This field has changed in the outsource mode
Posted By: Gloating MT on 2007-11-02
In Reply to: Long, but just had to say it ..sm - Maggie M
You cannot deny this field has changed drastically. I have about as much time under my belt as you do.
What I've found in the current status quo is that people just take off, because they are not given adequate time to rest or realistic time to have a life outside of their jobs, which was not the old standard. Managers were once familiar with the job, knew their MTs and knew what was productive and what was counter-productive and worked with their MTs as a team to produce. We were recognized as people. What I see now is MTs being thrown on any work at any time with unrealistic expectations and few boundaries. I've seen speed take over quality, rather than a combined blend that achieves the goal. I do not consider that whining, but fact. I am not a job-jumper but I certainly cannot stomach what I'm seeing now as employment via MTSOs in this field and am going back to the old standard. The hospital I'm getting ready to start working for has told me they are getting a lot of experienced MTs who are absolutely fed up with the MTSO business and grateful to be back; you can bet they're happy about it, too.
Granted, I do hear some who have never worked in the structure of a facility unrealistically think they can work with small children around or believe they will somehow be more free working from home (which we all know is not true). But I also see a huge trend of this profession going toward the old sewing factory days/sweatshops that shockingly reminds me of an industrial revolution of expendable drones.
Nor do I agree that union members don't whine. Any time people get unhappy enough in any field they whine until they get sick of whining and then do something different. I see all the whining as a wake-up call for change in this field and believe it is coming.
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Can you use AutoCorrect in VR mode?
nm
Do not outsource to India, outsource a small amount to Phillipines.
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The owners haven't changed, MT supe hasn't changed
I've been in their office. I know the people. It is a sweat shop and you will never be paid a decent amount or get respect. You won't know which is a good or a bad day for the person you report to until you literally get yelled at.
They have to offer bonuses because their reputation is that bad and nothing has changed. You may get work that has been recorded 3 times from some of the worst accounts you could ever imagine. They take accounts no one else will touch. That hasn't changed.
They changed buildings so maybe the phone number also changed...
They are still going strong...
Getting out of this field -
It's just a matter of time before my company sends works oversees, and I REFUSE to correct Indian, Irish, Phiillipino, or any other foreigners work for half my pay. It's just a matter of time before this all blows up. Let them figure it out. If they want us Americans back - they will have to PAY big time! I'm looking into another field as well.
I'm obviously in the field too...
I've never seen all of these so-called problems you are talking about and I do plenty of those same reports everyday as well. Slippage occurs when someone with a Lap-Band decides to eat so much they force themselves to vomit. It's extremely rare. I'm willing to take the risks rather than be morbidly obese and hardly living as it is.
I don't think it's just this field
I think it's human nature. I used to hang out on the General Hospital board on ABC.com (I'm a soap opera geek) and it amazed me at how nasty some of those women would be to other posters who weren't quite up to snuff. I've seen all out board wars develop. If it was a full moon and I was PMSing, I enjoyed the spectacle, but most of the time I got a little disgusted with them. Don't even get me started on how nasty it got before the election.
I do get surprised at some of the negativity that is posted here, but I can understand how it's hard to be really super positive in today's world.
You know what's going on in this field, right?
This is how MTSOs are going to squeeze ALL American MTs out of the field. We are an 'unnecessary' expense for them. They don't care about quality transcription. They care about driving quality cars and living in quality homes in quality neighborhoods. And who cares about the client, and screw the worker. The sooner they can price us out of the field, the sooner they can ALL go 100% to India.
If they do that, I think it should be mandatory that they, TOO, must leave the U.S. Set up their godforsaken offices in INDIA, and move there themselves. It's a travesty to our country that these MAGGOTS feel they even deserve to live here.
So that it narrows down the field when they look into
It really shouldn't be that hard to find out which female MLS started 4 months ago with 15 years experience and is making 10 cpl, since 10 cpl is NOT a normal starting wage at Transcend. You are aware that discussing your wages is ground for termination, right? You really have to be careful when trying to get those referral bonuses that you give accurate information.
That is the problem with the MT field...
Everyone is always bickering and knows it all. I am by no means a recruiter. I was just reading the posts, had been there myself, and thought I would offer some friendly advice, but some people think they know everything and try to discourage others from something good. Sad world today. Sad people.
Disgrace to the whole field!
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I have been in this field for 17 years sm
and am still working one job IC for 8 cents, just because I like the company. Only made 8 cents on my last full-time job, but did have benefits. You can sometimes make more on an easy clinic account at 8 cents, than an acute care job at 10 cents. Count your blessings.
