It is not a foregon conclusion that in nursing
Posted By: you must submit yourself to....sm on 2008-12-10
In Reply to: What should I do? - Torn
odd hours, shifts or days, except perhaps in the latter part of the nursing program that incorporates the practicum. The options that nursing offers to you are far broader than an MT can ever hope for. In Houston, you can even do 3 16-hour shifts over, be considered full time and be off 4 days. You may also want to consider nursing administration, which has a more traditional schedule structure of M-F 8-5. No doubt the schooling and maybe first year or so would be pretty rough, but in the long term, the pay-off will be well worth it.
In terms of your babies, many of us do not have the luxury of even having our children as long as 1 or 2 years. I was a single parent and had no choice but to put my son into day care at 3 months old. Back then, I worked M-F 8-5 in-house jobs, but when he was 9, they started outsourcing and I came home to work. Even then, I still continued him in day care/after school programs for a few more years because he loved it. Being an at-home MT, I was a slave to my office even when he was home and missed out on many a soccer game, birthday parties and all PTA meetings. He is 31 years old now, a great son, my best friend and no worse for the wear.
You are fortunate to have found a calling to follow at this early stage in your life. I say go for it whole-heartedly. You are much, much stronger than you think and your kids are too.
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I have come to the conclusion that
No matter what company you ask about on this board, you cannot base going to work for them on what you are told. For one MT a certain company is terrific and for another it is horrific. I am once again working for a company who got honors on this board, who promised me a certain amount of work each day and an increase. So far, I am out of work almost every day and the increase is long past due. If you are looking for a new home, read the ad and judge for yourself if this sounds like a good place to work. Then, make your list of questions to ask the recruiter, put them in an email to her and have her confirm everything that is written there and send it back to you. Keep that as a record of what you were promised. If after working for them you find that things are not what they were to be, shake the dust off your tailfeathers and move on. There is no sense in questioning, complaining or hoping for help, because in most cases you will be ignored. I also get a bit upset with the issue of companies who offshore. What makes the difference if you work for a company who offshores work, as long as you are given your fair share and a paycheck? I have worked for 3 so-called All American companies and I really don't see that this makes them treat their MTs any better. Outsourcing is here to stay. From our clothes to the food we eat, they all mostly come from other lands. We might as well accept the fact that MT work is going to be done to some degree off shore and just live with it and do the best we can here as American MTs. When I accepted the facts and developed the attitude I just described, I found myself more content and less stressed about this profession. Rely on your own instincts, talents and abilities and know you are the best you can be. If that isn't enough for whoever you are working for, they aren't worth your time.
I have come to the conclusion
that it doesn't really matter what people say about any particular company. To find out what they are like, you must work for them. Some companies may be better than others, but opinions vary. If a company has trouble with paying their employees, well that's one thing everyone should know. But, all transcriptionists have varying work experience, years worked and what type of work they can do. Some can't do ops. I have done acute care transcription for 28 years. How does that compare to a person who has a year or two or even ten years. I have watched the trends in transcription and quite frankly, it stinks. Companies don't want to pay holidays usually. Some won't let you take a day off without pay to go see a doctor while offering you health benefits. Some want you to have such and such equipment at your own expense, unlimited long distance at your own expense, DSL, cable, Word 2000, 3000, XL, and on and on and on. A while back someone asked about Webmedx. I answered that I had 99.9% ESL doctors. It was disputed. On the account I was doing, I had ONE English doctor - all the rest were ESL. I didn't exaggerate in any way. For me, that was the way it was. For someone else, it could be completely different, but I sure wouldn't try to work for them again. Amphion has ExText. If you like to fill in democratics and not actually make money, that is the place for you. Transcript-USA has a horrible system, Cquence. Heaven help the person who works for them. You won't be there long. So when I ask about a company, I don't want to look in the archives. Personally, a person should state how much experience they have if they remark on any company. Everyone is different. A new person can tolerate more with a bad company because they don't know any better.
I think I have come to the conclusion..sm
I am going to stick with my measly 15-20 hours a week at my MTSO and do something else on the side to make up for money I am not making MTing.
I can see how the posts might lead to that conclusion
I think a lot of people just know there are a lot of KS people on the board and so throw the questions out there. I don't think that's necessarily management's fault.
Very interesting conclusion. My first and continuous 3:00 am (sm)
thoughts were OVERHIRE on the account to keep contractual agreement re: TAT.
