The Internet Search

The difficulty of trying to find information on the internet is all the links taking you into the bowels of the unexplored realms. Web searching is a very time consuming process. I frequently get lost looking for something by becoming side-tracked by all the links in whatever site I chose to open.

I feel like I must have some sort of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) when I'm doing a search for information. By the way, I am not ADD. I have a son who is ADHD, that's ADD with Hyperactivity thrown in, so I do know what it looks like. Not a pleasant thing for anyone to have to deal with. OK, so I'm searching for a topic. I input something vague like Medical Transcription and I get a list of 4,330,000. That was in Google. The same list in Bing is still 100 pages.

After finding a site that looks interesting and opening it, I find it is full of blue underlined words. These words are also interesting so I have to click on a couple of them. I get redirected to another site with more links. Pretty soon there are so many windows open, my computer is groaning at me and I can't find the one I originally opened. So...I close all but one window and hit my search engine history. Of course, I used the back button! My finger got tired after 50!

I know, I know! "Use keywords, Dummy!" I can usually narrow down my options, but I still end up clicking on something that pulls me into the deep pit of bright, shiny links lying in wait for me!

I won't give up though. Most of the time, I just have to narrow my focus to the first few pages of listings and refrain from clicking on embedded links. Do you know how difficult that can be when all you want from life is to KNOW things?

I think I need to start making a list of what I'm looking for and sticking to it. Things like:

• what's the general subject?
• what specifically am I looking for?
• does the site have a search feature?
• does the site require registration and login? (I'm getting tired of those...but I do need them.)
• does it look like the information was gathered in a well-thought-out way or does it look like a kindergartner designed it? (Run fast if it's the latter!)

I'm sure you can come up with more questions or more organized list, but you get the idea.

During my expeditions into the pit of information, I do occasionally come across some accidental gem, with so much to it that I just want to dive right in and swim in it's shiny brilliance. I usually add that to my favorites so I can explore it at my leisure another time. Some of these even get to stay there! I love it when that happens.

I guess when it comes right down to it, it's all a matter of perspective. I have to decide what I'm looking for and if I don't find it within a couple of clicks, is it important enough to keep going or is it just for the joy of learning and can I start with a new search.

Of course there's the old stand-by of games. But that just brings on a whole new ADD search!

My clicking finger is tired just thinking about it. Happy searching!

Wait, Wait, Wait. Can I just get started already?

I was told by my vocational rehabilitation counselor that I would be getting my enrollment for the Career Step medical transcription this week. Actually, I was told that I was going to be called either Monday or Wednesday. I've been working on getting my actual training for the last two months. (I tell you there's only so much typing practice I can handle in a day.)

I finally got the call on Thursday! Woohoo! "We've got some forms that have to be signed and returned and then we can authorize payment. Probably sometime the week of the 7th." Woohoooooouuuummm More waiting is in my future apparently. Does anyone besides me have a teensy, tiny issue with patience?

I was going to be down at the office Thursday afternoon on an unrelated issue and spotted my vr counselor and his assistant. I flagged them down and asked for clarification on how things were going and what was being done. They asked if my ears were burning, because they had just been talking about me.

Apparantly, the form that was sent to the school, signed, and faxed back wasn't acceptable to government agencies. Real, honest to goodness signatures with actual pen ink was what they wanted. C'mon peoples, can't you just get the fax information, sign me up, enroll me, and then get the "real" paperwork sent in the mail? But, nope. I'm at the mercy of the US Postal Service and the State of Idaho and the Vocational Rehabilitation office (which is another part of the state bureuacracy).

After, all the paper faxing, signing, faxing, mailing, and shuffling through internal mail, etc., it will apparently be about a week.

In all fairness, the counselor told me I could go shopping for my computer tomorrow. "Come by at 9 am, get the plan and voucher, go to the store and pick up just what is on this list."

I guess this week hasn't been a total bust in my progress toward education. This weekend I get the computer set up, work the kinks out of my office set up, play with all the lovely new buttons and gadgets, programs, and software and then maybe, just maybe, USP, Career Step, the State of Idaho, and Voc. Rehab can get me enrolled.

Maybe then I'll be able to do something besides looking for sites with cool articles to load into my typing practice sites. Who knows, maybe I'll just forget about the week by sleeping through it.

