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Saturday, July 18, 2009

Language Skills Worksheets#2


A great deal of effort is being spent teaching medical transcription to overseas workers in the hope that, by combining Internet technology with the cheap labor costs available in places like India, the Philippines and the Caribbean, America's largest transcription agencies can increase their profits to shareholders. While this may be a sound approach to take when manufacturing widgets, the improper use of the English language by foreign transcriptionists (as well as by doctors who speak English as their second language) often creates contextual problems.

Many people fail to understand that someone in a foreign country who is transcribing dictation from doctors in American hospitals will be thinking in textbook English as opposed to the way English is spoken in America.
Conversely, one transcriptionist's favorite Indian physician dictates:

"The patient will return to see us when she returns from wacation. She is feeling wery wery good today."

What goes through the mind of a professional medical language specialist when confronted with such dictation?
"The doctor sounds like Elmer Fudd, the guy in the Bugs Bunny cartoons who is always screaming 'I'll get you, you wascally wabbit," laughs the woman who transcribes this doctor's work.The following quotes are taken from people who speak English as a second language. In each situation, rewrite the text so that it is grammatically correct.

"Excuse me, sir but I am not understanding. Why are they serving me all this meat when I have been a vegetable for 20 years?"
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
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______________________________
______________________________
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"The patient has no any problems with more or less shortness of breath."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
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______________________________
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"The patient complains of pain in the left-sided eye."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
______________________________
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______________________________
______________________________
"I have spoken with Dr. Y and he recommends you service very highly."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
"The complications have been fully informed."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
______________________________
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______________________________
______________________________
"There is no swallowing of the left leg."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
______________________________
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"Patient cannot get an election due to he is deplessed."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
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______________________________
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"Her car was stroked by another car."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
______________________________
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"It was a pressure seeing this patient for you."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
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"I have saw her and evaluated her in the office."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
"At the time of the accident, the patient was driving a Dodge Clot."
Diagnosis:
______________________________
______________________________
Corrected Text:
______________________________
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