Oh geez, when I saw "ax", I thought we were having layoffs
Posted By: HappyTT'er on 2009-04-22
In Reply to: The ax finally falls at TT - UGGHH
My heart went into my throat. I normally associate ax falling or the term getting the ax with being terminated. I was relieved when I saw it was only about going to VR!
Whew...time to slow my heart rate down, lol!
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geez or not geez, it's you who has to polish up her grammar...sm
Prove that conjunctions cannot be used to start a sentence, I just proved the contrary in my 2 lower post. Read it, so you can better you grammar.
layoffs
the Heartland MTs did not get laid off because they wouldn't or couldn't do weekends, or for poor quality. They got laid off because of the bottom line. I know about the kids excuses, etc., but in this case, it was not the case. They were laid off through no fault of their own. My latest and greatest audit on a report MT'd and QA'd from India - Dictated: Pate is balding. Transcribed: Pate is bowing. If it wasn't so funny, I'd cry.
Layoffs
I didn't even get the invite to the conference call. I was working one day and started getting an error message that my account number was inactive. Through a series of emails and phone calls, I found out I had been laid off! Thanks a lot! I just found another job working as an IC. I think I'll be much happier!
the layoffs...
were about a year ago, so that's not current news. I felt the conference call was superior to any communication we have had in the past. She was up-front about the vendor situation and it sounded more hopeful and positive than previous quarterly meetings which focused on the business end -- this felt more personal and pertinent to what the MTs want to know. Any time I have emailed Patty she has been prompt to respond. The loss of the Santa Clara people (executive level), while unfortunate, would be expected in a business model like this. I agree with the reasoning that it was due to redundancy.
Heartland Layoffs
Were you aware that they already laid off about 30 US-based MTs at the beginning of APril... with only 1 week notice?
I was one of them. They lost an account and simply dumped everyone for whom it was a primary account. They begged all of us to take on secondary accounts not long before that, but at the time of the layoff call they said there was no work on any of the secondary accounts. And, BTW, your conference call sounds exactly like ours.
Heartland Layoffs
First of all, I would like to say that I sympathsize wtih those that were laid off at Heartland, however, I believe that that there were probably indications that this was going to happen, I for one, remember seeing a LOT of job ads for Heartland and they suddenly stopped on the 2 major transcription job boards. For me, that was an indication that something was going down the tube.
I also do not agree wtih offshoring, but when I read the posts on this board, I see one theme over and over; that being laziness in general. I see posts where people gripe and complain about having to work weekends or nights or whatever and wanting to get paid decent money, but they want to only be able to work 8-5 Monday through Friday. I have been in this field for over 20 years and I believe that I have always pulled my fair share. I have seen it in the company that I work for now, and the work load goes up dramatically on the weekends, because NOBODY wants to work and as we all know, medical transcription, for the most part, is a profession that is 24/7.
Sadly to say, our society has become one, where we expect to have something for nothing. Meaning that we want the nice thinngs, but we don't have to break our necks for it. I hear of friends who are giving their kids brand-new to almost brand-new cars in high school. Heck, when I was growing up, if I wanted contacts, or a car, or clothes, I had to detassel corn or work in a fast food place to get the money to be able to have those things. I don't see that happening now, and in essence, that is why so many of our jobs have been offshored. Its not only a cheaper labor cost, but most of these people in general have a better work ethic.
My company takes pride in the fact that it doesn't offshore and it will be a cold day in a very warm place before they do.
My only advice to those that were laid off is to hang in there, send out the resumes and hopefully, you will be able to find a new company that will treat you like an employee and not a number.
Heartland Layoffs
Some people seem to be missing the point here -- I also do QA as well as medical transcription and I generally am working MANY hours a day and usually 6-7 days a week, because I know budget-wise what it takes for me to surviive.
As a QA person, I see a quality of work that is totally unacceptable and it is from American medical transcriptionists. I read about people saying they can do X number of lines in an hour, or that they type X number of words a minute and as a QA person, that is usually the persons report that has 10 or more blanks in it, because UNFORTUNATELY they are more concerned about production than they are quality.
