We need to embrace VR - change is tough but (see inside)
Posted By: HappyMT on 2009-02-28
In Reply to: Amen to that...Assimilate or become obsolete - Sad but True
how many of you cried when you had to get rid of your IBM selectric? The industry is changing and the ones that will be successful are the people that will change with it.
VR is not as bad as some of you say and not as good as others say, but it is somewhere in between - and it's all about how we look at it.
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all need to embrace offshoring while he...sm
slept with the head of India this week and now Pakistan.......his and his family's 30-year bush-family-dynasty-dream is being fulfilled at our expense, the American workers....he is now paying back the foreigners by putting us all at risk and forcing some seasoned USA workers into lower paying jobs. What a scam!!
BLAME BUSH!!! 
As I said, I don't EMBRACE it, that is the words of a poster, I
do not outsource my own clients dictation, however, I also see that more and more dictation is going offshore whether I like it or not. What it all comes down to is jobs and US MTSOs that offshore are offering many QA Editor positions, therefore with this reason and the fact that all of our credit bureaus outsourcing our financial information offshore, I have decided to allow all US MTSOs whether they outsource offshore or not to participate on MTStars.
I'll never embrace something that robs me of
That's a tough one...
I think I would call the office and speak with someone rather than e-mail at this point. Maybe your supervisor is on vacation or something. I do clinic right now for my office, but the work has been low on the accounts for a little while, hope just a seasonal thing going on. I would call and ask specifically if the account is low or if there is a problem with it somehow and also if there are other accounts you can learn. When I first started with them right out of school (passed the test better than a lot of people with 15 years' experience they said), I was supposed to be on a large clinic account to start out, but there was a glitch with getting them set up and I was put on discharge summaries, never did get into the clinic and stayed there for 2 years. It was a very difficult account with majority ESL but was great experience. However, if you need the money and get no answers from anyone, I probably would be talking to the other company. It's so hard to say what is going to be the right choice. I left MQ after that 2 yrs and went with first one company and then another one thinking the benefits and perks, etc. that were proposed by them were going to better being an employee but didn't turn out to be the case, wasn't making anymore money, insurance was higher than what I could get on my own, needed the flexibility, and now back with MQ. I think every company has its own particular set of circumstances that aren't a good fit for everyone. I wish you luck and I can feel for you right now. I know what it's like sitting there waiting and waiting and worrying how you're going to pay the bills and wondering what to do... With you having gone to Andrews and already passed a difficult acute care test, I would say your options are going to be wide open and lots of companies would be happy to have you on board!
Wow, that's tough. SM
Speaking as a QA, I know sometimes it's hard to remember to praise the positives as well as pointing out the negatives. :)
Playing devil's advocate here:
Maybe this person is extra-busy and is just trying to get you the important feedback.
Maybe they know this facility is picky about things and that's why they're being harder than others.
If they're not being actively unpleasant to you (nasty emails), I would TRY not to take it personally and just be extra-careful.
Perhaps a friendly email saying how much you appreciate them taking the time to provide feedback could break the ice, too.
Good luck!
As tough as it is
I think the best way to handle these morons is to completely ignore them. When you let them see how much they upset you, you're just feeding their sick little need and encouraging them. I vote for pretending they don't exist and letting them feel a little less satisfied. Trolls will always be around and if they for some reason can't be banned from this site (as I know they are on some sites), they should be treated as the invisible little things they really are. There are plenty of decent people willing to give mature answers to the questions asked on here and those are the ones who should refuse to be forced off by a few idiots. Ignore them and they'll probably go away or get so psycho that their posts will be deleted anyway.
Yep, life is tough all over. NM
x
tough question
Depends so much on the going rate per area. Plus if you have to pick up and deliver. I'd say 13 cpl for 65 characters with spaces is a fair rate.
that is a tough decision, but...sm
Just my point of view - I have a 3-year-old daughter and I absolutely treasure the fact that I'm home with her, despite the fact that my pay is so lousy. I would not change that even for the chance to be a multi-millionaire. I say look into your heart and try to see it through your children's eyes. Personally, for me, regardless of the financial struggle I have to deal with, money will never be more important than the well-being and happiness of my child. Even if she turns out screwed up, at least it will be from my influence, not outside influences. Especially while they are so very young....
