Preparation: Warming The Soil - Career Step · elbow grease required to turn the soil, ... first interest in medical transcription, ... G, H, JJ, KK, A, B, EE, DD,

In This Issue

I like to grow things. The urge to poke seeds in the ground can almost overwhelm me in these dark, late winter days. I find myself reading seed catalogs and spending a lot of time on gardening websites; I pull out graph paper and begin planning what I will plant and where, as I shiver a little at the snow outside the window. I clean off my wider windowsills and dust off my grow lights. I order seeds, with visions of plump, juicy tomatoes and lush, beautiful flowers dancing in my head.

I know from previous experience there is a lot of work between now and the day I will harvest my veggies. There is a lot of time and patience required; there is elbow grease required to turn the soil, and plant; there is a need for consistency in weeding and watering; there is a lot of vigilance needed to keep the bugs and critters away: there is an element of luck; and most of all, there is a need for—and a willingness to do—preparation.

You have goals, too. Perhaps the ideas in your head have more to do with working at home or having more control over your time; maybe you want to make more money to ease financial worries for your family or eliminate that daycare bill. There is a lot of work between the day you begin the Career Step program and the day you realize you are comfortable and confident in the medical transcription job you love. There is a need for discipline and consistency, a need for a clear-cut goals, a need for patience and flexibility; there is an element of luck, of course,

Preparation: Warming The Soilis dirty and smells weird. Are your shoulders tired yet? This is already kind of exhausting, and so far none of it shows! That’s the thing about preparation.

Volume 12 | Issue 2 | MARCH/APRIL 2009

and this all begins with preparation.

A gardener—me!—first prepares the soil by allowing it to warm. Like your first interest in medical transcription, this is pretty passive. As time elapses the sun just does its thing, and gradually the temperature rises until the soil thaws and can be turned. This is a very crucial moment for garden prep; in our analogy it’s crucial, as well: this is where your desire and awareness grew to the point of action and you made the decision to join the Career Step student body!

Turning the soil can be really difficult, especially at first. The soil here is often compacted clay, with some rocks mixed in for variety, and it’s heavy and hard. It thaws slowly, becomes slick and clumpy when wet, and dries like concrete. Nice. Nevertheless, if I want a garden I have to turn the soil to loosen it and introduce oxygen into it. It is, very simply, a necessity. Now, don’t worry—I’m not going to make an analogy between my slick, heavy, rocky soil and your brain! Not at all! It is difficult, though, to get the gears going again and put yourself in learning mode, especially if you’ve been out of school for a while.

Once the soil is turned, it needs to be amended. Since it tends to be alkaline around here, we add elements to lower the pH, like iron sulfate, peat, or organic mulches. Since the clay is too dense to allow healthy root growth, peat and other organic material is great because it also lightens the soil. All of this stuff

Preparation: Warming The Soil . . . . . 1

Proper Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Stepping Up Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Stepping Up Challenge Results . . . . . 3

Success on the Final Exam . . . . . . . . . 4

Writer’s Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Preparing for Future Success . . . . . . . 6

Work Smarter, Not Harder . . . . . . . . 7

Student Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Dear Susan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Graduate In The Spotlight . . . . . . . . . 8

Commonly Confused Words . . . . . . . 9

This Just In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

From the Tech Help Desk . . . . . . . . 11

Wellness Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

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2 MARCH/APRIL 2009 STEPPING UP

Proper PreparationAs I write this, the snow is flying

outside my window, the sky is gray, and I dread the chore of scraping the day’s frozen precipitation from my windshield before the twilight drive home. Winter drags on and on and on, and I, for one, yearn with all my heart for spring! With this common feeling, the Stepping Up editorial crew contemplated possible themes for upcoming newsletters; it occurred to us that while most of us in the colder parts of the country share these feelings regarding the weather, the longing for warming temperatures is, perhaps, most strongly felt in those of us who are gardeners.

Any gardener knows you can’t just throw seeds at the ground and expect a harvest (well, not usually, anyway)! Out here in the high deserts of the intermountain west, where the soil is alkaline,

and the rain is not plentiful (even the snow is dry), a gardener needs to do certain things to prepare for a harvest—things that do not show, but are absolutely essential. Without this preparation, there will be no harvest.

The work needed to grow a successful garden has some parallels with the work needed to grow a successful career as a medical transcriptionist. Over the next several months of Stepping Up, we will be exploring these parallels between the needs and cycles of a garden, and working through the Career Step program—and beyond. We’ll begin with soil preparation with this early spring issue, and follow it through to harvest by the time we get back around to autumn…you get the picture!

In this issue we will begin with the first steps of gardening, and the first steps of becoming an MT. Each feature is written with some aspect of this theme of proper preparation in mind; if you detect some gardening lingo here and there in this issue, please know it is intentional. Who knows—maybe you’ll be inspired to start your own real Career Step Victory Garden!

