Hi there,

I am a new transcriptionist and I am wondering if there is a book out there that details things like:

1. When to spell out vs. abbreviate phrases (such as, bright red blood per rectum).

2. Whether it's stage III or stage 3 (such as, treadmill stress test stage 3).

I already have a Stedman's dictionary, a regular dictionary, Stedman's Abbreviations, Acronyms & Symbols, a pill book, a medical speller. I also bought some "pamphlets" (I thought they were going to be books) from AAMT that show some info as far as how to format the document headings and sub-headings.

I am on backorder (with Amazon) for the AAMT Book of Style. I don't really know what's in it, but I know it's a must for transcriptionists. I'm hoping it will have some info regarding my above questions.

I use the internet a lot right now, but you can't always trust that the person who made the website knows what they're talking about. Unless, of course, we are talking about a website like this! (Thank goodness it exists!)

If anyone has any book suggestions or website suggestions I would be most grateful!

Thank you!

bugmax (love that handle!) --

some of your questions will be answered in the Book of Style. A couple of good books with abbreviations are Neil Davis' Medical Abbreviations, 14,000 Conveniences at the Expense of Communications and Safety (Ninth Edition)(Neil Davis has a web site) and Dictionary of Meical Acronyms & Abbreviations compiled and edited by Stanley Jablonski (Hanley & Belfus -- they have a web site), which is more expensive but also more comprehensive. Unfortunately, docs think up acronyms faster than anyone could possibly compile them! My rule for this is: if it isn't in the first few definitions for the acronym I type it out in full the first time, put the acronym in parenthesis next to that, and then use the acronym in the rest of the report. But you need to check with your employer and go with what their preference is.

When you're doing web searches, look at who is publishing the sites. Universities and government sites (the FDA) are usually more reliable. Your favorite search engine will probably not search Medline ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi )

which is a reliable source for medical information on any topic.

HTH

Thank you Carol for your info. I will definitely check out the books and the link you sent!