actions and attitudes speak volumes
Posted By: sweets on 2008-08-25
In Reply to: and I never claimed to be more important than others - do or die
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ACTIONS speak louder than words. Traitor IMO.
x
well she is a liar then. the majority speaks and the truth has been heard. sorry, actions speak
READ THE ARCHIVES. There are volumes and volumes
about Keystrokes. All you have to do is scroll down the page a bit and you'll find several posts. You can also open your original post and click on related messages.
Attitudes. sm
I have never been able to wrap my thought around the theory that offshoring is good for the American MT. It has lowered the living wage of the American MT and allowed large companies to treat good MTs badly. There is no denying the fact of this. The fact that the AAMT has seemingly embraced offshoring as inevitable, all the while mentoring and certifying offshore MTs was their death knell for me and many others. The AAMT never accomplished what it promised to do all those many years ago when I was deeply involved, i.e., raise the awareness in the medical community regarding our skills and professionalism, keep us at a decent working wage, et al. AAMT sold the AMERICAN MT down the river. Companies like Medware, who would feed pablum regarding offshoring is good for us have made that river an ocean. I will no longer be a member of AAMT and will not be renewing my CMT. Frankly, I never got any recognition for that title anyway. I don't know what kind of reception you thought you were going to get here, but I do think that since there are few people here whose opinion you regard, considering the anonymity, perhaps there are other arenas where your thought processes would be more appreciated. It is curious that those of you who continue to defend offshoring never bring up the confidential aspect of medical records going offshore. Is it so small a concern or do you really think that instances, such as with Lubna Baloch, cannot happen again? Regards.
rotten attitudes
Who wouldn't have a bad attitude with the way some of these companies think THEY own their MTs. Thank God I got rid of the rotten companies out there and believe me there are several. Make you promises and never come through. I will never ever let another company OWN me. Something is stinky out there!
meant attitudes (sorry)
Sure I'll be slammed for misspelling.
OUR attitudes sadden YOU?
Who do you think you are talking to? You could use a little perspective on exactly what you are doing.
I received in-house OTJ training at MD Anderson Cancer Institute back in 1974 in the radiotherapy department, back in the day when MTs were valued at least enough to be given the chance to train while making a living wage with great benefits. Back then they did not have to go into hock for a couple of years at some community college or technical school to learn a trade that requires nothing more than a few hours of terminology etymology instruction, a good dictionary, an endless source of dictation and a healthy dose of blood, sweat and tears to hone the skill of a trained ear.
I advanced into medical records in less than a year where I was trained on that new-fangled contraption called a word processor and worked for another 3 years before receiving an irresistible offer of a 30% pay hike and better benefits, NONE OF WHICH I had to pay for....zero deductible, I might add. When my son came along, it cost me a mere $18 per paycheck to add him.
I continued in-house for 6 years or so until the dreaded O monster (outsourcing) reared its ugly head. The hospital where I was working provided me with the referral I needed to chase my account as it kicked its MTs out the back door in the middle of the night, stripping them of employee status, benefits, good hourly pay and self-respect.
I stayed with that hospital account as it was pitched around from one new MTSO to another for the next 10 years...the same amount of time it took for any of them to even BEGIN to entertain the idea of restoring even the most basic of benefits. During that time, I had NO sick time, NO vacation time (and hence worked 8 of those 10 years without taking one a SINGLE day off), NO holiday pay and NO training provided, despite the fact that we were expected to negotiate the onslaught of advancing computer technologies. I missed 8 out of 10 Christmases with my son, worked all other holidays every single year, and 48 to 60 hours a week. The only way I could get a raise was to job hop.
By the time benefits started to emerge, I had a full-blown chronic pain syndrome from endometriosis (which I had to tolerate since I could not afford the surgery), had developed high blood pressure at age 33 and finally suffered a physical collapse from degenerative disk disease at multiple levels which showed up shortly after the high blood pressure. None of these medical conditions had ever been present in my family. I also got caught up in the MTSO schemes that kicked us out the back door once again (trying to avoid that benefits thingy) when we were sent home and expected to buy our own equipment and stay current with that according to whichever way the wind was blowing back at the home office.
This was not that easy as a single parent, once my divorce was final. The marriage could not handle the hours, stress and the fact that I was missing in action in my own home, holed up behind a closed door typing my brains out at all hours of the day and night, trying to make mortgage payments on a modest duplex to keep my son out of gangs and off the apartment complex parking lots when he got older.