So, yes, today it is frozen and dark, but the days march on and there is work to be done. There is some kind of magic in the combination of earth and seeds and water and sun; there is some kind of magic in your decision and determination to succeed, as well. So, with our sights set on the future, let’s see what we can do right now...

Stepping Up ChallengePlastic Surgery Word Search

STEPPING UP MARCH/APRIL 2009 3

Stepping Up Challenge Results

When you begin the training it can feel like you’re trying to force information in, and maybe some of it doesn’t look so good—maybe some of it stinks! Medical Word Building can seem overwhelming, especially if you don’t have any medical background; maybe your typing skills have gotten rusty over the years, and you’re dismayed by the results of the speed tests in the Keyboard Kinetics module. While the Grammar and Punctuation module is designed as a reminder of what you learned in junior high, it can feel like shoveling fertilizer! And so far, you haven’t touched a dictated report or done any transcribing at all…it’s all background information…boring…and it really doesn’t show. That’s the thing about preparation.

Inside the house I have more going on. I make a big mess in my kitchen putting potting mix in little containers and watering in tiny seeds of all kinds. I am very optimistic at this point. I then—with great hope and faith—cover this myriad of small containers of dirt with plastic to keep them moist. I tend them obsessively, peeking in several times a day for the slightest hint of a tender sprout. When I finally see some I continue to coddle the fragile little hints of plant life, hoping they will like me, watching every day for signs of damping off, or mold, or too much water, or not enough water. At this stage, a few hours of neglect could kill them all. Now the ritual of the light schedule begins. This is fun, because, even though my garden is tiny and fragile, and very pale green, it is there! I can see it! It is encouraging.

When you finally come to the end of Grammar and Punctuation you begin Anatomy & Physiology—finally something that seems like it will be directly useful to you as a medical

transcriptionist! As you start to learn and understand some basic physical human systems your knowledge base begins to sprout. This is exciting! It is very important to establish a good routine, setting aside your study time, and setting limits for friends and family who may want to pull you away from what you need to do. If you put aside your schoolwork for even a day or two it could be damaging, causing you to lose focus. If you lose focus it could be a week (or two…or three) before you get back to it; if this happens you may feel like you’ve lost ground and will want to start over again…discouraging. Tend your goals. When you feel progress, you will be

reinforced, stronger, and ready for more.

As the garden beds continue to cook outside, the sprouts grow stronger, greener, shedding the first false leaves and growing the first set of true leaves

inside. It’s time to fertilize. Fertilizer is good for the baby plants, but it also smells funny. The flats of sprouts are still living on my windowsill, and if the fertilizer drips down my walls it leaves unsightly streaks, unlike the water we’ve been working with so far. More work, further effort and care. We now begin a period of growth that will last for quite some time, involving continuous, methodical care. The plants will remain here, with the warmth of my house, the light of the grow lights, and a regular schedule of liquid nutrients until they are sturdy, hardened off, and ready for planting outside.

After A&P you work your way through more class modules preparing you for your first reports: Pathophysiology, Mastering Medical Language, Pharmacology, Building the Medical Record, until finally you

reach the Focus on Medical Specialties modules. You have been growing in strength, medical knowledge, and by now you have a pretty good handle on your schedule. At last, you begin to work with real medical reports! These are in text form, not dictated, and you don’t have to transcribe yet, but they are real, and you can see how all the information you’ve done to this point all comes together in one place. Use this module as a vital period of early growth—don’t neglect any of the steps that will help you to become thoroughly familiar with the nuts and bolts of all types of medical reports. When you finish the final report in the FOMS module you are ready for your Midterm.

We’ll leave the garden at this point, quietly growing, with the lengthening sun, just a little each day. Some of you are not this far in your studies yet, while others are beyond this point. The principles of preparation—the necessary, but often unseen steps—are useful in any case. Please join us for the May/June 2009 issue for further growth and progress. In the meantime, happy gardening…er, learning!

-Jill McNittCS Student Support Team

Commonly Confused Words

C, D, O, P, Q, L, K, CC, BB, T Y, X, G, H, JJ, KK, A, B, EE, DD, F, E, M, N, U, V, I, W, MM, LL, J, R, FF, GG, S, Z, II, HH, AA

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Prepare Now for Success on the Final Exam

There are so many little steps, often invisible in the final product, that are vital to success. The ultimate goal for virtually every student is graduation and, from then, on employment, so I would like to discuss those tiny, crucial steps you can take now to prepare for success on the final exam.

While there is obvious and specific final exam preparation as you get closer to the end of the training, there are practices you can implement even while in the beginning of the curriculum.

