How to use the MT Reference Style Guide for Medical Transcription

Search

The search function is a powerful tool. If you can't find what you're looking for by browsing through the table of contents in each category, try a search.

Search tips: Use partial words or broad phrases. For example, if you are searching for the section on hyphenation, try searching hyphen so you get a broader search result.

Major category listings

The major categories for the style guide are in the menu at the very top of the web site and they appear on every page. Each of the major listings has its own table of contents displayed.

Clicking on any of these will take you to the index page for that section. For example, if you click on "Grammar, Usage and Style, you will be taken to the page for that section, which looks like this:

Underneath this section is the Table of Contents for the section, as well as general information (if appropriate). Please read this page first before going on to the Table of Contents listing.

How to Navigate the Style Guide

These are the main nav buttons found on each page. Under them, you will see the listing of exactly where you are in the table of contents for the style guide:

In this example, you would be viewing the last item listed, which is the Abbreviations and Punctuation section for acronyms. You can use the nav buttons or you can click on any of the titles listed above to go directly to that page.

In the nav buttons, will take you to the page that precedes the one you're on; in this instance, the Basic rules for acronyms page. If you were on a page that was #3 in the table of contents for that heading, you would be taken to the #2 table of contents item. Click on to the next page in the table of contents. Clicking on goes up to the major heading above this one; in this case, Basic Rules for acronyms. Continuing to click on the up button will skip all the subheadings and keep going to the major headings. The home button () takes you to the main page for the style guide, which is this page. 

Each major heading contains a table of contents. If you are on a page that has no table of contents, there are no subheadings under it.

Special Formatting

Certain sections of the Style Guide are highlighted by special formatting. Following is an explanation of what you can expect when you see this formatting.

The Style Guide is a work in progress

If you find an entry that's a page title and nothing else, it means we're still working on the entries. Please be patient - it's very time consuming to do the necessary research and entry.

If there's a section you'd most like to see, please leave a message in the Shoutbox, leave a comment in that section, or send a message to the Admin. You must be logged in to perform all of these functions.

The style guide is for you, the medical transcriptionist. If there's something you need and don't see, don't be afraid to ask. We will make every effort to accommodate requests.

About the Style Guide

This style guide is created, edited and maintained by the online medical transcription community. All entries are finalized by approved editors. It is a volunteer project.

You must be a registered user to contribute. Please use the form to log in or register.

Please contact the Administrator if you don't understand the instructions!