Stedman's Medical Abbreviations, Acronyms and Symbols

Excellent reference for any medical transcriptionist! I've been doing transcription for many years and this book has been a wonderful addition to my reference books. The slang references outlined in red have been especially helpful, which were not available in an earlier edition. I agree with a previous reviewer in that getting updated versions is necessary.

If you are in the medical transcription field, you must have this book! Docs are always abbreviating things, and sometimes it can be hard to distinguish what they mean - especially for the newbie MT. It's nice to have a reference book to be able to look up the abbreviations and see if what you think it sounds like makes sense as to how it is related in the text. This was one of the first books I bought as a new MT 2 years ago, and I just purchased another one for my friend who is studying to be one. She does her practice typing and hears the doc say "Positive BS." What is that??? (Well, aside from the fact we cannot type BS) You look in the book, and there you have it - bowel sounds! :) He dictated "ABDOMEN" and you now know this does go there. This is quite a basic example, but I'm telling you this book is a lifesaver!

I have a medical transcription service out of my home, and I could not do my job without this book. Everyone abbreviates these days. A necessity.

I have been a medical transcriptionist for more than 40 years - have taught this class in college - and was a hospital supervisor for many years. I just ordered this newest edition and am sure that I will refer to it often as I have the older editions in the past. It is a wonderful reference book and a very important one in today's world ---with more and more abbreviations constantly being used. *** Thought I would mention -- that mmHg is a very acceptable term - in fact, it is the preferred way to type (millimeters Mercury). I can say that the Medical Record's Departments of all four of the hospitals I have worked at (or have been the transcription supervisor at) would correct us --if we didn't write it this way. This can readily be realized by reading a few medical journals...... Again - this is a wonderful book - but remember to keep getting updated versions - as more and more abbreviations and acronyms are constantly being used. C.J.Snow

In reading the other review here, I get the feeling the reviewer isn't using this book correctly. The stated purpose and intent of each of the Stedman's word books is, quoting the publisher's preface, "to the wordsmiths of the healthcare professions---medical transcriptionists, medical editors and copy editors," etc. In doing medical transcription, I have *never* had to abbreviate "mercury," as transcription must be clear as possible. Mercury should always be spelled out. Even a common medical term like KCl (which *is* found in this book under K) must be spelled out as "potassium chloride." That is the unsurpassed value of the Stedman's word books.This is one of their books that I use quite frequently. When listening to dictation, acronyms are often used and are sometimes required to be spelled out even when dictated as an acronym. This book is loaded with hundreds of pages of acronyms and their meanings. Also, if a doctor's "F" sounds like "S" or "B" sounds like "V," this book is extremely helpful in eliminating possible acronyms to find the correct one, because it lists not just the letters ("SUV" for standard uptake value, for example, and no entry for "FUV") but the meaning also.This book may not be much use for students in medical school, I don't know; but it beautifully meets its stated intent, and that is for MTs, etc., as stated above. Just as a telephone directory may be no use in giving demographics of any given neighborhood, that is not its purpose; giving chemical symbols for the various elements is not the purpose of a book of acronyms to be used in transcription and medical copywriting/editing/proofreading etc.