idea though on how accurate your spelling is for a difficult word or to help sort out a certain type of phrase.  Use an asterisk (*) in place of a missing word when doing a search.  For example, try "chronic * pulmonary disease" if this is all you can hear from the dictator.  You then will see a multitude of hits for "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease".  This method will help you sort out any confusing phrases.  However, always, always, always confirm your findings with a resource book and you MUST be 100% certain that is what you are hearing.  You can't always believe everything you see on the internet but it certainly will give you a great place to start looking!

- Lynn Hookway
Medical Transcription Instructor

A medical transcriptionist needs to take responsibility for his or her work and must be able to function with minimal supervision.  A professional medical transcriptionist takes pride in knowing that the report he/she produced was completed with accuracy.

In order to produce accurate reports, it is essential to develop excellent proofreading skills.  Proofreading is looking for a variety of errors in the transcribed document and then correcting them.  The most common errors a medical transcriptionist will be looking for include medical and English word spelling errors or contextual errors, the omission of important dictated words, typographical errors, grammatical errors, and punctuation errors.

Your proofreading skills will improve with continual practice.  Some tips to remember when proofreading include:

• Concentration is critical.  In order to spot mistakes you need to be able to concentrate.  Get rid of distractions and potential interruptions.
• Use a spellchecker.  This will help avoid English and medical word spelling errors.
• Read out loud.  This may help to pick up on spelling errors, faulty verb endings, incomplete sentences, or missing/incorrect words.
• Never guess at what you think you hear.  After thorough researching, using all available resources, "if still in doubt, leave it out."
• Carelessness and trying to type too fast can result in typographical errors.  Careful proofreading will help eliminate these errors.
• Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence completely.  Keep punctuation references close by.

- Deb Albert
Medical Transcription Instructor

Complete Blood Count (CBC) - Hemoglobin 14, hematocrit 39, platelet count 200,000, WBC 2000, MCV 88, MCH 29, MCHC 35. Differential: 4 bands, 60 neutrophils, 30 lymphocytes, 5 monos, 2 eos.

Renal Profile: Chem-7/SMA-7 - Sodium 140, potassium 4.2, chloride 100, carbon dioxide 25, BUN 14, creatinine 0.9, glucose 85.

Chem-12/SMA-12 - Calcium 4.5, phosphorus 3, glucose 85, BUN 14, uric acid 4, cholesterol 180, total protein 7, albumin 70, total bilirubin 0.7, alkaline phosphatase 20, LDH 130, AST 15.

Chem-20/SMA-20 - SMA-12 plus creatinine 0.9, sodium 140, potassium 4.2, chloride 100, ALT 15, direct bilirubin 0.3, triglycerides 130, iron 120.

Liver Function Tests (LFTs) - AST (or SGOT) 15, ALT (or SGPT) 15, GGT 15, direct bilirubin 0.3, indirect bilirubin 0.5, total bilirubin 0.7, LDH 130, albumin 70, total protein 7, 5'-nucleotidase 8.

Electrolytes - Sodium 140, potassium 4.2, chloride 100, bicarbonate 20-29.

Lipid Profile - Cholesterol 180, HDL 35, LDL 130, triglycerides 130.

Thyroid Function Tests (TFTs) - T3 200, T4 8, T3 RIA 150, T3RU 30%, TSH 3, free T4 1.4.

- Sue Cunningham
Medical Transcription Instructor

I began my ergonomics study approximately 35 years ago.  In the past 35 years, the study of ergonomics began unofficially for me and developed in to a great passion.  It all started on a chicken farm in a small Montana town in 1975.  Carrying chickens, 3 in each hand, was difficult even when done properly (they were alive).  By personal observation, interviews, and internet research, I have studied ergonomics in 3 major industries – food service, telecommunications, and the medical transcription industry with a focus on the need for unique ergonomic adaptations to lead a healthy, productive work life.

My first transcription job was putting the cassette tape in the machine, press play, press stop, then rewind, then type.  I spent 7 years as a telephone operator and personal coach in a production-based environment where I encountered similar situations to MTs in that the job is stressful, very sedentary, and at the time lacked much in the way of ergonomic training to promote safety and health.  My focus on the production angle has become a major passion.

I have continued the study of ergonomics and productivity, working as an MT, a platform and production trainer for medical transcriptionists, and currently provide client and MT training as well as technical support for a small MTSO in the US.  I continue to study and focus on the health of MTs trying to create ways to make each work day more comfortable, healthy, fun, and profitable.

- Lori DeVaney
Medical Transcription Instructor

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
not a keyboard was functioning, not even a mouse.

Norton was hung, it did not care,
that I was on-call and had to be there.

The users were sleeping, all smug in their beds,
while iPods and blue screens danced in their heads.

Office cubicles were quiet, not even a squeak,
all threads were dead-locked, hung in retreat.

When in the COLO there arose such a clatter,
my blog had gone virile, it was causing a chatter.

Away to the server I flew like a flash,
powering down the server and clearing the cache.

The heat of the Intel CPU shone a lusting glow,
on SSD drives and static ram below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but an IBM brand i-Pod with Microsoft gear.

With an NT driver and the .NET framework for glue,
I knew in a moment it must be OS2!
to be continued...

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas
and an Everyting Proper New Year!

- Gary Campbell
Director of IT

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!