Okay, here is how a recruiter who is a friend of mine explained verbal tests to me.
Posted By: sm on 2006-01-05
In Reply to: I have been waiting all night for - sm - anon
Verbal tests are to give the recruiter a feel of what that MT knows off the top of their head. Not all people get nervous at verbal tests but a good recruiter has the insight to know if a wrong answer or lack of an answer is from not knowing or is from just being nervous. A verbal test is done just to get a feel for the the off the top knowledge of an MT plus you know that MT is taking it. This recruiter is also an MT and having gone through so many tests the long hard way decided this was the lesser of the evils. She did tell me though if she felt that MT knew their stuff and just could not respond because of nervousness that she noted that and just by a general conversation based on experience would not flunk someone like that. Lenghty tests prove very little except that an MT has been working for companies that all have different ways of style and that she felt that was not right to an MT; as well having to take tests that are hours long after an MT has been working long hours is also not fair to the MT. And my friend told me that in many cases there are MTs that literally have other MTs take their testing for them and you would not know it until that person starts the job. It depends on the recruiter and their knowledge of the industry. Each recruiter or company has their own way and usually they find the way that works best for them. I personally find that many recruiters just have no knowledge of the industry (inside knowledge) and it annoys me that someone like that is allowed to even have the opportunity to interview and test me. I can remember one with a company up north and their idea of punctuation was way too much. It should not have been an issue unless it changed the meaning of the report but had they gone by the Book of Style they would not have added those 20 or so commas throughout the 4 reports that they had me transcribe. I passed but when you have been in this industry for over 15 years and are being judged by someone that has not and who has not been in your MT dancing shoes then something about that just does not seem right. Anyway I doubt there really is a best way to do anything, but if I had my choice, I would prefer the way that is the shortest. Time is precious and for the rates they pay nowadays those tests are just too lengthy to go through that for a whopping 7 cents a line. No thank you. I'll chance my nerves over all that.
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verbal tests also show what you do when you aren't sure
I had 2 sound alikes with different meaning out of all the questions asked. On those 2, I nailed the first meaning but wasn't sure of the second because I was nervous. They (meaning any company who does verbal tests) expect a certain amount of that in a verbal exam. I admitted that off hand, the answer didn't come to my head and I would have to look it up to be certain. I probably would not have gotten a call back if I had just guessed and gotten it wrong or didn't say I would like it up because then they would think I would throw in words into a document that didn't fit and it would show I didn't care. They want to know what you aren't sure of, too, and if you care to find out the answers.
Cheating/verbal tests and cost per line.
I am sorry to hear this wonderful recruiter being called a cheater. I have been in this business for about 25 years, and I will take whatever help/advice I can get. Yes, I am in the transcription business to help people but I am also in it to help support my family. I'll take short cuts, macros, whatever it will take to increase my lines and if getting into a company that is willing to give a helping hand, a cue, a hint, whatever - I say thank you. In the end, if you do take pride in your work, the terminology will come to you in the actual report, and I bet the next time you hear those particular terms you have trouble with on the test, you will remember them. You will remember affect and effect. You will learn intra and inter because somebody's health may depend on it. Too bad for you.....
Verbal tests show the information that is in your head.
There is nothing wrong with a company that does this and if someone flunked that portion of the test and passed the other portions, I would think that portion weighed more heavily because we are supposed to utilize our knowledge of MT also, not just the things we have to look up in reference material. We must know what we are doing, hence the reason for verbal testing.
I personally wish more companies did that. The ability to think is a big part of being a good MT. I say two thumbs up for TransHealth for testing that ability.
Hmmm..everyone got different tests huh..Mine were over 5 minutes a piece. I didn't do them. I thi
someone is trying to get free work.
I am asking actually for a friend of mine
who has also received responses, tested, and the sound file was horrible. I certainly remember testing myself personally and the sound file was horrible, but she's asking my friend to spend money on different programs, which I think is wrong. I only saw one old post from 2007 where she did not pay after a few weeks of this MT performing services. I personally felt she was sending me too many different e-mails to respond to as she is doing to my friend right now. I just don't want people to be taken advantage of, as her last company name she was going under was called Digital Transcription Services, so why would she change her name, if not to hide from the ones she has not paid. Just be very careful!
According to a friend of mine in management - sm
A potential employer can ask questions, such as - Would you hire this person back?
K
This happened to a friend of mine -
She still does not know the reason 3 years later. I think it is way too easy to dismiss someone these days with an e-mail and not return their calls because you have caller ID and see they are calling rather than just tell them the real reason. If it is because they do poor quality work or whatever I think at least being told that is better than nothing at all. Just plain rude to leave someone hanging if you ask me!
