Working at home is very important to me
Posted By: disappointed on 2006-05-15
In Reply to: the most important question is how - anon
But keep in mind we HAVE BEEN working at home in this industry and making GOOD money for years now. It is only recently that this downslide has occurred. It is as much a benefit to the employer as it is to the employee to work at home. Think about all the money they save in office space and utilities and more and more of them do not supply equipment anymore. They want us to keep thinking the way your post reads and forget that we benefit them by working at home too. The working at home is a wash when it comes to which side benefits so we need not even go there
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In the early days, MedQuist said working at home was a benefit, therefore at-home sm
employees did not receive as many benefits as those working in-house. As I believe, it was something like at-home employees got 3 days off a year versus 10 days for the in-office employees -- WHAT?!!! I told them it made no sense to me, since by working at home I was saving them money -- no need to provide office space, equipment, references, utilities, etc. -- yet I get shafted. I was only part-time when they took over the previous company with their great policies, and I told them to kiss where I can't.
If you are speaking of this week at TT, they are working on payroll which is MORE Important to me
I love to leave them alone on pay week, especially, as I really enjoy always getting my paycheck on time !
I dont seem to bother them at all, tho. No need to.
working from home is awesome but working for DSG is not...
horrible dictators, sound quality is bad, no answers to emails and they run out of work consistently...that is just my experience though...
Thanks. I am used to working at home
and not having to deal with this. This hospital has opened up a new surgery center which is its own entity and that took away a lot of our transcription plus a good majority of our radiology has gone to templates so in other words we are now very over staffed. They pulled some of us in-house to work on other stuff when transcription gets low which it frequently does so when I work on other things I get paid an hourly rate. I make more typing. Some of the other transcriptionists refuse to do anything else but type and one of the supervisors made a comment that that is not the right attitude to have. I have considered the nationals mainly due to my pay cut and gas prices and of course this coworker doesn't help, but am afraid of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. I have read horror stories on this board. Its hard to decide what to do. There is little opportunity for transcriptionists around here. The ones that have a job are holding on tight. One of the local multispecialty clinics outsource to India  and another one of our big multispecialty clinics do voice recognition and templates. They still have transcriptionists but let a lot of them go. I live in a remote area also and never thought I would have to worry about India, templates, VR since big city people claims we are soo far behind but it has happened. Oh, well thanks for letting me vent. I feel like I did this on the wrong board though, probably should have been on the main board. Sorry.
Working at home
If you compare working at home to having to get up and go into an office somewhere, rain or shine, that is a big plus. The only drawback to this profession is the declining line rate. Guess thats really up to the MT I guess. They will pay what you are willing to take. Just have to keep shopping around until you get what you want. Much better alternative than getting all nasty about the company you work for, there are plenty more out there, and they all pay different.
working at home
I work for a local hospital that has been promising us to go home for 7+ years and still be employees of the hospital. We have Dictaphone and recently got speech. We are in the learning phase. We were told they (hospital) cannot decide if we will use their equipment or your own equipment. I and another co-worker also work for a service. That threw up a red flag for us both. Our own equipment - independent, no benefits or possibly every thing outsourced and then possibly lose the job. We both figure with the speech recognition coming and possibly having to use our own equipment, it would be easier for a service to take over. Any thoughts to that?
This is why I like working at home - ALONE. nm
x
Why are you working from home?
If it is so expensive, why are you doing it? Some people will complain that the sky is blue. No wonder you can't make any money with that poor wittle me attitude. Boooo hooooo!
Happy working at home
I love working at home for a hospital. I don't have to share work station, books, equipment with anyone. You have to teach family and friends that you are really and truly working, and to leave you alone during work hours. It's easy to allow intrusions but set rules from the start.
I had to work in the hospital med rec/MT department for a month and while I enjoyed the people, I hated being there in a windowless dingy room. At home, you create your own work environment. My two coworkers at home are two cats who keep me company. Good luck!
