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I hear ya! When I first started working at home...sm

Posted By: I hear ya! on 2006-06-09
In Reply to: Trying to adjust to home - kcmomt

I felt pressured to the max, but what I finally did was to put my bills in date-due order and placed them where I could see them at all times while working. It sounds silly, but it caused me to discipline myself like I had never done before - and after awhile, it became habit to work as if I were in house and actually helped me to increase my income! It is really nice not to deal with the office politics and a supervisor at the next desk, too! Good luck to you!

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Trying to adjust to home - kcmomt
- I hear ya! When I first started working at home...sm - I hear ya!
- im a guilty one too c msg - aa
- I had a hard time as a statutory employee, but - KB
- It is hard. Need to ignore anything going on and only do things when taking a break, like laundry, - dinner prep., etc. Good luck! nm
  - I guess that is what they call work ethic - sm - KS

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Exactly! When I first started working at home
with only 2 years clinic experience (no acute care at all), I was offered .075 cpl. Six years later, with that much in acute care experience and with the very same company, I was offered .0725. Something is just so wrong with this picture!

In the early days, MedQuist said working at home was a benefit, therefore at-home sm
employees did not receive as many benefits as those working in-house. As I believe, it was something like at-home employees got 3 days off a year versus 10 days for the in-office employees -- WHAT?!!! I told them it made no sense to me, since by working at home I was saving them money -- no need to provide office space, equipment, references, utilities, etc. -- yet I get shafted. I was only part-time when they took over the previous company with their great policies, and I told them to kiss where I can't.

working from home is awesome but working for DSG is not...
horrible dictators, sound quality is bad, no answers to emails and they run out of work consistently...that is just my experience though...

Thanks. I am used to working at home
and not having to deal with this. This hospital has opened up a new surgery center which is its own entity and that took away a lot of our transcription plus a good majority of our radiology has gone to templates so in other words we are now very over staffed. They pulled some of us in-house to work on other stuff when transcription gets low which it frequently does so when I work on other things I get paid an hourly rate. I make more typing. Some of the other transcriptionists refuse to do anything else but type and one of the supervisors made a comment that that is not the right attitude to have. I have considered the nationals mainly due to my pay cut and gas prices and of course this coworker doesn't help, but am afraid of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. I have read horror stories on this board. Its hard to decide what to do. There is little opportunity for transcriptionists around here. The ones that have a job are holding on tight. One of the local multispecialty clinics outsource to India

and another one of our big multispecialty clinics do voice recognition and templates. They still have transcriptionists but let a lot of them go. I live in a remote area also and never thought I would have to worry about India, templates, VR since big city people claims we are soo far behind but it has happened. Oh, well thanks for letting me vent. I feel like I did this on the wrong board though, probably should have been on the main board. Sorry.

Working at home
If you compare working at home to having to get up and go into an office somewhere, rain or shine, that is a big plus. The only drawback to this profession is the declining line rate. Guess thats really up to the MT I guess. They will pay what you are willing to take. Just have to keep shopping around until you get what you want. Much better alternative than getting all nasty about the company you work for, there are plenty more out there, and they all pay different.

working at home
I work for a local hospital that has been promising us to go home for 7+ years and still be employees of the hospital. We have Dictaphone and recently got speech. We are in the learning phase. We were told they (hospital) cannot decide if we will use their equipment or your own equipment. I and another co-worker also work for a service. That threw up a red flag for us both. Our own equipment - independent, no benefits or possibly every thing outsourced and then possibly lose the job. We both figure with the speech recognition coming and possibly having to use our own equipment, it would be easier for a service to take over. Any thoughts to that?

This is why I like working at home - ALONE. nm
x

Why are you working from home?

If it is so expensive, why are you doing it? Some people will complain that the sky is blue. No wonder you can't make any money with that poor wittle me attitude. Boooo hooooo!

Happy working at home

I love working at home for a hospital. I don't have to share work station, books, equipment with anyone. You have to teach family and friends that you are really and truly working, and to leave you alone during work hours. It's easy to allow intrusions but set rules from the start.

I had to work in the hospital med rec/MT department for a month and while I enjoyed the people, I hated being there in a windowless dingy room. At home, you create your own work environment. My two coworkers at home are two cats who keep me company. Good luck!

working from home question

I have been working acute care hospital, clinics, and doctor's offices for the past 7 years. All done from the same hospital, which handles it all. My favorite thing to type is op notes, but can and do everything.

