What is the difference between into and in to

"Into" (one word) and "in to" (two words) are frequently confused. In what situations should the former be used? The latter?

You should use "into" when it's a question of location, for lack of a better word. "I went into the store," "We went into the field of computer science," "We drank well into the morning," etc..

"In to" just happens sometimes. "I went in to buy some milk." In that sentence the "to" is part of the infinitive "to buy."

If you aren't sure which one to use, change the "in" to "in order" and see if it still works. "I went in order to the store" is wrong, but "I went in order to buy some milk" is good.

source:  http://english.stackexchange.com/

Pregnancy Tests

Often in OB-GYN files, we come across pregnancy tests, let us get a general idea about what these are.

Pregnancy tests are tests that show if a woman is pregnant or not.  There are two types of pregnancy tests,
i) Test using urine sample.
ii) Test using blood sample.

Both of the above tests are for detecting the presence of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).  This hormone is produced by the placenta shortly after the embryo attaches itself to the uterine lining and builds up rapidly in the pregnant woman's body in the first few days of pregnancy.It is this rapid shift in hormones that triggers most of the pregnancy symptoms.

Urine Tests:
i)  Performed at home.
ii)  Performed at clinic.

Blood Tests:
i)  Quantitative Blood Test (measures exact amount of hCG in blood).
ii)  Qualitative Blood Test (gives a yes or no answer regarding pregnant or not).


For more details, please click here.
picture courtesy:  www.theluxuryspot.com

Singultus

If I ask you "Ever had singultus"? You may blink and perhaps may get the Mr. Bean look on your face, at least I would do the same if I were you.  Now let me paraphrase and say, "Do you have had synchronous diaphragmatic flutter or SDF"....I believe the Mr. Bean look wont be going away.....and you may add..."Speak English" to which I would reply..."Ever had hiccups...my dear"......

In simple words, the medical term for hiccups is singultus....:)

Incompetent Cervix and Cerclage

Cervical incompetence is the early opening up and shortening  of cervix during pregnancy resulting in either preterm birth or miscarriage.  For women with cervical incompetence or insufficiency, cervical erclage is the panacea. Though McDonald cerclage is the most commonly used and popular type of surgery done, there is an Indian connection also, namely the Shirodkar cerclage, named after famous Indian Obstretician Dr. V. N. Shirodkar.

I found this site quite helpful and comprehensive regarding the information on cervical incompetence.  

The Landscape has changed

Three and a half years is a not big time frame to hold comparisons or to form balanced opinion, and I would mostly agree to this view, but not for medical transcription.  Having come back to MT fold after a hiatus of 3.5 years, I find the environment more tough, more stringent, and therefore less lucrative.

While it is true that voice recognition has been a tool for enhancing productivity, saving time etc...it has also lead to stricter quality control regimens being put in place.  Looking from a patient safety point of view, having quality control is the way forward.  This holds true for all industries, not only MT as this helps in letting the industry evolve and sets the benchmark for future.  The reason quality control and checks exist is that the final product which reaches the consumer never falters beyond the acceptance level of the consumer as well as the industry standards and the balances and checks that have been built in the quality control process makes the industry a better place in the future.  In other words, it makes the industry stronger and robust.

However, the quality control and checks seems to have taken a new meaning for MT industry.  While on the one hand, the frequent audits ensure that MTs are always on their toes with regard to accuracy of their reports, it also means that their productivity diminishes.  Although productivity cannot be enhanced at the cost of patient safety, there seems to be no steps being taken to counter the end of the problem, i.e. the quality of dictation.  It is a known fact that a good dictation produces a good transcribed report, although a skilled transcriptionist can make a good transcribed report from a bad dictation as well.  So, who will bell the cat? A transcriptionist alone does not produce a report, dictator plays a big part in it.  With all the quality checks, audits etc concentrating on the transcriptionist, his or her productivity is bound to suffer and this will lead to migration of skilled workers into other avenues.

A quality check or control which is making the workforce insecure and flee to other avenues has got something blatantly wrong and I hope the bigwigs take note and make amends before its too late.

The Diarist is back

Hello friends,

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the Diarist of MT diary is back and that means MT diary wont be having the deserted, haunted, dilapidated, abandoned, orphaned look again.

