Cancer Research Blog

Amy Nutt asked:


Transcription developed gradually in the early sixties through different machines like manual and electric typewriters, computers, word processors, magnetic belts, cassettes, plastic disks and digital recordings. In the past, medical reports that were gathered for patients contain handwritten abbreviation notes that were very difficult for common people to understand.

Nowadays, a lot of healthcare providers make use of voice streaming and dictation to make transcription more effective and efficient. However, since the medical spoken language is still too complex to understand, medical transcriptionists are required to convert the spoken medical records into typewritten form.

What is a Medical Transcriptionist?

A medical transcriptionist, also called an MT, is an individual who is in charge of converting or translating a patient’s medical records to typewritten layout. Although transcriptions can also be done in handwritten form, a typewritten layout is often preferred because it is clearer and more comprehensible. These transcriptions are usually done for the purpose of charting reports and information. Much of the recordings that a medical transcriptionist works on come from either a Dictaphone machine or recorded tape.
A Medical Transcriptionist should be a practiced typist

Since the market for medical transcriptionists is growing, employers often look for a person who is a practiced typist with outstanding interpretation of what he hears through dictation. A fast typist will be able to lay out the medical records in typewritten form as the recording runs, without having to play back the Dictaphone machine or tape. This makes him more efficient in his job.

An MT should be knowledgeable with medical terms

A medical transcriptionist must have strong knowledge of medical language and terms. Since a medical transcriptionist has to record a lot of medical terms, it is essential that he knows the spelling and pronunciation of such terms. Without a good knowledge of medical terms, it is rather impossible for a person to work effectively as a medical transcriptionist.

Educational qualifications and skills required for an MT position

To be a medical transcriptionist, you must be at least a high school graduate with a diploma that is relevant to the field medical transcription. You will have an advantage if you have at least one to three years of working experience that is in line with the duties and responsibilities of a medical transcriptionist. As a medical transcriptionist, you must be able to comprehend dictation of medical terms and you need to possess short hand skills. You should also be good in verbal communication and spelling, and have excellent memory skills so that you can sort out, count, check and authenticate numbers with accuracy.

Other skills required of an MT

It is essential that you are able to use and operate some of the basic office machines, equipments and computers. A medical transcriptionist needs to possess excellent records maintenance ability and a profound knowledge of medical transcription practices and guidelines. You have to be resourceful enough to be able to use a wide selection of professional reference materials and work under pressure with limited time and minimal supervision.

You must also have the skills to use proper grammar, capitalization rules, and correct punctuations. As you progress in your job as a medical transcriptionist, you will be required to perform quality assurance check to ascertain that the medical reports are correctly done. You will also have to understand and apply important legal concepts like confidentiality.

As a whole, an effective and successful medical transcriptionist has to be able to decide what is essential and vital to medical reports. In other words, a medical transcriptionist has to comprehend the medical terms used in the reports, instead of just being able to identify them. A medical transcriptionist possibly will not be able to determine which parts of a report are important if he has no fundamental knowledge of the terms used by medical experts.



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Donna Rivera-Loudon asked:


I learned some interesting facts about breast cancer that I feel every woman should know. The sources I used for this article included the American Cancer Society, The National Cancer Institute, and the Avon Foundation’s Breast Cancer Crusade.

Early breast cancer isn’t usually detected by pain. In fact, when breast cancer first develops, there may be no symptoms at all. That is why regular exams are important. If you have anything that makes you suspect breast cancer, contact your doctor immediately. Don’t wait around to see what happens. Let the professional decide. Some symptoms that may indicate breast cancer include, but are not limited to, the following:

Nipple discharge or tenderness

Lumps in breast and/or underarm area

Visual changes which include: size of breast including swelling; inverted nipple; and pitting. Pitting means the skin looks like the skin of an orange. Scaling of the breast skin could also be a symptom.

Early detection of breast cancer is important. There is a 97% five-year survival rate when breast cancer is detected early since this can help prevent it from spreading. Below are some guidelines to early detection. I hope they help save someone’s life.

Get a Mammogram

A mammogram is a specialized x-ray of the breast to help detect cancers which cannot be detected by feel. Some women are confused as to how often they should get a mammogram. Here is what the professionals say about mammograms.

At age 40 begin getting annual mammograms by a licensed technician. A mammogram will take about twenty minutes. When getting a mammogram avoid wearing deodorant, powders, or cream under your arms. Sometimes they can interfere with the results. Make sure to contact the center if they do not inform you of the results within thirty days. It is very important that results are compared from one year to the next. Hence, be sure you know where your mammogram film is being held.
Clinical Breast Exam

This is an exam by a health care professional. Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam at least every three years and women 40 or older should have an exam each year.

Self-Examination

Starting at age 20 women should begin doing a self-exam. Ask your doctor if you are not exactly sure how to do this or if you are not sure you are doing it correctly. Here are a few guides to follow: Lie down and place one arm behind your head. Using your three middle finger pads press firmly across your breast in overlapping dime-size circular motions. Use three different levels of pressure: light, medium, and firm. This allows you to feel the tissue close to your skin, to feel a little deeper, and to feel the tissue closest to your chest and ribs.

Move across your breast in an up and down pattern, starting from the underarm and moving across the breast to the middle of the chest bone, repeating the pressure.

Stand in front of a mirror with your hands pressing down on your hips and look at your breasts for any changes in size, shape, contour, or dimpling. Also, do this with your arms slightly raised. Make sure you check under your breasts as well.

I hope that this information proves helpful to you. I am not a health care provider and by no means a professional on breast cancer. I am simply sharing with every woman possible the importance of detecting breast cancer early and some simple guidelines that might save a life.

My sources for the above information are:

American Cancer Society The National Cancer Institute Breast Health Resource Guide by the Avon Foundation’s Breast Cancer Crusade



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