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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

When starting out, though, not as much choice.

Posted By: Would stay home with my little ones if able.nm on 2008-12-10
In Reply to: nurses in offices - pumpernickel

nm


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Do you recommend starting with clinic notes or acute care when just starting in the MT field?
!I realize this question may be better suited for the new MT board, but this board is my favorite)

I am considering accepting an acute care position, even though I am just out of MT school. However, I don't want the learning curve to be so steep that I fail before I even begin. I would also like to have a smaller pool of dictators to transcribe from as opposed to many.

Also, are there more ESLs in acute care versus clinic/dr office work?

What has your experience been? Would you do it differently?

Thanks for any insight!
I got 10 for 10 yrs exp and just starting with them
Could you have misunderstood maybe?
Thanks !!! I was starting to wonder....
and just this morning, I got an email about a new dictator for my account..
Starting soon
I'm starting there soon. Just wondered as I have noticed it down this week. Thanks.
Starting soon.
From what they explained to me, it is quality and affordable, Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Starting out definitely no more than in the SM
mid 20s and that's if you are typing all the time.  I have been doing this for 15 years and yes, I use expanders, etc. but I have never made more than $37,000 gross in any year (and some of my jobs were hourly PLUS incentive).  My income has declined every year since 2000--the Social Security yearly statement attests to that.
Anyone starting with CIT? Do we know who they are? nm
s
If you are first starting out...
and need really good experience, Medquist is a good starting point. MedQuist is not the company for you if you want to make over 25K a year.
Maybe it is D&L starting over!!
x
Do you know when it will be starting?
nm
all starting to come together now...
Good news; I've got my software installed, a primary and a secondary account assigned and am fixing to start training. When it started to pull together, it has happened fast. So far, so good.
starting over - help
never thought i would come back to full-time MT - spent the last 10 years raising my daughter and working part-time in various places that we have lived. My husband is in construction, and we just aren't making it any more. The only thing i know how to do is transcribe, so I am looking to come back.

I quit in 1998 - i worked for ddi for 7 years - after Rick Cammeron sold the company to MQ, it got awful, so i stopped. I really don't want to work for MQ again (they were really nasty to us). I did everything for ddi - lots of ops and consults, and cardiology (for Good Sam in LA - great account)

What are my options? who are the best companies to work for? what about speech recognition - can you make any money at it? I have heard some people say they can't make anything becasue they are getting 20% taken off their line rates -others say that they are making money at 50% off.

I don't know anything about the recognition stuff - can someone help me? I am interested because i might not have to type as much - i am willing and able to work hard, but when i quit, my hands were bothering me a lot - i have been transcribing part-time for doctors with no trouble - but only for a few hours a day - don't know that i could handle 8+ hours a day.

I have so many questions. At ddi, we were all independent contractors - i liked that, but then we didn't need insurance. seems like a lot of companies offer employment with insurance. what do they pay? i have heard from a lot of people that the pay is less than 10 years ago. how could that be? don't these companies know that everything costs more?

anyway, any advice would be SO helpful. I have to do this, we are running out of money, and i don't want to get s.....ed by some awful company that promises everything and you end up with all ESL and no work.

thanks everybody.
I will be starting 7/1
Have you started yet? Let me know how it goes. I've been out of the MT field for almost five years. I'm going to start practicing my old dictation tapes to get back in the swing of things. I hope everything works out and I like it. :)
Starting Over, thanks!

I've got about the same amount of experience as you have.  I know what you mean about working at home and trying to take care of yourself, too, sometimes hard to balance everything, but for right now, even though I miss the social aspects at times, think this is what I still need for right now.  Just need to a 'little'  more exercise time somewhere, or in other words make it a priority!! to fit it in.  Thanks for the encouragement!  Good luck to you


just starting
with MDI and am really looking forward to it...just being able to talk with someone who is on planet earth was soooo refereshing! i guess we have to be able to weed out the crap when listening to others...i'm happily heading in!
They are getting it, starting 6/1. sm
I called and asked after I saw this. The papers are being signed today and a letter going out.
Their pay is not low. For a while, they were starting sm
everyone at 8 cpl for 90 days to see if it works out for both people. As a Lead MT for them, I see a lot of people who test well and have great resumes but either do not do what they are scheduled to do, have incredibly low volume or horrible quality. This way, it is an evaluation period for both sides.

