It is just a different field to break into now...
Posted By: desperate on 2006-12-13
In Reply to: Experienced and proficient MTs should have no problem..SM - Veteran MT
I have only been an MT for 4-1/2 years, and I am happy to hear that you found a job that you are happy with and making a good wage at.
However, to say that because MTs are not happy has something to do with their skills does an injustice to hardworking MTs. There are some of us who do 12-hour days, too.
The field is totally different that what it used to be. You can ask a majority of seasoned MTs, and they will tell you that wages are going down and the cost of benefits is becoming outrageous. It can take you almost 2 weeks to earn enough money to pay for family insurance. Couple that MTSOs who are making contracts with companies for acute care work when they have only hired transcriptionists with clinic experience, and you have some very overstressed MTs just trying to make a living. I have felt since starting I am being pushed to gain 10 years experience for each year I work. Some days you just wake up, go to work, and you are on a totally different account, totally different work type, and totally different part of the country with no warning.
Since starting in this profession, I have worked on over 20 different accounts in all areas of the country. Not only have I been required to learn medical transcription (and I have done all report types right through the OP notes), I have had to learn umpteen physician groups, hospitals in those areas, nursing homes, drug stores, county social service units...you name it.
I have consistently good quality scores, and I usually work at least 1-1/2 times my required production. I have been with my company close to 3 years, work nights and holidays, and have given up more family time than I care to consider. However, I just saw an ad where my employer is offering 10 cpl to do discharge summaries while I am doing consults for a clinic no one in the company wants to touch because of the difficulty factor, and they will not raise me above 7.5 CPL.
On top of that, I had to darn near beg today to have a technical problem taken care of that was preventing me from working. It was a 2-minute fix that took almost 40 minutes to resolve because our customer service kept telling me I wasn't even working as I had no jobs checked out and my boss kept switching her MSN messenger to say she was busy or away.
Do I feel disrespected and underpaid? YUP!
That is my reality.
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Getting out of this field -
It's just a matter of time before my company sends works oversees, and I REFUSE to correct Indian, Irish, Phiillipino, or any other foreigners work for half my pay. It's just a matter of time before this all blows up. Let them figure it out. If they want us Americans back - they will have to PAY big time! I'm looking into another field as well.
I'm obviously in the field too...
I've never seen all of these so-called problems you are talking about and I do plenty of those same reports everyday as well. Slippage occurs when someone with a Lap-Band decides to eat so much they force themselves to vomit. It's extremely rare. I'm willing to take the risks rather than be morbidly obese and hardly living as it is.
I don't think it's just this field
I think it's human nature. I used to hang out on the General Hospital board on ABC.com (I'm a soap opera geek) and it amazed me at how nasty some of those women would be to other posters who weren't quite up to snuff. I've seen all out board wars develop. If it was a full moon and I was PMSing, I enjoyed the spectacle, but most of the time I got a little disgusted with them. Don't even get me started on how nasty it got before the election.
I do get surprised at some of the negativity that is posted here, but I can understand how it's hard to be really super positive in today's world.
You know what's going on in this field, right?
This is how MTSOs are going to squeeze ALL American MTs out of the field. We are an 'unnecessary' expense for them. They don't care about quality transcription. They care about driving quality cars and living in quality homes in quality neighborhoods. And who cares about the client, and screw the worker. The sooner they can price us out of the field, the sooner they can ALL go 100% to India.
If they do that, I think it should be mandatory that they, TOO, must leave the U.S. Set up their godforsaken offices in INDIA, and move there themselves. It's a travesty to our country that these MAGGOTS feel they even deserve to live here.
So that it narrows down the field when they look into
It really shouldn't be that hard to find out which female MLS started 4 months ago with 15 years experience and is making 10 cpl, since 10 cpl is NOT a normal starting wage at Transcend. You are aware that discussing your wages is ground for termination, right? You really have to be careful when trying to get those referral bonuses that you give accurate information.
That is the problem with the MT field...
Everyone is always bickering and knows it all. I am by no means a recruiter. I was just reading the posts, had been there myself, and thought I would offer some friendly advice, but some people think they know everything and try to discourage others from something good. Sad world today. Sad people.
Disgrace to the whole field!
x
I have been in this field for 17 years sm
and am still working one job IC for 8 cents, just because I like the company. Only made 8 cents on my last full-time job, but did have benefits. You can sometimes make more on an easy clinic account at 8 cents, than an acute care job at 10 cents. Count your blessings.