MT/nursing instead
Absolutely. I agree. I am headed back this semester to finish my nursing degree. I like MT and it's nice to work from home as a single Mom, but the field is going, going, gone. I started about 9 years ago and was able to secure good paying Hospital jobs at an hourly wage. Those days are so gone. I have worked for numerous nationals. Some better than others, but never made the kind of money I did when I first started out some years back before outsourcing to India was the norm. To me the writing is on the wall and hope to be out of the field and into nursing within 2-3 years. It's going to be tough going back to school at nearly 40 but I don't have confidence MT is a viable field for the future any longer.
nursing
I am 39. Will be 40 in September. Starting back to school in 2 weeks for nursing prerequistes. My friend is 45 and she is also starting as well. Never too old. I worried about this too, but with all the outsourcing of several fields (I live in Michigan so auto industry is bad and many are taking buyouts and going back to school in their 40s and 50s!).
Nursing vs. MT
How is it that you make more as an MT than you do at nursing? I was under the impression that nurses start around $20/hour with regular pay raises (something MT is NOT known for, LOL!). Also, can't nurses choose to work in other fields as nurses (consulting, school nurse, hospice, pharmaceutical sales)...? It seems to me that nursing would be more flexible and lucrative???
Nursing School
I never think it's too late to do what you really want to do!. I am an R.N. and can tell you that there is a severe shortage of nurses who really care about the people.
Go to school! Make a difference in somebodys life!
Never too old to go to nursing school sm
When I was at the hospital, there were new grads there in their 50s. Go for it. Plenty of jobs out there in nursing.
That's about the age my mom was went she went to nursing school.
Plus, whether you go to nursing school or not, you're still going to be 41. Why not spend this time following your passion?
u can't outsource nursing, so i'd go with that
x
I don't know when you started a nursing career but
I was more than happy to trade in mine for MT training. I worked as a R.N. for a health system that formed that wonderful alliance, as most have. I found myself working in all 3 hospitals, in 4 different areas. Years ago I worked in ICU and knew my patients and gave them ICU nursing care. The last time I worked in ICU, it was for 1 day, then it was off to a hospital across town to work a med-surg floor for 2 days and then back to ICU again, where I was told my patient had died. I blamed that on no one knowing her case and so much rotation that the patients have been forgotten. I worked swing shifts and weekends and witnessed more and more of my coworkers leaving for nursing homes just to have a half decent schedule, then becoming depressed when the elderly patients they got attached to passed away. I decided to go for what I now call hands on nursing care without really being there and I started working as a MT 4 years ago. I love it!!! Nurses may be paid more but for what in exchange? As for pay and benefits in the MT profession, I never expected benefits for being self employed so I provide my own. I also make more money doing this because I am in charge of my schedule and my work volume. I also no longer have nightmares about the patients I feel I had to abandon to satisfy a bunch of bureaucrats who run hospitals these days. So before you announce how much better nurses have it, become one and try out your skills in any hospital of your choice. Lots of luck!
I went back to nursing school when I was 34
and actually did better than my younger classmates. I think I realized how important it was at that age, much more so than when I was 18. I only worked as a nurse for a few years and then started transcribing. You're never too old to pursue something that interest you. Nursing school is tough but very interesting.
Nursing school for me right now, can't wait to be done. nm
nm
She was probably the nursing supervisor. They still carry
.
I've gone back to nursing.
Found a low-key job in a clinic working 3 nights a week and am just praying it works out for me. I'm still technically with MDI, finding virtually no work available most of the time now, and basically just waiting for the axe to fall.
Does anyone remember DRC (Digital Records Corporation)? It was an AWESOME little company until it got swallowed up by Spheris, lost a couple of major accounts and laid off the majority of its MTs. Having lived through that little fiasco I'm confident I know the direction MDI is headed, and all I can tell you is to be ready.
Good luck to everyone!
I thought about doing that - but then signed up for nursing school instead
for basically the same reasons - cannot be taken out of the country! Enjoy a change of pace. You will be a great bus driver, I'm sure. 
Nursing - the kind that carries a clipboard
They make loads of money - you know the ones; the supervisor type, no hands-on, just carries the clipboard around. We had several of these at the hospital I worked at, and I could never for the life of me figure out what they actually did all day, but carry around that clipboard. My vote is for clipboard nurse. 
Does anyone think 41 is too old to go to nursing school. I love MT but I just would love to be a
nurse. I have such a interist in helping others and the medical world.
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