I have tons of reference books, all specialties. Going on ebay if not sold. nm
Posted By: REFERENCE BOOKS ANYONE? on 2006-09-27
In Reply to: Just started working for them - JLW
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Reference Books?
How much are you asking and what do you have? I need a cardiology ref book for sure! Also in need of ophthalmology ref book. Please let me know. Thanks!
Reference Books
I am starting with Trans Tech the first part of September. I used to do transcription in a hospital, but have been out of it for a few years. I have never worked at home before. What kind of reference materials do most of you have at your desk? Do you have mostly books, or online references?
Google vs Reference Books
I admit the Internet is faster and easier, but if you put in the wrong spelling when looking up a word on the Internet, a lot of times you can find it spelled that way. I've had it happen. I agree with this poster. There's too much room for error when you just Google a word and don't know the meaning or how to spell it. I do use it frequently for drugs, especially new ones. I just make sure to find the drug company's website or the official website for the policy. I've seen surgical equipment come up spelled totally wrong, like it sounds, nothing close to the correct spelling.
Another thing, I worked in an office last summer doing editing with a couple newbie MTs. One girl thought she was the computer/Internet whiz. She was working on clinic note tapes. One day the Internet went down. OMG!! You would have thought the end of the world had arrived. She was lost, frustrated, and on the verge of tears. Now there was a complete set of Stedman Word Books, as well as Dorlands and 2008 drug books in the office, but she didn't even know what books to look in. So another good argument for reference books. Get the knowledge, don't just depend on the Internet.
LOL I just sold one on Ebay!
If they are going for only $40 new I did really well! :)
I've heard of it. Do you Google only or do you have MT reference books? nm
x
Buying reference books a tax write-off, yeah? (nm)
Tons and tons of stuff in the archives. nm
I would definitely request a max. of 5 specialties. SM
I have no idea who you work for, however I do not think it is unrealistic to request a reduction in the number of specialties that you work on. Any intelligent MTSO would certainly want to accommodate an MT in this regard. After all, it only increases your production, thus increasing the TAT to the client. Unless you work for a big national (won't mention names) and working in a cesspool mess, then there is just poor business sense. What can it hurt to ask, and if they don't accommodate you, look elsewhere. I have been in a situation similar to yours (15 specialties), but no matter how proficient I became with each specialty, I was never able to make good money. I was constantly transitioning back and forth from different templates for different specialties, in addition to different templates for different doctors (even if working on the same specialty), looking up doctors addresses, etc. I moved on, and luckily with the number of years experience that I have, I specified my need for a few steady accounts before I signed on the dotted line. Good luck, but don't settle for less than you are worth.
Just curious as to what some MTs think the best specialties are to transcribe... Thanks! nm
depends on how many specialties you're doing.
nm
If you work for a service, you are more likely to have all the specialties; however,
If an MT has for example only worked in house or for one hospital their specialties might be more limited. For instance, my first in-house job was for a hospital that specialized in high-risk OB and ortho, but the cardiology procedures and neurosurgeries were done at a sister hospital.
Now that I have worked for a service, there isn't a specialty in the hospital setting I haven't done.
Another thought - maybe, just maybe they are trying to match MTs up with the specialties they like best, not just have knowledge of - Now wouldn't THAT be a plus!
Maybe you could ask them to limit your docs and/or specialties until you get more familiar? nm
x
You were given too many specialties/accts to make any good money.
s
Mine was hourly for 40 hrs to learn 35 specialties/100 docs. NOT productive. nm
..
Try EBay
It is going to be very hard to find a new one without Vista. I just got a great deal on a Toshiba Tecra laptop for $300! This will do just fine for me until they upgrade to Vista.
Mom MT going to Ebay!
Just tell me one thing, when you run out of things to sell on Ebay, then what? I don't know that this is quite the way to go for any length of time. Maybe, you could continue to look but I really don't think Transcend purposely 'bates and switches' by any means. They are too professional for that. That statement is unfair, I believe. They have a host of accounts and that is a plus as if one account is not a good fit for you then another might be just perfect. They just need to keep a handle on the ROMs and find out who are sending the MTs away and replace them. Enough cheerleading for the suits for 1 night, lol I just didn't want anyone out there to think that they do this - no way.
I just counted my specialties list. There are 37 that roll in at any time in no order:) Nice huh?
..
don't always trust ebay
I prefer pricewatch.com. You can get awesome barebones systems there, build as you want, for about 300.00. I've bought 2 there. I don't trust Dell at all. I was helping an MT with her computer and she needed more RAM and has a Dell. She had to call them to find out what type of RAM she has. They told her and told her it was a rare kind and would be very expensive but they had it. Yeah right, pricewatch had it for 29.99. My ex called Dell to buy a basic system and I had actually looked at it online and told him it would be find for what he needed it for, basically just emailing and looking up stuff, it ran 399., and they told him no it wasn't, it wouldn't do anything, and that what he needed would be 799. I wrote a letter to them to complain about their dishonest high pressure sales tactics and didn't even get a response.
