A welcome to MDI'ers from the Transcend trenches

This is addressed to all the MDI-MD MTs who are still spinning from the news last week of the merger with Transcend.  I am nobody special, but just someone who tries to find the positives in any situation.  WELCOME ABOARD to what will hopefully be a great next stop in your career. 

            I know many of you loved MDI and are leaving for greener pastures rather than seeing what Transcend has to offer.  But things were obviously not all red roses and rich, dark chocolate or the Transcend/MDI-MD merger would never have come about.  Nobody just woke up one day and decided it looked like great weather for upending hundreds of lives with a corporate merger. 

            I don't think there are many people out there in our profession or in any other profession who like change.  Change is uncertain.  It eliminates any sense of knowing what is coming next.  I do not handle change well.  It is for that reason that I began immediately scouring the job boards when I learned that my company was merging with Transcend earlier this year.  Transcend is a big company.  We were their second merger of 2009.  I believed BIG equals cold and impersonal, all about the profit margin.  They send work offshore.  I had only been on board with my company for 4 months, and my benefits had just started.  (Why is it you seem to need your insurance the most when you DON'T have it?)  I was scared because I had left a large MTSO and did not want to work for another one.

            We were invited to a conference call hosted by my company president and the president of Transcend, Larry Gerdes.  I was not prepared for the warmth nor the sense that what we wanted and needed from our new employer was important to Transcend.  During the call, Larry gave nearly 200 people his cell phone number.  When the conference call was over, I called Larry's cell phone.  He answered on the second ring.  He had no idea who I was, but he answered immediately.  He was as warm and genuine one-on-one as he was in the group call. 

            Starting all over with benefits paperwork was challenging.  We do what we have to do for our families, however.  The Transcend HR team was prompt with calls and e-mails, explaining the process and making it more than bearable.  The benefits include dental, medical, vision, and flexible spending.

            The technical support crew was quick and responsive with software installations and continues to be very helpful.  I believe the technical support offered at Transcend is the very best I have ever experienced in my career.  They are professional and know what they are doing and they get the job done, even at 3 in the morning.

            There is a lot of training available for everything from logging the time you work to using text expanders.  We are called medical language specialists, not medical transcriptionists.  It took a little while to get used to MLS instead of MT but it really is an accurate description of this very specialized work we do.  The training is available ongoing, not just once with a followup call and then you're on your own.  For those who do not want to venture into new territory with a different platform and facility, staying with a familiar client and platform has not ever been discouraged.  Some of my coworkers and I were transferred onto BeyondTXT because our primary account had gone with another MTSO.  Those who have not thrived and are not happy are transferred back to prior accounts and platforms.  No one is forced to work on a platform or an account.  When work is low, we are encouraged to learn new accounts, secondary, tertiary, even quaternary for those who are brave enough to take on that challenge.

            The subject of offshoring was my biggest objection to this merger.  What I have learned is that offshoring is used only to cover the third shift and weekend hours where domestic coverage cannot be adequately obtained to keep accounts in turnaround.  Our profession necessitates 24/7 coverage, 365 days a year.  It is a challenge to find adequate coverage for the overnight shifts and weekends.  I worked second shift including Friday and Saturday nights for many years and I was thrilled to finally get a first shift.  I am working a weekend shift again, now, and while it isn’t my preference, it beats not having a job at all.  Recruiters report nearly every candidate wants first shift, Monday through Friday.  Hospitals unfortunately do not work only those hours.  Transcend has contracts which require them to write checks back to customers for failing to meet TAT.  Substandard quality is not acceptable from domestic MTs and it is not acceptable from offshore MTs so all reports done offshore go through an arduous QA process.  I like knowing that my employer is not having to pay back its clients because the work wasn't completed and returned in a timely manner. 

            It's not a perfect world we live in but it's up to each of us to play the cards we're dealt.  If you have decided to hang in there and give Transcend a chance, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.  I did, and I'm really glad I did.

• A welcome to MDI'ers from the Transcend trenches - Lisa Williams
  • Thank you Lisa - MDIMT for now
  • I'm with you, Lisa - another happy camper
    • Taking it a bit pesonally, aren't you? - Huh?
      • Make that 'personally'...NM - Oops
    • I have to stick up for angry. - outsider
  • Lisa and other corporate "hacks". You really outdid yourself on this one. - Angry now
    • let me see if I have got this straight..s/m - destinyisntfree
      • It's a matter of what is said "positively" - CynicalMT
        • Doesn't seem fair to me s/m - destinyisntfree
    • Angry now - me
    • I've always been curious about the "F" after - AHDI (my boss has one too). What's it mean?
      • What it means - me
    • Voice files disappering act - I saw it too!!
    • Wow - Curious
  • I don't generally label cheerleaders as Management, but that has to be one. NM - FrustratedMT
    • Isn't she an acct manager of some kind? nm - ABCDE
      • Maybe a spin doctor, or a damage-control - superintendent? nm
  • To Put It Bluntly - WHAT A CROC - nm - anon
    • I agree Lisa is a CROC - frankie
  • So if Transcend uses Indians for weekends, - sm
    • Agreed - Teenie
    • yeah right, that's why we still have to - sm
    • Offshoring is used only...sm - Lisa Williams
      • Response to offshoring used only... - anon
      • gentlemen, this is our phoney baloney jobs on the - Milton's Red Stapler
      • curious - do you ask - have you ever asked what the 2nd shifters need === - anon
      • But I thought all Transcend employees had to work - at least 1 weekend day. sm
        • What you said, PLUS - MassConfusion
        • Fairly tales don't have to make sense. nm - Jessica
        • You HAVE to work a weekend day? No thanks! - sm
          • Unless you already do it, good luck finding - an employer that only hires M-F
            • Not my experience. I've only found a few - sm
              • Your experience is vastly different than mine - CynicalMT
                • Maybe you should look other places for - sm
      • Time for a baloney amputation - CynicalMT
        • LOL! That is classic..... I can tell you here at Spheris.... - SpherisMT

