Journal for American Medical Transcriptionists (JAAMT)

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1/9/95, Julie Veronick
There is an article in JAAMT, Jan-Feb, p. 42, about the oldest active member of AAMT. The gentleman's name is Fred Schlichter. He's 80 years old and has been transcribing since 1943, when he started with a medical detachment in a military unit. A friend of mine met this gentleman and said he is just delightful and a real ball of energy.

At the age of 80 he is down to working 20 hours a week, mainly because there are other things he likes to do as well as transcribing. Reading through the interview a little further, it is apparent that he is not afraid of computers, either. He first used a computer in 1987 and has used 5 different ones since then. By the looks of the accompanying photograph I would say that he sure doesn't look 80! He works in Birmingham, Alabama.

Medical Language: In response to a question about distinguishing "para" from "peri" and "inter" from "intra", Dr. Dirckx makes the following points: "Because speakers of American English don't always clearly distinguish inter- from intra- and para- from peri-, pairs of words like intercellular-intracellular and parafollicular-perifollicular...are practically homonyms...Often the meanings of these word pairs are so similar that the context gives no help in deciding between them...Some other word pairs...are practically synonyms...A dictator may unconsciously or even consciously slur the pronunciation to cover his own uncertainty..." Dr. Dirckx goes on to discuss ways to tell the prefixes from one another (intra- "within"; inter- "between"; para- used with abstract nouns denoting conditions or diseases and chemical substances; peri- used in nouns denoting anatomic structures, with the exception of parametrium. Para- is also used in adjectives denoting anatomic planes and lymph nodes.

"Medical Clippings" includes sections on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), EPISTAR (echoplanar imaging and signal targeting with alternating radiofrequency), chronobiologists, and transmyocardial revascularization (TMR).

--This issue of JAAMT brings back an old column called "Supervisors' Corner."
--"Looking at Language" looks at the use of "go" and "like" in current American language.
--A Word Book in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Second Edition by Saunders, is reviewed. Quick and Easy Medical Terminology is reported to be too detailed and complicated.

Brenda Hurley writes a president's message in which she equates AAMT with technology and says, "JAAMT is an excellent place to click on and download data." An article by Rebecca Korematsu about her "Journey to Certification." Pat Forbis's Advance article on why AAMT is not yet online is reprinted. (see review of Advance)

Claudia Tessier has an article on standards of style in which she apologizes for mistakes in her book. John Dirckx has his medical language column. Catherine Baxter talks terms. Some good stuff here. New medications, all relevant stuff. Some old though, like Prevacid. Diane Health has medical clippings. Information about OB/GYN (surgical contaminants i.e. talc on surgical gloves may cause adhesions), ophthalmic surgery for babies with retinopathy of prematurity, orthopedic surgery (limb salvage), otology (endoscopy), thoracic surgery (bronchial sleeve resection and sleeve pneumonectomy). Michael A. Mergeger writes an article entitled, "Survey of Prescription Drugs." Susan Pierce with Education Forum. Report on Conference for Allied Health Educators.

Other articles: "Looking at Language with Richard Lederer." "Tense Times with Verbs." Sample document to practice proofreading. "Terminology Wise," by Marlene Merritt. Quiz yourself. Advertisement for DragonMed on opposite page. "Resource Reviews," by Jacqui Duhon. She reviews Dorland's and Stedman's Dictionaries and Stedman's Orthopedic and Rehab Words. She likes Stedman's better. The "information superhighway" metaphor is noted. "Look-alikes and Sound-alikes" by Pat Forbis.

"Benchmark Survey: Monitoring Transcription Production," from Medical Records Briefing, volume 10. Lots of statistics about how hospitals measure productivity. Quote: "Regardless the reason for the incentives, the AAMT questions programs that base transcriptionists' pay purely on production. Such programs fail to take into account the difficulty of the transcription, the accuracy of the work, or the stress imposed on transcriptionists." She states, "I recommend that transcriptionists be rewarded for their knowledge, not how many times they hit the keyboard in a given period of time." She suggests transcriptionists be paid by the hour or on salary, and that their performances by judged by "a combination of quality, teamwork, quantity, and turnaround." No mention is made of how this would be applied to independent medical transcriptionists.

The "Slanguage of Medicine" by Pat Forbis. She tells how to change dictation from what the doctor said to what it should say. Article on confidentiality state, "All printed matter containing patient information should be shredded prior to discarding." Diane Heath tells of MT resources and how to call the 800 number to get help with terms and questions. Association News: Election time. "The Mailbag" with Lori Smith tells why you have to pay extra for AAMT materials. New members, business listings and classified ads.