My god, and you stayed in this career while failing
Posted By: so miserably and completely? You are on 2009-02-07
In Reply to: OUR attitudes sadden YOU? - Just how wet behind the ears are you?
the only one to blame as I can't imagine why you would think that summation of your career any step of the way was a success. Per your description, sounds like nothing worked for you after a year or 2 at best. I've been in the biz the same length of time and experienced the complete opposite of your story. I would never have endured what you have endured, as I would have had the common sense to realize that the job was not cut out for me or vice versa. You have thrown your entire life away on this industry, and yet came back again, and are on here bitter and spewing hatred at complete strangers to you. Honestly, you need to re-evaluate - read your own life story and take some accountability, realizing that you should never ever have stayed in this industry. You have nothing to show for it, have lost everything per your own claims, so please reconsider and have the back half of your life mean something - anything, whatever is important to you. Obviously this industry is not suited to you. Please don't lump us all in with your experience. I can't imagine many MTs have suffered as you have - why would we? We would find a new line of work ASAP and move on with our lives, not sacrifice them as you have. I can't even feel sorry for you as a reader - none of your story makes sense as to why you have persevered - its just a sad meaningless synopsis.
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- Who flippin' cares?!?! - MT
- I'll tell you why you we care! - Excuse me?
- Yes, you are right,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nm - mt3
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Guess they don't need anyone at all if they keep failing everyone! :) nm
v
Signs of a failing company?
I am starting to get very nervous about the company I work for.
The company has always been a little light on the management side, but last week my supervisor left an abrupt e-mail that she was going to be out Wednesday through Friday. On Friday, I realized my paycheck had gone missing again (always blamed on the post office). When I called my supervisor's boss about it (as supervisor was gone), she sounded very tired and stressed. Today, we got an e-mail from this same person saying she was resigning.
There has been no other e-mail from anyone at the company regarding any replacement or anything at all about the subject, so now 80 transcriptionists are down to 1 contact person. This company has always refused to share the names of other transcriptionists there, so I have no idea if I am the only one who has not been paid or the only one just a little nervous about being without a job tomorrow.
Should I be looking for another job while I think I still have one?
I wish you well. I wish I could have stayed myself. nm
tttt
believe that your pay stayed the same.....
Even if you 'fly' ???? through the report, you still have to READ every word, so you cannot double or triple the line count.
Can you still use Expanders doing VR? I doubt.
Are you catching every mistake if you just FLY through the report?
CRAP !
I doubt any MT has ever stayed
that long at Heartland to enjoy his/her vacation!
Stayed with Medware
Heard only a couple left but were replaced quickly. Now Medware has 3 new hospitals starting next month. I applied for a shift lead position that just opened. Very happy at Medware.
I stayed with them for less than 3 months.
Yes they are nice and yes they pay on time (they deduct $1 a week for your direct deposit)
There was never enough work. Their system is clumsy compared to most, the bookkeeping/record keeping is awlful. After having been off training and on full earnings for several weeks, they put me back on training wages because of a non-medical mistake. They even did a QA rating on me and I had almost 99% but still lowered my pay across the board. I was in absolute shock, gave notice and moved on. I cannot work for a company that I cannot trust. Good luck.
I never stayed busy....
I worked on an ortho account and they kept running out of work, so I quit. They had way too many MTs in the typing pool. They do not assign the MTs doctors and you are in a pool so the work is on a first come first serve basis. Good luck! Not the job for me.
Sometimes I wonder why I even stayed in this business.. sm
I don't know how I did it back then, working at home on an electric typewriter, before computers and fabulous references, google, and the internet in general. All I had was Dorland's Medical Dictionary, samples, and pages and pages of notes for each of my 2 or 3 accounts. We could call the office if we got really stuck but that was it. I had a long hiatus between the 70s and the present. I have been back for over 7 years now and still cannot believe how easy it is now compared to then.
I also did QA for about a year a few years ago. Nope, not for me. Unbelievable the quality of the work that I very frequently saw, zero grammar and punctuation, absloute basic to this job even before medical terminology. I couldn't make my quota because I would at a glance see so many errors and spend too much time fixing them! Ai-yi-yi! It was awful. This was after all the offices closed and no one really had any communication with anyone anymore for the most part.
