What's the big secret? Just change the tests more
Posted By: SM on 2006-09-10
In Reply to: Well, I don't know why more than one company - sm
often. There is plenty of dictation to change the tests frequently. You must work for Keystrokes. That's the company they are talking about. I just wanted to know what I did wrong so in the future I can be more careful. Even in school you get corrected papers.
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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!
Top Secret hon.......nm
?
Top secret
nm
What's the secret? Well...
As you can tell, I don't come to this website often. What a spaz some people seem to be having about those MTs who can manage to make a decent wage. (And by decent I mean over $25/hour.)
I'm not going to tell you who I work for for one very obvious reason. YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY. Not everyone who works at my company makes what I do. Some make more. Some make less.
Are you assuming that if you work at my company you'd be bumped to the seventy-dollar-an-hour lane? Don't you think I worked my a@@ off to reach that level?
I spent 18 months in a college program (graduated early because as a single mother I don't have time to waste).
Then I spent another year and a half working IN HOUSE at a teaching hospital.
I found and paid attention to a fantastic MENTOR.
I studied. Every day. Every word I didn't know I wrote down on a sheet and kept it by my desk.
Every phrase I typed more than once got a macro. Every word I mistyped or misspelled went into auto-correct.
I spent 10 years learning, taking jobs nobody else wanted, working hours nobody else would work. Because I knew it would pay off some day. And guess what. That 'some day' has been 'this day' for the past six years.
It shocks me to see people working for 6 cents a line. It makes me think either they don't have enough training, enough innate skill, or enough 'sit down/shut up/and type' to make it in this business.
I've mentored MTs. Some picked it up right away. They had flying fingers. They had an ear for the indecipherable. They had fortitude. And they make as much or more than I do. And guess what, natural talent trumps training any day of the week. That's life. In every single profession on the face of the planet.
Some flat out don't have the right stuff. Even my own sister couldn't make a go of it, and we shared an office and all the same reference material.
Just wanting to be an MT doesn't mean it's the right career for someone. Hell, I'd love to be a jockey but I'm 5'9 and s.o.l.
Fortunately I have an ear for this work. I knock the hell out of the competition at MadGab. (And if you're not playing MadGab you're missing a great learning tool.) I worked as a court reporter for five years, where we were expected to transcribe at the speed of speech (140 wmp) so I made myself type 140 wmp ... accurately!
There's no 'secret.' Like all good things in life, it just takes the right combination of want to and can do, and once you have that you have to find the company, the account and the platform that jives with your work style.
I don't appreciate being called a liar. Some of the posts on this board are so bitter and snipey. Let me guess. Those are the women who found an 800 number in the back of Home and Garden Magazine that said you can make 80K from home in your jammies while your babies crawl around on the floor. Get real. This is a difficult, demanding career. It's not free daycare. It's not for someone who simply doesn't want to get dressed in the morning.
I work like a mad woman for five, sometimes six hours a day. I'd rather do that than stretch the work out for an eight hour shift. When I first worked at a hospital, my supervisor asked me to please slow down as I was making the others look bad. You know what? Too effing bad. If straight out of school I was doing twice their volume, that was a reflection on THEM, not on ME.
That advice still stands. 50-70 is absolutely possible, not asbolutely amazing. I do it every day of the week. So if it makes you feel bad to see some of us doing well, too effing bad.
Peace out.
not a secret
It's not a secret company. if anyone is interested, i am more than happy to talk with them directly if they want to send an email request.
Your post is just one reason that justifies why I am not just posting any and all information on this board directly.
No secret, I think .....sm
it was just a talent given to me. I was typing 65 wpm in high school, the second week of class. Then, I went on to transcription while I was a Junior in high school, and just picked it up quickly. Typing has always been my thing. I absolutely love to type and having ear phones on and blocking out everyone else when I feel like it is even better!!!
It is my peace!!