I sometimes wonder how many medical transcriptionists go back and re-listen to a report they have typed and then are able to figure out what the doctors are saying?
I have worked both inhouse and from home and I really have to agree that if someone TRULY wants to get started in this field, then they should work onsite first to truly get a grasp at what medical transcription entails.
There ARE people who are medcal transcriptionists who DO work long and hard hours and ARE getting shafted by the companies they work for, but quite frankly, I am tired of the ones who have toddlers and small children at home and whine about how they can do this work and take care of their kids too -- just because you work at home, dosen't mean that your children can be underfoot all the time and it is also learning about priorities as well. If you were working on the outside, you would NOT be allowed to take a huge amount of time off for kid activities or family activities, so the MTSOs do have legitimate gripes when it comes to employees not working when they say they will or keeping to a schedule, and this is where I am coming full circle when I talk about a work ethiic -- it has slowly and steadily been disappearing over the years.
SPI in another round of layoffs
Last week they announced they were dropping the smaller hospital accounts that used domestic MTs, today they emailed QA staff and had them call in on a conference call just to tell them they no longer had jobs. So this nice big foreign company who came in and assured everyone how the company would be bigger and better only took 6 months to start weaning out all domestic staff. I wish the facilities knew this.
Focus layoffs?
Why did people get laid off at Focus? I worked there a few years ago but it was a joke with the editing. I hope its because work is coming back to US companies and US MTs.
CBay layoffs
Where's everyone planning to go now that Cbay has laid off the rest of the editors?
Oh, Lordy... NO Layoffs! sm
Acusis DID have to lay off some MTs about a year ago when they lost a big account. There are NO layoffs currently - unless you know something I don't know.
Yes, Layoffs coming
Red Team teleconference yesterday advised us that company-wide layoffs were imminent, not only for the Red Team, but all teams, including corporate staff. Word is that 27 were terminated today.
layoffs and hires
Can someone explain to me why a company would lay people off and then hire new people? Were they just getting rid of the riff-raff?
To MsAnonnieMouse below re Heartland layoffs
While there are many employees in all areas who fit the poor work ethic you describe, it is by no means anything but a lame excuse for greedy corporations to do what they would have done anyway. It goes along with the jobs Americans won't do we hear so much about these days.
I do think the handwriting has been on the wall about Heartland.....er...I mean HEARTLESS for some time. I personally don't and never have worked for them but I've been hearing for a year or so that their ultimate goal was to do exactly what they just did. Still one can hardly blame those who chose to stay and watch the ship go down, it isn't like HEARTLESS doesn't have lots of company these days. I believe I actually read somewhere that companies are rewarded tax-wise for shipping jobs overseas.
Now is the time for all MTs to prepare for the future, although I have no clue as to what career or occupation would immunize employees from the exact same thing that just happened at HEARTLESS. A casual observer can see the increase in the number of job postings for VR editors so the next step will be unless we are willing to spend all day every day transcribing impossible ESLs, mushmouths, Speedy Gonzales and all their kin, MT is going to be gone.
There is also something to be said for the way MTs in most, if not all, companies are treated. Here we have QA people who search for MINUTE things or even WRONG things to correct so they can meet their quota or whatever they are evaluated on. Why, I even had one QA person correct Tessalon Perles that I had transcribed to Tessalon Pearls. Cold hard fact of life is the suits at the corporations care nothing about quality, they just make a show by saying they have QA people to ensure quality. HA! The hospitals care nothing about quality, only the bottom line. The physicians (most) care nothing about quality, only their insurance reimbursement. So there you have it, a grim future for all of us.
Lastly, anyone who falls into the jobs Americans won't do and offshoring is necessary because there aren't enough qualified Americans, is nothing short of a fool. What they mean is Americans can't and won't work for less than it takes to maintain a decent standard of living and the cost of living in the good ole U.S. of A is not cheap.
