Gravida and Para

In Ob-Gyn files, we usually come across this term Gx Py-a-b-c.  Here it has been explained in simple yet clear manner.


Suppose I say patient is G10 P 7-2-1-9, it means that patient has had 10 pregnancies out of which 7 were full term (y), 2 were premature (a), 1 was abortion/miscarriage/ectopic pregnancy (b), and 9 is the number of living children that patient has (c).


thnx

The "f" sound

A TAT to beat, a no blank status file with 3 blanks, all 3 same word....sounds familiar?? Yeah this is what happened to me yesterday.  The only problem was that I was clearly hearing the blank/word which was a drug name, but what I heard was naphazoline, which is a Adrenergic Agonist Agent, where as dictator was clearly stating that he is adding another antibiotic to clindamycin which the patient was already taking, so this drug was an antibiotic, which naphazoline was clearly not.  Then I remembered that apart from "ph", the letter "f" also produces "f" sound...:)...and there there....I found it....nafcillin..so simple...yeah..some times simple things are hard to decipher....


An MT transcribes what he/she hears, but relying only on hearing can be a dangerous path to follow as it can lead to very dangerous pits, it is always best to search for references from reliable sources, of whatever words one comes across.  If there is any confusion regarding drugs, it is always prudent to check the medication usage,category, and dosage.


One more thing I will like to add regarding cracking blanks is never guess....you may be forced by people higher up to reduce the blanks or produce blankless documents, but what you must remember is "if in spite of your best efforts you are unable to crack a blank, then leave it as it as, but go through the QA version and make sure the next time, this word never escapes you."  This has been the golden rule that I have followed from the first day that I started transcribing, it has held me in good stead over all these years, and I am sure so will be you...

Cheerful and upset

Yesterday while doing a psychiatry file, I kept hearing this, "The patient is cheerful and upset."  The patient had psychosis and it was also said that she was very cooperative, so I guessed may be what the dictator meant was that patient was acting cheerful although she was really upset,..but I could not find even a single reference for such a case with my under trial ammo and my time tested ammo.  Then it suddenly came like a flash...I felt like kicking myself....it was the word tearful, which was also logical, and actually this is a quite common usage in psychiatry files....


Speaking about psychiatry....in psychiatry files, in the Impression/Assessment part, dictator sometime says DSM IV which is an acronym for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Disorders, 4th edition.  More info can be had from here.


For the past 2 days, I am getting psychiatry files, and I do not know if that is a general rule, but I find that most psychiatry dictators are good...(at least in my account) may their tribe increase......:)

Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi wow.......really what a name....one has to admit, although they are invisible to naked eye, but all these bacterial species have got regal names, much better than the scientific names of those visible without a microscope.

Borrelia burgdorferi is an agent of Lyme disease, which is an emerging infectious disease.