I am not a really high producer because I am a perfectionist. I research and try to leave as few blanks as possible, invest in good reference materials, have a thousands of Expanders for all kinds of reports, and try to keep up with the new rules for everything the best I can, not that I agree with them all. That's life I guess. I do love this job!
My hat goes off to all of you who have stayed as long as you have ...
I left Spheris a little over three years ago. It was one of the worst employment experiences that I've had in this industry. Poor benefits, low pay, terrible dictators, constant turnover in supervisors (with the last having no experience at all in MT'g). Leaving was the best decision I could have ever made, and I've never looked back.
Those who have stayed at the same hospital- sm
And just switched to VR are a different story. They are not the norm and I can see why they would be okay with it because they are accustomed to the account. The rest of us who go in cold and must spend an inordinate amount of time learning the account can't make any money and then the MTSO switches us and we have to learn it all over again. It doesn't work for us.
When I was started on VR and why I stayed on
I did not ask to be put on VR. I had been at my inhouse hospital job for 14 years when we were told going to VR. I loved the job and frankly, in my 50s and did not want to go out looking for another job. At that time had no idea about the companies out there, never had worked except inhouse at hospitals. After learning VR soon learned we would be outsourced to a company and most of the MTers there went with the new company rather than quit. I have done over 2000 lines per day straight and considered myself not only fast but an excellent transcriptionist. I did not jump on any band wagon, what choice was there at over 50? Most here talk about how they do not want to start a second profession, well I was one of those at that time. I did not work from home, had no clue could even do that so working at home was not a draw for me in doing VR, not even transcribing. To put all of us doing VR as traitors, well that is not so. I too used to go home at night learning transcription in tears with hubby telling me if it is that hard, just give it up but stuck it out. I learned on the job, at a hospital with over a year's training before put out making production and incentive. Yesterday I did mostly all VR and made over $175.00 for the day. Oh, you are probably saying you could make more which might be true but I am satisfied. I no longer work full time, double full time, triple full time because I have worked my time in the past and now time for part-time for me. I have earned it. I still work because I have said before, I draw my social security, have retirement check from the hospital where I worked 14 years and have my salary on top of that and love it. If the work goes out tomorrow completely, then it goes. I have had 2 jobs pulled out from underneath me in years past with over 10 years put in at each one and rebounded. If a person does not like VR, then GO somewhere else, get another profession. You cannot group everyone into 1 fits all because it is just not so. If my job is stamped out in a few years, well that has happened before and still around. The only thing you can count on is yourself, not a machine, not a company, just yourself. If you are suspicious, paranoid, etc., then do something else. Simple.
Ditto. I wish I had stayed with them. I had to quit because I
accepted a full-time job elsewhere. The full-time job turned out to be a bad joke. I went from three part-time IC jobs to one full-time employee job to NO job at all. It's really bitten me in the behind with bills and Christmas coming. Never again will I trust a recruiter or try to work as an employee for a national. transcriptionoutsourcing.com was the best of the bunch.
You stayed with Medware for 3 years and now you
state you didn't stay with them very long. What is it? I think we can all read between these lines, I know I can.
Great company!! Wish I would have stayed but
needed benefits.
MDI Maryland I think has stayed clear so far. nm
s
If you stayed with her for years this treaetment, it
x
Worked there, wished I had stayed. sm
I left OSi thinking I could make more money somewhere else, which I did at first but not so now. The sound quality was good. I liked the platform. QA helpful and nice. They communicate a lot with e-mail and IM. They will have conference calls if there is something on the the account that everyone needs to know about.
I stayed an IC....employee status is optional
x
You're happy your wages have stayed the
same, even though:
Gallon of milk, 1992: $2.78
2009: $3.75
Gallon of gas, 1992: $1.13
2009: $2.50+
Dozen eggs, 1992: $0.93
2009: $2.25
So your salary stayed the same while everything else skyrocketed... yay!
And according to the IIAP, the median salary for a 'secretary' in 1992 was around $25,000, and in 2005 was already up to around $40,000 (no stats listed for 2009 yet). So are you still feeling good about sliding backwards?
