General Rules for Words

To make a noun plural in most cases you just add “s” such as patients or ideas. For words ending in s, x, ch, sh or z, in most cases add “es” to make it plural. Examples are lunches or taxes. If a word ends in “y” and is preceded by a vowel, add “s” and if it is preceded by a consonant, change the “y” to “i” and add es. (Hmmm…a little trickier here, but still not too bad!) Some examples would be:

copy     copies
key       keys

When a word ends in “o” add s to make it plural if it is preceded by a vowel, such as ratio with the plural being ratios.  However, when the “o” is preceded by a consonant you may have to add an “s” or “es” – check a dictionary for spelling. This includes words such as:

echo    echoes
ego      egos

If a noun ends in f, ef or ff you may simply add “s” or change the f or ef to “ve” and add s. (Getting a little harder here!) This rule applies to nouns such as:

belief   beliefs
half      halves

Some words form irregular words when pluralized and you may need to consult dictionary. For example we don’t use the word “womans” as a plural, we say “women” and child becomes “children.”

Some words are the same, whether they are singular or plural such as biceps, triceps, series or scissors.

When it comes to compound nouns, we pluralize single-word compounds as if the final word element stood alone.  Therefore, the plural of backpack is backpacks (not backspack) and birthday is birthdays (not birthsday). For words that have a space between them or a hyphen, we pluralize the main noun. This includes words such as passerby, which becomes passersby or father-in-law with the plural being fathers-in-law.

If the compound word does not have a noun, we pluralize the final word element. So hang-up would be hang-ups and know-it-all becomes know-it-alls.

For words that end in “ful” make plural simply by adding “s.” We don’t change the “ful” to fulls. So the plural of teaspoonful is teaspoonfuls.

For proper nouns we add “s” to make it plural unless it ends in s, x, ch, sh or z in which case you would add es.  Thus the name Smith becomes Smiths and Jones will be Joneses. We should keep the original spelling of proper nouns but add s or es depending on word ending. A couple of examples are Christmases and Rolexes.

Uppercase abbreviations are made plural by adding “s” (not apostrophe and s). This includes ECGs, IVs or MTs.  Lower case abbreviations require an apostrophe and s to make them plural, such as c.o.d.’s or w.b.c.’s.

General Rules for Numbers

If we have a double-digit number we add an “s” and single-digit numbers are pluralized by adding apostrophe and s.  Example: The patient who was in her 20s scored all 5′s on her physical assessment.

If numbers are expressed as words they are pluralized by adding s or es, such as ones or sixes.

Single letters are pluralized by adding apostrophe and s, such as A’s or B’s.

Summary Chart

Medical Transcription Exceptions

Some of the exceptions you may run into in medical transcription are listed below. Remember, many of the medical words we use are derived from Latin or Greek and thus the rules for English pluralization would not apply.

For Latin terms the adjective and noun must agree in gender, number, and case. There are many variations, and a medical dictionary is your best friend in deciphering these plurals. Some examples of singular to plural Latin medical words you might see are:

Latin Medical Terms (possessive case)

There are some Latin medical terms that are often misread as being plural when actually they are used in Latin to show the possessive case. Some of these are:

cervix uteri (neck of the uterus, uterine cervix)
corpus uteri (body of the uterus, uterine corpus)
pars uterina placentae (part of the placenta derived from uterine tissue)
pruritus vulvae (itching of the vulva)
os calcis: the plural is ossa calcium (bones of the heels)

Computers and Body Fatigue

Computer users sometimes experience such discomfort as back pain, stiff neck and shoulders, sore hands and wrists, or tired legs. Much of this discomfort can be prevented because the symptoms often arise from pushing the body beyond its natural limits. In addition to improving the setup of your workspace, it’s also important to consider your lifestyle. Healthful food, exercise, and rest can help improve your health and comfort. Seek medical assistance for any persistent discomfort.

Minimize the following actions:

• Sitting in awkward or twisted postures
• Maintaining the same posture for too long
• Reaching frequently
• Using too much muscular effort, even for relatively easy tasks
• Pressing on the soft tissues of your body – for example, leaning your arms against a hard desk edge
• Performing repetitive tasks that require awkward body positions or forceful exertions, without allowing the body a chance to recover.

Maintain Good Work Habits

When you’re not typing, rest your arms and wrists on a palm rest, rather than on a hard desk edge. If you use a palm rest, try to rest only when not typing. Alternatively, move your keyboard well in from the edge of the work surface so that you’re not resting on the edge. Consider support for your lower back. Performing different tasks gives your body a chance to recover while you keep up your productivity. Try alternating these different tasks so that you don’t do the same task for long periods of time.

Incorporate these tips into your lifestyle:

• Adjust the height of the chair back so that there’s contact between the seat back and the most curved part of your back
• If you have a chair with armrests, they should be height adjustable so that you’re not hunching or slouching your shoulders to use them
• Alternate between the mouse or other pointing device and the keyboard. This provides a recovery pause from both
• Use a light touch when pressing the keyboard keys and holding the mouse
• Keep the mouse or trackball close to the keyboard to minimize reaching from the shoulder
• If you use the mouse or trackball more than the keyboard, place the mouse in front of you and the keyboard slightly to one side
• If your chair needs to be positioned high to accommodate a straight wrist position, use a footrest to support your legs
• Place your monitor 18 to 30 inches away from your eyes
• Use a document holder to position papers, large books, or printouts
• Let your arms fall relaxed at your sides to avoid shrugging

Your Ergonomics Checklist

Use this checklist to help you make adjustments to your work area to enhance your comfort when using the computer.

