Dictation Therapy For Doctors: Sound Distortion From Peripheral Noise

Here are some typical situations in which environmental noise pollution can distort or completely obliterate the words you wish to have transcribed:

The physician is dictating in the vicinity of noisy machinery such as a vacuum cleaner or high-speed impact printer.

The physician is dictating from his home office in the vicinity of barking dogs or squawking parrots (don't laugh, it's been done).

The physician is dictating from his home office in the presence of a crying infant or obstreperous child.

The physician is trying to relax while dictating at home -- and playing a tape of Luciano Pavarotti or a favorite rock musician on his sound system.

The physician is trying to dictate in the doctor's lounge while someone else is watching a late-night horror film on television.

The physician is dictating below a public address speaker which is constantly paging other doctors.

The physician is dictating in an airport lounge as announcements are made for his flight.

The physician is dictating from a cell phone in a noisy location.

So much for sounds that should not be heard. What about sounds that need to be heard but are muffled, garbled, or distorted beyond recognition?

As a dictating physician, you need to remember that if you keep changing the distance between your lips and the telephone, you can create a zoom effect which warps your sound and can make your dictation unintelligible.

The bottom line is that if your dictation cannot be heard, you are failing to communicate. And if you persistently fail to communicate your thoughts, your words will not appear correctly in print.
To avoid problems with sound distortion, always keep the following rules in mind:

Speak directly into the telephone.

Do not hold the mouthpiece up near your forehead while you're reading charts.

Do not try to dictate using a speakerphone.

Do not try to dictate from your car phone.

Stop mumbling!!!