Old timer here with no VR experience. SM
Posted By: clueless re VR on 2007-09-17
In Reply to:
Hi all. Just wondering how difficult it is to transition to VR. Believe it or not, I have done absolutely no VR in my 20 some years in the MT profession. I am a proficient and knowledgeable MT who has done many, many specialties over the years for my own clients, other services, and hospitals. Unfortunately, I am clueless in the VR and platform arenas, but am hoping to pick up just a small amount of work in VR to gain some experience, as it seems we will all be going in this direction before long. I'm already aware of the cut in line pay for VR, but I also need a break on my hands and wrists. Any advice? Thanks
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Thanks old timer. How much can a part timer work either 8, 16 or 24 hours. If that carved in stone.
I dont quite understand that.
Anything and everything. Old timer. nm
nm
Old Timer . .. but
I have only been transcribing psych reports for the past 14-plus years, being the lead transcriptionist/supervisor at a local mental health facility. My department was terminated the end of August due to outsourcing for financial reasons. I am currently collecting Unemployment, which I need to get ahead a little before I venture into an at-home Transcriptionist position due to the outsourcing being a total surprise. I will be looking for employment in February/March 2008. I have experience in Basic 4, and have been a transcriptionist for 18 years. Does anyone know if MDI has psych accounts, and if they would be willing to hire and work with me to get back into Basic 4, as I know I will be rusty. For that matter, do you know of any service that would be willing to work with me? I am brushing up on BOS and have been working with practice tapes. Any info would be appreciated!
Old timer
I'm with you. This business really stinks!! I hate it. I have never had so many jobs like I have since the business changed to pennies instead of hourly. You actually get paid more for hourly.
Somewhat MQ long timer
Been with MQ for five years now and only complaint I have is the split shift I work. Not a good schedule for me. Sort of early in the a.m. and then the late nights mess up my beauty sleep schedule.
no short timer here
I've been with the company going on two years. The problems that were mentioned do come up. I see those nice American names but sure don't ever get their dictations. I've heard that if QA likes you, you will get the cream of the crop and never hear a word. But if you're not in the clique that QA approves of you spend your days knee deep in ESL!
QA is nice when you first start, they give you feed back and are helpful. But they have recently said that we need to do our own jobs and not depend on them ... I always thought figuring out the tough blanks was what they get paid for?
As far as the the managers they don't seem all that knowledgeable or accessible. They put up a great front of we're a team and pat you on the your back while they assign you more crap. I'm not sure most of them aren't anything more than clerks.
They do over-hire regularly and they don't hide that their work is overflow. I think that these are reasons they have big turnaround in their MTs. If you want their good benefits .... put up with the low line counts and learn a second language and join our team
Full timer here
I work as an Editor for them. The platform couldn't be any simpler, honestly. Good mixture on most of the accounts as far as ESL/other. Growing like crazy!! The bonuses are for real as well. Very nice folks to work for and plenty plenty of work; in fact they are trying to get more MTs on board to be able to stop sending so much out.
PART-TIMER
Well i have to disagree about stopping the Part-timers when the work is low. May be they should cut the full-time people down to part-time then. An IC is and IC no matter how many hours you do. Yes, this is the thing with FutureNet. They are still hiring because of new accounts but sometimes I do think they overhire or it is just the way the work comes in. I have worked for FN for over 2 years and never really had a problem with this until this year.
Old Timer I am begining to think you are MQ management for sure.
:
As an old-timer, my only thought on your situation is that you are a newbie
fresh out of school, and from what other new grads are posting, NO one is ever willing to hire them without years of experience. Personally, I would have stayed put and gleaned as much experience on as many accounts as I could have, cause you're not likely to find reputable companies willing to take new grads. Lots of companies do, but they aren't reputable in that they take advantage of new grads because they can't get work anywhere else. Very common in this business. MQ used to work with new grads, stopped for a while, and apparently are doing it again. Remember as well, if this new company is just "using" you, you're gonna probably have a harder time on your next job, cause now you're a brand new grad who leaves jobs quickly. Know what I mean? Its best to get your foot in the door and stay there for a while when you're that new to this field. Just my 2 cents! Good luck to you! I also remember an old saying from years back, "remember, all roads lead to MQ"! So many of us used to leave MQ for another company, only to have MQ own the same company a month or 2 later! 