Work Space:

• Place monitor screen perpendicular to the window
• Adjust or close window coverings
• Arrange materials and equipment by frequency of use and importance
• Insure that reference materials storage does not require excessive reaching or twisting
• Clear area under and around desk
• Remove sources of distraction around the monitor
• Keep noise to a minimum

Body Position:

• Consult a qualified health professional if you feel any aching, numbing, or tingling in your arms, wrists, or hands
• Take frequent recovery pauses from typing
• Maintain a straight wrist position while typing
• Use the wrist leveler on the Microsoft® Natural® Keyboard, when necessary, to promote a straight wrist position while typing
• Avoid resting on your wrists while typing
• Use a light touch on keys while typing
• Maintain good health habits
• Adjust keyboard and chair height to keep wrists straight
• Don’t rest wrist and forearm on a hard or sharp edge
• Place mouse/trackball next to the keyboard
• Use a light touch on the mouse
• Keep feet on the floor or supported by a footrest
• Support lower back
• Use armrests, if possible, to comfortably support the arms
• Adjust chair positions and postures throughout the day
• Vary tasks throughout the day

Visual:

• Place screen 18 to 30 inches from eyes
• Position desk light away from the eyes and screen
• Remove sources of reflective glare (paper, shiny posters)
• Adjust brightness and contrast controls
• Ensure that screen is clean
• Place top of screen at eye level (lower for bifocal wearers)
• Place reference materials at same height as and next to the monitor
• Schedule eye examinations regularly

Helpful Exercises

Using a monitor, like other close work, places such demands on your eyes that it is important to take brief (30-second to 2-minute) but frequent pauses throughout the time you are working with your computer. The recovery pause gives your eyes a chance to recover from fatigue. During your recovery pause, try some of the following exercises to help you feel refreshed. Note: Don’t do any exercise that feels uncomfortable or causes straining.

To keep your eyes feeling refreshed:

• Yawning and blinking can help to keep your eyes lubricated
• Changing focus can help to relax the muscles of your eyes. To try this, look at your fingertip with your arm stretched in front of you, then to a point far away from you, then back to your fingertip
• Palming can help to relieve eyestrain. To try this, cover your eyes with your hands, while you breathe deeply.

To keep your body feeling refreshed:

• Deep breathing can help relieve tension in your muscles
• Hand and finger massages can help to keep your hands warm and reduce cramping and stiffness
• The executive stretch is a good exercise for the entire upper body. To try this, clasp your hands behind your head and gently stretch your elbows back while taking in a deep breath

Shoulder shrugs can help to reduce tension or stiffness in the upper back and neck. To try this, gently pull your shoulders up toward your ears and then relax your shoulders downward.

If you phone a transcription company looking for information about starting a medical transcription agency, be respectful.  You are asking someone to take time out of their business day to help you with your business, and even to help you go into competition with them.  Offer something in return, such as a piece of marketing information that you’ve found, or a helpful comment on what you liked about their website.

If you’re looking for information about medical transcription as a career, do your homework first.  When you call a medical transcription agency, only ask questions that you can’t find answers to on their website or from researching various medical transcription training courses.

When contacting a prospective medical transcription agency, it’s smart to consider these factors.

1. Who to speak to:  ask for the name of the person in the medical transcription agency who is responsible for hiring or awarding contracts with transcriptionists.
2. Time of day to call:  when you call, ask if it’s a good time to be calling, or if there is a better time to call back to speak to the appropriate person. Surprisingly, most contacts from prospective or job hunting transcriptionists come in the morning, by telephone, right in the middle of the busy time of our day.
3. Know who you’re calling:  check out their website.  Many transcription agencies have a link on their website which allows you to submit your resume online.  A follow-up phone call within a few days to confirm they received it is appropriate.  And mention something you found that interests on their website.  You never know when you may have a chance to ‘sell yourself’ on the phone when you call to confirm.
4. Respect people’s time:  the medical transcription agency you’re calling is your prospective client.  They have something you want; on the other hand, they might not be interested in what you have to offer at this time.
5. Be prepared:  if you’re a new transcriptionist, when you’re asked what experience you have, tell them how many practicum hours you have and what specialties you’re most proficient in.  Be ready to share one or two ‘value’ points about yourself.  It could be that you type 82 words a minute, or that you were the top in your class in English grammar.  Know what your strengths are and be prepared to present them quickly in a positive manner.
6. Experience counts:  when you’re told that they only hire transcriptionists with experience, don’t respond negatively.
7. Persevere:  we recently engaged a medical transcriptionist who first contacted us three years ago; her persistence paid off when we were looking for someone with her qualifications.
8. Resumes:  inquire how long they keep resumes on file.  Make a note and resubmit as often as reasonable.  Find out if they want hard copies or soft copies.  Find out how they want soft copies submitted – through their web page or by email.  And make sure there are zero spelling or grammatical mistakes in your resumé.  We recently received an expensive marketing piece from a transcription company with a glaring spelling mistake.
9. Get creative to get experience:  offer to extend your practicum if you are unable to find a paid position if they will give you a reference.  Find a physician who is currently handwriting their notes and offer to transcribe their dictation at a reduced rate for a specific length of time (either provide a digital recorder or ask them to purchase one).  You’ll stay in practise and optimize your opportunities to gain experience.  If you are strong in English grammar, offer to proofread transcribed documents for grammar only.  You’ll still get experience reading transcribed documents, and continue to build your medical vocabulary.
10. Be ready:  if you are fortunate to be offered a trial period, make sure you’re ready to go.  Be ready with your computer, high speed Internet, up-do-date anti-virus software and firewall software, Microsoft Word, foot pedal, medical spellchecker, and a list of resources for checking everything from drug names to grammar.

We wish you all the best in your quest for a medical transcriptionist position.

Check our medical transcription dictation tips next month to learn more.