Exactly! When I first started working at home
with only 2 years clinic experience (no acute care at all), I was offered .075 cpl. Six years later, with that much in acute care experience and with the very same company, I was offered .0725. Something is just so wrong with this picture!
working from home question
I have been working acute care hospital, clinics, and doctor's offices for the past 7 years. All done from the same hospital, which handles it all. My favorite thing to type is op notes, but can and do everything.
I would like to work from home, but live in the wilderness with no possiblity of high speed except satellite or dial up. I have heard that dial up is impossible to make any money.
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to use dial up and make good money and how good is satellite?
What is the best way to go about finding a good work from home job?
Is it safe to put a resume on the internet?
Any other suggestions?
Interruptions working at home
You have to be very stern with everyone, especially family.
I told mine long ago, This is my room. I work in here. When the door is shut I am invisible to you because why? I AM WORKING. hehehee.
I don't answer the phone. Let them leave a message. If it is too tempting to stop and answer it, unplug it.
Put a note on your door for ding dongers - Day Sleeper. No Solicitors. That keeps them away.
The problem is MTs because we work at home have this wonderful life of freedom. Sure. It means that we can pick up everyone else's slack, or have them angry at us because we don't do it. Or we end up doing for everyone and working while those 8 to 5 folks are sleeping to make up for what we could not get done during the day. Or for those who call and ask you to pick up their kid from school, or take grandma to the doctor/pharmacy - call them once at work and ask them to do the same for you. They think it's ridiculous. That's when you can point out to them how untrue that is.
My favorite expression when I am interrupted is, OH SURE! I CAN DO IT, I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!
It makes them feel bad and away they go with their interruptions.
Lasty, if you have a headset on when folks try to talk to you, pretend you can't hear them. :) I heard one of my nephews tell the other one who was trying to interrupt me, Don't bother, she can't hear you she has that head thingy on. hahaha.
I love working at home...
I agree that there are those out there that think being an at-home MT is a piece of cake and anyone can do it and they are sorely mistaken...I have an 8-1/2 year old and a 14 month old and I take great pride knowing that I am able to do my job and take care of my children....I have never used my children as an excuse not to get work done and I don't plan on it...my job as an MT is very important and I do it to the best of my ability....I do wish people would take more pride in their work but we don't all have the same work ethics unfortunately...
HOW IS WORKING HOME A BENEFIT???--sm
Like Judge Judy said in her books, Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. Who benefits the most (financially) from MTs working at home? Who doesn't have to provide an office? Who doesn't have to provide a PC (except for a fee)? Who doesn't have to pay the electric bill to use this equipment? Who doesn't have to pay the MT's phone bill? Who demands the MT have high-speed cable internet connection? Maybe your definition of benefit is different from the rest of the working world, but I/we count a benefit as something we can take to the bank, i.e., insurance, PTO, etc. (FT only, yet). 
Yes ago I was working for a home health
care agency and they tried to initiate EMR. This was 15 years ago and I didn't know what EMR was at the time. It was a no go. Recently had an appointment for my son with a specialist we saw for the first time. He was so busy filling in the blanks, that he barely even looked at my son and sort of having a limb missing or having green skin I don't think the doctor would have noticed any issues. If they want EMR I don't have an issue with that, but why not just have an MT transcribed document uploaded into a databank?
I hear ya! When I first started working at home...sm
I felt pressured to the max, but what I finally did was to put my bills in date-due order and placed them where I could see them at all times while working. It sounds silly, but it caused me to discipline myself like I had never done before - and after awhile, it became habit to work as if I were in house and actually helped me to increase my income! It is really nice not to deal with the office politics and a supervisor at the next desk, too! Good luck to you!
I make more working at home that I ever did on site
the most I made as an MT on site was 8 bucks an hour.
I figure working from home is worth at LEAST sm
an extra $5/hr for me right now (maybe more). Had offers to work in-house. Ability to work from home is the ONLY reason to do MT. Absolutely no point in leaving the house to do MT work.
