Connect Series: Meet Britney Rumbaugh, Medicolegal Editor/Proofer

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One of our key service areas that is not related to court reporting is independent medical examination (IME) transcription. This is a rather large umbrella term that covers the many aspects of medicolegal transcription services that are required by the medical and legal fields. We are proud of the experts we retain to review these transcripts to the exacting standards of quality and accuracy that we expect in all our work. 

Britney Rumbaugh is one of our editors and proofers with a passion and interest in medicolegal documentation. She took some time to share why she loves this field of work.

Could you tell us in your own words what a medicolegal editor/proofer does?

The medicolegal editor/proofer is a medical language specialist and skilled researcher with the ability to analyze lengthy, complex medicolegal documentation while checking for ambiguities, inflammatory language (as seen in the court), conflicting information, incongruency of facts, false information, missing information, grammatical errors, formatting errors, spelling/typos, etc.

I edit and/or proof reports that have been received straight from an expert or have gone through our in-house transcription services. These types of reports include (but are not limited to) independent medical examinations (IMEs), supplementation reports, cost of future care (COFC) reports, functional ability assessments (FAAs), future cost of care (FCC) reports, functional capacity evaluations (FCEs), medicolegal reports and addendums.

Did you find this career, or did it find you?

I have always had a passion for biology and a thirst for knowledge. I feel that the position I have found myself in is exactly where I need to be, and I feel that the decisions I have made along the way have put me here. I enjoy what I do as well as enjoy the flexibility to be able to work from home — something that is not easily obtained in the medical world.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

There is a great sense of pride in being able to continually expand one’s knowledge while simultaneously helping experts in the field.

What has surprised you the most?

How passionate I am about helping deliver high-quality reports.

As technology continues to change how we all work, can you look into your crystal ball and tell us your vision of the future of the medicolegal transcription/editing industry?

As I have been in this industry for over a decade now, I have been able to watch the major shift in technology. There are many programs on the market that will attempt to do the job of a medical transcriptionist, but in my opinion they fall short. Most often these programs are “trained” to the speaker, and after time (and usually much frustration) they are eventually able to produce a document of subpar standards. Unfortunately, most experts will need to edit the produced document to some degree after it is churned out — and many professionals do not have the extra time to do this.

I feel that good medicolegal transcriptionists and medicolegal editors are irreplaceable, and the demand for our services will only increase as we see a transition into more multidisciplinary approaches to care and recovery (occupational therapy combined with physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage, psychology, etc.).

Veritext’s corporate values are respect, ethics, collaboration, accountability and professionalism. Can you tell us which of these values resonates most strongly with you and why?

I feel that all of Veritext’s listed values resonate strongly with me. They seem to work in unison — but if I have to choose one, I think respect should be foremost. I feel that respect is a key component in a healthy workplace culture and would allow for strong values across the board.

We talk quite a bit about wellness and self-care on our blog and internally through our Teams channels. Do you have a favourite way to recharge or any tips for staying healthy mentally and physically?

I love to “make old new again.” I enjoy refinishing old furniture. The before and after is always a big driver for me, and the whole process is very therapeutic.

I think the biggest thing for our mental health is to remember to make time for those closest to us as well as for ourselves! Find something that motivates you outside. My family and I enjoy many outside activities and are always on the go. Do what makes you happy!

Are You Ready for Realtime Reporting?

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Do you know what realtime reporting is?  Simply put, it is the instantaneous translation of spoken proceedings directly into text.

How does this happen? Counsel’s laptop or iPad is connected via a secure realtime network, enabling counsel to read and annotate the text in real time during the proceedings.

You do not even have to be in the same room, province or state. We provide secure remote realtime to anywhere in the world via encrypted internet connections using a program called CaseViewNet.

CaseViewNet is a free transcript viewer created by Stenograph. CaseViewNet provides interactive realtime access to testimony through the court reporter’s private wifi network or a wired connection, and it updates all edits during the session.

Your realtime reporter will guide you through the connection process, and our detailed written instructions provide step-by-step guidance on creating issue codes, marking the text, searching for keywords and running annotation reports.

You can learn more about how passionate our realtime reporters are about their work here and here.

Why request realtime reporting?

Because you have everything right there at your fingertips. Being without means you have no way to quickly review previous testimony, mark issues or search through the transcript.

The benefits of realtime are many, including the following:

  • With a live feed you can instantly read back and review the witness’s response.
  • The marking and annotation features reduce the time it takes to summarize transcripts.
  • The feed can be searched, marked, annotated and reviewed during the proceeding to ensure important followups are not overlooked.
  • Non-examining counsel can mark issues to be addressed in their examination and use the realtime feed to determine whether a question was objectionable or needs further clarification.
  • While the transcript in progress is yet to be certified, it can be a powerful tool in preparation for the next day’s proceedings.
  • The ability to effectively attend proceedings remotely eliminates travel difficulties and costs.