Yeah, the timer just starts ticking away while your trying to figure out how to do it quickly
without a foot pedals, and four reports at that. Oh well, guess it wasn't meant to be.
Here, here. Exactly my experience also, even down to the 10 year work experience. nm
:+
Experience versus not as much experience
--same job should equal same pay?...Come back and talk to me in 20 years...
For the most part, old school MTs have a ton more to offer than a newbie, by virtue of the amount that they know. Most old school MTs can do just about any kind of report, because they learned the old way, they used books--Dorland's was a bible--not software and spellcheck, they worked in house, in the environment, they understand things that a new person who has only worked online with their word books, shorthand, macros and software just cant understand.. Why things are done in a certain way... Why it is so important that certain documents are treated a certain way. Why some reports are stat versus others. What you might flag for the hospital and why... When you think you know everything, esp as a newbie, you are doomed my friend.
Also, cont education is something that most old school MTs understand is a benefit for them and a gift to themselves...part of their commitment to themselves and their own education, not a commitment to being a certified MT, it is a personal thing, a standard.
If you don't understand that, I don't know what else to tell you.
Sure newbies can transcribe, it isn't rocket science, but they know what they know, if you know what I mean..(and that's about all they know) if they don't care to continue their education once they are out of MT school.
There's a little more to it than what you have stated here. If you consider yourself an MT machine.. you will burn out sooner than you think.
P.S. Not saying they do that to everyone - this was just MY experience
..
Your experience with them?
All the things you like/dislike.
My experience was not a bad one
It would freeze up and hard to get around in it. The accounts I had were mostly awful ESLs and mumblers...very difficult to get line counts. Mostly nice people, but doesn't mean squat if the work is bad. Good luck.
my experience with them - sm
I have 17 years experience, require very little training on new equipment, platforms, accounts, etc. Apparently, I was not what they were looking for. I had heard many similar stories from others.
Experience
That's true. Generalities are misleading. I have known MTs with a lot of experience who never had any QA or other teaching and they never got any better. As long as they typed fast, quality didn't matter to their employers.
My experience
I have worked for TransHealth and believe me run for the hills! (LOL). When I was employed there, they had a high turnover regarding their management and apparently still too from what I hear. No flexibility whatsoever, they do not seem to APPRECIATE their employees as they can be nice to you on one occasion and the next minute treat you like crap. They also don't offer nothing in way of competetive wages as they have no incentives to work extra hours or work weekends and oh when there is abundant work you hear them plead with everyone to get on but where are they when there is no work, exactly!!!!! My recommendation is to shop around and see what each company has to offer.
Same experience here, 7 yrs with MQ
c
I had a bad experience with them also. I was also
hired for Diskriter through them. All sounded great, but something else sounded better so I took it instead. I got a very rude email and was ignored after that email. Very bad business ethics!!
Has anyone else had a bad experience with
Amphion? I am sure I am not the only one who has found out they are just like everyone else
Experience
Can anyone tell me what companies are more selective in their hiring process, requiring more experience than 1-2 years, and willing to pay for it. I am starting to feel this must be an unrealistic expectation.
What's the experience been like sm.
I have very high expectations as I have a lot of experience. I need to know if they are nice people there. I was told I would be working on a regular hospital, not a teaching hospital but when I got the specs for the hospital it mentions residents. That is a teaching hospital. The things these companies try to pull over on you. Like I wouldn't know it was a teaching hospital right away anyway. The pay seems poor:( I don't know if they deserve a try or not. The owner seems uncaring about my situation. I don't know, I just want a nice decent place to work that pays well.
Any experience with DSG, Inc.?
nm
How much experience do they want? NM
XX
My experience..........sm
I think they are great to work for. Management is great, very helpful. Always work available. They do offer benefits, I can't tell you about them because I don't need them. There are also incentives for higher producers. Go for it!
Not in my experience
They may supply software or foot pedals, depending on the company, but I have not heard of being supplied a computer as an IC.
Any experience out there with...sm
Shaw's Keystroke Services, Rochester, New York?
So-so experience
The line Expander used by Spheris was the least of my worries. I found it extremely easy to merge my own list into theirs. Ask your TL for instructions.
