As I said, it is going to depend on the dictator's style.
Posted By: sm on 2009-09-14
In Reply to: I don't know if that's quite correct - AnnuderMT
My doctors dictate a lot of lines like:
MEDICATIONS: None.
ALLERGIES: No known drug allergies.
That is why I was saying it would be good if you have a lot of short lines. It also would depend on the page format. With the page format we use, each line is approximately 65 characters, so if the doctor dictated a lot in paragraph form versus the short lines, then it would indeed be a paycut. All I was suggesting was that you really can't judge the pay rate as there are so many variables that go into it. It ould be decent pay with the right conditions. As I said, with just the one report, I would have made $3 more. Times that by the 20 reports I do a day and that is a huge difference.
I agree though about the software. Not going to take the chance of buying expensive software only to find out that the job isn't going to work out in the end a month or two down the road.
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I am! And that is their style..nm
nm
You would think that would be the case but that is not their style, unfortunately
it's sad really because I have a few friends that still work there and they are great MTs who are not appreciated for their own loyalty to the company...
PTST, MT style!
Should be an AXIS diagnosis. PTST, MT, NOS.
Re The Book of Style
Just a short note to say, you really need to learn the BOS, even if you don't think you need to, and no matter what anyone else tells you, for your own knowledge, you need to know the basics--the style basics. We all had/have to do it, you are not alone. It's all a part of the game. :)
DSG management style
DSG does not care if you have work. All they care about is getting the reports cleared out so they look good to their clients. They don't bother with trying to balance making sure MTs have steady work AND meeting TAT.
As long as they meet TAT, they could care less whether or not you have work...they will just hire someone else when you quit.
Book of Style 2nd Edition
This says without the apostrophe is preferred but that the apostrophe is acceptable if that is what's dictated and/or the client wants it that way.
The standard of style at 2 of my jobs want
you to use 2 versus two or II because of consistency. I would say Webmedx is following industry standard. The only time I ever spell it out is if the particular account wants it that way, otherwise I have used the numbers for a long time now. Sorry, to burst your bubble, but Webmedx guidelines are pretty standard in at least my experience.
I had a dictator like that once. (sm)
At first, I found it to be very irritating, but then I started to feel sorry for the guy.
Then, a couple months ago, I had a ministroke and now have intermittent difficulty with, not so much stuttering, but stammering/stuttering sometimes when I speak, as if the connection has broken somewhere between my brain and my mouth.
It happened to me recently when I was on the phone with someone from my doctor's office, and I started crying because I was so embarrassed and frustrated.
In something as important as dictating a patient's medical record, I think someone should gently bring this to the doc's attention, though maybe it embarrasses him as much as it embarrasses me.
On the other hand, with some USA companies outsourcing American work to foreign countries, obviously somewhere along the line, somebody stopped caring about accuracy (and confidentiality and HIPAA laws, etc.), IMHO.
ESL - SPANISH DICTATOR
AND UNFORTUNATELY NOT AN 800 NUMBER FOR DIAL IN TO GET THE DICTATIONS. Hospital will not invest the money to make the wave files available either. I just read this posting. I didn't see the others that were posting bad things about me until tonight. Some people just don't accept that you need excellent skills to make top money. Nothing comes easy. Thus my offer to pay more just to get this guy done. Thank you for all of your help. Karen
Not necessarily-if you get a bad dictator -- sm
your production is hurt whether you are experienced or not. Fast production not only depends on the MT's ability but the quality of the dictator and how fast or slow they speak or how clear the speak.
A person with more experience will leave far less blanks but will still be limited on how fast she/he is. Thus they deserve to be paid more than 7 cpl.
SR is not the problem, the dictator is
The problem is not with the product (SR) but with the person using it. You can't just install the program, start dictating, and see perfection appear on the screen. There's a lot involved with the training process, which never ends. It's really no different than building up an expansion program. The more time and effort you put into make entries, the better your line count will ultimately be.
I also work with SR every day, but I use the product instead of the keyboard. Previously, with the use of an expansion program, I had to kill myself to hit 1800 lines in a 9-hour day. Now, I can whip out at least 3000 lines in an 8-hour day (6-1/2 to 7 hours of dictating and about an hour of proofing). Any mistakes which I do have are my fault ... I did not articulate/enunciate correctly.
SR was once a product I wanted to use, 'cause I thought it would make this work more enjoyable. Now, it's a necessity. More than 30 years of MT has led to repetitive stress injuries (bilateral CTS and right cubital tunnel syndrome).
Sometimes I wish there were MTs who lived close to me, 'cause I would invite them over so they could see how well SR works, when it's been trained correctly.