I have nothing to offer the employees of HEARTLESS other than that my heart aches for them and their plight and I pray each and every one will be able to find a decent place to work in the short term and that they will be looking to see how they will survive in the long term.
GOD BLESS ALL YOU EMPLOYEES OF HEARTLESS, INC.
I haven''t heard anything about layoffs..
and I work there...not that that surprises me or anything.  Was this a particular office or just certain accounts? I'm currently looking for a new job, but I'm obviously curious and would like to pass this along to some of the other MTs so they know what's coming. Thanks so much for any help! 
Anyone heard about layoffs from Cbay? sm
Someone posted elsewhere that they had been laid off by this company.
Wonder if other companies plan layoffs?
Please post so I will know where not to apply. TIA!
The news always announces pending layoffs
and company closures. If the news would know about it in advance of closure, it would seem like the companies had announced it.
No, they kept me with all the layoffs, and my accuracy rate is upper 90s, so not worried about that
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University of Iowa Med Center announced layoffs yesterday
I think the news report said they were getting rid of 130 people now, a total of 200 this year. Fortunately (their word, not mine), they're not going to have to make any cuts in people who have patient contact but in administrative areas (that'd be us). Truthfully, I'm not sure if they even still have in-house transcriptionists, but you know that if they do, they'll be the first to get their marching papers.
Geez...
wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning???
geez!
Lighten up. I never claimed each and every one of the gaffs in my post would happen in a single report! (explanation point) Just trying to show the range of possibilities and provide a little fun at the same time.
And to those who say we must adapt, some species will just take themselves out of the gene pool, rather than lose their wings and become ground dwellers. The advent of computers (like losing flippers and growing legs) was a boon to this profession, one to which I was happy to adapt because it was beneficial to me. Not really sure what I would be getting out of adaptation to VR, other than being allowed to do something kinda like my old job, that I don't enjoy nearly as much as my old job, for a lot less money than my old job. Just doesn't seem like a good plan, but then that's just me.
geez...
do you also begrudge the lady using the insurance for her breast cancer or the guy with the MI??? Health insurance has always paid for pregnancy-related charges. And women have taken maternity leave. why is this a big deal for everyone now? would you like her to schedule her delivery for friday so she can recuperate over the weekend and be back at her desk on Monday?
Oh geez!!!
You just put into writing my worst fear, the one I was afraid to mention, that they perhaps are offshoring. It's just so unlike my experience with them to be met with dead silence and a lack of explanation from management about work being slow. One poster even tried addressing D directly to no avail.
The silence is deafening.
I hope we're WAY off base on this but with no other explanations coming from the higher ups, it does leave a lot of room for speculation.
Hoping for the best for all of us at MDI-MD right now...
To Geez
I know you did not mean to offend and I was not. :) The one thing we can all say is that MDI MTs are a cohesive group of respectful MTs, especially of each other. We are all on this ship together although in different ways. I am lucky so far in that I transcribe private office accounts. Therefore, the work is my own and only if a doctor is on vacation or sick, is my work load super low. I make 9 cpl and have not asked for any more in 3 years and never will. I cover for other MTs on vacation who also have private accounts. I do not do hospital work and now I think I may be more grateful than ever that I do not. However, I only average 800-900 lines per day and sometimes less. I dropped my commitment to 800 when 2 private accounts left. The one major complaint I have with MDI is when physicians take their business to another service or utilize another technology MDI never tells you. You sit and look at an empty template for days wondering if they are sick, on vacation or dead! No one says anything until you just figure (or finally hear it from your TL) that this doctor/practice left MDI.
Geez!
Okay fine, the experienced receptionist would get 50 cents more an hour....happy now? Ohhh, ahhhh!!! Good grief!
Geez!
So if you are one of the lucky MTs who got your wages cut, you can look forward to no milk and sewing your own clothes and adding patches and sparkles when they rip. Just shoot me already! Oh, you guys are killing me with the drama!
