How to Proofread Better as a Medical Transcriptionist

Working as medical transcriptionist can be a stressful job. Hard to pronounce and spell medical terminology along with hard to follow dictations and problems with technology can lead to difficulty in providing your medical staff with accurate dictations. Accurate medical reports are necessary for a variety of reasons -- including accurate medical history reports for patients and insurance reasons. Proofreading your reports can help ensure accuracy. There are actions you can take to become a better proofreader while working as a medical transcriptionist.

Things You'll Need

• Medical dictionary

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Instructions

• 1

  Take a medical terminology or medical transcriptionist class at a community college. Contact community colleges in your neighborhood for details. You may be able to enroll in a semester-long class or a daylong class that simply teaches you the basics.

• 2

  Use a medical dictionary. Purchase a medical dictionary online or in your local bookstore. If you are not sure of the correct spelling of a word, use your dictionary to look up the word. Keep in mind that many word processors cannot accurately spell many medical terms.

• 3

  Read a few sentences back to yourself at a time as you type. Review your document a few sentences or paragraphs at a time. This can help ensure accuracy along the way.

• 4

  Leave blanks if you are not sure what word is supposed to be used. Never guess at the spelling or use a word you think belongs. This can create an inaccurate medical report -- which in rare cases can reek havoc for patients and their treating physicians. Mark the document in question and pass it off to the appropriate individual -- this depends on the policy of the office you work at but may include a resident, physician assistant, medical secretary or the attending physician -- to check for accuracy.