But if that is the type of dictator that you will be doing, isn't it best for both of you sm
to know how you will do? If you can't do whatever kind of awful dictation they have, then they need to know. AND, most importantly, if that's the kind of dictation you would be facing every day, then YOU need to know so you can say no, thank you. I know if I tested and had Mr Dream Doc for the test and then started working for the company and had Mr Devil Dictator every day, I'd feel like they did a bait and switch.
Just my opinion. Good luck! 
Yes, very serious; however, 700 lph is not the norm every day. It just depends on the dictator. Th
Sometimes the reports are 98% accurate and sometimes, depending on the dictator, they are 90% accurate. As you know in this field, it depends on the day and dictator. The daily average, after all is said and done, is about 600 lph, 700 is on the very high end and not a consistent average every day.
Will the dictator change? Could end up being a foreigner (sm)
talking over that incessant sound of running water I always hear in path reports. I wouldn't do it.
I truly think that if every doctor or dictator had to spend
was forced to listen to themselves for a period of time...say an hour or two, I would almost bet the farm that a lot of mumblemouths, yawners, eaters, and people who dictate in the bathroom while they are flushing would change their habits radically. Or sending their dictation EXACTLY the way they say it...um...uh...uh...ummmm........hmmmm.........dead air....You know the ones.
No one will ever convince me differently. LOL. IN a perfect world maybe. in the MT world??? Not!!!
Thanks for that info! No way am I muddling through a dictator like that
xx
Everytime I start this dictator she has a mouthful
of gum, candy, ?? swishing around in her mouth. How rude can you get? Even if she is not sucking, chewing or whatever she is rolling that crap around in her mouth and then there is this physician who cannot pronounce her medical terms and yet she seems like she needs to snort something back every sentence. Just gross!!
YES! I will get numerous reports from the same ugly dictator
8 times in one night -- these H&P's being 6 plus hours old, and each dictated with plenty of time in between, my knowing that there were other dictators dictating in between his -- so know that they have been holding them for me after the day shift gets off. They don't delay H&P's getting out for this many hours, so it is so very obvious what is taking place. I don't like companies manipulating the system for their favorites.
I absolutely despise this practice by a company.
You're assuming this is a sweetheart dictator ... sm
With a good dictator that knows what he/she wants to say and says it, without all the ...uh....ah....mmmm.....ah.....ugh, ad nauseum... rudely shuffles papers while you're waiting for the next sound ... without the courtesy of shutting the machine off while they steal even more of your time....yes, without all this inconsiderate behavior on the part of dictators...the above equation would probably be correct.
I agree that the dictator on the 1st test file...
is difficult to hear in places. I'm going to try and re-record it in WavePad to see if I can't boost up the audio a bit. I could hear the 2nd and 3rd files much better. I've still got to proof my files and then will send them in.
I find it varies widely by dictator
Caveat up front: I've only been on VR less than 6 months. More experienced MT editors might have a completely different VR experience.
That said, I notice the big factors in how many LPH I can do with it are (1) how long the dictating provider has been using the VR system and how many times s/he's been through readaptation, (2) whether the dictator is ESL. The software so far seems to favor native speakers over ESL's; it 'gets' the native speaker's speech pattern faster.
I am looking for quality, myself. The temptation to 'skim' is there with this kind of work, but I'm too afraid I'll make critical errors that way.
If I have a good dictator who's been readapted a few times, I can get by with little editing and average 400 lph. Most of the editing I do in that capacity is formatting, and a few good ShortHand entries can make a world of difference in speeding that up. I'd say definitely visit the Community page Training tab if you haven't already.
With a new and/or ESL dictator, though, I admit it: It's faster for me to straight-type it. So I do, because I can get between 300 and 350 lph that way. Editing might easily drop me down to that 200 lph ceiling you're struggling with. I don't know if that will always be so, or if, as I get more used to the rhythm of editing, it will become second nature and go faster. But right now, if the report's bad enough I simply transcribe it.
Again, just my experience so far.
We worked out of a pool, and when a report came up from a cruddy dictator (sm)
they would hit "1" and send it back to the pool so the next Transcriptionist would get it. It was so obvious, as soon as you went on in the morning the first few reports you got would be from the most God-awful ESLs and you can see that they were dictated the previous day, but then all of a sudden you start getting jobs that were dictated just an hour before.
Yes, if gross line count and easy dictator
to start with.
6 cents a line for surgical reports for an ESL dictator? Are you NUTS??
I'm just absolutely appalled and disgusted... 
That would depend on what you need.
