Yes, and make sure the training is good, and
Posted By: anon on 2008-01-13
In Reply to: And if that system is Meditech, well let's just say - it's horrible and not MT friendly like I'm s
if you are going to Meditech, make sure your word Expander will work and it is a good spell checker. IMO
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What is their VR rate? I am sure you will be training VR. Can't make money that way.
NM
I have actually used Dragon 9,0 before, and with good training,..
it was not bad. The discussion, though, is about what MTs get from clinics and hospitals not from training your own VR software.
When I was trained, I was told the system learned from what was typed in, and I really did think it should work as well as the Dragon software. The fact is, it simply does not.
From what I have seen, there are a lot of reasons for this, but mostly it is that each MT's style varies so the software cannot really learn 1 single way of doing something. Along with the complexities of whether a word is a heading or part of a sentence, when giving a number is not starting a list but the size of a suture, and the general ability to comprehend the ESLs on the system, you do very often end up with an illogical mess.
There also seems to be something about how the report is processed by the VR system. I can get the same doc (one that does routine colonoscopies), and one report can be mostly formatted and need minor corrections, and the next identical report can be 1 long paragraph needing quite a few corrections.
The last thing I noticed is that the VR system really does not learn. After a full year of doing VR, it still cannot get the names of the hospitals correct. These are only ever spelled one way, so there is no reason that it keeps happening over and over if the system is able to learn and improve.
This was definitely not my experience with the Dragon software, but it is the mess I trudge through every day. I definitely wonder how my platform can originate from the same company and the 2 products be so different.
My training was good. It was about an hour long and then I was sm
working. I love Keystrokes and I love the account I am on. Perhaps the account you were on had 2 ESL doctors come up first. The account I am on in first in, first out, so there are days that I get mostly ESLs and days that I get no ESLs.
Spheris pays for training. It used to be pretty good. Don't know what
xx
Their training schedule kind of got backed up and so far the only training..(sm)
I've had is one short Bayscribe session. But I extended my 2 week notice at Medquist and I have until July 17 now to get some training in at MDI and do some reports to get familiar with the platforms. I'm looking forward to it!
I can't say enough about their training team. Excellent training!
The people at Medware are all just great. I wish I would have joined the Medware family sooner! They are very flexible and caring!
do you mean company training or med transcription itself training?
nm
Any good MT knows that what you make
per line is just one part of the equation. Do you have enough work? How are your lines counted? Bottom line is how much you make per hour. They have a tiered pay plan if you are FT. They have line rate incentives for both quantity and shift as well as CMT incentives. They will pay for your CMT if you pass the test and contribute yearly to your CECs I believe up to $150 a year. That is reason in itself to at least think about it.
Not 2 good - I make 25 cpl. nm
Gotcha!
Good ones make way more than the best MTs, too!
xx
A good MT can make more than that by
x
You make good points. SM
I agree with you. Just experience does not make a good MT and some newbies are excellent and careful. If you have 20 years of experience with no mentoring and substandard training, you probably make dumb mistakes and are not aware of it. Everyone makes mistakes but some seasoned MTs make way too many. Keep up the good work.
Does experience make a good MT?
I am so confused right now. I am a newbie trying to get a foot in the door. I finally was accepted in a mentor program for a national. In the mentor program you must reach 516 with 98% accuracy before you are allowed to become full time. I am unable to make the line count because there is never enough work. I am happy for this opportunity, but I feel because there is never enough work, I will never make the line count. I have been offered a full time position to do operative reports and discharge summaries. I am doubting my abilities and do not know if I can do the operative notes. Should I go for the full time position or do I need experience before I am a good MT? How do you know you are good enough to take on a job doing operative notes. I want to go for it because the mentor program never have enough work to meet my goals, but what if I am not good enough yet? helpful advise is appreciated. Thanks
LOL. And with whom? Only good MTs make that much, not recruiters.
x
You make a good point..