Working from home/office work
I feel I need to speak up. I understand that the industry is going backwards in pay and for all of the more experienced MT's this is really degrading from what I hear from some. I understand and I would probably feel the same way. This is a craft. Not everyone can do what we do. It is a very hard craft. We should be paid what we are worth. There is no doubt about that but I also know how it works in an office in this industry. Being in an office is awful! I did it for 15 years. I worked at 2 different companies and both took advantage of the hard worker I was. I had MULTIPLE jobs and was not compensated for it. When I hear MT's complain about how bad they have it I want to scream. Yes, the pay is an issue. Yes, the belittling emails from managers is ridiculous. I completely agree and all of those managers should be let go but you do not know how awful it is to be in an office setting dealing with those belittling managers.
Trust me everyone in the company you work for or wherever that is not a VP or CEO is going through hell on a daily basis and not getting paid for it. You are making a lot more money for the time you put in than the people working in the office mostly. The people in the office are probably working on salary. When you figure the hours they work and the amount they are paid that are probably making about $5.00 an hour or less. They also have to work nights/weekends etc. from home. They also are having to listen to all of the MT's daily when they have a problem, they call in giving a excuse as to why they cannot come to work and trying to scramble to get the shift filled when the MT is really not sick as she said, problems dealing with the clients and their complaints about the work or turn times, problems with MT's and editors fighting via IM or email, problems with the Sales guys telling potential clients...oh yeah, we can do that...when we CANNOT.
I could go on and on. Being in an office is a lot more work than you would think. I would be greatful for what you have. I am not bitter at what I have gone through in an office setting. It got me to where I am today. I just want to let you know it is not easy working in an office and it is a lot harder than being an MT when you can type and then stop for the day and not have to answer to others and deal with their issues. Being an MT is a craft and it is hard...just be thankful!
Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY! Be joyous! Feel Blessed!
What is your problem with moms working from home?
It sounds like you have some kind of bias against moms working from home! What is wrong with that? Just because an MT is a mom working from home does not automatically qualify her as someone who puts out crappy work. I am sure there are tons of moms on this board who put out quality work. I put out quality work now and once my baby comes I will still put out quality work. Quit bashing moms working from home.
Do any acute care hospitals still have MTs working from home? sm
Back in the day (which was a Wednesday... in case you are curious)... I started out working for a huge acute care facility, then went home for them. Any of them still do that?? You can e-mail me if you want.... I'm sick of working for nationals.
I hate it when people tell me that working at home is a benefit (sm)
Benefits are something that the company pays for. No use as MTs. If it was a true benefit, then they should give us the money to cover the costs of what daycare would be, because if you have kids, generally they stay at home with you, right? So, they should be compensating us for daycare costs on top of what we already make. Now THAT would be a benefit!
I worked for them years ago, back in 1994. No one was working from home then... SM
Well, if you were working from home, you were coming in and picking of tapes. It was a pretty good place to work. I was just starting out as an MT so it was really good experience for me. They paid me hourly, but I was in house back then.
I have a friend working in a hospital and she is looking for a company from home as an employee.
Would anyone care to recommend a good company?
Hmm....working on the holidays, PMS, kids home from school, wanting to find a better job but can'
s
I love doing pathology, but it is hard to find a position for working at home. Gross pathology is
easy, descriptive typing. Microscopic is a little more difficult, but once you get the terminology down, it goes really quickly. I also found it easy to get lines in with pathology. If you've done acute care, you should not have a problem with the transition, IMHO.
It isn't important...
which account I work for. I have worked for the VA account in the past. I worked to help out with the backlog. In 2 days I typed 3000 lines. They were my first 2 days on that account. Hope that answers your question.
and this is important because.....??
x
if it is important -
They outsource. Apparently have set up shop in at least two cities in India, looking at Phillipines, have 2600 transcriptionists in India.
important
I have a message already from the recruiter. since your e/m isn't working for me, can i call you in about 30 min? (got to go do something).
and ... this is IMPORTANT
You do get paid by the line, NOT by the hour, and the only way you get credit for all the lines in the report is if you do a full listen from start to finish. If you are filling in blanks, no matter how many blanks, you get credit for only 15 lines. I am going broke and I can't understand my manager because he is in Bangalore, India. Also, there is NO paid training and I had to start working as an MT although I was hired as a QA. It took me over a month for my so-called promotion to QA. So I made a LOT more money as an MT than I am making as a QA because I make no money on reports with blanks.