One secret to VR here is
I have worked for the same hospital now for over 15 years. Sure we have a lot of ESLs like never before but I know so many that to edit is like sitting here running the pedal and eating chocolate covered cherries (well almost). I set my pedal at the fastest I can and read just as fast as my eyes will let me.
Just ask your STM - it's not a big secret, as far sm
as I can tell.
Why is everything such a secret at MDI-FL? Just heard
thru the grapevine that Jason, the new general manager was no longer there and Liz is in charge now. What a way to find things out. Can't the team leaders notify the MLS of major changes?
Ditto! MDI-MD! Best-kept secret. sm
Best pay, no hassles, paid on time, best WAV platform around, easy to get lines.
You are so right its their dirty little secret
They have always skirted the law. I know alot of MT's who worked 6 and sometimes 7 days a week and not a penny extra. One coordinator told me to add my weekend lines to my lines from during the week but not record my hours I work extra and team lead said it is all about the lines anyways. They call you on the weekends to work and it looks like they would pay more for weekends but they don't they just want you to work on your day off on the weekend but not even pay a shift differental much less overtime. Never looked back so glad I am gone. Never again. They do not appreciate their MT's at all. They don't care about anybody except their own pockets.
secret message
Those voices in your head? They are saying take your meds. . . .
Insider secret at OSI but everyone knows
The top QA people have horrible grammar and spelling skills and they have been promoted to management because they did so poorly in the MT pool and because they knew all the right people for a promotion. This is a well-known fact. The QA pay is very low but this kept them from losing their jobs.
Did you read The Secret?
According to The Secret, this is the key to success and happiness in life. What we think about gets stronger and comes back to us in like form. Something like that. The book's author is Byrne.
What is Diskriter's secret?
I see that they advertise nonstop. I know MTs are not leaving at that fast. Therefore, they are going leaps and bounds and out bidding the competition. Is this a great place to work?
Thanks
I really hope that THE SECRET
and any other new-age sew-age myths of its ilk will pay your mortage when you run out of work. We will see what we will see. I see too many people running out of work.
Here's the secret to retiring early --
Not taking SSI and Spheris (of course) doesn't have retirement pay.
What I did was work my behind off for 20 years, invested wisely, and will be retiring at 46. In a custom-built home sitting on 78 acres in a ski community. So, heck yeah, with that carrot in front of me I can put up with a dog of a job for seven more months. I encourage everyone on this board to work towards a GOAL, and not just slave away paycheck to paycheck.
Of course, I started in the heydey when a good MT brought home 60K without breaking a sweat, and I've refused to work for less over the years. Wouldn't have been possible if I'd settled for the paltry sum the companies are pawning off of newbies now adays.
I wish you as much success and looming happiness!!
Spheris doesn't keep it a secret. Quite
xx
It's never been a secret that Transcend outsources.
They are very proud of their overseas partners as they call them. The only reason the work is more steady and not all going there is that a lot of their hospital contracts state that they cannot outsource their work. So I applaud those hospitals because without them taking a stand, we'd be having no work..again. I remember waking up in the morning and finding there is no work and this is because the Indians are opposite us. When it's night for them it is day for us. So technically while we slept, they worked and when we got up, there was nothing left. It still happens on occasions but we have gotten a few new accounts so that helps. Also, whenever they ran out of work, people would quit and that would leave more work for whoever was left. It's just the nature of the business I guess. I've gone elsewhere.
I don't get why you won't say the name. You sound like a 6th grader with a secret club. nm
ttttttt
If I do that, the secret cameras will know I've searched for it! nm
x.
Can you elaborate or is that top secret too. Do people really get incentives and bonuses there??
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.
What about IQ tests?
start doing....!
Take other tests
There are lots of MTSOs that have online tests through MTtest.
sorry....not sure about any tests
Someone just mentioned something about a test. I just had to say that I was never offered a test. I DO NOT like tests either. I do great on employment, but get extremely nervous with tests...lol. Sorry if it made you nervous.
tests
Phoenix Medcom has new and improved voice files for testing.
tests
I just tooked the tests and not at all what is being described so the tests must have been updated recently.