I could have written this myself. I'm looking into a new field. nm
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Finding another field
My heart goes out to all you Heartlanders along with all the others in all fields who have lost jobs to cheap overseas labor. It looks like there is soon going to be absolutely NO JOBS for Americans. Seems all the jobs that can't be offshored are considered jobs Americans won't do or there aren't enough qualified people, the dandy explanations for greedy corporate America hiring illegals, or what is it? HR2 visas? to fill the jobs that can't be exported. America is in a world of hurt and God help those trying to raise children and give them a better life than you have, which is the true American Dream.
It is just a different field to break into now...
I have only been an MT for 4-1/2 years, and I am happy to hear that you found a job that you are happy with and making a good wage at.
However, to say that because MTs are not happy has something to do with their skills does an injustice to hardworking MTs. There are some of us who do 12-hour days, too.
The field is totally different that what it used to be. You can ask a majority of seasoned MTs, and they will tell you that wages are going down and the cost of benefits is becoming outrageous. It can take you almost 2 weeks to earn enough money to pay for family insurance. Couple that MTSOs who are making contracts with companies for acute care work when they have only hired transcriptionists with clinic experience, and you have some very overstressed MTs just trying to make a living. I have felt since starting I am being pushed to gain 10 years experience for each year I work. Some days you just wake up, go to work, and you are on a totally different account, totally different work type, and totally different part of the country with no warning.
Since starting in this profession, I have worked on over 20 different accounts in all areas of the country. Not only have I been required to learn medical transcription (and I have done all report types right through the OP notes), I have had to learn umpteen physician groups, hospitals in those areas, nursing homes, drug stores, county social service units...you name it.
I have consistently good quality scores, and I usually work at least 1-1/2 times my required production. I have been with my company close to 3 years, work nights and holidays, and have given up more family time than I care to consider. However, I just saw an ad where my employer is offering 10 cpl to do discharge summaries while I am doing consults for a clinic no one in the company wants to touch because of the difficulty factor, and they will not raise me above 7.5 CPL.
On top of that, I had to darn near beg today to have a technical problem taken care of that was preventing me from working. It was a 2-minute fix that took almost 40 minutes to resolve because our customer service kept telling me I wasn't even working as I had no jobs checked out and my boss kept switching her MSN messenger to say she was busy or away.
Do I feel disrespected and underpaid? YUP!
That is my reality.
yes, but when you have to go from field 1 to 20 it's "faster" to use
x
From out of left field....
Sent my resume to, received an email from, and then a telephone interview with Landmark. They made me a very nice offer which piqued my interest, so I went with them instead of either Superior Global or Diskriter.
Thanks so much for all of the advice on SGS and DR. I was seriously debating between the two when the Landmark offer dropped into my lap.
I started today and so far everyone has been fantastic. I'll keep everyone posted.
Thanks again!!!
"I have been in this field for over 3 decades..."
BUSTED!!!!
I am 30 years old and have been in the medical field since
I was 19. My first 3 years I worked as a certified medical assistant and then I fell into transcription and I have 8 years of experience as an MT. Can I ask why all the personal questions, not that I mind answering?
Just so you know - the subject is a limited field. SM
If you hit Post Quick Reply, put a little bit of text in the subject, SM for see message, and then put the rest in the box below.
Just trying to be helpful!
In our field of work, its never been openly
shared with the MTs what the status of accounts are, etc. Only time we hear things about account specs is when an account/client is unhappy or after they are gone. I've been in this industry for 30 years, and its never changed. The company who lost the client is not going to give you advance notice - its not to their benefit, and its naive to think they would tell you in advance. And as far as contacting the account and trying to work for the new company - think about it. An account often leaves a MT service due to quality issues - like they think the work stinks. So most times the account wants less than nothing to do with the old MTs on the account. If the client was all that happy about the MTs, chances are good they would not dump the service. I have known few accounts who took on old MTs, at least permanently. Sometimes they will screw the MTs as well and take on the old MTs just to get the account up and running with their company, and then all of a sudden, BAM, they don't need you anymore. Its the nature of our industry. And clients come and go and come and go all the time. I've lost many an account, and thought it was the end of my career, only to get a new account and be comfie for a few years. I'm not trying to belittle your upset - I understand. Just trying to point out the flip side and that you should get used to it. We MTs have to look out for ourselves. No company is gonna help us out these days - probably in all industries. Good luck!
Ummm, ever see the original MT ID field?
.
It's exactly this attitude that is allowing the MT field to go -
.
There's not much of a "choice" anymore in the MT field -
Then of course exploitation, cooking the books, cheating on lines paid, etc. etc. can run rampant because the left hand never knows what the right hand is doing.
So working at home is NOT 100% 'voluntary'. I'll quit my at-home job in a minute if I can find a full-time, benefitted inhouse job.