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Hey have had my first talk with TT.  Checking out hardware issues.  May be coming on with ya'll.  How's it goin'

P.

While the message board here at MTStars is a great portal to spread the word, at the same time, this is a public forum that allows anyone access. 

We've decided to move our discussions to a PRIVATE forum solely for former D&L employees and ICs involved currently in the nonpayment situation.

This is a private group created for us.  It is a moderated group, and you will be asked to prove your identity before you are permitted access.

D&L'ers please join here:  http://groups.msn.com/FormerDL

I have just been contacted by MDI-MD for interview.  I could sure use your imput esp if you are an old MQ'er.  If you would like to respond, could you please E-mail me?

Thanks so much!

Question.

I am getting used to some ESL guys and have to go back to listen to blanks that I have left.  Could you E-mail me with any tricks of the trade where I can book mark or note where, timewise, I am in the report at that time so I can go back more easily and find my blank area?

Thanks.

working on other private accounts....sheesh.......I spend half a week working for private mds and the other half working for MQ......what do you want from us PT'ers??????

Are you calling all PT'ers malingerers?  How unfair is that?  I work my arse off 24/7/365 and since I'm a young teen......so that's about 40 years!  The only YEAR I took off was to have a baby 25 years ago.

AGAIN, POSTERS, consider the source of the perps posting!!!

How rude!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I've reviewed the MQ board but I don't work there and I can't post on the MQ board, so I'm posting questions here.

1.  Is there any grace period about clocking in on your proposed schedule?

2.  What happens if there is no work when you're scheduled; can you make it up without hassle?

3.  Can an experienced MT consistently average 200 lines on MT?  What about ASR?

Thanks for your help.  E-mail me privately if you're more comfortable. 

Hi all

I have been with MDI for over a year now (part time) and really like it! Most times my accounts have work. I am going through some changes at home and am really trying to make some serious life changing decisions so would like to get a few opinions:

My husband and I separated in April. I have been home for 6 years with my youngest child, and he is in first grade this year and absolutely love being home for him. Summers of course are the most difficult, I do not send him to day care and we do more things together in the summer, love it!  However, as of last year I have been trying to get into a local LPN nursing school here and have succeeded and am scheduled to begin September 8, but here is my dilemna, I am having second thoughts!  I now don't know if this is something I really want to do and why I am having these thoughts. I do like being a medical transcriptonist, but feel a little burned out at times. Plus, I am not sure if I can afford to go to school, my first loan installment (cost of living) will not come until November.  I have a little money set aside, but it is going quickly. I am trying to determine if I can support me and my son on just an income from MDI or if I should really change gears and go to school. I love the flexibility of working at home and am sure I will miss this, but nursing school is very demanding and the job itself once I am out there. Like I said, I love being a mom and able to have the freedom of doing this from home. So, how many of you support yourselves or your families on the income from MDI and is this something I can reasonably expect to be able to do? I have been doing this for 15+ years so I am definitely experienced. Plus, I do not like the idea of worrying about taxes, but if I go to work as an employee I will lose more of my freedom. I like being an IC. I did work for Medquist for almost 7 years and left them to come here and there is a world of difference between the 2 companies.

What would all of you do? Stay with MDI or go to school? And if I do go to school, I would keep MDI very part time at least until I was through with school. But, do you think with all the changes going on in the transcription world we will eventually have no jobs or our jobs will change drastically? How can I decide what is best for me and my son?

Please any and all suggestions welcome! Thanks!

Hi,

I hope you enjoy your training.  It is kinda rough the first day.  I don't know much about the radiology accounts at Transcend, but I do know that the people are very nice.  I had 2 weeks of a slow period, which was frustrating.  However, this happens at all companies from time to time.  Especially in the summer.  I know this because I have worked at other companies and have had the same slow time.  At Transcend, I never had to ask for another account, a secondary, one was offerred to me and I started right away on it.  I have a very good line count and make good money. 