I hope you'll find my post helpful! Wish you the best...
I agree but it's tough right now....
It's hard to demand more when most of us are taking what we can get to get by. The economy is down! MTSOs must make their profit and if they are only getting 10 cpl then they sure can't give us 10. I've been in this field for 10 years and make 8 cpl right now. I wish I could get more but it's not even the time to demand that. And I sure will not turn it down because then I would have nothing. At least I am making something. I also wish I could find a PT IC job but I haven't had much luck with that lately either.
I do agree that we deserve more, but I don't see that happening any time soon. If dictation wasn't being offshored and we were thought of more highly, I'm sure our pay would be at a level we deserve.
It's a tough decision. I nearly got an
ulcer worrying about it last time I went through this, but the bottom line is that all we can do is research the companies, weed out the bad ones, and then choose between the ones left. There aren't any guarantees because none of them are perfect, but if you choose one that pays well, fits your schedule, has a good platform, etc., then that's about the best we can do. Once you take the plunge & make the final decision, a weight will be lifted from you :)
MDI's tough accounts
I have probably the toughest ESL account there (probably 80% ESLs who rotate through several hospitals and I love it! Give me an ESL who tries any day over some American mushmouth who is too lazy to move his lips. I love my accounts! And yes, they are tough.
Don't know about that, but the accents there are supposed to be really tough! nm
s
It is tough on part timers.
I think that's probably the point. Webmedx benefits by having more full time employees. I don't personally like it because I'm part time and it's a pay cut for me, but I do understand.
you don't sound tough enough to be a company. sm
ohhh, you did it for ME? nice try, but that's a 'line' if I ever heard one.
Get a backbone and call that bluff. These guys are BIG business and business saavy - they know the supply of services far out weighs the demand, and they are smart enough to play that game. You need to be smart enough and strong enough to NOT ante up and fold like that.
It's called tough love...
If I didn't care I wouldn't have responded at all! Have a merry one yourself. I know I will broke or not.
Tough economic times
I worked for OSi in Douglasville, Georgia, a few years ago but quit because of grossly incompetent and arrogant QA department.
If that is no longer the case I need a part time job in addition to my current job. What is the scoop these days? It would be the last place I want to work but I don't know where else to start and I must get a second job.
Any information about other good companies who offer part time?
TIA
Tough economic times
I worked for OSi in Douglasville, Georgia, a few years ago but quit because of grossly incompetent and arrogant QA department.
If that is no longer the case I need a part time job in addition to my current job. What is the scoop these days? It would be the last place I want to work but I don't know where else to start and I must get a second job.
Any information about other good companies who offer part time?
TIA
They were using ExText when I was there. I was one of the unlucky ones that was on super tough ESL
s
I have no proof of this, but it seems these must be tough dictators for the money they are willing t
cannot get experienced MTs with the low pay, hence the turnover is rather substantial.
Wow - tough question. I've only worked for 1 of those.
I just researched by what was most important to me.
Good luck in making your decision.
But, in these tough times mine was started
before these times so that doesn’t wash in this case. I wish I made the money I did in the 80s- almost 60 thousand, outsourced and my money fell to 40 something and now it is like everyone else in the 20s. I like, others don’t and last word on this, some apparently just worse than others, so glad I am where I am and not stuck with second hand equipment.
How's the sound quality lately? A few years ago posters were having a very tough time with it. Th
s
Ham sandwich and lung cancer vs 100K. Tough choice.
:)
I have been to SA and the UAE and, let me tell you, there's a lot more respect for the MTs there than in the good 'ol USA.