She can get better help at Spheris, but this field is dying. We all need
NM
Hostility in the transcription field
Hello everyone, I have been reading the posts on this board for the last couple of weeks. Most of the postings are helpful, but there are some who just break out into an all out war with one another. I have not been able to tell if it is the majority or not yet. Why do you think that is?
Do you think this field makes you feel that you have to compete one another? Do you think that is because of the isolation? Working at home is isolation, but even in a hospital setting you are isolated. Let's face it, we have those earplugs stuck in our ears all day. We have the ongoing pressure that we have to get our line count, or more. Do you find that there is a lot of hostility in this field, or is it just because we are women? Do you think it might be that we feel unappreciated? We were even told by a coder, at the hospital I worked at, that we were nothing more than glorified typists.
Let's face it, with the amount of time that it takes to master this occupation we could have all had a degree in something. Some of you already have. If you work by the line - if you have the experience, the typing skills, use your abbreviation expander, and have a steady work flow - you can make a decent living - but based on the typing skills, work flow, etc. etc. it is not a guarantee. That is a lot of pressure when you think about it. That is a different kind of pressure than other jobs. I am not trying to be negative, I just noticed that there seems to be a lot of hostility and I noticed that at the hospital, where I worked, for 15 years also. I got along with everyone I worked with. In order to be able to get along with the transcribers I use to work with, I had to become very thick-skinned, because basically they were just mean. Has anyone else noticed this? Do you think it is the job? What do you think? I am not attacking the transcription field, just something I have noticed over the years.
The field of medical transcription
Why isn't there anything that we can do as transcriptionists to make our profession stable again? I take this career seriously because I NEED full-time work. There are so many companies out there that are using this forum to really take advantage of the members here and elsewhere. I recently interviewed for a company who actually had the audacity to expect me to work for a week before being put on the payroll, and this was after extensive testing. I have over 20+ years in this industry and thought that I had seen it all. This encounter nearly created a hardship because I would have had to give up another position. When you apply for a TRANSCRIPTION job, unless discussed prior, you should be given a Transcriptionist job and not have editing at 4 cpl be given as your put up or get out.
Just my opinion, but I believe that MTStars should screen their employers before allowing them to post. The content and frustration seen in the posts can attest to that. We are real people who need to have an income. If I was doing this for just extra money or wanted to be home with my kids it would be another story. But this a matter of survival here.
Thanks for listening!
Medical Transcription Field
Thank you for your response. I have found that when a name of the company is mentioned in a negative way, the post disappears. I am not a newbie at this, in fact, I worked for one of the major companies who actually tried to recruit me (for extra time after my QA job) to search the board to find out if any current MTs were complaining, etc. I, of course, refused and luckily did not suffer any repercussions because of it. I feel that this board is valuable and should not be abused, but you must be careful whose name you mention and in what way. I am beginning to feel it is a never-ending battle to stay employed in this field with some of the stunts some are pulling. A recent one was a degree in medical transcription? I guess there possibly is such a thing now, but what are the rest of us experienced MTs supposed to do - lay down and die? Where I live the majority of major hospitals including the one I currently work for are either outsourcing or cutting wages down, so many of us fall victim.
Thank you for just letting me have my say.
I'm so sick of this field. Supplement (sm)
your income. Find a way. First work volumes are low. Now pay is cut. And we're making more than ever! Did you know that? Do you feel like you are?
Best on-line school for MT - Please I Have A Lot of Questions About This Field!!!!!
I am leaving my current job as a secretary at the end of August. I have been in this field for 30+ years. I have pretty much decided that I would like to become a medical transcriptionist. My typing skills are excellent (approx. 100 wpm with 0 errors). I would like to work from home. Can anyone tell me which MT on-line schools are reputable? How long does the course take of you are diligent? I assume that after training it would be best to work for a transcription service before branching out on your own. Please, any advice, information on on-line schools, wages, etc. would be greatly appreciated! Working from home is a life-long dream for me!
Oh my goodness! But, there are CRAZY people in every field
I am stunned at how many, shall we say, "different" people there are in this world. This is too funny that a MTSO wants to do psych evals on their prospects. Wow!
To be honest, it would not bother me as I am very sane and have no "issues" in life. If you want the job and the pay is good, than what the heck. Go for it. Don't be afraid of some evaluation.
Maybe it is a good thing. If you do have issues and you are not aware of them, maybe it will help you in the long run. Hey a free psych eval may be just what the doctor ordered!
If I wanted that job and the pay was good and fit my needs, I would not hesitate!
"Any time I see OSi in a field, I skip over it. "
LOL
10 total years in the medical field, 8 as a MT.nm
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This field has the worst business owners. nm
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Identity theft is a big in the medical field. nm
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It is a very narrow field to get into and we love our jobs!
Certainly if you have a reputation as a job hopper, etc., you'll not get into this field easily.