You know what, you're right. An experienced GOOD MT will hit the ground running and not need their hand held. I'm sure an experienced, good MT is worth their weight in gold and SHOULD be paid more. There should be a way to do that, and if all those companies out there that are crying because they can't get experienced MTs would compensate in a way that is perceived as more fair, people would be beating a path to their door. The only thing that bothers me is the assumption that all MTs with many years experience are good at what they do. I've seen with my own eyes that this is not the case. Some of them don't seem to even know proper English usage. Why should that person be paid more just because they've put in X number of years? I guess it just reminds me too much of the labor union seniority systems that protect and reward the mediocre. I didn't mean to offend anyone with my post above; just wanted to give another perspective. If I were sitting where you are, I'd probably feel the same way. The MT profession has been eroding for years, and it's got to be tough on those who were part of the good old days of being an MT when they felt reasonably rewarded for their expertise.
Does anyone who uses MediTech make good $ ?
I've checked the archives, etc., and mostly MTs have said it's cumbersome. But is Meditech such that after getting used to it you can make good money, $20+/hour? I know it depends on the account, but just wondering.
You make a ver good Point.
The stuff that I have read was from 2 years ago, alot can happen in two years time. Every company has something wrong with it in someone's opinion. I just saw a lot of bad remakrs about it. Maybe it will be more of a positive experience for me.
LOL! I couldn't have done it Must have been a really good job for them to make you do that
you make some good points but may I just ask
what is the point of posting all this information? Most companies post upfront at their sites how much they pay, and there are always those who make more for some reason or another than others. What is the data for, just curious...
You make a good point
You were able to get some recogniton because the doctor knew who YOU were and the quality that you put out. That doesn't exist much anymore. I think THE major factor contributing to the decline of the MT profession is depersonalization. As employees of MTSOs, we are no longer individuals, but part of a big MT machine that cranks out dictation. The true consumer of the MT product, the doctor, has no contact whatsoever with the person who transcribes the report. That means that there is no recognition for the excellent MT; they are mixed in with all the substandard MTs and the doctor never knows who is typing the report. He gets back good, he gets back bad, and everything in between. Basically, the only reward we get these days is our own pride in doing a good job. Unfortunately, that doesn't pay the bills.
You make a good point -
I think you're spot on ~ each of us has different needs and different capabilities. Some companies get bashed just because they weren't a perfect fit for someone and some companies are really are validly not so good to work for.
I've been with SoftScript for nearly 7 months and I have nothing bad to say. I had about 12 years experience and a few years away - things in this business changed drastically during that time. Softscript gave me a really fair go. I worked for Medquist before for many years and did a short period of time with Spheris, but went back to Australia. I was doing VRE with them ~ that was weird, but not their fault.
Some people can't be satisfied with anything ~ I'm happy knowing I have a job and the people are really nice.
Just my dollar's worth (2 cents doesn't go anywhere anymore)
Does anyone really make a good living doing VR??? sm
I currently work for one of the larger MT companies that is mostly VR, platform isn't bad, but just not able to get my line count up. I was curious if it just me or if there were MTs out there who were doing good on VR and glad they have made the switch. Thanks. 
Good luck and make sure you have a
x
What do you think would make a good MT gift? sm
Just curious because as a former MTSO, I went crazy trying to figure out something that would please most MTs; no matter how hard I / we tried, there was always a contingent who were unhappy!
PS - I agree that a donation to AAMT in your honor was a cruddy gift!
Used to make good money
My income has dropped by $20,000 in the past 2 years working at Spheris, and from what I understand new hires get paid even less.
You make some very good points.
However some attorneys are ''of counsel'' to firms while not actually on staff. Maybe they are brought in on a case that needs their particular expertise. So while they work with the firm on specific legal cases, they are not actually employees of the firm, but are paid much like contractors.
Just noodling some ideas here:
My neighbor is a painting contractor who hires subcontractors. He finds the clients, signs the contracts, arranges for the subs and has overall responsibility for seeing that jobs are done satisfactorily and dealing with the client. He collects the money and pays the subs, who are are providing services that are a key aspect of his painting business. (Though maybe we could say his business is actually a sort of broker, selling the jobs and providing the crews).