Geez, just let it go....nm
nm
Geez!!
I am soo sick and tired of the sniping on this board!! Its either the great debate re: VR versus I only wanna work days -- To NEWBIES -- I have been in this profession over 30 years -- therefore, the days, the hours off that I want take precedence over your wants, needs or groans -- I have also worked in the corporate world and if you are low man on totem pole -- TOUGH!! I also had the guts/nerve to tell my employer that due to where I lived I had to have a raise to deal with COLA -- guess what??? I have it - and BTW -- no I am doing straight transcription and NO we are not hiring so dont ask
Well geez!
That oughta make 'em all feel a whole lot better!
I had over 40 years in the business and guess what? I used to be just as arrogant as you but after buy-outs, mergers and all the rest, it got ME. Time was when I wanted a raise, I asked for it...and got it. I never worked a weekend until I VOLUNTEERED to work weekends after my kids were grown so others might have time to spend with their families. No way would I get back in the MT business!! I'd flip burgers first. And... no way would I do VR at 3-4 cpl. Your time will come, trust me.
I actually thought of that. I even thought of trying to go back to MQ part-time!! (sm)
I just wonder about hours at a second company. I work days (and some nights) with this company. I have a set schedule but with the no work situtation I've been on the computer at all hours of the day and night. Right now I have no work, so I would love to jump on at a company #2 and start working. Do you have to have set hours at your company #2? Thanks for the suggestion.
I'm not judging...GEEZ
It just gets frustrating to read these down and out posts about MQ going under, we're all in trouble, its doom and gloom. There have been a lot of changes, I have had my bitter moments too, but I have nothing to fall back on. If you people do not have PROOF of what is GOING to happen, do not post false threats!! This is our livelihood, and its trickling away bit by bit. All I see is a bunch of people complaining nonstop, if you're that unhappy, why don't you do something about it? Either that or go along with the changes. This industry is going downhill, we are expendable, I feel that our days are numbered too, but i'm going to do whatever work is thrown at me until that day. I'm a remote worker, just a number who has no voice. My supervisors are secretive and down-talk me as well, but it does no good to come on here and threaten us and scare us all into believing we are this close to ending up flat broke and on the streets. You people posting such things, copy and paste evidence that the changes are going to be for the worse in regards to MQ pay plan, accounts switching, MQ being bought out, getting rid of seasoned MTs. PROVE IT!!! Or else you're causing a stir for no definitive reason for all of us who are under a lot of stress and uncertainty as it is!
Thank you. Geez! I had no idea. sm
What Business Journal are you referring to? Would love to see the info you are talking about. Thanks again!
Geez, can you get any snottier?
What a poop.
Geez, do you believe everything you read?
You don't have a first-hand experience with OSi and yet you advise someone to run, run, run? You know, maybe we who are having a great experience with OSi don't spend all of our time here posting, and what's the point anyway? We're usually overrun with the few who post over and over again about staying away. I actually am extremely happy with OSi, and in fact my last two weeks of October I had my largest line count ever. My point is, I think you can't believe everything you read on these boards, and it's really not right and kind of strange to step up and advise someone to run when you really have no first-hand knowledge of working with this company.
Geez, just saw that TransHealth wants Sat AND
That seems pretty rigorous. Are Sat and Sun schedules requested a lot out there? I'm thinking more and more that I need to leave this career.
I don't think she was talking to you. Geez.
She was addressing me, trying to figure out if I was being serious or sarcastic with MY post.
Geez that is a bit extreme
Well she is probably like me. I make mistakes like anyone else and if I am typing on here I might make one and not double check myself as much. You can tell if they are intelligible by the rest of their post. She just made a typo or two. We are not perfect in this world. We come here for support on this board not criticism. That is just my opinion on this issue.
Not sure who anyone of the Geez's is talking to.