I would like to work from home, but live in the wilderness with no possiblity of high speed except satellite or dial up. I have heard that dial up is impossible to make any money.

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to use dial up and make good money and how good is satellite?

What is the best way to go about finding a good work from home job?

Is it safe to put a resume on the internet?

Any other suggestions?

Working at home is very important to me
But keep in mind we HAVE BEEN working at home in this industry and making GOOD money for years now. It is only recently that this downslide has occurred. It is as much a benefit to the employer as it is to the employee to work at home. Think about all the money they save in office space and utilities and more and more of them do not supply equipment anymore. They want us to keep thinking the way your post reads and forget that we benefit them by working at home too. The working at home is a wash when it comes to which side benefits so we need not even go there

Interruptions working at home
You have to be very stern with everyone, especially family.

I told mine long ago, This is my room. I work in here. When the door is shut I am invisible to you because why? I AM WORKING. hehehee.

I don't answer the phone. Let them leave a message. If it is too tempting to stop and answer it, unplug it.

Put a note on your door for ding dongers - Day Sleeper. No Solicitors. That keeps them away.

The problem is MTs because we work at home have this wonderful life of freedom. Sure. It means that we can pick up everyone else's slack, or have them angry at us because we don't do it. Or we end up doing for everyone and working while those 8 to 5 folks are sleeping to make up for what we could not get done during the day. Or for those who call and ask you to pick up their kid from school, or take grandma to the doctor/pharmacy - call them once at work and ask them to do the same for you. They think it's ridiculous. That's when you can point out to them how untrue that is.

My favorite expression when I am interrupted is, OH SURE! I CAN DO IT, I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!

It makes them feel bad and away they go with their interruptions.

Lasty, if you have a headset on when folks try to talk to you, pretend you can't hear them. :) I heard one of my nephews tell the other one who was trying to interrupt me, Don't bother, she can't hear you she has that head thingy on. hahaha.

I love working at home...

I agree that there are those out there that think being an at-home MT is a piece of cake and anyone can do it and they are sorely mistaken...I have an 8-1/2 year old and a 14 month old and I take great pride knowing that I am able to do my job and take care of my children....I have never used my children as an excuse not to get work done and I don't plan on it...my job as an MT is very important and I do it to the best of my ability....I do wish people would take more pride in their work but we don't all have the same work ethics unfortunately...

HOW IS WORKING HOME A BENEFIT???--sm

Like Judge Judy said in her books, Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. Who benefits the most (financially) from MTs working at home? Who doesn't have to provide an office? Who doesn't have to provide a PC (except for a fee)? Who doesn't have to pay the electric bill to use this equipment? Who doesn't have to pay the MT's phone bill? Who demands the MT have high-speed cable internet connection? Maybe your definition of benefit is different from the rest of the working world, but I/we count a benefit as something we can take to the bank, i.e., insurance, PTO, etc. (FT only, yet).

Yes ago I was working for a home health
care agency and they tried to initiate EMR. This was 15 years ago and I didn't know what EMR was at the time. It was a no go. Recently had an appointment for my son with a specialist we saw for the first time. He was so busy filling in the blanks, that he barely even looked at my son and sort of having a limb missing or having green skin I don't think the doctor would have noticed any issues. If they want EMR I don't have an issue with that, but why not just have an MT transcribed document uploaded into a databank?

Nice to hear that someone likes this job. I have just started and so far so
good. It seems to me that those who don't like it may not have been meeting the criteria they require. They were very up front with me on what was expected and, as far as I can tell, as long as you do your job there shouldn't be a problem.

I make more working at home that I ever did on site
the most I made as an MT on site was 8 bucks an hour.

I figure working from home is worth at LEAST sm
an extra $5/hr for me right now (maybe more). Had offers to work in-house. Ability to work from home is the ONLY reason to do MT. Absolutely no point in leaving the house to do MT work.