Tests
I refuse to test for a company until I have received some background. Your're right some of those tests are quite extensive and I refuse to spend 2 or more hours on a test to find out they only want to pay 7 cpl and have lousy benefits. Funny thing is, when I want to inquire further before taking a test, I never get a response back from the company.
Need help with MT tests
I have almost two years MT experience and have transcribed and edited just about everything short of pathology and radiology. I am currently doing ER. I tested for a national today and did well on the grammar and terminology, but not well enough for the transcription. No direction was given for the transcription test such as to type bedtime as opposed to h.s. and daily or q.day instead of q.d. or mL for cc. I never know whether to do those things or not do them, it seems like whatever I choose to do is always wrong whenever I take an MT test anymore. I could not even slow down any of the dictators for clarity. I need to find a better paying MT job.
What would you do for prohibited abbreviations?
Also, would you expand or not expand for diagnoses and impressions?
Would you type short physical examination sections in paragraph form with the headings or would you list them individually under the section heading? I have had clients that wanted it both ways.
Maybe I have lost my edge by doing strictly ER. Still, I would really appreciate the thoughts of other MTs about the above questions and any other pointers anyone would like to share.
Thanks in advance.
TESTS
Hi Jan:
I am a newby fresh, new blood. A post graduate from community college. Use mL in place of cc.
Am also looking for transcription work myself; do you have any leads?
tests
Sorry to hear you failed their test. I also failed theirs and Medquists twice. I hate that they don't give you any feedback on why. No idea whether it was writter or transcription or what. Just thanks, you can reapply in so many months. I really think they should give some feedback, don't you?
I don't think anyone tests with MDI-MD
I could be mistaken, but I work for MDI-MD and there was no formal test required. Instead, they review your resume, see if they have a 'fit' for you, and then there is an extensive phone interview where they assess you skills and go over your experience with you.
I've seen several MTs post to this same experience, so I don't believe they have any formal testing at their site or elsewhere.
Easy tests
Nope, you can't go by that. In fact, you can't go by anything but your own experience. Make your wisest decision. Use your gut instincts. That's all any of us can do.
It might help others to answer if you named the companies, but I understand why you can't.
Good luck. :)
I though the tests were very fair sm
and although not simple, they weren't extremely hard and certainly much better than some I have taken. The actual verbal, I thought, was the easiest. By the way, definitions ARE a MAJOR part of transcription ability. Sounds like you are sore at the company for not getting the position.
TESTS UPDATED
All tests for Phoenix Medcom have been updated as of 7/26/2006
Long tests
I was thinking the exact same thing! LOL! I once took an enormously long test that was in my specialty and I knew it was good. Never got the courtesy of a reply. Soured me on tests.
Long Tests
Yep! I think that some companies out there do use MTs to get work done for free. Absolutely agree with you.
Tests and Companies
I have taken a test for DR,Inc; Chronicle, and O-Script. Have offer from the last two. Would really just like to work part-time because of health reasons, so I went ahead with the test for DR. Now, if I passed the test for the last two, which weren't just a piece of cake but showed that you had knowledge , it would seem I would pass the DR,Inc. test, but you never know. I just would like to work when I feel really good which is about 4 hours after lunch every day, I have had 2 back surgeries and a neck surgery and it just takes awhile to get going and after sitting for awhile, I can hardly get up. Any suggestions on what I might could do to alleviate some of the pain? I take about 3 hot showers a day just to get the tension and stress out of my neck and back.
transcription tests
What is the grading criteria for these company tests? Must the transcription be totally error free, 95% error free or what. I've had some good results, but some where I thought I had every word correct gave no answer at all.
thanks.
Quig.
Most tests are done in Word
and emailed, so you'd have a copy of what you submit. You can always copy/paste your test from the online sites as well. I'm not really sure why you have such a big problem with her seeking feedback from a fellow MT either on her previous tests, or actually as I suggested in my original post, HER PREVIOUS WORK she's done to see where her weaknesses are so she can improve her skills.... ??