Like most everyone else I had trouble getting my line count. I never got dinged for it, but then I never once qualified for a bonus the whole time I was there - 1 year. I, too, wasted tons of time looking over account specifics. Just when you get used to one account, they throw in a new one, then you have to second and triple guess everything you do all over again. I finally quit when they threw in another work type with horrible dictators and my line count dropped by half for 2 weeks. I couldn't afford to work for them anymore.
And don't get me started about the freakin' time clock. I hated that thing.
As far as the company is concerned I liked them just fine. Management was fair and I always got along with my TL. I did have one that was witch from hell, but I don't think this is a reflection on the company. It was a personal difference between the two of us that we couldn't work out.
I wish you luck. I wasn't all that successful making many in MT. My income continued to go down each year so I left.
Any experience with...sm
InHealth Transcription Services
I had a very bad experience with them too
They were dishonest about things. Not the way to run a company at all!
My experience.....sm
I worked there for a short time recently. The people who worked there were nice, pay was okay, but I had sound issues with the account I was on. Nothing I did fixed it, so I would have to guess the problem was at their end. As a result of this, my line production went down instead of up, which is why I left. If it weren't for that, I'd still be there.
Good luck to you! 
I had the same experience (sm)
They were all gung-ho, and then I never heard from them after their saying they'd contact me. You will have to call them and keep on them. They're not snubbing you. It's lack of organization. You may not get a call if you don't follow up.
I was hired and had a great experience with them. Best QA people. They will leave you alone unless there are problems. They don't bug you for little crap like the other companies do. The setting your own schedule and working when you can is the best.
Good luck!
Need to know more about experience. sm
Can you do acute care? How many years of experience? Do you need benefits?
The only one I know of that lets you work when you want is OTI (aka Oracle). It's wonderful that way. No benefits, though, and must have acute care experience.
Almost 5 yrs experience
This is bad but I'm a little confused with what acute care consists of? I have Radiology experienc in a hopsital setting but I've also typed Oncology, Ophthalmology, Nutrition, Cardiology, Pulmonology, Internal Med, Family Practice and Psychiatry/Psychology reports. I went to school so I have typed ALL kinds of reports, they were just a long time ago.
I'm a fast learner and with a template or an example of an old exam I can figure out what needs to be done. I can send you my resume if you'd like. Just e-mail me.
Heather
This has never been my experience with MDI.
I've seen several posts like this from MDI MTs over the years about these supposedly fantastic 300+ line counts per hour, and I never believe any of them. I've been at MDI almost 10 years now working on hospital accounts, and I know better. The line counts most definitely went down, down, down when Bayscribe came along...No doubt about it.
my experience - sm
I left Diskriter because it was a nightmare trying to make a paycheck. I've been a Transcriptionist for 12 years so I'm not new to the field. I would have days where I couldn't get up from my computer and days where I was a prisoner in my house waiting for work. Email response was slow. Paychecks were an issue a couple of times. I left and went to Alltype and have been happy ever since.
my experience..
i started with acute care, which to me is harder because of the different work types like h/p, consults, ops, er, etc; it't a little bit of everything and can be overwhelming. by the time you get to clinic notes or multi-special clinic notes, they seem easier and familiar; just a little bit more detailed in each specialty. if you're a go-getter, i would say go for the acute care. but nothing wrong in learning clinics first also; it will get you ready for acute care.
i dont know about everyone else, but i have had more ESL (and junk english-speaking doctors) in acute care, especially if it is a teaching hospital. good luck.
My experience
Have worked for several different companies on Ex-Text. Be careful. If you go to ICHART site to get your line count, it will sometimes be lighter than you expect as it does not post there immediately. If you do a control I to get your line count while in Ex-Text you will see what you get after each report. This figure was always higher than what was on the ICHART site. Some facilities have disabled this feature while working on Ex-Text because people were questioning this discrepancy. Demand to know up front in advance what, if anything, is being deducted and for what reason, and ask where you will get your line count from. You should be able to see immediately what you are getting. In my past experience, when my lines were counted with Control I, they were slightly better than using the MS Word Counter. When I used the ICHART site count, they were lighter. Also, do not work for anyone with Ex-Text who deducts money from your paycheck saying you give back x number of lines per report because they don't get paid for that. That is nonsense. There is 1 company in FL that did this to me in the past, and I WALKED fast. Good luck to you.
Yes! Seems the more experience you have
the more they egg you on, but then don't get back to you. I think they are afraid they may have to pay too much for a good MT, so would rather hire substandard.