Working from home/office work

I feel I need to speak up. I understand that the industry is going backwards in pay and for all of the more experienced MT's this is really degrading from what I hear from some. I understand and I would probably feel the same way. This is a craft. Not everyone can do what we do. It is a very hard craft. We should be paid what we are worth. There is no doubt about that but I also know how it works in an office in this industry. Being in an office is awful! I did it for 15 years. I worked at 2 different companies and both took advantage of the hard worker I was. I had MULTIPLE jobs and was not compensated for it. When I hear MT's complain about how bad they have it I want to scream. Yes, the pay is an issue. Yes, the belittling emails from managers is ridiculous. I completely agree and all of those managers should be let go but you do not know how awful it is to be in an office setting dealing with those belittling managers.

Trust me everyone in the company you work for or wherever that is not a VP or CEO is going through hell on a daily basis and not getting paid for it. You are making a lot more money for the time you put in than the people working in the office mostly. The people in the office are probably working on salary. When you figure the hours they work and the amount they are paid that are probably making about $5.00 an hour or less. They also have to work nights/weekends etc. from home. They also are having to listen to all of the MT's daily when they have a problem, they call in giving a excuse as to why they cannot come to work and trying to scramble to get the shift filled when the MT is really not sick as she said, problems dealing with the clients and their complaints about the work or turn times, problems with MT's and editors fighting via IM or email, problems with the Sales guys telling potential clients...oh yeah, we can do that...when we CANNOT.

I could go on and on. Being in an office is a lot more work than you would think. I would be greatful for what you have. I am not bitter at what I have gone through in an office setting. It got me to where I am today. I just want to let you know it is not easy working in an office and it is a lot harder than being an MT when you can type and then stop for the day and not have to answer to others and deal with their issues. Being an MT is a craft and it is hard...just be thankful!

Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY! Be joyous! Feel Blessed!

What is your problem with moms working from home?
It sounds like you have some kind of bias against moms working from home! What is wrong with that? Just because an MT is a mom working from home does not automatically qualify her as someone who puts out crappy work. I am sure there are tons of moms on this board who put out quality work. I put out quality work now and once my baby comes I will still put out quality work. Quit bashing moms working from home.

Do any acute care hospitals still have MTs working from home? sm

Back in the day (which was a Wednesday... in case you are curious)... I started out working for a huge acute care facility, then went home for them. Any of them still do that?? You can e-mail me if you want.... I'm sick of working for nationals.

I hate it when people tell me that working at home is a benefit (sm)
Benefits are something that the company pays for. No use as MTs. If it was a true benefit, then they should give us the money to cover the costs of what daycare would be, because if you have kids, generally they stay at home with you, right? So, they should be compensating us for daycare costs on top of what we already make. Now THAT would be a benefit!

I worked for them years ago, back in 1994. No one was working from home then... SM
Well, if you were working from home, you were coming in and picking of tapes. It was a pretty good place to work. I was just starting out as an MT so it was really good experience for me. They paid me hourly, but I was in house back then.

I have a friend working in a hospital and she is looking for a company from home as an employee.
Would anyone care to recommend a good company?

Just started working for them
I just started working for them. The people are very nice. The program is great but you cannot be logged in to the internet while you are in the program. You have to have a Transnet foot pedal and an adapter that cost approximately 130.00. If you use the internet as your search resource and do not have a library of reference books, like me, you would have to get some reference books. NM

I started working
for them after I got out of school 1 year ago and I'm ready to quit MTing because of it. Can't make line counts because of so many different dictators and accounts and the money is bad too.

Hmm....working on the holidays, PMS, kids home from school, wanting to find a better job but can'
s

Would like to hear from anyone currently working at TTS sm
The archives have very conflicting information. Some like it, some say they were not paid, and others just say run with no explanation for their comments. Just wondering what current employees are feeling about this company? Staying? Going? Are they worth considering? If so, just how low is the pay?

I realize no company is right for every individual. I have had a bad experience with at least one of the companies always raved about here. It just wasn't a good fit for me. I just can't help to wonder if some people don't just like to stir the pot at times.

I have NO experience. I started out working
for a group of radiologists and working my way up to Medquist. I have a B.A. and M.A., but I must say that I studied anatomy and physiology, chemistry, nursing math, microbiology at the local community college which helped me on testing. I couldn't have passed MT tests without these courses. The rest of what I did was fast-talk my way in the door. Good Luck!!!