It is important to keep the final exam in mind as you work your way through much of the program. There are some things that students often stress about that really don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. What follows is, hopefully, a good checklist of tips to keep you focused with your eye on the prize.

#1 Finish the TrainingOkay, this may seem like a no-

brainer. I mean, you’ve invested your finances, your time, and your dreams into this program, right? Still, you’d be surprised at the number of students who don’t complete the training and are subsequently surprised when they don’t perform well on the final.

In the MT world, practice makes perfect. Your productivity and comprehension levels increase with every test you take and every report you complete. However, it’s important to realize, as well, that you do not need 100% on absolutely every exercise to feel you have internalized the material. Trying to obtain 100% on every exercise may take away valuable time that will be better put to

use in the practicum modules. Finish all of the training, but find a balance between effective completion and over-completion.

#2 Do Not Over-AnalyzeThis is a trait many students battle

in the grammar section of the training, which they promptly forget as they work through the rest of the objective information in the curriculum. Then they come to transcription, and the over-analysis monster rears its ugly head again. In grammar and in transcription (and in life in general!), it’s important not to second-guess every little comma, capital, or clause. Constantly questioning yourself may cause you to make more errors than you would have normally, or to miss the glaring errors by constantly focusing on the minute details. Always keep in mind, if the information dictated is present and clearly readable, then you should be fine.

#3 ProofreadAs I conduct final exam

consultations I’m once again surprised to hear how many students never read through their reports before submitting them to the comparison tool, just expecting to learn everything they need to know from the comparison. This practice can be extremely detrimental to your success on the final exam.

Many little mistakes like subject/verb agreement, possessives, plurals, capitalizations, and spellings can be corrected by simply reading through your reports carefully before submitting them. I find that reading out loud allows me to catch more mistakes than simply skimming with my eyes. You don’t want to get your

results back, only to kick yourself that you missed your passing grade because of a few minor errors that you could have caught with thorough proofreading.

#4 Use the Final Exam Grading Scale

The Final Exam Grading Scale is available in the Transcription Tips (5th Edition) or Introduction to Transcription (6th Edition) module of the training, and there’s a reason we provide the grading scale before you even begin transcribing. It lets you know exactly what is expected of you and your work when you come to the final exam.

You should use the grading scale often to determine how well you are doing on the reports you transcribe. Ask yourself this question: “If I had had this report on the final exam, how would I have done?” We advise students to strive for a consistency level of no more than 3-4 points deducted per report. A consistency level like that will virtually guarantee you a passing grade on the final, if not an Honors score.

These four tips may seem small, even inconsequential, but they will be invaluable to your preparation for the final. They may add a little bit of time as you work through the training, but in the long run, it will be time well worth it if it means not having to prepare for final exam retake. Sowing the seeds of success early will allow you to reap the rewards of your labor: a juicy sweet score on the final exam!

- Chelsea PyleCS Skills Assessment Team


Writer’s BlockThe Professor and the Madman: A Review

A recent “Writer’s Block” submission, published last summer, made reference to the Oxford English Dictionary, calling it “the unquestioned authority on English lexicography (current and historical), the veritable and venerated Bible of English words.” If you read that piece, you learned that the OED is the world’s greatest dictionary – no argument about that from anybody. It is a multivolume production, covers four feet of bookshelf space, weighs about 150 pounds, and is in a state of constant updating. If you didn’t read the piece, you have now learned those things as well. The OED was eighty years old in 2008.

Not long after that article came forth, I picked up and read a slim paperback book, entitled The Professor and the Madman, originally published in England as The Surgeon of Crowthorne. (Americans apparently respond to titles with a more sensationalist twist.) In fact, the entire title is The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. The author is Simon Winchester. I highly recommend that you pick up the book and read it when you need a break from your coursework. I would, naturally, NEVER suggest that you neglect your studies. :)

This article will be primarily a review of the book.

First, the characters. The Professor is James Augustus Henry Murray, a Scotsman, a schoolmaster, certainly a scholar himself, though his education was achieved unconventionally. Murray was the main editor of the OED project, although he died before the complete First Edition came off the press. This is not surprising, since the project took – more or less – seventy years from the time it was conceived (late 1850s) until the date of official

publication (1928). Murray was also the father of eleven children, most of whom helped in the prodigious task of compiling the entries for the OED. The Madman is Dr. William Chester Minor, for much of his life a resident in England’s Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Brilliant and educated, he was an American who served as a military surgeon during the Civil War. His experiences during the War undoubtedly contributed to further unbalancing an already unbalanced mind. Modern psychiatry would easily come up with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia for a condition such as his, but in those days there was no such designation, and no treatment at all existed. (Aha! A medical term. There are a number of them in the book, so you can justify reading it.)