If you need consistent work, Transcend isn't for you. Most companies have dry spells now and then, but Transcend runs out A LOT. If you're a high producer, Transcend isn't for you because within the next 2 years the majority of their work will be editing VR. A moderate to high producer makes less money editing VR than transcribing. If you prefer to stay on the same account, Transcend isn't for you. You might be hired on an oncology account, but chances are you won't be working on that account in 4 months because the majority of the people there have at least 4 or 5 accounts before the end of their first year.
IMO, that would depend a lot on what your needs are.
nm
Must depend on the
then...I work for them and do not have even 1 ESL...Love the company!
It would depend
I am a new MT. If I do not have samples or adequate feedback on a specific doc, I normally blank if I am not 100% certain of the word. That being said, I make every effort to write notes and hi-light anything that is mumbled through. It takes me anywhere from 3-5 jobs with that doc to become use to their voice and style of dictation. I feel for you though, it has got to be tough correcting the same thing over and over again.
It will depend on what is available.
There aren't set shifts necessarily. When I was hired, there were only evening shifts available, but I got to choose my start time. I was required to work 1 weekend day. I know others who had a wide variety of shifts offered to them including 12-hour windows. Just depends on what they need filled at the time.
Because it would depend on the
x
I think it would depend
on your employment status. Are you an intern? Were you hired as an experienced MT? Generally speaking when a seasoned MT is hired there is an understanding, as with any job, that there is a probationary period. My experience with multiple, multiple employers has been that for a few days, often a few hours, one sends everything through Q.A. Assuming one knows their stuff and has a grasp of the account specs they move off full Q.A.
Would depend on the job.
No amount of money is worth it if I am doing a job I dislike. Also, I am making over $40,000 a year doing MT, so I would need to earn at least that if I was to switch jobs. Would not switch if it meant dropping back down to $30K as I coudln't afford to live off that in my current situation. So the pay would have to be in the higher range of that scale to make it worth a switch.
They depend on complacency. sm
It's working so far.
That will depend on your company, of course. nm
nm
I honestly don't know...It may depend on (sm)
what work you are applying for, because I see on this board here they have several different positions. I've been practically begging for M-F work for years now, as the stuff I do (hospital, acute care) has always required me to work at least one weekend day. I always work holidays though, but that is my choice because I can't pass up the chance to earn the extra cash, so I've never asked about those. Again, I think it all depends on what type of work you do there. 
I think it would depend on the account...
I've heard they have lots of accounts on the Lanier system, which requires the unlimited long distance, but I have never asked. Not sure on the satellite part.
That must depend on the account
I have made more with them than any other company and I have tried a lot of other companies.
I think that would depend if you're
employee status or IC/SE status. The IC/SE status would probably be able to work as much as you want, but the employee status has to watch overtime.
It does depend on where you live.
In fact, I didn't realize about the city license until on of the city investigators came out to investigate my neighbor and her business.
It may depend on your account
I was told when I was hired a few months back that I needed to work either Sun-Thu or Tue-Sat, thereby working 1 weekend day every week. But that could be dependent upon the account you are assigned.
That would certainly depend if she is an IC or employee. nm
x
It does depend on the account
Just make sure you get more than one account. Some have more work than others. If you want to email me which account your getting put on then I can tell you what that account has been looking like.
I would think it would depend on the account.
Not all accounts require weekend coverage.
All of these factors depend on the
x
I think it would depend on the reason.
If there was no work that would be one thing. If there was work and you weren't doing it or consistently not getting your lines, then I think they would take a look at the reason why.
I had a friend who was IC who never got the required lines, refused to take on anymore accounts (she only had one) and they finally let her go.
Must depend on account at OSI
I've worked there for 6 months and love it. No problems. I don't feel micromanaged. I have plenty of work and it seems to me like they basically just leave you alone and let you work.
May depend on account, but no 12
hour window, and again depending on account and shift worked there may be some flexibility, but if I was 15 minutes late for my shift they were calling me. It only happened once. All the times I was early or worked OT without OT pay didn't count for anything.
Must depend on the account
I've never had a problem making the line count for the pay period, whether VR or straight transcription, working an 8-hour day.
Guess it must depend on the account.
It's going to depend on your account
My account is pretty busy all the time, except for the holiday periods, when everyone is slow. Doctors take time off, too. I've only had it be busy at Christmas and then this past July 4th. The rest of the time, the work is really steady. They have a variety of accounts, though. The accounts they are hiring for, I believe, are for full time, so I am going to assume (!) that they have full time work to offer someone.
MTs who depend on a paycheck will just love you.
There's a reason for everyone doing their fair share, and only more when asked. Clearly you don't care who you take money from.
Try finding private accounts where you aren't robbing a single mother of formula for her baby, will you?
I think e-mail might depend on what account you do. SM
I got eight last Friday and 6 on Saturday. That's a lot as far as I am concerned and they all same the same thing.
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