MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST FINDS PLENTY TO KEEP HER BUSY

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- If you think you're busy, talk to Vickie Long. Long, of Cape Girardeau, works full time evenings and many weekends as a medical transcriptionist at St. Francis Medical Center.

During the daytime she attends classes at Southeast Missouri State University, where she is studying to become a registered nurse. In addition, she still finds time to sing locally with a musical group, Spotlight Tonight!, at dinner theaters and other events. She's also found time at 6 a.m. to do aerobic exercises.

Long's pocketbook date book is covered with ink, visible signs of a busy schedule.

She says she's organized. "That's the only way I can do this," said Long, who averages about four or five hours of sleep a night.

"I usually keep fairly busy. I'm not one of those who can sit around and do nothing."

Long said that with her busy schedule she doesn't have much time for television. "I catch a glimpse of it every once in awhile."

At her hospital job, the 33-year-old Long spends a lot of time listening to doctors. Long generally works the 3:30-to-11:30-p.m. shift at the hospital, transcribing doctors' dictations from a Dictaphone.

The dictation on everything from consultations to operations is typed into a computer system, from which printed medical records can be generated.

"The majority of paperwork that doctors dictate is handled by us," said Long, who shares a small room with other medical transcriptionists. The room is tucked away in the back of the medical-records office.

There are eight medical transcriptionists employed at the medical center, with four working on the day shift and another four on the night shift. There is also a supervisor, who is on duty for part of the day shift and part of the night shift.

With about 120 doctors on staff at the hospital, there's a lot of medical dictation to handle.

"We have to not only be responsible for all the basic things, but also all of the (medical) specialties," she said. "It's a very challenging job."

Long was graduated from Southeast with a music degree in 1981. She has been working in the medical field since 1983.

Long began her medical career as a hospital X-ray clerk and soon was handling transcription duties in the radiology department. She worked at St. Francis for a couple of years. That was followed by a stint as a medical transcriptionist with Cape Girardeau Surgical Clinic. She returned to St. Francis as a full-time employee three years ago.

Her work in the medical field sparked an interest in nursing that prompted her to enroll in the nursing program at Southeast last year.

Long said her work as a medical transcriptionist has proved to be a benefit in studying nursing. As a medical transcriptionist, Long has learned medical terminology and become educated about surgical procedures.

"Not everybody can be a medical transcriptionist," she said. "You have to sit there and think about what you're doing. You have to know what you're typing."

If the transcriptionist is uncertain about what is being dictated, she checks with medical-reference books or the doctor's own medical reports. "Sometimes," she said, "we even ask the physician if it's a new procedure or something we're not aware of."

Long said she averages between 50 and 60 pages of typing, or about 1,200 lines of type, on an eight-hour shift. The average for most of the transcriptionists is about 40 pages a shift.

Some doctors talk extremely fast; others talk slower. "Different doctors have different styles," she said. "Some of them I've never met; I just know their voices."

Long said she's always running across something new. "The medical field is ever-changing. There are always new fields, new terms. It's never boring," she pointed out.

For Long, the jump from music to medicine was not a tough one. "I've always been interested in medicine and science," she said.

Although she has opted for a medical career, Long said she still enjoys singing. She and other members of Spotlight Tonight! will once again be performing at dinner theaters this year. "This will be our 10th year doing these types of shows together," said Long.

Finding times to practice is often difficult with members of the musical group having varied work schedules, said Long. The group generally practices on weekends. "We practice three to four hours at a time."

Long puts her transcription skills to good use for the musical group, transcribing the words from songs recorded on tape.

Although she is now looking ahead to a career in nursing, Long said her transcription skills will stay with her. "That's one skill I honestly think I'll never let go," she said.