So, stay tuned, stay healthy and don't forget to keep visiting MT diary to catch all the action ;).

Yours

Deekay

Project Secretary and Document Controller

I am working as a Project Secretary and also document controller in a substation project.  Project Secretary is an administrative post, which involves providing support to Project Manager, Construction Manager, Planning Manager, Project Engineer, and Electrical Site Engineer.  Project Secretary is a sort of common thread connecting different functional leads and helps in the smooth running of the project.

The document controller is a person who is in charge of all the documents coming in and going out of the project.  The most important aspect of this job is creating traceability.  You will be asked suddenly to present a document which was sent by a vendor on certain date, a good document controller will be able to trace out the document in a jiffy.  This is a job which requires one to be well organized.  Although in other projects of our company, Project Secretary and Document Controller are two separate persons, in my project I am playing a double role.

My previous job experience of Medical Transcriptionist and Audit Executive have been of great help in performing the role of Project Secretary.  I have had good exposure to MS word as an MT and MS Excel as an Audit Executive, and here as a Project Secretary, I am using MS Word, MS Excel and also MS Power Point extensively.

Image Courtesy:  www.dciobjectives.com

I am back..........

My journey from MT to an Audit Executive to a Project Secretary has been posted in MT Herald, thanks to Mr. Raj for giving the wonderful opportunity for writing a guest post there.  MT diary was very much related to my previous work, ie MT which is why it was left unattended after I changed my field.  More ever, my work in Delhi required lots of travel, which left me with very little leisure time.  However, now, it is a different place, different country and different work, which leaves me with some time to jot down my ravings, so just thought of continuing with MT diary, which will now become diary of an Ex-Medical Transcriptionist.  My posts will be related to my current work environment, my work experiences, other career avenues and opportunities et all.  You can check here for my usual blah blah …J

From MT to an Audit Executive

When I embarked on a new journey last year, I was quite uncertain as to where & what I will end up, but my restless spirit wouldn't let me settle down in my MT avatar, so  with backing of my sister and mom, I took the plunge.

I have jotted a few points regarding my experience in the new sector. 

1.  New job, new skill set, new orgn, new culture: To move from a desk job to one which require lot of travel is something quite mind boggling.  Keyboard skills from previous job came in handy while preparing reports on MS Excel and Word.  The organisation culture is hardest nut to crack & takes some time to sink in like for eg calling guys senior to you by adding suffix sir, even though they may be younger in age.  The working style of a large organisation is also entirely different with each executive reporting to someone above him, who in turn reports to someone above him........so for anything which needs coordination of 2 different departments, you can imagine the time it takes. 

2.  Salary/pay:  The best part of this was that you get paid in the last day of the month, you also get pay slip which helps if you are planning taking loan.

3.  Travel:  Audit requires lot of travel.  Once you settle down in the routine, it is fun, visiting new places, getting to know different people, making new friends and acquaintances.  Company provides guest house at most places with kitchen and all accessories, so needless to say you can cook and eat whatever you like.

4.  Seniority has got weight:  Unlike in BPO sectors, here each year that you worked for the organisation counts.  You may find the going quite difficult in the start, but if you get used to the system, you can find you way. Your incentive, bonus everything is calculated based upon your seniority in the organisation, so it pays to stay with the group.

THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN SEPTEMBER 2012, BUT COULD'NT BLOG IT THEN.

Why no new posts?

My dear MT friends:

I have stopped working as an MT and have moved to finance sector which had been a long term goal of mine.  This is the reason why MT Diary has not been updated of late.  As you all know, knowledge increases the more we share it and the thrill of learning new medical terms, new English words, new techniques was the best part of being a MT and that was the reason I started this blog, to act as a diary, where we MTs can discuss, learn and share about new stuffs.  So, if you are interested in posting here, just mail me at deekay.kochi@gmail.com or leave a comment here, and I will add you as a contributor, let us keep the flame burning........:-)

Cheers and regards

Deekay

Arraign and serial 7

It has been some time that I got to do a psychiatric file. More ever, it was a new dictator and so there were a couple of new words.  The first word although not a medical word, still had me scampering all over the net.  I was hearing something like reined/reigned and it looked like a court summon, and finally I zeroed in on arraign, which was the correct word.