I do know that they will start higher than that and have been thinking of a few other ideas for that evaluation period.

One thing that I find funny is that for a while, there was a $300 sign-on bonus and a few other things in place related to volume and quality that would give more, but not many people bothered to do the math and see that if they can produce 1200 lines a day with good quality, it came out to 0.09-0.10 per line for that period and beyond.

I have been with them for 5 years this June. I have never made less than $45,000 in a year and that was only one year when I took time off for surgery and my daughter's wedding; the other years I have made over $55,000.

More important is that 0.08 per line with a lot of work is better than 0.10 with nothing available. JMO.

Will someone please let me know the starting pay
for Voice Systems, LLC?  Also, if anyone has any current information on the company, such as pay on time, direct deposit, ESLs, platform and anything else you can share, please do.  Thanks!
First Choice does.

Get out while it is still your choice. It seems like

things have gotten worse since I left. Which is hard to believe!


Not all companies are like Heartland. Best of luck to you.


OSi is by far, your #1 choice.
I have been at OSi for 2 years now.  Worked for Medquist for...um....let's see...about a month before I realized what I had gotten myself into.  OSi isn't perfect, but they sure strive to be.  Constant feedback, almost everyone has a positive attitude and loves their job.  My Team Lead is pretty awesome.  She makes my job so much easier.  Let me know how I can help you make the right decision.  I'd love to help you out in any way I can. 
they said we would have a choice about
ASR beginning 10/01, told my boss I would not do ASR, guess what I am getting today................. ASR STAT reports!!!!!! Not a supervisor in the company working today that I can find
First Choice

Asked to test for this company. Is this a good company to work for, plenty of work, pay on time, etc.? Any info would be greatly appreciated!


First Choice sm

I don' t work for First Choice, but I applied and passed the test. I was contacted by the recruiter to set up an interview. The very next day she told me all the accounts were caught up, and she couldn't hire me at this time. I thought that was a little odd.


Yes! First Choice, QT, and I believe JLG, also. nm
x
First Choice
Thanks so much!
First Choice
Any info on First Health. I am training tomorrow, wondering about the program they use and their accounts?  Also the staff.
First Choice
Could you please tell me more about First Choice?  I have not heard of this company until now.  TIA
First Choice
This is by far the best company to work for. Great platform, great pay, great owner and staff. I wouldn't work for any other company!!!
would be your choice obviously
personally, I don't rely too much on what these boards say, everybody has their own opinion - - I don't believe they have a high turnover, the MT list seems to be growing it you ask me, I still see the same names I always saw and communicate regularly with the MTs, not sure whree this person is getting their info - - but ultimately it's your choice. I've been around to all the major MTSOs and for the past 3 years, Diskriter has done what none of the others could, supplied me with daily work during MY scheduled hours or paid me downtime
Your choice. sm
It depends on your situation.  If you are single with no other bennies I would say DR.  If your are single and in need of benefits, tell the recruiter you want to be on a smart-source account, wherein you are actually an employee of the hospital with DR as a liason.  I made an OK living but have affordable health insurance, dental, vision, long-term disability, short-term disability and life insurance.  What I like best is our T-leader does not tolerate cherry picking.  If you are married, I say be an IC, if not you are better off on a DR SMART-SOURCE account.
TRS is a bad choice

I worked at that place for several years, they go through more changes than anywhere I ever worked.  You rarely get to stay on one account and they do not give you anything except for do more, do more.  The only way to get anywhere with that company is to kiss butt and give until it hurts. 


I have to say, if you go to TRS you will be feeling like you are in haties before long.  Consider yourself warned they are NOT the employer of the year like their president and vice president would like to believe they are, they will cheat you out of your life if you let them. 


Working at McDonald's selling hamburbers is a fantastic step up from TRS. 