In the book, you get to know these two men and their separate contributions to the OED. You also learn fascinating and intimate details about the OED itself – how it was conceived and what a monumental undertaking it was to produce it. In fact, the magnificent dictionary could be seen as the major protagonist of the story. Prior to the OED, dictionaries had been usually been produced by one man – a Samuel Johnson or a Noah Webster. They contained words and their definitions, and perhaps something of their origin, if it was known. Entries in the OED are much more complex. They contain the words, their definitions, their etymologies, and quotations (hundreds of thousands of them) showing the usage of the words through centuries of literary and scholarly writings. Dr. Murray invited the reading public to submit words to be included in the dictionary along with the accompanying quotations. Among the many hundreds who contributed was Dr. Minor – who sent thousands of slips of paper containing words

and quotations, but he never attended any of the social gatherings held for the contributors. It was years before Dr. Murray discovered that Dr. Minor was insane and institutionalized – was, in fact, a murderer. That’s all part of the story. Nonetheless, the men became friends. The book begins with Dr. Murray’s first visit to Broadmoor to meet Dr. Minor.

The author manages to tell a tale that contains insanity, murder, and horrific self-mutilation, side-by-side with scholarly endeavor, human kindness, and real friendship across incredible barriers – and he does it without overly sensationalizing. The juxtaposition of the scholarship and dedication required to produce the greatest of all reference works and the humanity of those who achieved it is masterful.

One man, Ammon Shea, likes to read dictionaries and other reference books. He reads them and then writes books about them. He read the Oxford English Dictionary in its entirety, all twenty volumes. It took him, he says, about a year, reading eight to ten hours a day. Look him up. You’d enjoy his discussions about it. When asked in an interview to share some of his favorite words, he came up with a short list, and others added to it.

OnomatomaniaIgnotismPeracmeApricity

On this January day, enjoying the apricity out my window, and definitely in the peracme of my life, I refuse to be obmutescent about my experiences. I will have to be sure to introduce these words into casual conversations from time to time. You do the same. It’s sort of fun. Sorry, you’re going to have to look them up!

- JoJean Loflin


Preparing The Way for Future Success!One of the many questions

students ask us after enrolling in the training course is, “How can I prepare myself as a student so I’m ready to start working as an MT directly after graduation?”

Although it may seem early to be thinking about placement, the truth is, it’s never too early to start preparing. There are several steps you can take during your training that will help you tremendously when you begin to look for employment.

One of the first steps to successful employment opportunities is to draw upon the research and experience of others by networking. You will soon find that many of your leads come as a result of knowing someone. Talk about your training to any doctors, nurses, or healthcare professionals that you know or meet. Many students have landed medical transcription jobs this way.

In fact, one student in particular shared her story of a job she acquired after telling her doctor that she was taking the medical transcription training program through Career Step. Her doctor asked her to spell salicylsalicylic acid, and when she finished spelling the term correctly for him he asked her to grab an application from the receptionist on her way out and told her she was hired! This particular situation is unique, but we’ve heard from other students/graduates who have obtained MT job opportunities just by word of mouth.

A second step is to initiate relationships with other medical transcriptionists. There are several medical transcription support groups online, including the Career Step forum. To access the forum, go to www.careerstep.com/forums and follow the instructions for signing in. Taking advantage of these resources works like fertilizer by enriching your knowledge base and creating a wider landscape of employment information for you to consume.

The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) is a great networking source as well. AHDI (formerly known as The American Association for Medical Transcription) is a national organization with state and local chapters, and its sole purpose is to bring MTs together. You can find out more about AHDI at www.ahdionline.org. If you take the time to build these relationships, you will see your efforts rewarded greatly.

You can also take this time to prepare for employment by learning as much as you can about the various MT companies out there so you’re well prepared to start the application process as soon as you graduate. Check out resources like the Logged Chat forum, the Continuing Education forum, the Employer Zone (located in Stepping Up newsletters), and various MT employment-related websites like www.mtjobs.com or www.mt-resources.com. Taking the time now to learn as much as you can about various MT companies will help you transition into the application process

with very little additional effort, saving you time and frustration.

Lastly, take the time to thoroughly learn the principles taught in the program. Just as a gardener would take the time to learn all he/she can to create the most favorable soil conditions in order to get the most optimum results, the training is similar in the sense that it is meant to prepare you for employment, and what you don’t master during the training, you will have to learn in the workplace. Cutting corners while in the training might shave off some of your study time, short term, but you’ll find yourself making up for lost time when you’re trying to adjust to all the nuances of a new job. This will ultimately result in you feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, long term. Your ability to take and pass employment exams (and, thus, receive offers of employment) will depend upon the extent you have learned principles throughout the training.

