Introduction TAPE 1B, Dictation 1 LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE Most medical transcriptionists have a lively sense of humor,

and we hear much to laugh about in typical days dictation. A sense of humor is essential for longevity in the field of medical transcription. While we are not insensitive to the gravity of the medical reports that we are transcribing, nevertheless we enjoy the comic relief afforded by the humor in medicine. Laughter helps us maintain a sense of balance and prespective. Practically, every transcription office has a central funny file where the medical transcriptionist routinely record some of the misstatements, malapropisms, slips of the tongue, dangling modifiers and other bits of humor in medical dictation. When an experienced medical transcriptionist occasionally has a lapse in consciousness, or takes a shortcut between the ears and the keyboard without the dictation going through the mind, an embarrassing gaffe can occur. Instead of typing senile cataract, the transcriptionist may type penile cataract. Several years ago I was transcribing x-ray reports for hours on end