Capitalization has always been a nagging question especially for the early beginners of transcription. Here we discuss some basic rules of capitalization that are to be kept in mind when transcribing medical reports:
Capitalize all the proper nouns-This includes names of a person, place, organization, languages, countries, races, days of the week, and months.
For example:
George Bush
English
France
White House
Monday
June
Capitalize brand names of drugs and not their generic names.
For example:
aspirin (generic) should be small unless the sentence starts with it.
Ecotrin (brand name)
As discussed earlier, capitalize the words building, center, room, only when they accompany a proper noun or are part of the official name, otherwise not.
For example:
Washington State Building
The patient was taken to Mercy Medical Center.
Capitalize eponyms, but do not capitalize the adjectives, prefixes, and common nouns that accompany them. Also, do not capitalize the nouns, adjectives, and verbs derived from eponyms.
For example:
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Parkinson’s disease
red rubber Robinson catheter
parkinsonism
pasteurized milk
All Acronyms are transcribed in upper-case letters (capitalized) except for a few, like wbc, rbc.
For example:
CABG from coronary artery bypass grafting.
COPD from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
However, in abbreviated form (like S aureus, H pylori), the genus is capitalized.
Capitalize compass directions (east, west, north, south) when part of the geographic name, otherwise not.
For example:
East Africa
South Korea
His house is in the west where the dark men reign.
Capitalize name of religious holidays and festivals.
For example:
Thanksgiving
Memorial Day
Christmas Day
New Year Day
Always capitalize sociocultural designations like races, religions.
For example:
Spanish
African-American
Hispanic
Caucasian
Methodist
Capitalize all the proper nouns-This includes names of a person, place, organization, languages, countries, races, days of the week, and months.
For example:
George Bush
English
France
White House
Monday
June
Capitalize brand names of drugs and not their generic names.
For example:
aspirin (generic) should be small unless the sentence starts with it.
Ecotrin (brand name)
As discussed earlier, capitalize the words building, center, room, only when they accompany a proper noun or are part of the official name, otherwise not.
For example:
Washington State Building
The patient was taken to Mercy Medical Center.
Capitalize eponyms, but do not capitalize the adjectives, prefixes, and common nouns that accompany them. Also, do not capitalize the nouns, adjectives, and verbs derived from eponyms.
For example:
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Parkinson’s disease
red rubber Robinson catheter
parkinsonism
pasteurized milk
All Acronyms are transcribed in upper-case letters (capitalized) except for a few, like wbc, rbc.
For example:
CABG from coronary artery bypass grafting.
COPD from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
However, in abbreviated form (like S aureus, H pylori), the genus is capitalized.
Capitalize compass directions (east, west, north, south) when part of the geographic name, otherwise not.
For example:
East Africa
South Korea
His house is in the west where the dark men reign.
Capitalize name of religious holidays and festivals.
For example:
Thanksgiving
Memorial Day
Christmas Day
New Year Day
Always capitalize sociocultural designations like races, religions.
For example:
Spanish
African-American
Hispanic
Caucasian
Methodist