Graduates who are well networked will typically find employment faster than those who are not. Take the time to sow your employment seeds now by using networking as your tool, and you’ll find your search for employment will be much easier when the hiring season is here and ready to harvest. If you have any questions on preparing for employment, please feel free to email us at [email protected], or call 1-888-657-5752 option 6.

- Julie Weaver and Diane KendallCS Placement Team


I was born in Germany, and I spent most of my childhood visiting several different places and moving. My parents were both in the army. My mother was an army medic, and I grew up reading medical encyclopedias for fun. I always knew that I wanted a career somewhere in the medical industry.

After high school, I earned my Associates Degree in Medical Secretary and Transcription from a community college in Washington State. The transcription portion of the course was equivalent to the Introduction to Transcription module of Career Step. I was taught the basics of foot pedal operation, and I was allowed to transcribe a few—less than 20—medical reports. I did not feel educated enough to attempt an actual transcription job, which was fine with me, as I was after a secretarial position. My first job after graduation was as a unit secretary at a local children’s hospital.

Student SpotlightTracy Kessler

I may not have chosen to be a military brat, but I willingly agreed to be a military spouse. I married my Air Force husband in 2002 after six years of dating. Shortly afterwards, we made our first military move 3000 miles away, to Florida. This was the beginning of several years of moving, changing jobs, and leaving newly made friends. I have held many positions: a unit secretary, front-desk receptionist, paintball store operator, and veterinary technician.

I will be turning the big 30 this upcoming September, and I decided I needed to take control of my future and find a career that I could take with me wherever I go, and allows me to set my own schedule. I have a strong desire to spend as much time with my family as possible. My husband’s schedule has him doing 12-hour shifts, various days of the week. If I even attempted a regular 9-5 job, I would be missing a lot of time with him.

With my husband supporting me, I joined Career Step. Even with a medical background, I found myself learning something different every day. I entered the clinics module with positive thoughts, but soon felt crushed. I started questioning myself, “Can I really do this?” “Do I really know what I am doing?” “What have I gotten myself into?”

You must try to remember that the evil grader is not evil; she is just playing the devil’s advocate.

I remember things better if I write them down, so what I started to do is keep a 3x5 index card box and a stack of 3x5 cards (color-coded), markers, and pens all nearby. When the grader would come back with something different, I would reach for the appropriate index card and write it down. I have commonly used phrases, hard to understand words, gentle reminders, abbreviations, formatting, and just about everything else written on those cards.

Work Smarter, Not HarderTake a Break!

I stared tiredly at the computer screen in front of me, waiting for my test score to appear. I was fairly confident I’d done well—after all, I’d studied practically all night! When the magic number materialized in front of me, I just continued to stare at it, unable to believe it was so low. How could I have done so poorly when I studied for so long?

The answer, I learned, was that I had studied for so long! You may be the type that studies and reviews for weeks in advance. Or, like me, you might be the type that stays up until two a.m. the night before you take your test. No matter what kind of

studier you are, and no matter where you are in your Career Step course, there’s one key I’ve learned that helps to retain all that information you’ve been cramming into your brain.

Take a break!It seems a little contradictory,

especially if you’re counting down the hours until you take your next test. Take a twenty-minute break when the time is ticking away? No way! However, if you give your brain a little bit of a rest every hour or so, it will work much better once you ask it to find the answer you know is in there somewhere. Even a five-minute

break can help your brain assimilate all that information. Here are a few ideas for breaks that can help refresh you, keep you alert, and improve your knowledge retention.

Take a Snack BreakFood is good for growing brains!

Of course, the healthier the better, but if you don’t want to take the time to make vegetarian lasagna, grab a granola bar or an apple. Your mind and body will feel refreshed, and your brain will have that much more energy to continue studying. Just make sure you aren’t eating it while continuing to study—no cheating! It’s not just a

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Graduate In The SpotlightVivienne Nelson

It is such a thrill for me to be writing a piece here in the Graduate Spotlight. You see, I have read each and every one of these graduate feature articles for over a year now, and hung on to every word written by the previous graduates, and have often said to myself, “See, I can do that too.” They were all such an inspiration to me, and gave me the extra will to keep going. Being able to tell you my story allows me a chance to pay it forward.

I was first introduced to medical transcription by a family friend who is a physician. I had recently nailed a great job as an executive assistant and office manager at a great company, and even though the salary and working conditions were great, the commute was miserable. I was complaining about how many hours of my life felt “wasted” commuting and my friend asked, “Have you ever thought of doing medical transcription?” She proceeded to explain the concept, and I remember being vaguely interested. A career change sounded like an investment in time that I barely had. But, a seed was planted, and as life

became more demanding, I started researching the prospect of this career change. Sometimes it seemed doable, and at other times it seemed daunting, so I just kept thinking about it and researching, and then thinking about it and researching some more. All this “thinking and researching” went on for almost 6 years!

