Adherence to these Guidelines will assure the highest quality transcribed reports in the shortest amount of time possible.

1. At the beginning of the dictation, take the deepest breath you possibly can and then try to dictate the entire report before you have to inhale again.

2. When dictating a particularly difficult word or phrase, please turn your head and speak directly into your armpit.

3. If you have to sneeze or cough suddenly, please remove your head from your armpit and sneeze or cough directly into the microphone.

4. If you must eat while you dictate, please stay away from foods such as marshmallows, bananas, and pudding; apples, pretzels, and celery are much better choices.

5. Please do not stop dictating when you yawn; it throws off our rhythm.

6. Do not stop dictating in the event of a minor background noise such as an office party, the janitor’s vacuum cleaner, a screaming infant, etc.; again, it throws off our rhythm.

7. Talk as fast as you possibly can. Fair is fair, after all, and we type as fast as we can!

8. Dates of admission and discharge are not important for old H&Ps or discharge summaries.

9. Abbreviate whenever possible. Everyone loves a mystery and we are trying to learn new skills, such as mind-reading.

10. Finally, be sure to wait until the end to tell us what kind of report you are dictating, or to "scratch" this dictation since it was already dictated.

--Used by Permission from the Author, Kelly Ratzlaff- Thanks, Kelly! :)