Again, I don't believe anything necessarily (please count my R's for me), but its this exact sort of inflammatory defensive posting against any negative posts that is a real turn off for most of us who juse peruse this board (please count my R's for me). Soon L at KS will be here, if she isn't already, defending a river (please count my R's) and citing, or is it siting, or is it sighting, all the perceived injustices levied, or is it lobbed, against her company. Good Grief (please count my R's)...
I mean where, GEEZ, long day! NM
x
GEEZ people...
This company, whoever they are, will probably never ever post here again after all the harrassment they have received. So what if they don't want to give their name. A lot of places don't. I have two companies that I work for now that didn't list their names either when I applied and they have turned out to be the best jobs I ever had. It's a need-to-know basis. If you were hired by them or tested for them, then you know their name. If not, what do you care?
And to Editors Needed...please disregard the nastiness of some people. You don't own them any kind of response.
You don't need to be so defensive...geez!
I wouldn't know about the other docs because the account I was on was ALL ESL, very, very difficult to understand ESL's, and one physician that was just impossible to understand, and every time I logged on, it was always him on there. I realize there are ESL's everywhere because I do them on a daily basis, but he was the WORST one I have EVER had and the others on that account were terrible as well. Let's face it...you can't make any money if you can't understand what they are saying. I told them I could not understand them and nothing was ever done about it and I wasn't going to stick around long enough to be their gofer! Like I said, I was disappointed about it, but we all have to pay the bills and I couldn't do that with them! Just wanted to let everyone know that there is a REALLY bad account there and they should be well informed on what they are accepting beforehand.
Oh geez, that's not true about not doing well
If I were the OP, I would drop an e-mail just stating you are following up on your testing results. Good luck! 
nevermind - geez
I am so exhausted I was not thinking about how to go back and look at the older posts, duh!! I am getting ready to read right now and then I am really going to bed :D
My apologies...Geez
I hope it didn't appear as if I were biting your head off because I'd never do that to a fellow MT when we're in the same boat. I'm just exasperated and frustrated (and going broke now, lol!).
In all honesty, I was very offended by this morning's email when I know several of us have been emailing inquiring about where the work has gone, is there work available on another account, etc., only to have our cries for help fall on deaf ears.
I can't help but wonder if these new accounts are going to be VR accounts, which is why they're hiring a whole new crew since the last account they went to VR was met with such resistance by so many MTs.
Either that or perhaps the above poster is correct and they'd like to drive out the longer-term, higher-salaried MTs...But I don't want to believe that.
Anyway, my apologies if my response to your other post seemed abrupt. I just don't want anyone at MDI thinking if their work disappears that it's as simple as requesting a backup account, when the past month or so have made it painfully clear to those of us who have tried to get more work that it's not the case.
Good luck to ALL of us, not only at MDI but every other MT who is having their work disappear.
Gee, could it be they are getting new accounts and growing? Geez
nm
Geez. Pay the woman if she worked for you. nm
nm
Geez, nothing like that for me. I have employee+children
nm
Geez, this is why I quit posting here.
x
Oh, geez, I just found the posts about this co. from
a few days ago.
I made a mistake, geez! sm
I thought I WAS posting in the correct spot on the board. My experience WAS with the guy I mentioned in my original post. I thought it was the same name as the OP stated ... the names are VERY similar (only a couple letters off) so it was an honest mistake. I never would've posted if I hadn't seen it and been curious whether it was the same guy, so there would never have been a post for me to put elsewhere. Man, oh man. Much ado 'bout nothing.
I apologized and corrected it, but my experience remains the same with the person I originally referred to (again, sorry it was not the OP's guy) and I didn't say anything that is going to sully anyone's reputation one way or the other to any great extent. He might very well be a great guy and I never said he was anything less! Even if it HAD been the same guy the OP mentioned, I would never take anything on these boards with anything more than a grain of salt, and I would investigate and draw my own conclusions before deciding for myself.
I should've double checked the name before posting, and for that I have apologized and continue to apologize. I didn't realize it caused such an uproar behind the scenes. It's not like I said the guy was a murderer or something - just that he sounded like a salesperson! LOL
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