I could have written this myself. I'm looking into a new field. nm
x
Finding another field
My heart goes out to all you Heartlanders along with all the others in all fields who have lost jobs to cheap overseas labor. It looks like there is soon going to be absolutely NO JOBS for Americans. Seems all the jobs that can't be offshored are considered jobs Americans won't do or there aren't enough qualified people, the dandy explanations for greedy corporate America hiring illegals, or what is it? HR2 visas? to fill the jobs that can't be exported. America is in a world of hurt and God help those trying to raise children and give them a better life than you have, which is the true American Dream.
yes, but when you have to go from field 1 to 20 it's "faster" to use
x
From out of left field....
Sent my resume to, received an email from, and then a telephone interview with Landmark. They made me a very nice offer which piqued my interest, so I went with them instead of either Superior Global or Diskriter.
Thanks so much for all of the advice on SGS and DR. I was seriously debating between the two when the Landmark offer dropped into my lap.
I started today and so far everyone has been fantastic. I'll keep everyone posted.
Thanks again!!!
"I have been in this field for over 3 decades..."
BUSTED!!!!
How did they break it to you?
Why would they drop direct deposit? Does it cost a company to provide that service? Sorry to hear about your insurance. 
I am 30 years old and have been in the medical field since
I was 19. My first 3 years I worked as a certified medical assistant and then I fell into transcription and I have 8 years of experience as an MT. Can I ask why all the personal questions, not that I mind answering?
Just so you know - the subject is a limited field. SM
If you hit Post Quick Reply, put a little bit of text in the subject, SM for see message, and then put the rest in the box below.
Just trying to be helpful!
In our field of work, its never been openly
shared with the MTs what the status of accounts are, etc. Only time we hear things about account specs is when an account/client is unhappy or after they are gone. I've been in this industry for 30 years, and its never changed. The company who lost the client is not going to give you advance notice - its not to their benefit, and its naive to think they would tell you in advance. And as far as contacting the account and trying to work for the new company - think about it. An account often leaves a MT service due to quality issues - like they think the work stinks. So most times the account wants less than nothing to do with the old MTs on the account. If the client was all that happy about the MTs, chances are good they would not dump the service. I have known few accounts who took on old MTs, at least permanently. Sometimes they will screw the MTs as well and take on the old MTs just to get the account up and running with their company, and then all of a sudden, BAM, they don't need you anymore. Its the nature of our industry. And clients come and go and come and go all the time. I've lost many an account, and thought it was the end of my career, only to get a new account and be comfie for a few years. I'm not trying to belittle your upset - I understand. Just trying to point out the flip side and that you should get used to it. We MTs have to look out for ourselves. No company is gonna help us out these days - probably in all industries. Good luck!
Ummm, ever see the original MT ID field?
.
It's exactly this attitude that is allowing the MT field to go -
.
There's not much of a "choice" anymore in the MT field -
Then of course exploitation, cooking the books, cheating on lines paid, etc. etc. can run rampant because the left hand never knows what the right hand is doing.
So working at home is NOT 100% 'voluntary'. I'll quit my at-home job in a minute if I can find a full-time, benefitted inhouse job.
She can get better help at Spheris, but this field is dying. We all need
NM
Hostility in the transcription field
Hello everyone, I have been reading the posts on this board for the last couple of weeks. Most of the postings are helpful, but there are some who just break out into an all out war with one another. I have not been able to tell if it is the majority or not yet. Why do you think that is?
Do you think this field makes you feel that you have to compete one another? Do you think that is because of the isolation? Working at home is isolation, but even in a hospital setting you are isolated. Let's face it, we have those earplugs stuck in our ears all day. We have the ongoing pressure that we have to get our line count, or more. Do you find that there is a lot of hostility in this field, or is it just because we are women? Do you think it might be that we feel unappreciated? We were even told by a coder, at the hospital I worked at, that we were nothing more than glorified typists.
Let's face it, with the amount of time that it takes to master this occupation we could have all had a degree in something. Some of you already have. If you work by the line - if you have the experience, the typing skills, use your abbreviation expander, and have a steady work flow - you can make a decent living - but based on the typing skills, work flow, etc. etc. it is not a guarantee. That is a lot of pressure when you think about it. That is a different kind of pressure than other jobs. I am not trying to be negative, I just noticed that there seems to be a lot of hostility and I noticed that at the hospital, where I worked, for 15 years also. I got along with everyone I worked with. In order to be able to get along with the transcribers I use to work with, I had to become very thick-skinned, because basically they were just mean. Has anyone else noticed this? Do you think it is the job? What do you think? I am not attacking the transcription field, just something I have noticed over the years.