That's why it's important...
to wait until you're released from QA at MDI and are free to type as many reports as you like before quitting another job.
But that's just common sense, no matter what the circumstances. *shrug*
Something VERY important to consider!!
If you really to to try to fix what has gone terribly wrong in the MT industry, you have to be willing to be educated about how our system of government works, and how it might mean that a UNION is not the only answer, if an answer at all.
Seriously, stop and think. Supposedly the Democratic party (and this is not all political so chill) stands for the average joe right? Then why did Clinton with support of the Republicans sign NAFTA into law - which was the vehicle that drove our MT jobs to India?
In other words, this was done to provide the cheap labor Americans WON'T (and can't) provide.
The reason? Obviously to bump PROFITS for the corporations who provide the service.
Now I don't suggest the above is the whole story, but it's a critical point and if we in this discussion don't understand that part of the problem is that we are where we are because it was INTENDED, then starting a UNION in and of itself is not going to be a fix-all.
Our country is in an economic free fall - no one knows if or when we will stabilize. Keep this in mind, too, if you are hoping for a magic solution. There may not be one.
Being in this field for 22+ years, I have read the writing on the wall.
GO FORWARD with plans for a Union but understand there are many many factors at work here.
In the meantime, how many of you here have contacted YOUR representatives in Congress to ask about regulation for this industry? Don't wait for a union, or for someone else to do this simple act: Look up the numbers and call them. Follow up with a letter. There is power in numbers and if they hear from us throughout the nation they will take note.
Just my 2 cents.
Best wishes for a better 2009.
Exactly. Seriously important.
.
Depends on what's important to you.
Low pay, no raises, deceitful but polite about it (hard to get your vacation time, say they will not bounce you around but do, say they will customize to what you want but don't, etc.), expect you do to a lot of free work, very top-heavy, volunteered AAMT Employer of the Year (don't know by whom, I was not given a vote). It probably also depends on what accounts you are on, whether you do acute care or multispecialty clinic, and who your team lead is. Communication: Very one-sided; lots of e-mails, etc. from them for you to read/take action/respond to (unpaid), but not so interested in you communicating with them and giving you timely answers; I've been blown off A LOT. They are VERY into AAMT and CMT certification, but don't pay well for it. Oh, and they offshore. When their system goes down, you don't get paid and can't take sick or vacation time to make up for it (was down for 2 days last week).
On the plus side: Good insurance benefits, easy platform, my accounts were good for the most part, pay on time.
My opinion: If you're experienced, you could probably do better. If not, good place to get more experience. Hope this helps.
I think the most important question is
whether it is good money for YOU.
:)
While the work is important,
please keep in mind that you're doing it to earn a living. While it is often said that it takes about 3 months to get up to speed on an account, it seems that you have some sense of the situation already.
If the finances aren't working out, I would start looking. If it's not a win-situation for the employer and the employee, it's not the right job. Good luck.
Doesn't seem too important to get especially
if you have to get CEU's and renew. I already do that as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I don't need the additional expense and there doesn't seem to be a financial benefit.
Thanks for all your responses.
the most important question is how
important is it for you to work from home versus out of the home - with today's escalating gas prices, figuring in everything related to traveling to and from work, dress clothes for work, meals, day care, etc. etc. etc, you must weigh the pros and cons - for some it is not enough whereas others find it very worthwhile.
Yes, you are so right. The account will be important. nm
xx
It's important to ask if you will have 20,000 a pay period
xx
and I never claimed to be more important than others
LOL LOL LOL. How do you know what is FAIR to you and others? You don't know me. LOL. Stop analyzing so much and stop twisting people's words around. I bet you're one of them gossip-busy bodies that have nothing to do interrupt other people's lives. Take care of your own business.