Westerners are not held to the same standards as locals when it comes to dress and custom. You don't have to wear a full-on face shroud or eat dog or whatever. Just show some basic common sense decency. You'll be assigned an escort if, for some reason, you need to go somewhere at night or want to go to a certain part of town out of the American neighborhood. (Great little market, for example.)
It's like this:
In Hawaii, I hardly ever wear anything but cut-off shorts and a bikini top. And I don't stand out because most of the people I'm hanging out with wear the same sort of thing. But if I was to go to Manhattan and apply at a Fortune 500 company as a receptionist, do you think I'd wear my cut-offs? No. Everyone would say, 'cover up.' And rightly so. I really wouldn't have a problem with understanding, or adhering to, the dress code.
So maybe wearing jeans and a tee in SA would be akin to wearing cut-offs and a bikini top to Wall Street. It's just not respectful or acceptable. But who can't deal with that?
For anyone who enjoys learning about other cultures, and who can muster up the standard level of respect we show to other cultures even in America, I would heartly suggest being open minded to this type of offer. Heck, I'd go if I were 10 years younger. (If just for the opportunity to hang out and party in Dubai.)
Nothing will change unless we make it change..SM
As long as we accept the exploitation that this MT profession has reduced us to, it will keep going on. The top of this is the outsourcing.... well, get your legislators involved....better yet, the MEDIA. How many patients know their private medical information is being outsourced to halfway around the world? The squeeky wheel gets the grease. Do the patients know that their info won't be sold by some unscrupulous MT (halfway around the globe) to insurance companies, etc., making all this Medical records privacy a joke. It's not just our T-shirts being made in other countries; it's our most personal, private medical information, of which the public is not being made aware of. Not to speak of undercutting out profession to the bare bone. Granted, most US MTs are willing to work below market wage just to have a job, especially in economically-deprived areas, where outside jobs are scarce, and kids need to be fed and mortgages need to be paid. MTSOs know this. I'll bet they'll be the first to lobby against any action against outsourcing. (Wouldn't you be...if you got people to work for pennies while you're raking in the big $$$'s ? Still, notwithstanding the outsourcing problem, we're still going along with all the BS...working for pennies, whatever the client wants, he gets... ever notice how all of the MTSO flak seems to be re. unpaid work...mostly, demographic issues we're not even paid for... bec. It has to be done.. Part of the job... The client put the wrong info but we have to correct it...all unpaid work. Just give me a job with nothing but straight transcription, w/o the unpaid/demo. flak..I'll take it even at the present, absurd pennies-per-line state of the profession.
It wasn't tough 5 years ago. Or 10 years ago, yet
How to you spell
G-R-E-E-D ???
All the shifty, dishonest, greedy pigs in this country belong in JAIL.
Great pay rate on a 55 ccl, great lady to work for and work is not tough. sm
It is all IC work, although you still are expected to give a schedule if you are doing stat coverage. Only major drawback is the big wait for your first check -- almost a month from the time of your first invoice.
Good luck! 
see inside
As I mentioned before, the best thing to do would be to send a resume directly to the medical records director. If they are in need of a transcriptionist, chances are they are going to walk that resume right down to HR and have them get in touch with you for an interview. And it also lets the MR Director know that "hey, there are people in the area, and we don't have to outsource overseas or out of the hospital."
I can't say it enough - I wish I had lived in St. Louis because I would have taken the job in a heartbeat. Some people did work at home and others worked on site.
See inside...
I love the fact that there is always work (except on a few occasions around holidays, etc). I love that I can generally get an answer to a question when I ask it. I love that my pay is always on time (as the previous person said). I love that they do not outsource to India. I agree, there have been some changes, but I really love MDI.
There are some minuses too, but I have worked for a few other nationals after working at a hospital, and really, MDI is the best I have seen.
sm inside
I was in a simlar situation once. I didn't want to burn my bridges, just in case the other job didn't work out so I told them I could not commit to full time as some personal issues came up but that I would be able to help them out 1 day a week. They allowed me to do this, and it ended up that I went full time with them later, as I actually made more money in the long run... better dicators, etc...