The field of medical transcription
Why isn't there anything that we can do as transcriptionists to make our profession stable again? I take this career seriously because I NEED full-time work. There are so many companies out there that are using this forum to really take advantage of the members here and elsewhere. I recently interviewed for a company who actually had the audacity to expect me to work for a week before being put on the payroll, and this was after extensive testing. I have over 20+ years in this industry and thought that I had seen it all. This encounter nearly created a hardship because I would have had to give up another position. When you apply for a TRANSCRIPTION job, unless discussed prior, you should be given a Transcriptionist job and not have editing at 4 cpl be given as your put up or get out.
Just my opinion, but I believe that MTStars should screen their employers before allowing them to post. The content and frustration seen in the posts can attest to that. We are real people who need to have an income. If I was doing this for just extra money or wanted to be home with my kids it would be another story. But this a matter of survival here.
Thanks for listening!
Medical Transcription Field
Thank you for your response. I have found that when a name of the company is mentioned in a negative way, the post disappears. I am not a newbie at this, in fact, I worked for one of the major companies who actually tried to recruit me (for extra time after my QA job) to search the board to find out if any current MTs were complaining, etc. I, of course, refused and luckily did not suffer any repercussions because of it. I feel that this board is valuable and should not be abused, but you must be careful whose name you mention and in what way. I am beginning to feel it is a never-ending battle to stay employed in this field with some of the stunts some are pulling. A recent one was a degree in medical transcription? I guess there possibly is such a thing now, but what are the rest of us experienced MTs supposed to do - lay down and die? Where I live the majority of major hospitals including the one I currently work for are either outsourcing or cutting wages down, so many of us fall victim.
Thank you for just letting me have my say.
I'm so sick of this field. Supplement (sm)
your income. Find a way. First work volumes are low. Now pay is cut. And we're making more than ever! Did you know that? Do you feel like you are?
Give me a break.
I doubt 100% that you posted AGAINST Keystrokes and used your real name. Not gonna make me believe that in a minute, cause if you did, it would have been spread all over this board like wildfire, with Lee and the whole gang from KS posting to you, yadda, yadda. Don't believe you one minute. As for posting against Spheris, hmmmm... they have like 12,000 or more employees now? Bigger than MQ. So, boy, you're sure brave if you ever posted as Michelle. Yep, they'd be able to zero right in on you on their radar screen! Please....Transcend watches this board like a hawk, and DOES contact posters. PERIOD. It is scary and it is a hassle, so its a business strategy that does work for them regarding damage control. Doesn't mean any of us are "hiding" or that our negative comments are any less valid than your soap-box stances defending Transcend.
Give me a break!
I understand there are two sides to every story, but there is no excuse for not paying the people who have worked for you. I just hope you are a better business owner than she is.
Give me a break.....
I know a whole lot more hard working, LOYAL, honest, go-the-extra-mile transcriptionists then I do companies who truely appreciate them. It is not the work ethic of the general TX that has caused the rates to go down. It is greed on the part of the company. I have now been with SEVEN different companies in the past 3 years as an IC and have never done the things you suggest. What I get is days without work or days that I am expected to work 24 hours, late/no paycheck, awful and ridiculous platforms, doctor switching games, etc.
I'd gladly still be with the first company I ever worked for if they'd just pay......
Give me a Break!!
Ya know, I must be cranky today, but...some posts below really got my dander up! MTs are asking for referrals about companies, and someone actually posts that the company is GREAT - I believe GREAT is the adjective. Then inside message says something to the effect of: I'm a new hire, too, and I hear the work will be picking up soon. PICKING UP SOON!! This is after several MTs claim no work, which is what we all-too-often hear with these companies. Hiring and WORK SHOULD BE PICKING UP SOON!! And the poster closes by saying how NICE everyone is. That he/she doesn't mind lack of work cause they are NICE. Grrrrrrrrrrrr...
I wish we could have some coding system where MTs gave job referrals based on LIFE SITUATIONS. Like how many of us really need the income?? Versus those who obviously don't really need the $$ and don't mind being hired for a job with NO WORK. But the people are nice...Can you imagine? I used to hire people in-house for hospitals - all depts. I can just imagine me HIRING people for work that wasn't really there... Give me a BREAK. Nice...