It's exhausting, trying to keep up with all the dates, times, meetings, changes, one person saying this is going to happen, another person saying that is going to happen.

Maybe I should look at the wait as a blessing... on second thought, maybe not.

Well, it's the 26th of May and I'm still waiting. Supposedly, I will recieve a call today about financing my course and a voucher for the computer, equipment, and software I can pick up at Staples. It's 1:30 p.m. now and the office closes in just a few hours. I hate waiting!

I guess this just shows that I'm not a very patient individual. Ask my kids about it! When they have chores to do, it makes me very cranky to hear, "I'll get to it!" Oh, they do know how to push that button!

I'm getting sick on top of everything else. Joyful days ahead for me. Sore throat, coughing, fevers, lack of appetite, everything tastes weird, and all of the other wonderful gross things we try not to mention in polite company. Waiting, impatience, and not feeling well are not best buddies in my world!

While I don't have a choice in some matters involving my schooling, I can and do take care of other things. My typing speed is improving, but I seem to have reached a plateau. Now, I'm working on accuracy as that seems to be even more important in Medical Transcription than speed. Everyone who talks about typing in the forums and productivity sites I look at has two things to say: Your speed will come and be accurate. The only other thing they say about typing is that their typing skills need improving. Well, duh, doesn't eveyone's?

I really like this site for people who are past the "beginner" learning-to-type stage.
http://keybr.com/

The really great thing about it is that it's very basic, but allows you to practice your typing on things you really want to read anyway. There's this great feature that is called "custom". It allows you to go to a site anywhere on the web and copy and paste information into it. I've been using it to read other blogs, educational texts, and tips and tricks for medical transcription success. I get to do two things at once: practice my typing, increasing speed and accuracy and learn new things or research things that interest me anyway!

I really hope people enjoy the site as much as I do.
Now if only I could stop coughing!

Waiting for the Word

May 16, 2010


I’m still in the holding pattern. I have an appointment on the 20th with Vocational Rehabilitation. I’m not sure at this point what is going to go into that meeting or what will be required of me as my homework. I do know that I will be getting a new computer, but I don’t know what else I’ll be getting.



They decided on a new computer because it will be a necessary component of my actual work after the studying. If it was just for to school part, they would have purchased a used computer for me.


The decision to get a computer was made because I am currently the sole proprietor of my daughter’s computer. She’s 17 and wants her computer back. She doesn’t really use it for more than keeping up with her friends on MySpace, Facebook, and Instant Messaging, but occasionally she does use it for school. Besides, it was purchased a couple of years ago as a birthday present for her.



A couple of months after she got her computer and my mother moved in, my computer crashed and I tried to use my mother’s computer. It isn’t very powerful, fast, or good at doing multiple tasks. It was an exercise in frustration to use her computer. So I became the sole user of my daughter’s machine.


It’s been a good computer for me to use for getting ready to take the medical transcription course, research, and typing practice. But it’s time for me to get seriously involved in my studies and that means having a computer that is just for me to use.


When discussing the computer needs for medical transcription, I realized that there are going to be other necessities as well.



I need to get a keyboard that is designed for long term and high use. I decided on an ergonomic keyboard so that I can protect my hands, wrists and fingers. As much typing as this program and career entails it’s going to be necessary to be as kind to my digits as possible. I’ve tried changing keyboards several times since beginning this over the past month.



My old keyboard is large, clunky, loud and causes me to have to stretch my fingers and wrists very far in order to use. My mother’s keyboard is more compact and quiet and my fingers appreciate it much more than mine, but my hands and fingers are still stressed and occasionally painful, especially the left pinky finger and left palm muscle. I’m just grateful that my wrist isn’t complaining.



I know that part of the pain and discomfort is just using muscles and tendons that normally don’t do much, but it does bring home to me that finding a good keyboard that has easy key action and places the hands to a more natural position is going to be important in prolonging my career.


The other thing that I have been realizing is that I need to set up an office area in my home. This means a desk, supplies, chair, printer, and bookshelf.



The only space that I have that isn’t going to be constantly invaded, noisy, or generally distracting is a small corner of my bedroom. Unfortunately, this space is very tight and it’s going to be a challenge setting up all the necessary equipment, supplies, and resources within easy reach.