While I was searching the net for serial 7 tests, (which is nothing but a test of concentration wherein the patient is asked to subtract 7 from 100 in a serial fashion audibly and as fast as he can) I came across this in-depth article on Mental Status Examination, you will find it here.

Cold turkey

When a person who has a habit or addiction, which he abruptly gives up rather than easing out gradually with the help of replacement medication, it is called cold turkey (this action of abruptly giving up is cold turkey).


I remember my uncle telling me how he quit smoking.  He was a chain smoker and one fine day he just quit (now i know that was cold turkey :-)).  On the first day his craving was very strong, but he had taken a vow that every time he had the urge to smoke, he would eat a vada.  He ended up eating 60 vadas on the first day, eventually his cravings went away and he has never smoked to this day.

Fiance vs Fiancee

According to American Heritage dictionary, Fiance is a man engaged to be married, where as Fiancee is a  woman engaged to be married.  See the difference, male only gets single "e" where as female gets "ee".....gender bias, isn't it? ....;-)

Hedonia

Hello everybody, it has been really some time that i blogged here.  I have been somewhat busy because of this and that is the only reason MT diary has not been updated for sometime now, but I will try my best to keep this blog active, in the meantime, keep visiting friends, ;-).


Today while doing a psychiatry file, I kept hearing hedonia and was going bonkers until my friend google came up with the term anhedonia, which in psychiatry/psychology means not finding pleasure in things which were earlier enjoyable.  So don't let hedonia fool you...:-).

Splenic sequestration

A couple of days back, I was doing a GI file wherein the doctor was able to palpate the spleen of the patient and I heard him saying "splenic sequestration" a couple of times in the note.  Please visit here for details about this condition.

MT week in US

May 20-26 is celebrated as MT week in US and Jay Vance, a veteran MT, CMT, and MT consultant, has come up with these songs composed and sung by himself.....they are wonderful, just click here.

Types of fractures

I had jotted this way back in 2006 and had forgotten about it, just now came across it and thought of posting here...:-).

TYPE OF FRACTURES

Open:  Visible by eyes.                         Simple:  Only 1 break.

Closed:  Not visible by eyes.                 Compound:  More than 1 break.

KIDS

Greenstick

Growth plate

ADULTS

Pathogenic

Stress

Compression:  In old, weak and fragile people.

Osteoporotic fracture:

Joint

Spiral:  Does not break, only cracks.

Comminuted

Occult

Avulsion:  Occurs in joints, at bones covered by tendons.

How to calculate age

It is difficult to always depend upon our ears to hear out the age as dictated by the doctors.  The 50s and 60s always sound same except for those doctors who are very very clear.  To avoid this confusion, it is better to always cross check with the date of birth.  This is how I do it....suppose the patient's date of birth is July 4, 1980.  Current date or date of dictation is May 10, 2011.  To calculate the age of this patient, just subtract 1980 from 2010.  If the patient is born on a day before date of dictation or current date, for eg say March 4, 1980, then subtract 1980 from 2011.  So a patient who was born on July 4, 1980 would be (2010-1980) 30 years old today, whereas patient who was born on March 4, 1980, would be (2011-1980) 31 years old.

Glossomegaly

I was searching for reference for "glossomegaly" when I came across this website explaining medical terminology  for enlarged as well as small organs.  Please go through it, I found it informative.

Trim sulfa

Trim sulfa is not there in Quick Look as it is a combination drug.


It is a combination antimicrobrial drug, which by two consecutive steps blocks protein synthesis in susceptible bacteria.


When used alone the sulfonamides are bacteriostatic, and the trimethoprim is bactericidal, but when used in combination form the potentiated sulfas are bactericidal.


This combination drug has broad-spectrum activity. It is effective against Gram-positive bacteria such as streptococci and some strains of staphylococcus. Gram-negative organisms of the enterobacteriaceae are also susceptible to this drug. However, it does not appear to be effective against either mycoplasma, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa.


Trimethoprim sulfa is able to penetrate into exudate and abscessed tissue, as well as, penetrate the blood-brain-eye-placenta barrier. It is well absorbed orally with minimal effect on flora of the GI tract.


Trimethoprim sulfa is metabolized by the liver, and excreted during glomerular filtration and tubular secretion.


source:  http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/trimethoprim_sulfa.php