Look inside for what
Rolling On The Floor Scaring The Cat Laughing My @$$ And Other
Body Parts Off. Teresa, they may have an opening at OSi or SoftScript for you.
Thank you!!!! Please sm inside
Thanks for all the information! Did you feel that you were able to get yourself on some sort of 'schedule'? I just left somewhere because I had no idea from day to day when I would get work or how much and ended up waiting around all day long sometimes and either getting very little to nothing or too much at once for the TAT. Did it seem pretty manageable? (I would also rather work during the daytime hours...) Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your help!
see inside
I worked for them recently (within a year). They had software changes earlier to that, so if you see negatives about technology problems, it was before that. Evidently they did have lots of problems back before they were on their current system. Still some occasional bugs.
IC only. Good accounts. Put you on one account, and you stay on that account. If you have a similar experience to mine, you won't run out of work on your account.
Software getting dated. Not written by/for MTs or with requests for MT input. Hence, you have the programmer(s) doing really strange Keystrokes that are not productivity-friendly. They fix one thing and break three others. Need to fire the programmers and invest a bit more in getting decent programmers.
Office staff--THE best, hands down. QA will leave you alone unless there's a problem. You don't get QA scores sent to you or nitpicking. You either have good quality or they'll be contacting you about it.
Hours--THE best, once again. You have a quota to get in every week, and you give them a weekend day. Other than that, you're free to get that time in when you can.
OTI is also the company in my experience that's come closest to actually treating ICs as ICs.
I have worked for many nationals, and OTI remains my best overall experience. I had to leave because of needing benefits. That's the only reason I left. I would recommend them to anybody who's got at least five years of acute care experience in the Basic 4.
See inside. sm
SoftScript pays up to 10.5 cents a line with full benefits.
JLG, I believe, pays up to 9.5 with benefits (or at least they used to).
Be sure and watch the job boards for hospitals hiring for at home workers. Good pay and full benefits at a great price. Don't settle without checking all options and best of luck to you.
See inside. sm
Their ad on MTJobs says 7 to 9 cents a line.
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I used to work for them. Is this transcription or editing? Is the patient name not there, or are you having problems getting the template? Is there a button with three dots near the patient info on the screen? If the patient name is not there you need to listen first and then input the first and last name on the screen. It is hard to know exactly where you are. Hope this could help some.
See inside
Pay rate - range is 0.7-0.9 depending on a lot of factors (for clinic). Includes spaces.
Flexible - for clinic and ortho - YES!!!!
Weekends - I do my Friday work on Saturday but not sure if required.
Word - some accounts yes, some no. I type in Scribe, which is Word-based and very easy.
In fact, flexible has hurt me today. I have not started yet. Queen of the game shows today!
No. Inside is what you said in your OP.
I just completed an interview process with JLG. The owner presents herself as an MT who understands our situations
You are wacked and definitely not someone that any co would want
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Then I guess Scribes/Nightingale lowering their rates (without notice) from $1.05/minute to $.80 or $.85/minute sucks even worse than I thought.
Please see inside.
This is my first time doing IC work. I imagine it will eat up some of my profit, but I am just having my other job hold out a little more.
You only do as much as you want. She will send an e-mail out to the P.R.N. pool of transcriptionists stating, I have 60 minutes of Dr. Mickey Mouse available. His speciality is ENT. It is due back by noon tomorrow (Pacific standard time). Does anyone want all or part of this? Then (based on whoever responds first) she will assign the work. Let's say you want 30 minutes of it--you would e-mail her and state, May I have 30 minutes of Dr. Mickey Mouse's work? If you're the first to ask, she will assign it to you.
You don't have to take work...only e-mail her when you want it. There is not that much work. She e-mails maybe 1 to 3 times a day. So the work volume is pretty minimal, but it is something to fill in slow periods with another job.
Hope this has been helpful.
Chickadee
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I usually get what I need.
inside
www.advancedtx.com
See inside.