Look on eBay...that is where I got my 2 fax machines
brand new...$15 each. They are both Panasonics and almost brand new. I have one in my office, and my husband has one in his.
ebay too, and profiles most anywhere
Half the things I see online show rampant illiteracy, and woe to you if you try to point it out - people will defend their laziness and stupidity as if they're proud of it; and really don't want to learn to spell.
eBay intrigues me, but I have nothing to sell! (nm)
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I just bought one for $150 on Ebay. If you don't want to do it, don't apply. sm
Plenty of us want to work somewhere that has a lot of work and pays well. I have been with Keystrokes for 22 months and find that to be true. I just bought a c-phone to have a back-up one in case my old one has a problem.
My long distance is through my cable company and is the same as my regular bill was from AT&T that did not cover long distance and charged me to call my sisters who are all within 50 miles of me.
SELL on Ebay and start over
By the way, even if KS is responsible for giving you bad information about Vista, you still would have had to get a computer to do this work. So that investment is a given.
Save yourself more headaches: Sell your computer on ebay (keep the peripherals) and buy a new computer with XP. You are likely to lose $ but you will probably lose more trying to replace Vista with XP UNLESS you call in a professional to do it for you who guarantees their work.
Thanks, totally forgot about EBay, looking there now. nm
I seen a book on ebay or amazon once...sm
and it tells you how to start your own MT business. I was looking for reference books and it popped up. I had typed in medical transcription books or something like that.
Question about books
When you do QA for a company do you all use the same reference books so that everyone agrees? (QA team and trans). I've always wondered about that.
(sorry for going off topic)
Books ;:Internet........................sm
to each his own.
My instructor and also my supervisors told me to look it first up online and then, if in doubt, verify it through book references.
I said already that I use both, books and internet...
And I also agree that the MTing field needs a total overhaul, but not a regressdive one, it needs a progressive one, namely more AVR, front-end and EMR.
Are you at least using an online dictionary?
This is for sure faster!
And I also do not understand why you say that one learns from books faster and better than from electronic books? Why should this be? I can also memorize terms if I look them up online.
Books vs internet
As I stated in a posting below, I learned in books. However, if used properly, I think the internet is one of the best tools available for MTs. We now have access to drug lists as fast as they are approved. Online access to the dizzying array of medical specialties via their journals provides information about the latest and greatest testing and procedures in their respective fields. The various American Cancer Society, American Epilepsy Foundation, etc., keep up to date information on diagnostic procedures and new treatments for their respective diseases. Vast data bases provide information about study protocols, gene sequence testing, standard laboratory values. Even the Yahoo yellow pages means less guessing at physician names. Yes, books have their place, but as an MT, there is an obligation to embrace technology rather than fight it, much like we went from typewriters to computers, because to do otherwise renders us dinosaurs.
I'll be looking for those bell bottoms to end up on eBay! NM
X
I use a combination of online and books
I do radiology and have 4 Stedmans - radiology, medical and surgical equipment, cardiovascular and pulmonary, and ortho. I had a big drug book when I was typing acute care, but found that it was WAY too cumbersome and so used Medline Plus for drugs. I can't do without my Dorlands online, but if you go to dorlands.com, you have to pay for a subscription, so I used mercksource.com, clicked on Medical Dictionary and it takes you to Dorlands, and that page is in my Favorites. Of course, the reason I like radiology is that 99% of the time you're typing the same thing over and over and you rarely have to look anything up! But it's that 1% that'll get ya.
Um, yes employers do expect you to look in books
Employers do want you to own and know how to use reference books. The Internet is not always the best tool. A combination of books and Internet are the ideal reference tools. But to respond to your post would definitely be a waste of my breath, as I can see your mind is made up that you don't need reference books. That's fine. I am neither too old to know about Google or to be computer savvy, as I am a college student working on a Bachelor's Degree. You must be very insecure to have to make such catty personal remarks about a stated opinion. So when the Internet goes down, you just sit and wait for it to come back up, the rest of us will continue working.
books versus internet
Well, for me, when the internet goes down, I can't work anyway :=)
Yup, change to create a need to sell more books.
That's what I said the first time I heard examples of the new edition's changes. With the logic this one uses, I expect the next edition will decide that a lot should now be one word, and no one should be spelled as one word as well, because it is now so common for people to spell them that way. Oy.
You must be psychic. I just ended up going on Ebay today and bought a Dell with Windows XP on it.