The main reason I stayed with MQ through all the BS over the last years was the flexibility and that
will be gone. I worked more than 40 hours and so that will be gone as will the statutory bonus and to top this all off I got transferred to Amherst. Well talk about sucky.
OSI rocks. Easy lines. 900+ in 4 hours - now wish i would have stayed with them. nm
nm
I stayed 3 months and then bailed out. Ran out of work, lack of communication, etc. nm
s
I had the WORST foreign doc cardiac caths there! I only stayed a week. nm
, m
new career
I have been transcribing over 10 years and love it, but with the industry robbing us blind and using us I have been making less and less each year. I am in my mid 40s and hate to be thinking of going back to school, but I think I have to. I have always done office work but it is lower paying and I hate being stuck in a cubicle all day. I like the medical field but do not think I am cut out for nursing. Does anyone have any ideas that are decent paying in the medical field that do not takes years to earn a degree at? I looked at ultrasound tech, but I have to investigate this further, not sure if there are any schools in my area.
Trying to be optomistic.
When I went to school for this MT career
What happened? I barely clear $30,000 a year in this field working for a national. I'm in debt up to my eyeballs. Someone please help me.
I was told to think of it as a career.
/
been in this career for almost 2 months
Basic rate of pay that I have been seeing is 7-8 cents per line for IC and thats basically what it is set in stone at. I would be told that in some cases before even sending a resume and giving them my experience.
That is crazy, considering you can be paid that much as an employee. I agree about the taxes also.
Why would you have to give up your career?
If you can't get your job back, apply for a remote job - most companies are more concerned with *if* you can do the job (which will be apparent if you test well). As to a two year lapse in work record? Who says you have to be that precise with your dates?
You don't have to go to Career Step
I smell something a little fishy here. Are you advertising for Career Step? I repeat if you are already a transcriptionist, then you can apply for online jobs. It does not take a certificate from Career Step. I have been offered many jobs online, and I do not have a certificate from Career Step or any other training program. 
Career Step
Just to clarify about Career Step, the cost is nowhere near $5000. It is in fact, between $1500 and $2000 the last I knew. I do not work for them, but graduated a year ago and they did prepare me for acute care MT work. (After 9 months I am making about $20,000 a year, working 2 IC jobs for a total of about 40 hours a week).
Career Step
CS has been a dream for me. With their training, I had 7 offers for at-home MT employment within 2 weeks of graduation. It is a hard course, and the final exam has a 50% fail rate, but it really prepares you for the real world of MT. If it wasn't that hard I think I would be dead in the water. If you want to learn more, they have a forum for people who have questions about joining at http://careerstep.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/frm/f/6960008433
and their website is www.careerstep.com. Before joinging, I checked them out with the BBB and called them probably 20 times with questions. They were very helpful and have a shiny record with the BBB. Also, they are one of the few schools approved by the AAMT, as you can see from the AAMT website. They are also a lot cheaper than most places. Hope that helps!
Career Step
Career Step is legit (and I don't get any $$ for recommending them). The course is self-paced and allowed me to work from home right after graduation. The website has all the cost info. on it.
Career Step
If I knew then what I know now, I would not have attended Career Step. I would have attended MTEC or Andrews.
I like it! Most sites having to do with career changes - sm
seem to be geared to high-powered professional types, or computer geniuses. We're in such a NICHE, (or is that just a nice word for 'RUT'?), and our skills are specialized. Also, quite a few of us have been doing this for 20 or 30 years, and have specific problems with changing careers because we concentrated all our energies into MT. I, myself, lack the BA Degree so many places seem to want, even for lower-paying jobs. I only got as far as an AA Degree, and it's in Art. Totally useless. So, currently looking not too far down the road to my 60s, the thought of going back to school (which for me would mean all the way back to high school math, chemistry, etc.), just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Still, I have to eat..........
Career Steps
Everyone seems to want to hire Career Steps people. I went to Ashworth Career School online. I thought I was doing fine there, I liked the convenience of the course and the low monthly payments. But, they are not very recognized by MT companies.
Career Step
My sister took this course 3 years ago and was hired as a graduate. I was able to view this course and was very impressed with it and how it prepared the students. There is a lot of practice dictation starting from beginner to advanced, working your way up. Another good school is M-TEC. When I helped my sister research what companies were looking for in graduates, these were the 2 schools that always popped up as being recognized by companies that hire graduates.