Book your realtime reporter today!

Visit our Realtime Reporting page to learn more about how we can help you.

Meet NAIT Student Karen Collis

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Because we are passionate about court reporting and its crucial role in the legal industry, we have long supported NAIT and their excellent Captioning and Court Reporting program. Leanne Kowalyk, realtime court reporter and director of court reporting, will be speaking to NAIT students on February 15th  about her experiences and career, and she also managed to interview a current student about their experience with the program.  

What drew you to the industry of court reporting and brought you to the Captioning and Court Reporting program at NAIT in the first place?

My mom has been in the industry for over 40 years, so I’ve been surrounded by court reporters my entire life. To be honest, I had no interest in pursuing it myself. It wasn’t until my sister decided to go to NAIT for Captioning and Court Reporting that it became a possibility. At some point I started scoping for them and saw how fun of a job it was. I saw how every day is different and how there are always opportunities to learn something new. I decided to take the A to Z program, and the rest is history. I’ve been loving learning this new skill and can’t wait to start.

What is your dream job within the industry that you hope to work towards?

I think once I’ve built up my experience and have confidence in my writing ability, I would love to do court work. I’ve always had an interest in criminal cases and true crime, so knowing I’m in an industry that could get me in the room is super cool. One of the reasons I knew court reporting was something I would love to do is because you get to help people. Everyone deserves their voice to be heard and their day in court. Having the ability to be that neutral party in the room that writes it all down would be amazing.

Which part of the program have you enjoyed the most so far?

I loved our law classes with Janice Plomp. I had a general curiosity and a very basic understanding of our law system going into the class from high school. It is so beneficial to know what someone is talking about within a dictation. It was a great opportunity to hear some incredible stories from Janice. Hopefully, one day I can use my knowledge from that class to avoid jury duty!

Conversely, what has been the most challenging piece of reporting school, and how did you overcome it?

The transition from theory into speed-building was probably the hardest thing to overcome. I put so much time into practicing theory, but it wasn’t clicking for me as fast as I had hoped it would. Then suddenly I had to switch my practice from drills to trusting that the theory was there. Those first few speed tests were terrifying.

The amount of pressure I put on myself to do well did not help me to do well. It took me a few months to calm down and trust that I knew what I was doing.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given along your journey?

Much like when I was younger, I continue to be surrounded by court reporters, and they are always so quick to share tips and tricks to get through the program. One that stands out is that each test is an opportunity. An opportunity to learn new vocabulary, new briefs and new ways to write. It helped change the way I looked at tests. Whenever I failed one — which continues to be quite often — it was crushing. I put so much onto those tests that when I failed, it was a direct reflection of myself. Once I was able to find the positives in every opportunity, a failure meant another chance to learn more.

What advice do you have for anyone looking for a new career?

Don’t think about how long it takes to get into a new career. My granny gave the best advice about this. When my uncle wanted to go back to university for teaching, he said he would be 30 years old by the time he graduated. In response she said, either way you’ll turn 30; it’s up to you if you turn 30 with a degree or without one. This is something that I’ve applied to all aspects of my life. I’m going to be turning 28 in March, and even though I’m one year past when I was hoping to graduate, I’m always going to be ahead of the version of myself that chose not to go back to school. The best thing to do is to change your perspective and take the plunge.

Are you Ready for Court Reporting & Captioning Week?

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The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) has designated February 5th to 12th as the time to recognize and celebrate your decision to make court reporting and captioning your career. 

We are happy to do our part in recognizing this week, so watch our social channels to see how we recognize our first Court Reporting & Captioning Week as part of the Veritext team.

Christy Pratt, our regional vice president, Canada West, is now on the Veritext Peer Advisory Council (VPAC). On February 9th she and her fellow council members are hosting what should be a lively discussion about their top tips, tricks and resources for stenographic court reporting students, recent grads and steno professionals. You can register here for this event.

This is the week to share your stories and experiences and tell the world why you love your job.

Throughout the week Leanne Kowalyk, realtime court reporter and our director of court reporting, Canada, will be sharing information and stories about the benefits of choosing court reporting as your career. The following week on February 15 she will be speaking to the captioning and court reporting students at NAIT about her advice and strategies on becoming a successful court reporter. She will also be interviewing a current student, who will share her experience in the program.

Recently we asked Leanne to look into her crystal ball, and she told us:

“I believe there will always be exciting opportunities for court reporters across Canada. Will there be changes along the way? Of course. Evolution is a necessary part of sustainable opportunity. The more doors that reporters have open before them, the more opportunities they will have, and there truly are so many.”