I feel it is really a privileged position and I have no intention of telling anyone the company I work for!
Why pay that for a field that is drying up? Spend money going to
kdkdkd
Feast or famine is all part of this field.
I know that is tough to get used to, but even when you have your own accounts, the workload can wax and wane. It can also change overnight. I have my own accounts that wax and wane. You can never really count on anything being absolute in this field. These companies can only offer you what they have because it depends on the dictator and how much work there is at any given time. Almost any company will tell you this if you haven't already experienced the same. It is unfortunate, however, this field does require some flexibility. I guess that may come with more years of experience and being in the know upfront that nothing is forever. A lot of time these larger companies only can sign 3-5 year contracts. I am an IC (not for Transcend), and when there is a need, boy the e-mails come sailing through asking can I help, but when the work is low, my e-mail is dry. Adapting and adjusting is all part of this field for sure. 
P/S: I was a employee at one time for Transcend, but I do believe they are offering contracts at this point to IC as I did see a recent post.
your short-term experience is why - 5 is nothing in the field. NM
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In the MT field, I associate the phrase "Indian-
in which case it's most DEFINITELY apropos.
Racist? Perhaps.
Appropriate to the situation?
ABSOLUTELY !!!!!!!
Usually on visiting doc's office, they ask if I am in the medical field because
I can speak right along with them on most they say, don’t have to have it put in laymen's terms. I do not say I am but am asked if not in the medical field, countless times.
Yikes, I guess that says it all for this field....I made that over 15 years ago!
Guess it's time to move on :(
it means they have a lot of data field fill-in; nonproductive wrk
nm
I left the field for good earlier this year
after 15 years. I'm now an ACSM certified personal trainer at Bally Total Fitness, and also have a private client. Thanks to everything I learned as a transcriptionist, I passed the very tough certification exam on the first try.
I'm still networked with my first MD client, and we refer people to each other.
My body also thanks me for not spending hours at the computer anymore. I enjoyed the work, but don't miss it at this point.
There are many ways to use what we know. If your instinct is telling you to do something else, I encourage anyone to at least explore your options.
This is the thing that concerns me about this field. Pay is staying the same not increasing!
Every OTHER medical field, nursing, therapists, techs, etc. are all experiencing the yearly salaries going up. Transcription compensation is not increasing.
While they may increase the RATES the ability to make the more money is not there because of VR, taking away the header allowances, more difficult accounts, more ESLs, stricter QA, etc., etc. slow platforms that require information inserted that you don't get paid for and anything else that lowers your salary. If hospitals are looking to slash their transcription budget, they are going to pass that onto the service and the service will pass that onto to the employee.
I know transcriptionists that were making 45-50K in 1987 working 40 hours and now they are making 35K and often times working more than 40 hours to make that lower amount. Or I hear people say I can make the same money but I must work much harder and longer hours. I think wow...you have to work harder and longer to make what you made in the 1980s.
Other occupations have gotten consistent raises without the need for more hours and I don't think employees would put with up it. Imagine a well qualified R.N. being offered a 1987 salary? The hospital would have a hard time hiring nurses. But the transcription service environment is so competative if they can offer the work cheaper and cheaper while guaranting accuracy they will get that contract. So in order to stay in business they have to find a way to pay the Transcriptionist the least amount of money to see their profits which they need to stay in business.
Of course if transcription is all you know and you don't to work in an office or get a job at Starbucks you keep going and accept the pay because we really have no control. You have to work with what they offer you.
I have to agree with OP. I have several relatives/friends in the medical field...sm
doctors as well as nurses...my mother is a nurse...and they all rotate weekends.
I agree why can't we rotate weekends like everyone else. I have been working Sunday through Thursday for years and frankly I'm a little tired of it but this is what I'm asked to work so I do.
JMO...
And I have asked to rotate weekends but the supes just won't agree to it...I'm starting to think it's too much of a scheduling nightmare for them to try and remember who works when and that it's just easier this way.
Newbies are busting out at over $4.50 an hour in this lucrative field.!
You get in A+.
Remember that new "graduates" enter the field every day, so lots of "companies" will
s
No, full-time only. This is pretty standard whether in transcription or any other field. nm
nm
My mom was a lab tech, so I grew up knowing about working holidays in the medical field sm
so it is no big deal to me. I do not have any children, so I have pretty much always volunteered to work the holidays so that others can be with their families. As someone pointed out, when you work at home for the holiday, you can jump off and on whenever you want, so it does not really feel so much like working. 
Sorry that you are unhappy about it, but unfortunately, people still get sick on the holidays, and part of being in the medical profession is accepting that you will work some holidays.
Hope the New Year brings you lots of things to be happy about.
JLG outsource???
Anyone know if JLG outsources? I asked their HR person and so far have received no response. Very suspicious about that.
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