How about giving me a break?
I am the MT who seemed to upset a lot of you with my post below about MDI and the lack of work for some. Unlike what many of you surmised, I also need a regular income, a daily line count that I can depend on and I work far more than 1-2 hours per day and always have. I am also an MT who has been kicked to the curb by enough MTSO's to make me want to quit this profession at times and work at just about anything else. What I was saying below is that MDI, at least for me, is trying to get me more work and guess what? I have more now! Yes, everyone, they are being helpful and NICE! When compared to others I have worked for, who have also been low in work at times, and who have told me and other MTs who ask for more work, to basically get over it and wait it out or go elsewhere, I think I prefer the treatment I have received with MDI far above the others. If a nice company doesn't cut it for you, then go to the many out there who don't give a rat's behind how they treat you. They are not hard to find. When the work is there, you will be worked to death and when it isn't, they could not care less. Heck, you can make good money these days working on a garbage truck, so if nice isn't important,what's stopping you?
Hate to break it to ya, but
*Isn't this just good business sense on their part in an environment where it is hard enough to feel connected and part of a team?*
Good business and reality are galaxies apart. During my final time at the last company I left, it was commented to me that for as long as I had been there and as good an MT as I was, they were surprised I had not asked for a raise. I had been with them 9 months. I was covering 12 different accounts and doing mostly ESL dictation. They thought when I turned in my resignation it was about money. It wasn't. It was about a having a level playing field and I didn't like their level of *honesty.* My work route was being manipulated and they couldn't admit what they were doing. Gravy was being given to lesser experienced MTs and I was getting nothing but crap and it was being touted that everyone was paid the same cpl. (okay, this example shows they were lying to me on that level! If they were willing to give me more money to keep me, then they were surely doing that to other people, right?) I wanted an honest work environment and the money. That is what I have now. I've already gotten one raise at the new MTSO with the promise of a second when I hit a new lpd average (two months).
So, it would not hurt to broach the subject if they don't with you. The worse they can do is say no to a raise and explain their review policy. At least you will know where you stand, how you feel, and what your options are.
Give em a break at least -- sm
they are giving US MTs a chance to get started rather than offsourcing to India. At least they are giving back to the USA in one form or another.
They could just send it off and be done with it.
Looks like OSI can't catch a break
Ah, I do agree with you on the break sm
pay. As for sitting in front of the monitor for a certain period, you can work for a company that allows some flexibility (a window of time) in your schedule. That makes it better. I know the MT side of it, our low wages, etc, but the hospital side of it is - we have strict TATs and sick people, whatcha gonna do? There's got to be coverage during certain hours. Anyway, I digress.
give me a break
It's called being courteous to my employers, asking rather than telling them and this is completely irrelevant to this board and rather discourteous on your part.
Give her a break!
Maybe there are reasons she does not want minimum line counts per shift/day. I have a hard time with line counts myself but with good reason. I tore my TFCC in Dec. 06 and had surgery. It is stable now but I have lost some range of motion which has slowed my typing speed a bit. That's why I stay away from minimum line count jobs. I do work for a smaller company though so they are ok with this.
I'm going to break out of the mold (sm)
I'd like to branch out to doing general transcription so I can finally 100% work for myself instead of partly me, partly them. I'd love to have a home-based secretarial service that did a lot of things I enjoy, bookkeeping, typing, etc. Maybe I'll do some research and just do it.
Best way to break into the MT business? SM
A good friend of mine is wanting to learn the trade. I am self-taught from many years back and have no clue what to recommend to her. What is the best way to get training - any online courses? None of our local schools offer anything except maybe a terminology course, etc. Any MT companies have mentor programs for true beginners? Any advice would be helpful. BTW, I truly believe she has the basis for success as she is very computer/English literate and quite the perfectionist - she lacks the medical experience, however. Again, thanks so much for any input! :)
Give me a break
I do answer posts about which companies are good, who pays on time, etc, if I know the answer so I am not a board troll but a participating member. Its okay to have an opininon the same as yours but something different and your a flamer. As for working hours, I was making a general statement as I see it all the time on this board...no one wants to work weekends or past 6 p.m. at the most. More than the OP jumped on this thread with the me too, no work post...and in my opinion if more people were willing to make sacrifices they would have work but everybody wants to work M-F. If that's the case then you need to leave your home and work in an office.