Well, after a particularly difficult year at work and the prospect of the company going out of business, and by now, after six years of researching the field of medical transcription, I made the plunge in June 2007 and signed up with Career Step. By now, I was convinced that I could make a great career of this and needed to stop wasting time and just do it!

I immediately loved it. I kept asking myself why I had not done this before and what took me so long. The Career Step course was detailed, methodical, and sometimes very challenging, but I loved that too. But life and work at times would overwhelm me, and I would take a short break from studying that would go on for way too long.

Then I would receive another issue of Stepping Up. After voraciously reading all the stories, I would become fired up again and get right back on track.

This journey has not been disappointing. My goal was to be done by the fall of 2007, but with life and work, and too many breaks from studying in between, I graduated in November 2008. I passed my final on the first attempt with Honors, and was offered an at-home medical transcription job with a company called AssistMed, two weeks after that.

So here I am, the proud mom to two boys: Jonathan who is 17 years old, and Nicholas 12 years old, and proud wife to hubby, Paul. And I will be 46 years old this year and starting a new career! I love the flexibility and especially the potential of my new career. I love waking up and walking ten steps from my bedroom to my home office. I remember my first week on the job thinking to myself, “So this is what it feels like to be doing something that you love so much, that


I also try to put aside at least 1 hour every day to type out a few reports; this way I feel like I have accomplished something for the day. Even if I only get one report done, that is one report closer to graduation.

I started Career Step with hopes of graduating within 6 months, but life happens. After several hurricane evacuations, a wedding, the holidays, and family visits, I found myself behind. I am now setting a graduation goal at the 1-year mark and have found a lot of encouragement, help, and support on the forums. I have even discovered a study buddy and, hopefully, a few new friends.

-Tracy Kessler

Dear Susan...Dear Susan,

Are there specific things that I can be doing now, besides the coursework, to prepare myself to be a great MT?

Signed,Wanting to Be the Best!

Dear Wanting to Be the Best,

There are a lot of things you can do to start learning the “lingo!” When I first started working as an MT, my employer suggested that I read articles in the newspaper and in magazines that had anything to do with medicine or healthcare. I started watching

medical-related shows on TV and started reading medical thrillers. Go in and take a listen to the program audio files from time to time, even before you reach the transcription portion of the program. Purchasing the Transcription Companion CD that was released with the 6th edition and listening to, and transcribing those reports will also be a big help.

Have fun!

- Susan Tuckett, CMTCS Student Support Counselor



it does not feel like work.”

I feel incredibly blessed to be an example to my boys that shows them that with perseverance, you can go after your dreams. I am also hopeful that to those of you reading this, you will be inspired, the way the other graduates have inspired me in the past to just keep on going and seeing it through. “The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the will to try it and the faith to believe it possible.” (Quote Anonymous)

-Vivienne Nelson

Commonly Confused Words

Additional resources that will help you avoid commonly confused words include the Word Differentiation unit in your coursework, your standard English dictionary, and the following website: www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html.

RAIN vs. REIGN vs. REIN

RAIN (noun): Drops of precipitation which fall from the sky.- He has hypothermia from being outside in the rain all night

REIGN (verb): To rule; to hold royal office.- The queen will reign for the remainder of her life.

REIN (noun): The narrow strip attached to a horse’s bit, which allows the rider to guide the horse.

- She tugged the reins back to stop her horse.

Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, www.m-w.com

snack, it’s a snack break.

Read a BookThis means a non-medical, non-

study related book. Whether you prefer a novel or the your friend’s blog, taking your brain away from the subject you’ve been studying can actually give the information time to sink in. I found that a good source of reading were those bathroom-edition story compilations. The stories are just the right length for a study break. So stretch out on the bed or the couch and read something you enjoy!

Take a Relaxation BreakThis is a great one for those who

feel they can’t afford to take longer than five or ten minutes for a break. Move away from your study area and sit or lay down somewhere comfortable. Be careful if you lay down—you don’t want to fall asleep! Then, take five or ten minutes and focus on your breathing. Count your breaths in and out (inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, exhale 2, 3, 4, 5). Make sure you’re taking your breaths from your belly, not your chest. The increase in oxygen is good for your brain—and try not to be thinking about your studying in the meantime!

You can even visualize a favorite place of yours if it helps keep your mind away from medical terminology. If you feel you can’t do this kind of thing on your own, you can always search YouTube for guided relaxations. Many are between five and ten minutes and walk you through becoming relaxed. You’ll be surprised how ready to go you’ll feel when you’re done!