A friend of mine works there...(sm)
the pay rate sounded a little on the low side to me (I'm thinking around 7 cents, 65 cpl), but she really didn't have a whole lot of experience when she started, either. (We had worked together for about a year and I trained her as a new graduate before we both quit the company we were with.) She really likes working for them; it seems like their trainers/QA people are really decent folks who give pretty good and fair feedback, which is something she really likes.
I do know they have benefits for both FT and PT people, which is pretty rare these days.
A good friend of mine
who has been an MT for 30+ years had to quit Trans Tech because she was not making enough to pay her mortgage.
A friend of mine worked there
One of the accounts they have came from a hospital I worked for here in Ohio. A good friend of mine went to work there when they outsourced the radiology side. She got an e-mail out of blue with them stating they no longer needed her services. They did this to ALL of the 2nd and 3rd shift MTs. The reason she wants YOUR line rates is so she can the very least she has to pay. If she has this information up front, then she will not contact the MTs with higher line rates. They used to only pay 9 cents per line radiology and 8 cents per line acute care. They have also changed the way they post jobs as they used to post the amount of line rates for each specialty. Horrible Company!!
A friend of mine works for them
She's on a radiology account and the last I heard she loves it. Always plenty of work, pay always on time and accurate, and nice people.
Hope that helps.
Thanks ... I was thinking of a friend of mine who is unhappy sm
with her current job, doing radiology transcription at a local hospital. I was going to suggest she send her resumes to some of the national companies, but did not know which companies out there had radiology accounts. If Keystrokes is the best, then I'll suggest that to her. Thanks for the tip. :-)
As for me, I've been doing acute care since Moses was a baby, but doubt I could pass any kind of radiology test. 
A friend of mine worked there over 9 years
She loved it, but lost her benefits for some reason and is moving on to a different profession completely. She wants to get out of the house, after 17 years of transcribing. She did go to NJ to train, but that was way back then. They treated her like royalty while she was there though.
Friend of mine applied and she has not heard yet either - sm
It is legit as far as i know. It is an SBC global job, and they are known for hiring at-home people.
I work there, and a friend of mine just started. It took RO
about a week for her to hear back. Good luck! :-)
Two years ago, a friend of mine signed on with them.
Her big complaint was that there were so many ESLs that it was hard to make any money. Another friend signed on with them as well part-time and he had no complaints. There is plenty of work. They are very flexible. I think they use a Dictaphone platform. I did talk to the owner a couple of years ago and they offered me 8 cpl with a bonus weekend every month where I make 10 cpl, more depending on how much I produce. Again, this was 2 years ago.
A friend of mine worked for Spheris
and she said they really sc***ed her.
Friend of mine cleared out pool for incentive - never got it
and now theyve bounced her fourth or fifth check. She's been gone for months and they're STILL messing with her
friend of mine worked in their office in Annapolis - sm
Two of her checks bounced. Owner flies off to India every other week to check on offices in India. His sales force is US, but 90% of work goes to India. Apparently the owner takes care of the India people and sales force first and foremost before he takes care of the US MTs and editors. This was a year ago - I don't know if things have changed/
A friend of mine has satellite and went to Precyse recently
nm
Same happened to friend of mine. Carol had pets.
x
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 :-)
A friend of mine is a male and owns a transcription company. sm
He has no problem getting accounts and is quite wealthy from it. So, do not let your gender deter you!
His company is RX Transcription in Newtown Square, PA. Give him a call and maybe he can help you.
It has been a couple of years but I tried to work there and lasted 1 day and so did a friend of mine
The ESL were AWFUL.. It was all I got and I could not understand anything they said. They were out of California so had a real mixed bag of ESL but none of it was doable. Things could have changed, who knows.
A friend of mine works for a hospital that has hired a director from one of the hospitals in
Pittsburgh and she wondered if he outsourced a lot of work or what he did when he goes into a new hospital. They have all at home employees now. I believe it was Allegheny Hospital.
Easy tests versus harder tests...
Having passed both and offered jobs at both, which company would you likely go for? They both have the same basic benefits and line rates. Would I be assuming that the harder testing will mean that the dictation is more difficult? Any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated!
This is how it's explained,,
A 65 printable characters equals a line-----which we know means no spaces.
Never been explained
Nope, honestly no one has ever explained this to me. I recently started questioning it though because I am now seeking new employment and I'm not sure if I would qualify for unemployment temporarily until I find something new or not. I have not quit my current job yet but believe me, I am going to and I'm sure once people knew my reasoning, they would probably do the same thing.
well you just explained yourself! sm
you are limiting yourself to clinic work. Any MT who is limited to what he/she can or will do is going to have a hard time. I don't know what you do or how much you do, but 10 cpl if you are typing 200-300 lph is pretty darn good money. Not many jobs where you can stay home and make 20 bucks an hour.
Limit yourself to clinic work and maybe you will have that 9-5 job. But don't complain when there is no work and you can't or won't do anything but clinic work because it cuts into your lifstyle.