Give me a break
I'm working with 3 companies right now and will weed out the crap just like they weed through the MT's. I do ask the worst case scenario questions and have been lied to over and over again! I'm doing this to make money and put food on the table and if that means weeding out the B.S. that these companies give you - so be it! You sound like your from one of the companies I am now working for. They just started a new account and have NO CLUE what they are doing. The way things are so out of control I bet they never sat down with the hospital to go over how this project was going to be run - and now they are advertising for ANOTHER NEW ACCOUNT! I got 2 words for you sister - and it ain't Merry Christmas!
give me a break
are you saying becausse I am defending the company I work for that I am management and I am lying??? Give me a break. Obviously you are just not up to the high standard that we are held accountable for at this company and you got fired.
Break this down so I can understand
what are you talking about? TTS or this board or ?
GREAT why do THEY get the break!?!?
about the people is nothing new
Give me a break please!!
I am 100% Cherokee and never took that as a racist remark. I think that someone is just trying to stir the pot.
hate to break it to ya, but
the statement about MT being dominated by females is no longer a factor when it comes to wages. The picture is much bigger than that. If you look at the owners of the majority of companies, they are men, or groups of men and women. We call those _Boards of Directors_ Some are even called _Lobbiests_ and _Leaders_ of MT-associated groups.
I do agree with being nauseated over the new era of paid spaces being treated as if it was a benefit. This field is hurting so badly and it has nowhere to go but down.
Hate to break it to you....
but leads do not type during the time they are watching accounts nor do they take work from you. Get YOUR facts straight.
I am prepared not to break the law
Among other things.
Will I need to file past taxes? Yeah. But I've only worked for this company for a year, so it's not that big of a deal for me.
Will it mean I have to pay MORE in taxes? VERY HIGHLY unlikely. However, even if I do, it's worth it to me.
Why? Because I would prefer to stay inside the law.
There are several reasons why it's a Very Bad Thing for companies to willfully misclassify employees as independent contractors. The least of which is that misclassification - on average - costs taxpayers money.
Second, and most importantly, because so many companies are willing to dramatically uneven the playing field ILLEGALLY, it leaves VERY little room for success for an honest company willing to provide quality service and pay their employees accordingly.
Being complicit in the cheating of one company SCREWS the majority of all other transcriptionists.
Are you really so selfish to be a cog in this machine? For what cannot be much more than a few dollars a paycheck, when you start figuring in the tax issue and the lack of benefits?
If we're going to have rules, EVERYONE should have to play by them. Or we should get rid of the rules ... and then see what happens.
Give me a break (sm)
This doesn't sound at all like an MT who has worked on this platform: 'It's actually good news in that moving to a more efficient platform means management is working to save our jobs in a very competitive, unstable market by increasing our output, and thus our value to the hospitals.'
How do you know it's more efficient? Because they say so? Have you worked on it and found your output increasing?
I'm waiting for those MTs who are finding they're producing more to pipe in.
You are very rude and smug to people who have been hurt by this announcement. 'Rude and foolish messages' pretty much applies to yours.
Best on-line school for MT - Please I Have A Lot of Questions About This Field!!!!!
I am leaving my current job as a secretary at the end of August. I have been in this field for 30+ years. I have pretty much decided that I would like to become a medical transcriptionist. My typing skills are excellent (approx. 100 wpm with 0 errors). I would like to work from home. Can anyone tell me which MT on-line schools are reputable? How long does the course take of you are diligent? I assume that after training it would be best to work for a transcription service before branching out on your own. Please, any advice, information on on-line schools, wages, etc. would be greatly appreciated! Working from home is a life-long dream for me!
Oh my goodness! But, there are CRAZY people in every field
I am stunned at how many, shall we say, "different" people there are in this world. This is too funny that a MTSO wants to do psych evals on their prospects. Wow!
To be honest, it would not bother me as I am very sane and have no "issues" in life. If you want the job and the pay is good, than what the heck. Go for it. Don't be afraid of some evaluation.
Maybe it is a good thing. If you do have issues and you are not aware of them, maybe it will help you in the long run. Hey a free psych eval may be just what the doctor ordered!
If I wanted that job and the pay was good and fit my needs, I would not hesitate!
"Any time I see OSi in a field, I skip over it. "
LOL
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