A day in the life of a VLC MT graduate - Linda Baumann
|
7:00 am - If it is too early for the sun to be up, it is too early for me!
8:00 am - Just 15 more minutes! 8:25 am - Okay, get the coffee going. I will be back after a walk of 1 mile…or 1.25…or maybe even 1.5…let's not get carried away here. 9:00 - 10:00 am - I start by checking the server for work that was dictated after-hours on the evening before, as well as this morning. Some docs like to dictate from the operating room and some from home. I transfer the files from the server to my desktop, then make my work log and tally sheets for payroll. I can have as many as 17 reports to start the day - like today, or as few as two. My work log includes the voice file number, the patient's name, date of service, date of dictation, physician's name, and medical record number, which I get by listening to the beginning of the voice file and matching to the "Day View" document provided by the orthopedic hospital I do transcription for. The print out supplied by the hospital is the anticipated surgical schedule, and there are sometimes additions to this. Then, I am ready to start transcribing my operative notes, and history and physicals. 11:30 am - I should be on a roll by now, doing about 4 reports per hour or more. Some documents are brief, while some are quite long, depending on the procedures. Some doctors follow a set pattern for each procedure they do, and some do not. If I have a template from the doctor, transcription may just mean filling in the blanks. Most docs begin their procedures the same way every time, and end very predictably. You get to know what they are going to say before they say it a lot of the time, but you can never take anything for granted. The most difficult ones, whether because of tape quality or doctor hesitancy/backtracking or background noise may have to be listened to more than once for accuracy. And every report gets read over, looking for things like "wrenching" when I really wanted "were" but my fingers were not in sync with the brain! Every report is spell checked, as well. Then I double check that the diagnosis or diagnoses is indicated correctly. My reputation hinges on doing things perfectly every time (or at least 98% of the time). 12:30 pm - Time to start thinking in terms of lunch, and perhaps a walk if I just could not get going before starting work. And don't forget that load of wash you put in earlier. Throw it in the dryer now, before you forget. 1:00 pm - 5:00 p.m. - Back to work. A full day can be 20 reports, and more if they are shorter ones. I have a couple of doctors who always have 10 minute recordings, and some are only 10 seconds…remember those templates? I love hearing the words "Use my standard template…" because I get paid for the whole document, not just what I had to actually type! I have checked the server periodically for additional dictation throughout the day and downloaded it to my desktop. The work log I started in the morning has been filled in with pertinent information for each dictation. I get paid by the character, divided by 65 to factor a line total. Each dictation gets listed on my tally sheet as the number of characters per document, then totaled for the day, and transmitted to my boss each evening. Throughout the day I contact my boss via instant messaging if something is dictated that I can't understand. She will listen to the voice file at that point and help me out. It is very rare that we have to send a document in with a blank on it. That happens usually because the quality of the recording made it impossible to make out what was said, or the doctor totally swallowed a word. That gets noted on the work log, along with a blank line on the document for the doctor to fill in. One of the benefits of covering just one client is that I really get to know what they are saying, and have very few blanks. 5:00 - 5:45 - If it is warm enough, a 30-40 minute workout in the clubhouse pool would be great, while everyone else is getting ready for dinner, regardless of where I am in the work load. Did I forget to mention I live in a golf community? Any later, and I will talk myself out of it, as a confirmed couch potato. 6:00 - 7:00 pm - I should be just about finished for the day, and ready to transmit the finished work to the client. Having proven my ability to my boss over the past 1.5 years, I do not have to have my work proof read. I get paid a tiny bit extra for putting it up to the client's server myself, and save my boss one step in her busy day. With anywhere up to 15 transcribers, she needs a few short cuts herself. Some days, because of interruptions, or because I just have not been able to concentrate as well, for whatever reason, I have been known to work until 8:00 p.m. and beyond. If I did not start until noon, or went to lunch with friends, this would be the case. My work is due to the client by 10:00 a.m. the next morning, but I don't like early mornings, so I always get it done in the evening, no matter how late it takes. 8:00 pm - Usually ready to put my feet up for the evening by now. Or play cards with friends. Or catch up on e-mail. Oops…don't forget that laundry in the dryer, either. Hey, remember when I said I only wanted to work 20 hours a week? How is that coming along, because I really, really do not want to work full time! And 9:00 to 6:00, Monday through Friday is definitely not part time! Well, yes, the paycheck looks nice, but my husband and friends want us to do things that retired people do for fun - I can't help it that I still have to work for a living! But at least I really enjoy what I do. I wonder what is on the schedule for tomorrow? |
View our previous "A Day In The Life" article:
A day in the life of a VLC MT graduate Verna Isaac
A day in the life of a VLC MT graduate Verna Isaac