Could I please ask for an important opinion?,,,,,sm
I work for a great company as an IC, and love the work, my bosses have been great (been there about a year), love the accounts, platform, etc., but something bugs me. In the beginning, I told them strictly, verbally and in writing, that I needed to really be flexible hour-wise, I have 3 kids and also take care of my 90-year-old mom part-time, etc. They said sure, jump aboard, very flexible. Okay, lots of days they are okay, but we have dedicated queues and at times I know i am working TWO JOBS instead of part-time, I signed on for approximately 25 hours a week. I have a fabulous line count to show for it, but I keep getting roped into these 12-hour work days, 1200 lines or more, and I am getting wiped out. They are great about so many things and the pay is fantastic, but should I complain, what would you do?? THANKS!!!
Thanks for sharing, very important!!!
Though I did not apply at MDIT, I can relate. United Transcription out of North Carolina used ExpressScribe and MPWord (not MTWord) plus a FTP. The lady VP was not a transcriber so had not ideaaaaaa.
With this setup most of the demographics are entered by the MT (remember her/him making production, not paid unless something on the page).
There were plus 15 different popup screens to click, unclick, delete, type in name, plus flipping back and forth between window screens. Really ridiculous. These things should be put in the system by programmers not the MT EACH REPORT. Image with very small reports, making nothing and those Keystrokes are not paid.
There was no hard copy of doctor roster, so had to scroll through entire list trying to figure out the name referenced. Equally hard to even figure out first letter sometimes. I was told, why didn't you look it up I said I could not even figure out the first letter.
It was a ridiculous way to work. She was probably a good person but she just had not IDEA what MTs need, are about, about platforms. Just got the impression she had not idea how to process pertinence of something as she had bad-mouthed previous MT or MTs during the interview, has general bad thoughts, I told her she was wrong, MTs work their guts out, they are not lazy and on and on, I said they make nothing and go to great efforts to get the answer (I volunteer on 2 Word Help Boards.) Pissed me off her idea what an MT is about.Like sneering (sp?
Wow! Thank you for writing this. This is very important
Yes, I do depend on a paycheck being timely and so do my bill collectors. My rent cannot be late either. And I have a small child to feed. Thanks for letting me know the history of this! Now back to the drawing-board for my job search :).
It's so important to her that she mentioned it not once
Maybe it's just my perception, but that post came off as really pretty arrogant. I know things can be conveyed wrong in writing but she does not sound like she would be a pleasant person to work for, that's for sure. The whole tone of the post made me go EEK...
As if your opinion is so important...
Get over yourself already...
The accuracy is also important when they end up -
in court. This year I was a juror for an assault/'attempted murder' trial. I tried my best to get out of it, seeing as how my company doesn't pay for jury duty. But, when the attorneys were screening the potential jurors in the courtroom, asking among other things what they did for a living, you should've seen the judges face literally LIGHT UP when I told her I was an MT. I knew immediately she wasn't letting me off. The defendant's attorneys weren't going to let me go, either.
And later I could see why. While in deliberations, we were presented with a pile of medical reports that were at least telephone-books thick.
I was the only one that knew their way around those reports, so that was my job to read through them. I was grateful that the transcriber of these reports had been very accurate, with few blank spaces. The doctors in the key part of the reports, which had to do with the forensics of the stab wounds themselves, were accurate and to-the-point, and there was no confusing double-speak. That would've been even more important had a non-medical-language-understanding lay-person been assigned to read through the medical evidence.
As it turned out, these well-done medical records had evidence with regard to the placement of the stab wounds that proved without a doubt that these wounds were made in accidental self-defense, and not as the aggressor. This prevented an innocent woman who was being beaten by an abusive husband from going to jail.
So, the records we type every day, day in and day out, can have far-reaching consequences that we'll most likely never even know about, but which we should always be thinking of.
IMPORTANT DATE
Another poster just indicated the date of the official merge is September 1st.
I just wanted to point this out so anyone intending to take a stand could make August 31st, 2009, their last date of employment for MDI-MD.
Another very important thing
Leave the pet name calling i.e. sweetie, honey, sugarplum, whatever, to my hubby. I have a name.
I must have missed something important
I thought there was the question was aked about retaining PT status and that was going to be okay. Who said the PTers are being let go? Aren't a lot of us PT? Anyone know? Been looking when I have time but, dang! I'm not prepared yet with another job...Thanks!
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