Obviously you haven't been in the position of really having to have a paycheck or you would be willing to work when the work is there. Can you do or have you done anything besides clinic work? Why limit yourself?
Go apply for a day job in a MR department of a hospital and do acute care (if you can find one). I am getting the picture now. you didn't give the whole situation before, clinic only....hmmmmmmmmm!
Now that you explained it..
That sounds absolutely HYSTERICAL!!!! I would have done that for my next conference call with the Q, but oops, I quit! YAY! ;)
only verbal from an employee there nm
nm
Verbal testing
Verbal testing is so much better. Years before people with no idea of transcription came to me with their tapes, like I would do that, NOT. If you say you are an acute care Transcriptionist you better know the standard dose of Coumadin, the most common incision used in hysterectomies, just simple stuff that all MTs would know. If you are letting these people cheat, you know, garbage in - garbage OUT.
Verbal testing.....
They do testing on the phone to weed out people who don't know the first thing about MT. Many people think because they work in a doctor's office as a receptionist or a medical assistance that they are qualified to do MT.
Your reasoning regarding the transcription quality at WMX based on the recruiter's phone line quality was faulty at best. I've been at WMX for a year and their sound files are wonderful.
Do you like where you are now? If note, give WMX another shot. It's a good place to work.
Benefits explained
I was glad I called Cymed HR to ask them about their new benefit package. I found out I could go to another option package with a different deductible and my rate did not change, in fact went down $8. The dental, vision and disability are really low cost and help a lot. I was really glad I called to get more information because it was easier to get answers then trying to figure it out myself.
You explained that perfectly! sm
Bingo! This job is very isolating and most of the jobs are found via Internet, so there is no personal (face to face) contact. This board helps network other MTs. Sorry that some people don't seem to understand.
It was also explained to me that 7 cpl was the pay rate...
As they were adding benefits into the mix, and that was directly from the VP of Transcription Services. If that has changed, I would be very interested in purusing it.
You just explained the universe
Was with OSi very briefly and quit, 1 reason because I worked so hard but saw very low line counts. I couldn't figure it out.
I'm so sorry. You just explained how a lot of people SM
feel. I feel sorry for so many of us. Those poor MT's at JLG.
I'm old, so I just have a few years left to work. If I were younger, I would really consider something different. I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do and please believe you are capable of achieving anything you want. Anyone capable of being MT is capable of anything. Hmm, they may have come out poorly. :)
Anyway, go for it.
Now you explained it. I always thought
that dark shadow was night coming on or at least my husband's beard growing, now I know it is the indians descending.
I just messed up on a verbal test - sm
I cannot believe how badly I did. I completely froze on the questions for meanings of ostial/osteal, ileum/ilial. I feel like such an idiot! I'm pretty sure I answered everything else correctly, but those sound alikes always get me, and I always have to pull out my Dorland's. I'm fairly certain I blew this one. 
Has anyone taken the verbal mini-test
Is it very difficult? I don't do well with these types of tests. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Verbal testing on the phone
Would someone be able to tell me what companies verbally test applicants on the phone? I thought I had read somewhere that Medware and Amphion did that, but I could be wrong.
Transhealth, they do written and verbal,
x
IMO I would rather have a verbal test on the phone
than one of those two hour web tests before you talk to the company only to find out you passed with flying colors and they offer you 6 cents a line.
Verbal test for Spheris
but not Medware. When I called the Spheris (Edix) recruiter I was surprised by the verbal pop quiz, wasn't expecting it. I worked for Medware last year and I don't recall the test. The worst are the online tests that you have to use your keyboard for rewind/play...a total PITA, very awkward.
They explained to me as just a little "extra" they thought they could do sm
for the people that work for them. I am working part-time for them, so not sure how it will work, but I thought it was a nice idea. They seem to be great people to work with. 
Yes, I got the same letter from Embarq..even after I explained (sm)
to them what I needed the unlimited LD for. I finally switched to a digital line from our local cable provider (Time-Warner) and pay $39 a month now, no matter how much long distance I use. I also work for Keystrokes.
Do they have both a written and verbal testing process? Thank you. nm
nm
Their verbal test was not hard at all. I was amazed
really that it was as easy as it was because when she said she was giving a phone test, I panicked. I received a job offer a day later and gladly accepted it as they sound like a very nice company.
Webmedx did a verbal test when I applied last year (sm)
The tester/interviewer was very pleasant and apologized for poor sound quality due to her using a head set (which she continued to use) during the testing. You could barely hear her and I had a bad feeling about the quality of transcription from this and turned the job down.
Ok. I could handle once as a mistake if explained promptly and fixed. Twice? I would run sm
as fast as I could. Twice in two months? What if you never get paid at all? You would be better going with a national while getting your own so that you have benefits and a steady paycheck. Start your own accounts slowly so that you start right.
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