I'm not in QA, but I just started working PT for them and they seem great. sm

I have to admit the negative posts below kind of scared me, but ..... I guess we all have to go with our own experiences. So far, everyone has been friendly and helpful and the platform is easy to use, although I think the ShortHand works a bit slow ... we all have our little gripes.

Anyone who recently started working for DSG that can say how they like
it there and how is the workload and accounts, sound, etc.

when I started working the proper sm
word for us was Transcriptionist and the transcriber was the transcribing machine sitting on my desk. don't be so picky. Nobody cares.

I just started working about 3 months ago
that requires 1 weekend day every week. I didn't think it would be so bad, but I don't like it at all. I realize that the medical field is a 24/7 profession, but I would rather rotate weekends like we did when I worked as a nurse. Better yet, if companies offered a weekend differential, they could probably find enough part-timers who want to work just weekends; wouldn't that be nice. Oh well, so much for dreaming.

Anyone working on BeyondTXT with MDI-FL? Would like to hear from you
How do you like your accounts, are you running out of work or is there plenty. Do you like the BeyondTXT as a transcription platform, etc.

Anyone working for Probity. Would like to hear from you.
Feel free to e-mail

i just started working for a local hospital. sm
They pay for the entire phone bill and internet for an extra line to do their work.

I am 40 and just started working on a master's degree and
a certificate in medical coding at the same time. I plan to get my doctorate degree also. It is never too late to learn. Go for it!

I started with them 3 weeks ago, after working out my notice with MW. sm
I have had a lot of work, love the account and have no complaints at all. It was hard the first few days to get used to a new system and dictators, but I am at 1500 lines a day now with no problem. I had no problem with paperwork, although the hospital took almost to down to the wire to get my ID ready. Best move I ever made!

I just started working on the BayScribe platform.... sm
I was thrilled when the Infinity USB foot pedal I've had for a couple of years, worked just fine. This particular model has worked for several web-based platforms I've transcribed on. Maybe I got lucky?

I also just started with Landmark and right now could not be happier! I'm so sorry things didn't work out for you and I do understand that many variables play a huge part in the type of experience one MT may have from another. Good luck to you!

There are a lot of people who do and it seems that most love working there. I started 6 months ago
and have no complaints at all. It is refreshing to work for a company that treats employees as individuals, not just a number. I also like that they do not send work offshore and that I only have one main account. I do have 2 back-up accounts, but have never worked on them after training. I am lucky that my main account is very busy, too busy most of the time!

A friend of mine very recently started working for them
I'll try to get ahold of her and see how it's going so far. She just started about a week or so ago.

If I hear anything, I'll let you know :-)

I love doing pathology, but it is hard to find a position for working at home. Gross pathology is
easy, descriptive typing. Microscopic is a little more difficult, but once you get the terminology down, it goes really quickly. I also found it easy to get lines in with pathology. If you've done acute care, you should not have a problem with the transition, IMHO.

I was hired and started in 1 week. That is not a long set-up time. When I started with our local h
I needed to get a physical and go through orientation at the hospital which is only given two times per month. This is a 900-bed hospital, so it cannot be an unusual process. MQ took 2 weeks. KS took 1 week. SoftScript never got me started even after repeated calls and emails.

I have only been with KS for 9 months but would never put them in the same catagory as the others you mentioned. They are the best company I have worked for, and unfortunately, I have bounced around a little in the last 5 years.

Anyone that applied with Kathy Kirby hear anything yet? I am wondering how long it takes to hear a
response back

I said MAY NOT hear, didn't say you wouldn't hear. There is
a difference, and many people have said they knew they didn't do well on the tests, but still feel like they should have heard from companies and haven't.

Ditto.. Over 13 years experience working in hospitals doing all types of reports, currently working
for a national etc.. and Spheris told me I didnt have the qualifications. What cracked me up was the hospital I was working at at the time contracted some of our work out to them.. What a joke..I was good enough to work for a hospital and gave them work, yet not qualified enough for them. What is wrong with this picture.

MQ same situation. No pay for working holidays, no pay for working weekends nothing. Now noone works
much anymore and so they jerk the work out of the accounts to some place that throws it back with a lot of bad bad quality. This is the NE region. I dont know what the others are doing.

Hear, hear! (Or is it 'here, here?') LOL