Here's my experience. SM
You can only choose employee status if you are in California. Their accounts are the absolute worst of the worst, and I mean BAD, BAD, BAD. They don't do direct deposit unless you are an employee and if you want your check sent overnight, they charge you $30.00. The pay is decent but no bennies. I don't know where the other poster got all the information but I have two friends who worked for them and I still do and they don't get any of that stuff. Terrible company, extremely RUDE QA. Would never recommend this company to anyone.
That has not been my experience with MDI...
Are you sure it is not the other MDI in Maryland, they are not related.
It has been my experience, and I
have a lot that when a company starts cleaning up, emphasis on TAT so that it is all nice and neat and putting out lots of work to appear prosperous, that they are about to sell.
I also had bad TH experience
I had a bad experience with TH about a year and a half ago. This has been a while I know but there was a super who did things like the other poster mentioned. I was lied to and such and that is why I finally left. There is more I could tell but too much. My best advice is to just not stick with them if you start having a bad feeling or losing income. I stayed longer than I should have and regretted it.
Well, that's been my experience...
...and I don't see what's not accurate about it. Your point is that they are not flexible if work is not low?
it has been my experience that many
of the highest producers have bad quality. Of course, I'm not saying all, I'm just saying that it has been my experience when I used to be a proofer. I would give them back their corrections only to see them crumple them up and throw them in the waste basket. These are the MT's who are still typing you're and your and don't know the difference and obviously don't care either.
my experience so far is
They had me take the test, acted like they needed me to hurry up and then I didn't hear. I assumed I had failed the test. I emailed the woman and she wrote back and told me to be patient and that she gets 150 emails a day! So I do not know what the deal is.
See my experience
Told I would work for hospital when interviewed, but told PA did not allow this when I was hired. Worked for Diskriter instead. Pay .08 center per line, me 30 years experience. QA 100%. Did as many as 144 jobs in one day, never made 9.00 per hour. Up to four different accounts in one day, 95% ESL. Started 2nd week in November, first pay Dec. 31st. They pay twice a month, but some months you wait for three weeks because of the number of weeks in a quarter. 1200 lines per day required. Two weeks training pay, and during that time nice work, but after you go on production, you get S_I_ work. I quit after less than 3 months. Sound is good. QA people are really wonderful. Tech support is the best. But when you start seeing all those emails, and you have to go to their IntraNet for account instructions, and patient and doctor names hand written and copied into PDF email, where you will have to read to get patient name spelling, doc name spelling, and all the numbers you have to put on the reports, well you get the idea. You are paid on production only so any time you spend doing anything other than transcribing, it is coming out of your pocket. When an account supervisor has jobs running out of Turn Around Time and Diskriter will be penalized for late work, they will put out a call for help and you will be put on whatever account they need done. Never had a regular account although I was told I did, but got switched to help on other accounts so many times I could never make any money. Never tell them you can do ESL, and if you get ESL, leave a lot of blanks or you will get almost exclusive ESL. Being a good ESL MT does not mean you are as fast on ESL as English as first language dictation, so don't tell them it doesn't matter, it will in your paycheck. Personally, I would not ever go back. Speris offered me more money than Diskriter, I am sorry I did't take it. Good Luck.
My experience
I was hired to do QA almost two months ago. I average 3 hours of work per day. Mind you, this is an average. Some days I don't get that much. If you need 40 hours of work and are depending on your income to pay bills...forget it.
All of their positions are IC which means, no work, no pay. If I were you, I'd ask my supervisor to tell me if I can expect to get 8 hours of work each day and see what the response is. They are very nice people, but getting hours as a QA person seems to be hit or miss. I am looking for another job. The pay for QA is probably the lowest in the country at Sten-Tel. I accepted the postion because I could get by with the low hourly wage IF I was going to get 40 hours/week. This hasn't happened so far.
I have a friend who worked there and said that once some of the MTs are taken off of 100% QA, the workload will drop to almost nothing. Good luck to ya. Great folks at Sten-Tel, but you are lucky if you get any hours as a QA person.
This was my experience...
I received the test , took it, and mailed it back. A day later I Emailed to see if they received it. I was told yes -- great job, plz call me tomorrow to discuss a position. I called, and she was not in the office. Message taken for her to call me back -- I have not heard a thing. ?? -- Not sayin' it's bad....just my experience.
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