I went to a local business school and worked on site at a hospital/clinic for 5 years before working from home.
Career decisions
I've done nursing and I am here to tell you all that it is not as easy as it looks. The money might be great, but it is so frustrating and exhausting, especially when you are right there on the front lines, so to speak, dealing with life and death right up close working in a somewhat dysfunctional medical system.
If you are young and energetic or just energetic at any age, it might be a viable solution to study nursing. For me, like some others, working from home, at home, is my top priority.
Through the years, I have noticed that many of the really happy MTs are those who do not have to depend on their MT jobs to pay their main bills, but may do medical transcription work part time to supplement their income. No, I am not discounting those who do it full-time and are very successful and really love it; I'm sure they do exist.
However, the suggestions made in this thread make total sense to me, kind of like having the best of both worlds. Now, the challenge is to find that perfect part-time MT job, as well as a really good career with a promising future, doing something else.
career change
ultrasound and radiology tech schools are pumping out a lot of students every year with not enough jobs to go around (have friends who are recent candidates who cannot find work). what is really in demand is occupational therapy tech and physical therapy tech and of course nursing. good luck with your decision.
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 am hoping to start a new career with a new
company this year. Working on the resume now! I am so tired and burned out with my present employer and so unhappy doing QA. I want to transcribe again, or QA with a more professional company. Not too much to ask for, right? But change is hard. I hope I don't wimp out.
Worst experience of my career.
//
Career board dried up?
Have companies stopped posting on the Careers board? I assume work hasn't dried up in the two months I haven't been on here?
It's time to fine a new career.
nn
They do get a fee for all who actually enroll in career step.
Of course its my career - has been my entire life
That's what makes no sense about this rant above me. She recounts 30 years of her life as an MT and how horrible its been, all the failings, and how it has ruined her life since nearly day #1. Per her own words, she blames everything, from her blood pressure to her endometriosis, blames her divorce, missing out on her son, blames everything on MTing, yet she has done it for 30 years and now is back at it again. She claims over and over to have failed at literally every aspect in her life she felt worth mentioning, blaming it all on MTing, yet here she is an MT. What part of that makes sense to you? We're to feel sorry for her?? I've been in this business 30 years and have been a success. I've had a zillion trials and hardships and battles, but my career is a success, or I would have gotten the heck out of it when it became a disaster. If that doesn't make sense to you, which obviously it doesn't, then there is no reason or sanity with which you can be approached. Substitute MTing for any career - if you are failing at it, and you've lost everything in life due to that career, why are you still doing it? That's a big question, because the blame is not on the career, its on the person. Nobody else to blame but yourself. Period.
I think it's a good career policy to always have a
(nm)
Switching career paths
I switched paths a few years ago, but backwards from you. I am an LPN, but went back to school for medical transcription. I have an autistic son who is 15 now. I left the workforce when he was diagnosed at 2 years old. About 4 years ago, he was getting more independent and I wanted to go back to work. My dilema was the child care issue and that is why I chose to study for something that would allow me to work from home.
I also had been going through personal issues with my marriage and know where you are coming from and how difficult this decision is. I still work from home doing transcription because balancing the costs of working outside of home (travelling, food, wardrobe, child care, etc.) against the benefits being at home, it has worked out for me better to stay at home. It was really important to me to be the one to provide care to my son and to be flexible enough for the day-to-day things that usually come up. My advice would be to really decide what is most needed and important for you right now, and go from there... and weigh the cost of both.
I tuck a little bit away each pay ( whatever I can manage) and claim my utilities and anything I can as expenses on my taxes each year.
Good luck with any decision you make.
new career for some of you younger folks
I have been helping my son investigate career options and discovered that dental hygienists make 62K a year after completing a mere two-year program.
I guess one must ask oneself if they are squeamish about cleaning out other people's mouths, but I think I could get over it pronto (if I was younger) knowing how this profession has gone down the spit sink.
New career for some of you younger folks
A good field to get into is physical therapy, OT or speech therapy or physical therapy assistant. They make good money in my area. I note ads for them all of the time especially in sports medicine.
Career Step is $1320 or $1560
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