Go for a WalkIf the weather’s nice and it’s not

one in the morning, going for a walk can have a great effect on your studies. It gets your blood moving again and increases your oxygen intake, both of which will help the mind and body to relax and assimilate all those pesky anatomy terms. It might even help more if you go with another person, so you can talk about things that are non-course related. Talking to a human being after spending hours with a computer or book can be a refreshing break!

SleepThis one is especially for all you

procrastinators out there. If you think you’ll do better by cramming all night before you take your test, you’re in for

a surprise just like mine. You need a mind that is rested and alert if you’re taking a difficult test. If you’re ready to keel over in the middle of the test, you won’t do so well. So study late if you have to, but try to get to bed before midnight! Research has actually proven that memories form during sleep, so believe it or not, you’re studying while you sleep. All that information you’ve carefully added to your little neurons gets stored away while you sleep, which means you get better access to more information. So close that book and close your eyes!

I always found that whenever I put these kinds of breaks into my study time, even though I technically did less studying, I did better on my exams and remembered the information more clearly. In the transcription and coding field, both of those things are important. So try not to study until your brain is soggy—give it a little break every once in a while!

-Shallee McArthurCS Product Development Team



This Just InBenchMark KB

Beginning January 1, 2009, most newly enrolling students will receive access to the BenchMark KB (Knowledge Base), the industry’s first application designed to increase the quality and speed of medical transcription through the use of a centralized, standardized electronic health information resource.

Current students (though you already have all of the resources you need to complete the training program) who do not have access to this resource may purchase a 1-year subscription to BenchMark KB at a significantly discounted price.

What is BenchMark KB? BenchMark KB is a complete set

of web services that brings together an extensive collection of online medical transcription reference materials into a single application, with real time updates to keep students up to date on terminology and reference data. Unlike the loose, independent resources you may be using now, KB offers everything from a medical dictionary to a lab values database all consolidated and available at your fingertips. Developed by the domain experts at the Association for

Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and transcription industry technology veterans at InterFix, BenchMark KB marks a new standard in health data quality.

BenchMark KB is the first application that sets universal health data quality standards and deploys them to the workstation level, integrating them into the document creation process. BenchMark KB is a browser-based application that sits alongside any transcription or coding application. It is a portal, or single access point, to the up-to-date medical resources needed to create consistent, high-quality health documentation, including:

• The medical reference library from Stedman’s in a single user interface• A continuously updated national physician and dentist database (1 Million + names)• Quality alerts library to highlight common transcription style errors, including Joint Commission and ISMP dangerous abbreviations and recommendations• Annual electronic membership to AHDI • AHDI Book of Style version 3 in searchable format

• Extensive database of 250+ normal lab values • FAQs from the industry experts at AHDI

Why would I want BenchMark KB? Medical transcription is a career

requiring constant verification of facts, terminology, dosages, values, names, drugs, and much more. The time you spend searching through resources is time you are not transcribing (thus, not being paid). With BenchMark KB you will have access to all of these resources in one place. And unlike your print materials, your KB resources are automatically updated so you never have to worry about the accuracy of the information. KB was created to save you time and effort, which translates to efficiency and pay.

If you are a current Career Step student, you should have received an email with the above information that also includes the information on HOW TO ORDER BenchMark KB at the discounted price. If you have not received this email, please send an email inquiry to [email protected].

Moderated Chat Schedule

Please join us for Career Step’s Thursday moderated live chat room sessions. The topics vary weekly and include course-related topics, industry topics, and employment issues. This is a very user-friendly system – you just click on the chat room and join the fun!

1st Thursday of month, 10-11 am Mountain, Industry Topic/Guest 2nd Thursday of month, 12-1 pm Mountain, Skills Assessment team 3rd Thursday of month, 12-1 pm Mountain, Student Support team 4th Thursday of month, 3-4 pm Mountain, Graduate Services team 5th Thursday of month, TBA, wildcard topic when applicable

Please see the MT student forum http://www.careerstep.com/forums and online course main page announcements for scheduled chats times and topics. The times are subject to change.


“What computer should I get? I need something that will work not only for the Career Step course, but also my future job.” This question comes to tech support from time to time, so I thought I’d go into detail on this topic, and expand it to answer, “what computer setup should I get?”

Without all the long-winded explanations, here’s my recommendation:

• Windows XP• DSL or cable Internet connection• Flat Screen Monitor• Comfortable USB based wired keyboard• High quality, comfortable headphones• Comfortable chair• At least: - 1.5 GHz CPU - 100 GB Hard Drive space - 2 GB of RAM

Compatibility

Even if a company loves you as a transcriptionist, they can’t hire you unless your computer will work with their system. Some companies will give you a computer, but this isn’t the majority.