It's your choice -- use your own PC or theirs. nm

I believe it's your choice ... (sm)
I have always just preferred using the Word auto-correct as my expander, so that's what I use. There's not one built into the platform, and I think you can just use whatever Expander you want. Seems like I remember talk of some of the MTs building some stuff up in ShortCut, so I know that one is compatible.
I don't have a choice...sm
My husband is active duty Air Force, and they are making him change careers. We have a three-year-old daughter, so we have to work separate shifts. When he goes off to school for the new job, I will not have anybody to watch our daughter.

Trust me, I am terified of coming back home to work. I have a job that is a set paycheck, and I have been having problems with my wrists lately. I worry about not being able to make enough money.
First Choice
I was wondering the same thing because that was really fast.  I sent resume but heard nothing.
At least TT gives you a choice to do
With Extext (regular MT) you can look up old reports on the patients which a lot of software does not give you that capability. That saves a lot of time.
If I had a choice right now, no I would not...sm
You have to understand, I only have 2 years exp. The most I can expect to get is 8 cpl, which I do get, but it is only maybe one day a week. I went from working everyday or almost everyday at 8cpl to one day at 8cpl. I am broke. I lost my account. I need money. Secondly I know nothing about neonatal dictation, have never done it. I would need some training in that area. I can't expect them to pay me top dollar for no exp in the specialty. If I had been doing neonatal a while, then no I would not accept 7cpl. Not saying I have the job cause I don't, but I wouldn't apply if I had exp in neonatal care for that amount of money. They aren't requiring neonatal exp so I applied. They are getting what they pay for. An MT unexperienced in that area. If they want to train for cheaper pay so be it. That will be one more area I know in MT. I'll do it, but if someone offered me a position in something I am experienced in then no I probably wouldn't. If they want exp MTs in neonatal care then they aren't gonna get them for 7cpl. Again, they are getting what they pay for.
Exactly! Everything is about choice...
I knew when I chose to become an MT that there was a large possibility that I would be working weekends. I chose to become an MT. And, yes, my child comes first as well, but that doesn't have anything to do with working weekends. And for your information, my holy day is Friday, so it makes no difference to me whether I work on Sunday; and worshiping God is something we should do every single day of the week, not just 1 day on the weekend.
That is entirely your choice...
But please be prepared for nothing but VR, a massive pay cut because you're doing VR and not straight transcription, a rigid schedule, AND the fact that by working for Transcend you are, in your own small but significant way, contributing to the selling out of the American MT.

Please, think again.

Then if you can sleep at night knowing all of the above, more power to you.


Oh, sure, 260 lines just starting on DQS.
  
Starting with MedQuist soon...
I've been through training and was emailed earlier this week that by my hiring coordinator that she was submitting a DocQScribe user request and would update me as soon as I'm added. How long can this take, and should I email and find out what the status is? Since I'm new I don't want to appear overly annoying or anything. Should I wait it out a few more days or not?
Thank you for saying that. I was starting to feel
like it was just me, but I agree. If it is not working out, that does no one any good. I wish you the best with them!! I hope they are great for you:) I wish they had been for me.
Me, too. Looking forward to starting.
x
I am starting for Transcend next
week.  I applied for heavy on the ESLs job listing, so it will be interesting.  I do so many ESLs now at MQ, I don't think it will be much different.  I am going PT with them. 
She is a bit old to be starting a new business, I
don't think she would be very successful because after she lied to so many people and they would not be supportive of her.   She was also having some health issues.   I think she made a bundle off of the sale that she said would NEVER happen and she is enjoying herself.  
that was supposed to be "I believe..." (I was starting
oops. 
Starting at Keystrokes Jan 2...
It was hard to leave my current position but not enough work and a tightly locked wage ceiling...have heard lots of good things about Keystrokes, and right out the gate will be making more money plus getting paid vacation which I don't have now, so I'm excited! But I agree, change is hard!      Happy New Year!
You are exactly right. New things starting, I believe.
nm
What is their starting pay rate?
Interested in knowing.  They seem like a good company but I have heard the pay is low for radiology MT.  Could you let me know?  Thanks.
What is their starting pay rate?

Where are they located?