He has used the same subs for years, so there is an ''ongoing relationship,'' though these guys can and do work for other contractors. He loosely supervises these crews as far as maintaining quality and terms of the contract, making sure they use proper materials, don't do damage, etc. The subs provide their own equipment. Through him, the client specifies the color and type of paint to be applied. So in a way he does tell the subs ''how to do the work.'' And in a way he tells them ''when to work'' because the contract loosely specifies when it is to be done - not an hour-by-hour schedule, but a time frame in which it must be finished. When something goes wrong - a sub screws up in any way, the buck stops with my neighbor. He has to make it right with the client, then take the problem up with the sub.
Ruling that these painting crews must be employees of a single company would be unworkable, since the flexibility of hiring them when/as needed is crucial to the process.
Now compare this to a typical MTSO. They find client hospitals and sign them to contracts. They hire enough subs (us) to do the actual work. They specify format, maintain quality and TAT. We provide out own computer and reference materials. Our computers must have the proper technical specifications in order to handle their work, but they do not tell us what brand to use or where to buy it. Our software must be compatible with their system, but in many cases we just sign onto their server and use their program. They collect the money and pay their subcontractors.
Seem to be pretty similar scenarios to me. The whole construction industry is based on contractors hiring subcontractors in various trades for specific work, only when there is work.
Its sad that we dont believe MTs can make good money at this job....
In the past 7 years that I have been an at-home IC (left my hospital job), I have made no less than $50k and this year, will hit my all-time high of $62K. There are still good accounts out there, with great dictators that pay .10 to .11 cpl and if you are fast, with great macros and expanders, you can still make $40-$50/hr. Experience and reliability are what get you top dollar and there are companies willing to pay. Its sad we doubt those that make the good money. Maybe there is a tad bit of jealousy there!
What is considered good pay $500.00 weekly and up or can I make more once I become more
experienced?
You hear bad and good - it is what you make of it - if it fits your needs, try it out!
s
Sounds like you can make a good living, just can't
There's quite a difference.
I don't struggle. I make good money.
But then again I have been doing this for 21 years, work for a national at nearly top pay. Not sure why the ones who are complaining do it. Well...actually I do think I know why SOME do it. They got fooled by the false advertising of MT schools. Work at home and make $50,000 per year. Yeah right. Not right out of school, nope! That would be the RARE case. And even being able to work from home right away would be difficult IMO. I learned SO MUCH from my coworkers during those first 10 years when I worked in office and in house at the hospital. All of that on the job experience made a big difference when I went home to work. Had I started working from home with just my MT school education....I would probably hate it too.
Good suggestion, but that would make too much sense.
nm
I make far more money on VR. I also get paid a good SM
line rate for it, so that helps. I am paid 7 cpl for VR.
I love the platform and make good $ on it. SM
I do believe it has to do with the accounts though. I've used it for 4 hospitals and have made great money, both VR and straight typing. VR gives me more than double the lines of typing but I do think it is an acquired skill. Learn the shortcuts and use them. It is also only as good as the team training the VR.
On the other hand I've used it on a clinic account and the lines were just not coming in like they do in AC. A very heavy, 90%, ESL verbatim account and I lasted all of 2 weeks on that account.
I'd say I do about 90% VR and 10% straight typing and all in all I'm impressed with the accuracy of the VR.
Nice does not make for good pay check.
Ditto, Ditto. sorry to hear that you had so much down time and not able to make any money. Well hope for the best with your new company.
Make your own nest. Find a couple of good
accounts, multiple companies if you have to. Work on them every day just to stay on top of it. I used to bend over backwards to try to help where needed, but all I ever got was kicked in the head, so now I just do my routine. When they start appreciating people, (and not just an occasional 'oh how wonderful you are' when they are backlogged and know you can do a lot of work), by some type of recognition like a raise or promotion, then you can go back to being the nice guy.