The solution for my home office is spreading everything up. (Fortunately, this won’t be an issue for more than a year or two as my daughter will be moving out as soon as she can. She’s already making noises in that direction. I don’t want her to go, but she has to make the final decision of when she’s ready to go).


It’s going to be interesting. Figuring out the logistics of studying and working out of my home when it’s been a very long time for me. My 20 year high school reunion was just last year. Not having studied significantly since then is going to come as a shock to my poor little system. I like having free time. But I like feeding myself and my family more.


No matter what I have to do, it’s going to get done. Whatever changes I need to make are going to be made. Right now, it’s all about the typing practice and learning general information, but soon it’s going to be intense study on subjects that I only know a little about or nothing at all. I just hope that I can meet my own expectations.

Learning to Learn

　
5-14-2010 part 2

In my attempts to find information to paste into my typing practice I remembered a site that was recommended by a Tech program that I subscribe to. I went to the site, OpenCourseWareConsortium, http://www.ocwconsortium.org/use/use-dynamic.html which consolidates multiple universities and learning centers into one place.

I searched the topics on offer and found classes (course studies) on everything from art to math and everything in-between. I’ve only started going through the programs available, but I’m sure that I’m going to be coming back over and over. By the way, it’s FREE!

My first jump into this free learning site was a course called “Learning to Learn”. It’s basic description is how different people learn in different ways, and to identify your learning strengths. One of the first things in identifying your strengths is to find your motivation for choosing your course of study.

I was asked to think about my motivation. Hmm. Life seems to be my motivation. Of course it’s more complex than that, but it’s also as simple as that. Between financial needs, injuries, and the need to be at home for my mother’s health needs it just became a necessity for me to find something that I could do at home. Of course I wanted to engage my mind and learn new things at the same time. But what could I do?

I’ve thought about doing transcription for a long time. I enjoy typing and I don’t have any ear problems. I’m okay with being on the computer and looking for information on whatever happens to interest me. However, being in an office setting is like getting a root canal. I hate it, hate it, hate it! The lights, the people, the politics, having to dress “professionally”, driving to and from work, having to be there during set hours of the day, having a boss or manager hanging over your shoulder, etc.

With the situation at home and health being a deciding factor (mine and my mother’s), I spoke to the Vocational Rehabilitation office downtown. Luckily for me, I could demonstrate that I had thought the whole situation through and I knew what my limitations and strengths were. I was given the green light to start on the program. Yay!

At this point, I’m thinking, “All right. A week or two and the paperwork will be done and I can start the actual course.” A month later I’m still waiting. I’ve had various “homework” assignments from the Vocational Rehabilitation office regarding the needs of the course, what the expectations for a medical transcriptionist are, what the future of the career is. It’s been research this and price that. What do you have to have and what can you do without?

I know that with every step into a store and every click of the mouse on a site I’m closer to actually starting the program. But the waiting is hard. I’m not yet enrolled and feel like I’ve been in the course for a month without learning the actual transcription. I’m not saying that what I’ve been doing isn’t necessary or even that I won’t benefit from it, because it is and I am benefiting. I just wish that I could get into the actual coursework. I need the money and I can’t make any until I graduate. Can’t graduate if I don’t start, now can I?

So I guess my motivation isn’t very complex. I need to bring an income or a supplemental income into my home in order to eat and I need to be able to do that from home. Not very complex at all.

Research Medical Transcription

May 14, 2010

Over the past month, I’ve been researching Medical Transcription. I’ve looked at schools and curriculums, information related to the future of MT, wages, companies that hire, starting a transcription company, and the list of research about medical transcription goes on. I’ve also spent a lot of this time period finding typing sites online that work on increasing typing speed and accuracy.

In my travels around the medical transcription community, I’ve looked at many sites with news, blogs, reports from AHDI and other associations, and many reports regarding medical transcription. Because a medical transcriptionist is paid by production it made sense to me to increase my typing speed and accuracy. I searched sites that used games, practice, and stories as well as the alphabet soup sites that work individual letters and groups of letters over and over. I finally found a way to work both research and practice at the same time.

For the past week I have spent a majority of my time at keybr.com. It’s an interesting and basic little program that allows the user to practice typing letters that are commonly used together in the English language, but it also has an area where you can ‘cut and paste’ words, letters, or whole pages of articles for typing practice. My thought was; if I need to learn as much as I can about medical transcription and I need to practice copiously in order to improve typing speed; why not combine the two?