I originally went through Dell directly but they charged $400 more for the same computer because they were customizing it with Windows XP as now all the computer came standard with Vista. Apparently not so customized..haha.. better deals on Ebay.. I LOVE EBAY..
Basic word books, spellchecker, expansion software...$450/500?? nm
s
Wait a minute now..before you sink a bunch of bucks in books..sm
I've been at this for many years and I have about 18 books that I've acquired over the years. Since I started working using internet-based platforms, I rarely have to open those books..just Google gets it most of the time even quicker. Oh, yeah and the 150 bucks I sunk into SmartType..well, it's been sitting on the shelf for 6 years now. The internet-based platforms and most others have their own expanders. A good basic word book from Stedmans or Sloans should be adequate for a newcomer; but some companies provide these as well or offer a discount. So, bascially, between Google and company-provided Expanders and equipment along with reimbursements for phone line/web access, start-up cost should be quite minimal now.
Reference regarding
business practices -- I was not referring to one company specifically. From reading the board, there are messages regarding existing insurance coverage suddenly being unavailable. Others have posted regarding to unpaid training time, which I believe under employee status is unlawful. If the shoe fits. One cannot sign away one's legal rights, no matter what kind of wording they put in a contract. I would say dropping existing insurance coverage and then stringing people along regardig that amounts to fraud.
Reference
Has anybody ever requested a copy of a work reference? I would just like to know if I can get a copy of mine. Thanks.
reference this.
nm
Good reference here
You're absolutely right, this board is a good place not only to vent, but to get the scoop on the companies out there. Sure some people are just going to be venting on here cause they got fired or couldn't make it but if you weed through those you can pretty much get the idea on others. This is a great resource.
For future reference...
I have found in my years that most places are far less concerned with format than content, in the belief that format could be individual based on client needs and any formatting errors could be quickly corrected in your first few days under the watchful eye of QC. That said, as a QC myself, I see many more errors related to content than I do of format once an MT has hit about a month on any account.
Good luck with your job search.
Probably just a reference to a generic
red-dot-head. Could be Shavinder, Rajah, Bopinder, Rajinder, they all seem to be 'inders'.
Well for future reference....
I would have the line counting program in place BEFORE I even gave my start date or whatever. Of course, if you were having so many personal or family issues that you couldn't even send an invoice, then you can't be outraged that you got cheated out of lines. Companies have certain deadlines as well and they aren't able to wait around and figure out how to get your programs up and running. I'm not sure what kind of company you worked for, but if it were ME, and of course it isn't, but I would have INITIALLY in the BEGINNING told them I was having an issue with a line counting software and ask what they SUGGEST I use that may be in comparison to what their other MTs use. IF they were rude, as you suggested, then I would have just not started working for them. But, to work, not able to count lines, not able to send an invoice in, the whole mess seems very disorganized, so you shouldn't be shocked that you didn't get paid. LESSON LEARNED.
My post was in reference to Transcend....sm
Know nothing about Cymed, so I'll take your word for it, but am *quite* happy at Transcend. You should try it!
Not complaining, just asking for reference. Only out a few minutes (sm)
and it was early early Sunday morning, not during her normal work hours.
BTW, can you call solution center for help with this during weekends/off hours?
Reference check question?
I accepted a position about 2 weeks ago at a company that apparently hire people before checking their references. My references that I listed are calling me stating that they are just receiving reference calls today. Is this the standard practice of getting hired. I was hired two weeks ago. How come they did not check my reference then! I just think this is backwards, but I have good references anyway.
This makes me worried about this company because so many MTs on this board have negative things to say about this company. I hope this is not the beginning of bad things to come with this company.
Oops. I mean to reference the low pay to TTD specifically... NM
In reference to gross line pay...sm
Let's put it this way. I used to be paid by the gross line until my company was bought out by a national. My pay at that time was 3.25 per gross line. Working on the very same client account on a gross line, I earned $20,000 more then anually than I do now after having been switched to 0.09 65 cpl w/spaces. However, a gross line also depends on the size of the font used and the length of the margins. But you get paid 3.5 cpl whether there is 82 characters in a *line* or just one character. do you realize how many short lines there are in a dictation as opposed to full 65 character lines? and how many of those short lines it takes to add up to a 65 character line? Believe me, it adds up, and I would go back to a gross line in a heart beat, given the opportunity. Maybe I will give this place a shot!
Wow! I'm impressed. You NEVER have to use reference material? Amazing!
x
Can anyone recommend a good reference book
for radiology. I just started on a rad account in training. I love it so far but would like a good radiology terminology book that especially contains terms for MRIs and CT scans. ALso, can anyone tell me what the average rate is per report for radiology? Thanks!
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