Of course, depends on your line rate, but $700.00 is very good for MT right now. I can make over
that if the work is available, and I put in more than 40 hours. I think to make $1000.00 you need to have lots of expansions and dictators with which you are familiar, IMHO.
Did the MT interviewing with Transcript USA make contact yet? Anything good
s
You make a lot of good points. Listen up, MTSOs.
nm
You were given too many specialties/accts to make any good money.
s
Keystrokes clinic MTs, do you make good money?
IME it's hard to make good money doing clinic when paid by the line; some of the notes are only two sentences long. Just wondering if it's any better at Keystrokes, i.e., good combination of short and long notes.
I thought that cpl seems a little too good. Without spaces would make sense. Not
sure how much you really make per line without spaces.
Hasty and Recruiter does not a good combo make!
Many are bad enough when they aren't hasty, with the evasive answers, with us getting a reality check from what we were promised and what really is once we've committed ourselves to the company. I wouldn't take the job myself. I don't trust a hasty recruiter. Something sounds fishy. A more reasonable answer would be that he/she would get back to you with answers, not just skirting the topic. Not good. If the recruiter doesn't know the details of what they are recruiting for, that's not the sign of them representing a good company.
I make good money with them and love working there. sm
Here is why: I have one account with a backup account that I have only used twice and both times because they needed help not because my primary was slow. I do 1600+ lines in 8 hours. I started at 8 cpl and was raised to 9 cpl at 90 days. I have as much work as I want and while my PTO days are less than the last place I was for 8 years, I make more during the year. I literally made $17K more with KS last year than I did with MQ the year before. I am higher this year.
I love Chartscript. The account I am on is wonderful and yes, I use ShortHand with it.
Good to me? I made $61K last year with them and so far this year, I am at $56K, so I will pass that for sure.
No to paid holidays but if you work them, it is time and a half.
If my account needs extra help, they offer time and a half for weekends.
I would rather work for less per line and be able to do more lines than make more per line but struggle to get 1000 lines in a day.
There are nay-sayers for KS. They are strict on quality and expect everyone to work their schedule. Not all accounts are great, but that's anywhere. The only people I know who left were either let go for either quality or not working their shift or they quit because their lead was about to fire them.
Of course we do. This will make time #5 that I do just that. Glad you have good luck.
Not everybody does. Ummm...you do know you don't always get what you ask for/want, right? And if you try sometimes, you still don't get what you need.
Good post MissIndigo....I make 6.5 cents for VR sm
and I do agree it would be difficult to do it at 4 cents a line. We are fortunate, and yes it is possible to increase speed even after a year of doing VR, 4 cents still would seem completely unfair to me. I have in no way doubled my production lines. I may have increased by 50% or 75% of normal line rate, so I think 6.5 to 7 cents is more than fair. No matter what the rate, no one in this industry should think is easy and not have to pay extremely close attention. Good luck to you Ms. Indy. You have a great attitude, I watch your posts. You are a true professional.
So are all you Spheris posters able to make pretty good money there? .... sm
I have more than 25 years in this business, and I have always just steered clear of this company, but I either need to change who I work for or I need to supplement.
I see they have production incentives, which I like. I'm guessing you all like their system, if you are happy there. How about their benefits - are they affordable? Do you think their base pay is fair? Are they flexible at all when it comes to you working your hours? Are you happy with your account(s)? Thanks for any specific info!
I make enough to support a family of 5 on my own with extra leftover...i would say that is good!!
x
I work on a great platform, have good QA support and make
a lot more than 8 cpl. I even have GREAT benefits, which are more than affordable. There are good companies out there that pays for experience!!!!
Incentive tier isn't so good when it's hard to make lines. I'm about
nm
I totally disagree, love VR and can make good money at it
I have been doing now for about 4-5 years and hate it when I have anything straight to type. I have done this for over 30 years, have excellent speed at straight but Escription is a bowl of cherries where I work. I would never want to completely straight type again, never.
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