Of course, just thinking of this made me feel efficient and effective. Wow, those words are lovely together, aren’t they? Efficient and Effective. I know I’ve read a series of books by Anne McAffrey that used this combination of words often in relation to a character who was the backbone of inventing and engineering and even reverse engineering equipment and services to support their world. I loved the way they went together in the books and I love how they work for what I’m trying to do.

In the course of a week, I’ve read and typed numerous articles about transcribing and transcribers, companies and how they work for the betterment of the industry and just funny little stories about various things that happen during the process of a transcriber’s day.

I feel grateful that my idea of putting the learning process and typing practice together has been as effective for me as it’s been. I started typing at the “alphabet soup” sites several weeks ago and improved my typing speed by 5 words per minute. In the last week, I’ve increased close to 15 words per minute. I’m happy with my progress.

Even though I know that it’s impossible to have a magical increase in typing speed, I’m consistently (daily) improving by anywhere from 2-5 words average for the day. With each increase my accuracy plummets, but a little more conscientiousness on my part and that quickly disappears without reducing the speed by more than 1 or 2 words per minute.
　

Medical Transcription Student

May 13, 2010

When I was a very young child I learned that I loved to read. I devoured book after book from the time I first learned to read. Luckily, I lived within a block of this wonderful and magical place called a “Library.” Oh, what an incredible place it was for me. Stories about Dick and Jane and a big red dog. Books about a very naughty monkey and a man with an enormous hat. Later there were monsters and dragons and space adventures. It became a game for me to learn more and more words and creating a vocabulary that would expand it seemed forever.

School was an incredible adventure of words and numbers and more books and stories. I learned everything that was presented to me very quickly and became something of a “freak”. It was hurtful that I couldn’t relate very well with other kids my age. The kids my age that I did make friends with were also different in some way. I adored them all and loved spending as much time as I could with them.

I also made many friends with older kids and with adults who taught me even more about this amazing world I live in. They taught me about cooking, needlepoint, music and dancing. They taught me about the plants, rocks, wind, animals.

Art fascinated me and I was always dreaming that I could draw beautiful pieces that everyone would want to have hanging in their homes. That didn’t work out so well. I had no talent for creating, but appreciation of all forms of art definitely was instilled in me in those early years.

Music became very important to me. Not necessarily listening to the radio or records, but singing. I sang all the time. I sang any time I was alone, because I was so worried that I would have something else that would make me different. Even with that worry, I loved to make my voice make all these different shapes and sounds that were to me enormously beautiful. I learned later to appreciate this in myself and not care what anyone else thought of it. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that people actually were enjoying me singing my way through my day! I could do something other people couldn’t do for themselves.

I made my way through my early years with a lot of heartbreak in my life; I was alone much of the time but the friends that I did have were the best. I continued to devour books and sing and try new things as I discovered them. High school was very difficult socially but I still continued to learn and grow and dream.

I had so many interests that the world just seemed too big to choose one thing to specialize in and suddenly my choices seemed limited by the necessities of needing to provide for myself and a husband and a baby. Life seemed to change slowly during that time but now, remembering, it seems that it went very quickly.

Suddenly it seemed that there was a new chapter for my life. A divorce, a boyfriend, a new baby, and then single parenthood. Whoo! That was so fast! More attempts at providing for myself and my family brought more different jobs than any person should ever have, but never anything I considered a career. It was so difficult to function in a world where it was just about trying to make the next meal and getting the kids ready for school.

Singing was no longer something I had time for. Reading was a way to escape from things too difficult. It’s amazingly depressing to lose the joy of life during the living of it. I eventually went from customer service positions to a position with the fish and game department of my state.

I was with fish and game for three years when the economy tanked. I was laid off and ended up, again, having to find a way to make a living. I went from there to cleaning houses and that was going well, but only for a few months before I was injured and could no longer do the work.

At the time that I was laid off from the state job, I received a phone call from my mother. She was ill and could no longer function on her own. She moved in with me and my kids. I love having my family around me, but providing for them is the biggest priority I have.
This brings me to the present and possibly my future. A better future in the making.

In April of 2010 I made a decision. I’m hoping that the decision I made will take me into a future career. I I will be a Medical Transcriptionist/Editor.