As a new medical transcriptionist that has completed their orientation and probationary period, you may start to feel pressured about getting reports typed and returned in a timely manner. But as a thoroughly trained Medical Transcriptionist, you were told that your reports shouldn't contain a lot of blanks or incorrect information. So what's a new medical transcriptionist to do?

Dot dah dah dah, Holy Macro, It's Shortcuts to the rescue! No, I didn't mean mackerel. I am referring to a macro. So what's a macro you ask? A macro is defined as large in scale, size or scope or a shorthand representation for a number or line. But, the term that I'm referencing is in regards to a series of word commands and instructions that you group together as a single command to accomplish a task automatically. Simply put, a macro is a shortcut. Let's look at an example. The abbreviation for the medical term esophagogastroduodenoscopy is EGD. This word means the doctor will be viewing the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum with a scope. This is the procedure used when a person may have persistent heartburn, indigestion, stomach ulcers, and/or a history of other gastric disorders. Now, instead of the medical transcriptionist typing out this entire word like I just did, she'll simply type in E-G-D. Those are the only three keys that she'll strike and out pops that long word. You may be asking, if a medical transcriptionist gets paid for her production, won't she get paid more if she types out the entire word and not just enter a shortcut? The answer to that is no, here's why.

The word esophagogastroduodenoscopy is actually considered one character. I know, that long word and it's only one character! There has to be 7 items or more of typed text in order for it to be considered a line. So all of the information that I just typed in the sentence before this one is considered a line. So when the medical transcriptionist spends time typing out that long word, it's only getting her closer to her count requirement, but it also slows her down. Let's see if I can explain explicitly how macros can become a medical transcriptionists best friend. For instance, if you're a new medical transcriptionist it's a little awkward to type on the number keys. I don't care how many times you've typed and practiced, those number keys are just not in the normal rhythmic flow or alignment for a typist You have to extend your fingers further, and for most of us if and when we learned typing in school, we didn't focus on the number keys, because we use letters and not numbers to communicate. This may not be the case for all medical transcriptionists, but it was for me. I couldn't wrap my mind around moving my fingers up that far. My fingers would always seem to get out of line with the home row keys and I'd have to always look down to see where my fingers were. Believe it or not, those few seconds in time take away from your productivity.

Let's look at the month's of the year. Instead of typing the word January, you could create jan as a macro and when typed, the entire word January will populate in the report you're transcribing. This cuts down your number of keystrokes, so instead of typing seven letters, you only type three. And let's not forget that you'll need to shift in order to capitalize the letter J. As for the numbers, well, what could be easier to type than the number 1? Nothing, but as mentioned, it's awkward moving your fingers up onto the number key row, so instead of typing the numbers and moving your fingers and hands out of alignment, you can simply input oo as a macro for the number one. There aren't any words in medical jargon that will require you to type oo. So this can be your macro for the number one. And it's only one more keystroke.

Let's look at abbreviations. Our example of EGD is one. When we input EGD, the word esophagogastroduodenoscopy populates into the report. But, there will also be times when you'll need to use the abbreviation EGD and not the entire word. So how do you get around something such as that? You simply type egdd. The extra d is one more keystroke, and all abbreviations have to be capitalized, so instead of moving your fingers to shift and then type the letters, you'd simply type egdd and EGD in all caps will populate. Do you see how macros can be of great assistance to the medical transcriptionist? You may not be seeing the full picture now, but when you become a medical transcriptionist, you will know exactly what this means and how beneficial it is in regards to your line count.

Another thing that I think is awesome is if you're going to study to become a medical transcriptionist, and I hope you will, you can learn these macros before you start working, and when you begin working as a medical transcriptionist you can go in with this knowledge and start out being more productive from the start. I didn't learn about macros until I was hired and working as a medical transcriptionist. And with so many other things that I was trying to remember, it made it almost impossible to remember hundreds of new macros.

Another great way macros can cut down on keystrokes is when they're used for entire sentences. Physicians are creatures of habit. When they dictate, they usually will use standard lines to describe their patients. One such sentence is "the patient was in no acute distress" or "the pupils were equal, round, and reactive to light and accommodation." And for surgical procedures, most surgeons will state that "the patient was prepped and draped in the usual sterile fashion." When you learn your physicians and begin to know what they're going to say before they even say it, oh boy, macros to the rescue! Let's play around with the first sentence, go ahead, see what macro you can create.

"The patient was in no acute distress." Macro = tpwinad. I believe this sentence counts as a line, and instead of typing seven different words, you've only typed seven letters. Now imagine you've done this for the entire report, including medications. I hear your wheels turning. You're gaining confidence and saying to yourself "I can do this!" And you're correct! With macros, you can type reports in half the time. This is how some medical transcriptionists have massive line counts and earn massive paychecks. Let's say you get paid 7 cents per line. A line count of 20,000 per week will net you $2,800 for a two week period. I used to think that was because a person had been a medical transcriptionist for years and could type like the Energizer bunny, but she didn't work harder, just smarter.

So, how do I create macros? As always, each transcription service is different. When I started working for a company called Edix, which is now called Spheris, I received a booklet full of macros. But, I could also create my own. I had the ability to copy text from within a patient’s report and paste it into the macro system and create macros from an entire section of a patient's report. You can also input your own macros and save them. The only draw back to this for me was that I was in the actual transcription system. When I would sign on, I would sometimes have reports in my inbox. I would just return the jobs and not get any more. So this is may be something you choose to do when your shift has ended for the day or on your day off.

Here are some tips to help you me more productive as a new home based MT:

• In typing, your goal is accuracy, rhythm, and speed. These can be accomplished when you keep your fingers centered and placed in the accurate position. Try to eliminate the use of moving your fingers all around the keyboard. Try your best to maintain correct posture and keep your fingers on the home row keys.

• Create macros for abbreviations. This eliminates the need to use the shift key.

• Create macros for words that require capitalization. When typing allergies, they must be in all caps. If a patient is allergic to penicillin, create a macro for this word in all caps. For example, the macro could be penn. Penn = PENICILLIN.

• When creating a macro for words that are used in all caps and lower case, just create a macro by adding the last letter typed twice if not three times. Such as the example above for EGD. EGD = esophagogastroduodenoscopy and egdd = EGD.

• Try to create macros for numbers, days of the week, months, and years. This may sound difficult, but anything that keeps you from going up to the number line will greatly improve your line count, speed, and accuracy.

• If you create macros for medications, play close attention to the spelling of the medication and whether the medication is a generic or brand name drug.

• Study your macros and create your own. Macros are not written in stone. What ever helps you to be more productive and accurate is your goal. DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.

If you’re interested in becoming a medical transcriptionist and would like more information about working at home or other non-clinical healthcare work-at-home options, visit http://www.youtube.com/medicalhomecareer for more information. Be sure to check out the videos title Medical Transcription: Defined, and Medical Coding: Defined.

If I can be of assistance in helping you make this most important decision by providing more detailed information or if you have any questions feel free to contact me at MedicalHomeCareer@gmail.com

If you’re currently working as a Medical Transcriptionist, I hope you’ve found this article to be helpful to you.

Here’s to Life Enrichment,

Cynthia L. Dixon