Many transcription companies require that you use Windows XP, and those that are compatible with Vista generally are compatible with XP as well. Of course, I’m not saying that if you have any other operating system you won’t be able to find a job, but you’ll have more companies to choose from. Most companies aren’t natively compatible with Macs, but Mac users can use Parallels or Boot Camp to work in a Windows environment. If you love your Mac, there’s no need to go running for a new computer, but you probably do need to learn how to use Parallels or Boot Camp.

From the Tech Help DeskMedical transcription companies

are a bit more careful with Internet connections than other companies, because they are responsible for the security of personal medical information. If you can get a DSL or cable Internet connection in your area, then you should. Most companies don’t want you on a satellite connection because it’s less secure, and it won’t allow you to connect to their VPN (virtual private network) if they use one. Dial-up is too slow for some companies as you will be downloading and uploading files as a necessity. Having either satellite or dial-up doesn’t mean there’s no one out there to hire you; you just have more options using a cable or DSL connection.

Comfort

Being uncomfortable is the last thing you need when trying to decipher a doctor that sounds like he’s purposefully trying to make it hard on you by mumbling, eating a sandwich, having side conversations, and turning away from the microphone while dictating.

You’ll be staring at your monitor for hours at a time. Old CRT monitors (not flat screen) tend to have slower refresh rates than flat screens, and staring at a monitor with a slow refresh rate is a quick way to a headache. A flat screen monitor (I recommend 19 inch or bigger) will take up less room on your desk and give you more room for books, reference materials, and the occasional crayon drawing your 3-year-old child or grandchild made for you.

Keyboards are a bit harder to pin down. As far as comfort goes, people

What Computer Setup Should I Get?prefer different styles. Ergonomic keyboards are a good place to start, but you just have to try out a few styles to see what’s most comfortable for you. If you decide to get a laptop I highly recommend you get a keyboard to plug into it, as keyboards on laptops are notoriously tiny. Wireless keyboards

sound good at first but when the battery starts to go, you’ll find that it will miss keystrokes (which is just not acceptable for an MT), so I recommend a wired USB keyboard.

Oh, how a good chair can make a

difference! If your back starts hurting after 15 minutes of transcribing, chances are you’re going to make frequent breaks a habit and get much less done. A good padded office chair generally will do the trick. Don’t go too far with this though, as it’s pretty easy to fall asleep in a super-comfy heated massage chair while listening to a monotone doctor!

Computer Specs

I list this last because, quite frankly, transcribing doesn’t require a super-great computer. Generally if you’re buying a new computer, even a cheap one, it’s going to meet our requirements (as well as most any future employer’s requirements). The specs I listed above are good guidelines, but it’s important to keep in mind anything else you want to be able to use your computer for and determine whether those activities might require a more powerful computer.

- Mark TrentCS Tech Support Team


serious pain later! I wanted to enjoy my 30 miles and celebrate the body and health I am blessed with that allows me to put such a goal into my head!

I have experienced many ups and downs with my running these past few months, but overall I feel good. A goal that seemed so grandiose four months ago seems within my reach now. By the time you read this I will have completed my 30 miles and I know that all those hours of running will be worth it. Now, running 30 miles is not for everyone, but I know that setting goals and enjoying the process of achieving your goals is something everyone can and should experience. Good luck on your journey!

- Mahogani ThurstonCS Wellness Coordinator

Wellness CornerReaching Your Goals

Now is a great time to assess where you are in your wellness goals. Do you feel better than you did a year ago? Do you feel worse? Do you feel about the same?

I decided to challenge myself to run 30 miles for my 30th birthday in February. I felt this was a great way to keep me motivated to exercise and train through the winter. So I laid out a four-month plan during which I could see how my mileage increased from week to week. When I first started, the mileage seemed overwhelming—how am I ever going to run 30, 40 or 50 miles a week when I’m only running 15 miles a week right now!

Regardless of my reservations, I started. As time went by it seemed that every workout got easier. I kept my goal in mind and knew that if I didn’t prepare now for what was to come I would be in

Stepping Up is published bimonthly by Career Step for its students, graduates, and client partners .

The first 6 months (3 issues) of subscription are included in the student enrollment . Additional subscriptions are $10 for the first year and $20 per year thereafter .

Career Step Quality Medical Transcription Training

1220 North Main, Suite 6Springville, UT 84663

Phone: 800-246-7837 or888-657-5752

Fax: 801-491-6645Email: SteppingUp@careerstep .com

Website: www .careerstep .com

Andrea Loflin Anaya, CEOMaren Toone, Editor-in-ChiefChelsea Pyle, Associate EditorJill McNitt, Associate EditorAlesa Little, Assistant Editor

Documents

Preparation: Warming The Soil - Career Step · elbow grease required to turn the soil, ... first interest in medical transcription, ... G, H, JJ, KK, A, B, EE, DD,