SPi Transcription - web site is:
http://www.spi-bpo.com/web/spi/text_page.jsp?fldr_id=199
I read some of the MT Stars archives entries that gave the impression they were now an American company.
After reading more, you may be right. I think they may be foreign-based. They acquired an American-based MT company several years ago and set up their corporate office in Nashville, TN but sounds like they are still pretty much an overseas company. Kind of confusing. Anyway, check out the web site for more info. 
Oh, OK - see inside
I work for Cymed (now SPi) and no change at all as of yet. Hopefully this will continue.
See inside.
It's an Indian company, run by (India) Indians, but they hire Americans and the accounts are American hospitals/doctors.
They have both straight transcription and voice recognition editing, I believe you have to do both. Mostly hire ICs.
What they did was ... (see inside)
Suddenly, with no warning, cut people's salary by a huge amount. I had worked there for almost 3 years, and the cut took me back to the starting pay they had given me when I was fresh out of school. This was despite being able to do absolutely any kind of work they had, plus working on weekends and holidays with no extra pay or compensation.
They were originally Scribes Data, bought out by Nightingale. We were assured absolutely nothing would change regarding the MTs with the buyout, but they lied.
I really miss some of the doctors I transcribed for there, but I couldn't take a huge cut like that, especially without notice, it was a real slap in the face, in my opinion.
I did learn an awful lot working there (acute care of all types).
See inside...
The present job may be sending you tons of work, but if they're not paying you, you're not making any money.
I would do minimal work for them, and maximum for the new place. Old place can't complain about you not working if they're not paying. And the only way to see if new place will work out is to try it.
Good luck!
Sad see inside...
First let me say I am not paid by the line, but by the report. Secondly, my lead has been wonderful. I keep in close communication with her. I also let her know that if extra help is needed I am available. I honestly feel like me keeping busy is related to the two accounts that I have as well as my lead. I was adamant about getting a second account.
I am sorry that your best day this pay period has been 175 lines, but you really have to question the variables surrounding this. Do you work on a large account, what about your scheduled times. I know that with radiology, usually the doctors are very active first thing in the morning taking care of the films from the night before. This is a good fit for me and I will continue to voice that. Even if things were really bad, I would be ringing the phone off the hook with my lead and the office trying to get resolution. Jumping ship is not always the answer as we change and find ourselves sinking.
In the past I left one company that I had been with for 6 years and it took going through 3 other companies before I found one worthwhile, which was not KS. I hope things work out for you and you can pick up more work because no one can survive on 175 lines per day. Good luck!!!
Looking for a job? See inside, please
MTStars provides the most extensive listing of job opportunities anywhere. Our Job Seekers forum is free and the job advertisements are usually very descriptive.
We also offer a free resume bank for you to post your resume on.
If you have questions about a specific company, please ask here on the Company board.
Please: Do not post job-wanted posts. Do not ask what are good companies.
Otherwise, you will have to search for your position through the job ads and the application process like everyone else.
If you have questions, feel free to email me.
Goldbird
See inside
Granted, there are many, many Americans who do not use the language properly even a little bit, but these people typically do not become MTs either!
Oh, if only this were true! Some of the work from India I have seen is MUCH better than some of the American work. Way too many poorly-trained Americans with terrible grammar skills, and many of them can't even spell grammar!
More inside ....
I know now that they pay by production and that the minimum per day is 1350.
I'd have to go in house for training but only until I'm comfortable with the system (it's a new platform for me) and they are comfortable with letting me go. The transcription manager told me it would probably only be a few days. The hospital is about 45-50 miles from my house so I'd want to come home just as soon as I could.
All their employee MTs work at home except the manager, and she has been there for I think 13 years herself.
The other thing that I didn't mention is that I have done work for this hospital before, but I usually do ops and I probably wouldn't get those from the hospital as obviously they send those out.
I guess I'm just not sure whether to jump ship now since this particular new position is open (if I could get it), or wait until I actually have no job.
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