I may have to take on other accounts in the future, I don't know.  If I do, then I will.  Transcend is not the only company that this happens at.  It is all in how you look at it also.  The more you can do, the more valuable you are to your company.  This will only benefit you.  Of course it is not ideal, but sometimes unavoidable.  Yes, it does slow you down but this is just at first.  You eventually become accustomed to your secondary, or whatever number account that it is for you, just like you did on your primary when first starting at Transcend.  I have found in my experience that the less flexible I am, the more limited I am.  In this line of work, that is not good. 

You will also hear about Transcend using VR.  I am getting ready to train on that.  I hear horror stories about the whole thing and I am sure that it is everything that everyone says it is.  But the thing is, a lot of companies are going to be using it.  Maybe not all of them, but a lot.  It is a step towards the future and we have to learn to accept that.  I am not worried about doing it.  If I have to work longer hours for a while to get used to it and get my $$ back where it was, then so be it.  I believe that this too will be something that an MT can get used to and become good at, just like having multiple accounts. 

All I know is, at Transcend, I have always been paid on time, paid well, never had a check bounce, and I have not ever been lied to or mislead.  This is my experience and my opinion.  Good luck to you!

To the questions about 20,000 lines per pay period, I noticed that the poster(s) are not saying whether that is post escription lines or preescription lines.  Beyond Text, or the other platforms that Transcend has.  In order to answer, these questions have to be more specific as to what platform someone is working on.

I get 20,000 lines per pay period, however, that's after they do the conversion rate on my account and take 20% of those total lines. Standard = transcribed.  Edited = VR lines.  And that puts me in the incentive.  The incentive Transcend has it the BEST in the business, and it is attainable. And they pay a shift diff for both weekend days, which I work to get the shif diff.

There's lots of questions of what to do when work is low, well work is not always low, and you have to go with the flow and work as hard as you can and  keep your butt in the chair, and not do dishes, laundry, clean, watch TV, play with the kids, visit with your husband, boyfriend, significant other, or any other activity that takes away from truly being productive.  Then when work is slow, there is less headache of worrying about whether to get your lines or not.  And NO I am not one of those people who works "off the clock" that only hurts all MTs in the long run.  I work my 8 hours, no more no less on the days I am scheduled.  However, if I missed some hours because of running out of work or slow work, I will get prior approval BEFORE I come on to make up the time, or wait until late when no one wants to work, which is usually between 6p and 9p.  Always with prior approval!

What I do is email my supervisor and ask her if it is alright to adjust my hours to accommodate the the flow of work.  There is also a tool on the internet with Transcend to see when everyone's schedule and to be fair what I do is work when there is very little coverage, or hours when there is a break in coverage, that ensures that there is work, but you have to be flexible.  I have found that many of the MTs that work and complain about not getting their lines want banking hours, and this is not a 9-5 job, M-F.  I work BOTH weekend days and ALWAYS have plenty of work.  In the few months that I have been with Transcend work was slow on one weekend day, otherwise I can manage to get usually about 3000 lines per day on the weekends, now that's VR and transcribed lines combined, and NO I am not typing 3000 lines, but remember there's a conversion formula.  I usually work a split shift on the weekends, there's work in there in the a.m. and then I start up in the afternoon (when NO ONE is around) on the weekends, and I have plenty of lines on the weekend evenings. That's how you get your lines, you work the hours no one wants. 

And a comment to the posters down further on the board.  Everyone is correct about speaking up.  So few people do that, and chose to fly "under the radar" because of fear of "making waves."  Well, there are those of us who make the waves, and do not fly under the radar, and we are the people that help make it better for those who want to sit back and put negative posts on these boards, but do nothing to make it better.  It's like the people who complain about who we put in office, but they do not VOTE!  If you do not vote, you have no say in what happens.  That one vote could make a difference, and the same with MT.  We need to be more unified as MTs and then the nationals might sit up and listen.  We need to refuse to transcribe, edit, etc., all these horrible dictators for the ridiculous rate of money they offer, if we all got together and stuck together and had ONE VOICE, we WOULD MAKE  a DIFFERENCE!  I have been very successful in this business for almost 30 years, and have been in management in 2 soon to be 3 companies, and the only way I got where I am is to SPEAK UP and get noticed!  Otherwise, you are just another stereotyped warm body in stretch pants with a cigarette hanging out your mouth and a beehive hairdo to these companies.  (Nothing wrong with stretch pants, beehive hairdos nor cigarettes either, if that is your choice, to each his own) but that is how most nationals see transcriptionists, and that is just not so. 

Do not let anyone tell you that it is a "privilege" to work at home.  It is not a privilege, it is the only arena for us to work in because almost all transcription is done in the virtual office.  So it is no longer a privilege and I will correct anyone who makes that statement.  If you do not work at home, you most likely cannot be an MT.

Most of us are well educated, intelligent women, who love our families, who love what we do, and enjoy transcription.  But we can't make any changes if people do not "vote."

I am management, but not at Transcend.