MT Bloopers

There is "humor" in medicine. An MT should possess a lively sense of humor as he or she will hear much to laugh about in a typical day's dictation. The comic relief afforded by the humor in medicine does not mean the MT is insensitive to the importance of the medical reports being transcribed. Laughter helps relieve stress in any profession or occupation and helps us to maintain a sense of balance and perspective. Sometimes the MT can produce some hilarious "funnies" as well, often called "bloopers."

Consider this one: The doctor dictates "senile cataract." The MT mistakenly types: "penile cataract" instead. As she or he was happily typing along it truly sounded like "penile cataract" rather than "senile cataract." Of course, with skillful proofreading the mistake would be corrected, and the blooper would end up as an addition in the funny file. When coffee breaks roll around, this type of blooper provides a good laugh shared with colleagues.

Now consider one such as this: A doctor dictated, "This is the second hospital admission for a 75-year-old white male who was found under the bed in his hotel room and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation of the problem." In an otherwise normal workday, suddenly this type of a sentence sounding through your ear plugs of the transcribing machine can be absolutely hilarious and even funnier if you have other MTs to share it with. Of course, the sentence had to be edited for final copy of the medical record. Most physicians know they are not "perfect" and will appreciate the MT’s medical knowledge, alertness and editing ability.

MTs today can work in a variety of settings. However, working alone is not always as ideal as you might think. If you find yourself in business alone or your facility has moved your medical transcription office inside your home, you can still find ways to share with other colleagues the little bloopers you have encountered during your work schedule. Just remember the confidentiality rules and never discuss specific details or give the names of those patients who had bloopers (you caught and fixed).

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. © 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved. Excerpts from Connie Limon. Visit http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info to learn more about the unique and wonderful profession of Medical Transcription. Sign up for our FREE newsletters about this career choice.