For the majority of tests, you HAVE to go by
BOS2. No way you can pass it if you are not following the rules.
About the book/tests - have you not ever sm
done any in-depth research into the field you are working in? Had you done that, you would have probably ended up at the AHDI site at some point (creator of the BOS) or MTChat or here - references to BOS and tests come up daily. How could you have been working and not know there was a BOS?
transcription tests
What a bunch of BS. If you have years of experience the testing process is so ridiculous. I think taking the test before you even know what they are going to pay is so unfair. If they are paying ZILCH - which seems to be it today - why waste your valuable time transcribing anything. I agree 21 notes - give me a break. They probably just send them to QA and on to the client and get free work!
Oh let me tell you, they know how to pass the drug tests! (sm)
One woman I worked with was talking about how to use "Yellow Root" to "beat" the drug test! (that's what she said, "beat" the drug test) They know all of the tricks of the trade. One company stopped using the urine drug test and now they use the hair strand drug test, so I don't know what they use to "beat" that one (I guess they pull the strands out of somebody else's hair!) :-)
In my testing experience the tests that were the
hardest had the easier dictation and the testing that was the easiest had the hardest dictation and worst doctors. I don't think that the testing really has much to do with what the dictation for the company will be like.
In depth, what exactly are you looking for in these psych tests?
Just "crazy" people or stressed out individuals, what? Aren't those who are truly crazy obvious to those not so crazy individuals? Why couldn't you, the MTSO, use your own judgement rather than pay for expensive psych evals?
Good judgement is part of being a good business person. I, as a MTSO, would look upon this as a failure if I could not use good judgement and hired "crazy" individuals. But then again, not everyone has good judgement I guess!
If the MTSO did hire anybody with working fingers, I don't think there would such a problem.
This is my 2 cents. I do not agree with such psych evaluations, but to each their own.
Good judgement is the key. If you don't have that as a MTSO, than you probably should not be in business, and if you are, you won't be for very long.
Psych Tests To The Company!
I haven't been on here in a few days, so I'm just catching up here, and reading about the psychiatric evaluations. I have to put in my two cents.
Personally, after dealing with the crap from various medical transcription companies out there, I feel that it is the Transcriptionist who should be giving the owners/managers/team leaders of these companies psychiatric evaluations! They are the ones that expect us to do all this extra ancillary work for free and then bow down and kiss their feet to thank them for giving us a job paying an average of 7 cpl with virtually NO benefits to speak of. I'm sorry everyone, but if these companies are starting to give psychiatric evaluations to their prospective transcriptionist, then maybe we should create one for them! After all.....they are the ones making us crazy!
Update. All tests taken are for ortho. All who have taken and
passed have been offered a job and either have started or declined. There is no one who has taken the test prior to 3 days ago that has not heard back and had resolution. One person does the hiring for Keystrokes and this person has never told someone that they are too busy to respond or always on their phone or that they get 150 emails a day. Hiring is priority as we have added at least one account per week for the past four months and anticipate this year following the same pattern.
No, I do not work in the office either, but that is irrelevant. I went to the source and called HR and asked her. This was concerning to me as the account I am in charge in is expanding, and I need four more MTs to run it. She assured me that this is absolutely not true and everyone has been contacted.
I recently took two over the phone tests.
It is not that bad. In both cases the person giving the test made me feel quite at ease. I passed both tests and even took a position with one of the companies. It is easier, does not take forever to do, and the questions in both cases were things you see every day in transcription. I have heard of about four other companies who have started testing on the phone now. I remember years ago the old Edix as well as the now gulped Your Office Genie all did phone tests. There is a lot to be said for these tests. I took them then with those companies and also passed and got job offers.
usually, for the online tests, you can download...
the voice file into a file on your computer, then download into Express Scribe player (free online), so you can use your foot pedal instead of the keyboard.
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