One morning, when I tried to get out of bed my back pain was so severe that all I could do was crawl around on my hands and knees. With the next 6 consecutive nights of near total insomnia and worry over losing my job, I was forced to resign. By that time I had neglected my health (and the rest of my life) for more than a decade. I did manage to check myself into a county facility where I was diagnosed with chronic clinical depression. I lost my car and my house. My son had to move in with his father and I had to move back home with my aging mother who was on a fixed income. We became each other's caretakers for the next 7 years until she passed. My son became a man during that time and went away to college.
After 7 years, I returned to transcription in 2001. At first, the pay was not too bad and the benefits had improved in my absence, but lo and behold, not for long. Outsourcing had taken on a whole new meaning and as jobs were exported in ever increasing numbers, our line rates stagnated for a while before they took their current free fall tumble...for me, 20% in the past 3 years. In the past few months, the jobs that offer benefits have all but disappeared from the boards and at age 60, I am not really sure that I can relive this nightmare yet one more time.
So here you are, whining about our attitudes while you just inch your way between me and my measly 8 cpl, sticking your fingers in the penny pie and pulling out a couple for yourself while you think nobody is looking. WRONG. We're paying very close attention to you and your ilk along with the rest of the disintegration or our profession. Don't you DARE ask me for my understanding. I've paid my dues time and time again. The well is dry and there is no place to go from here except straight down to the bottom. Make no mistake, you will be tumbling right along with the rest of us, despite your best efforts to paint that rosey picture and that fairy tale your are trying spin. Enjoy the ride while you can. Time is short.
these kind of attitudes are why I sm
quit working in an office years and years ago. Too much back biting and back stabbing. I always had the idea that if people would stop with the snipping and worrying about what everybody else was doing, they would make more money themselves. Good grief!
Posting attitudes here
I know that working from home as an MT is in itself an isolating job, been doing it for many years and enjoy it very much. In fact, reading these posts remind me how much I enjoy it because of the back-stabbing, snide and rude remarks. Would some of you say the same thing you post to someone's face in person? I think not. Just because we are *anonymous* doesn't mean we can hit and run and say things we ordinarily would not, without manners or consideration.
None of us will ever agree all the time, that's not the point. Can we at least be nice to each other and have a debate without the nastiness?
Thanks... Happy Memorial Day weekend y'all. 
I think that attitudes like yours are the reason companies are looking elsewhere. sm
You work from home to be with your family and not be treated like you are in an office? Give me a break. Act like an employee who deserves to get perks and maybe you'll be treated better. Follow your shifts (not signing in 2 hours late and ending early) and you won't get a mean email. You sound like a high school student with their first job. Where is your work ethic? I do not agree with te work going to other companies, but they seem to want to work while a lot of U.S. MT's do a lot of whining and complaining. No wonder they want to replace us. Less headaches and hassles for them. They want to make money.
We've chased our jobs away. Not all of us, but those of us with attitudes like the above poster.
Am I angry? You bet. Do your job and they will have reason to look elsewhere. The rest of us who work our shifts when we are supposed to shouldn't have to suffer because of attitudes of others, but those attitudes seem to be the majority.
I would have to agree. I've been the "victim" of such attitudes.
Gosh forbid but I actually dared to misspell a word on here about 2 months ago and got blasted. I've never seen such bitterness, and quite honestly my observation is this...I had always worked outside the home up until 3 years ago when financially I was able to and wanted to, just work at home so I could be home more for my last child at home and not commuting so much. Truly, I have seen so much bitterness and hostility that I never experienced in the outside workplace as a non-MT. Sadly, I have even have found myself falling into this negativity. I'm not sure whether it is the social isolation that brings you to this point, where you feel unable or unwilling to communicate appropriately with others or what. I have honestly found MTs to be a different breed, through no fault of our own. Again, possibly isolation, disappointment (the biz gets worse and worse as far as work and pay) or just the feeling stuck thing. Myself, I do feel isolated from the real world and I feel stuck because now that I have been here so long it is hard to adjust back out there and trust me.....I have tried, only to come running back home. In any event, for whatever reason we're all here..necessity or otherwise, we should be what this board was intended for...a support system. Yes, some days we need to vent because no day is perfect. I think we should all be able to do that without being called names. Then, I think we could do some encouraging, and if I have misspelled a word or used improper English, punctuation or whatever, I hope I won't be scorned. We all are different and we're not perfect. Thanks 
Work volumes....
Work volumes have been pretty low across the board. We were told at a town hall meeting last month that they would be recruiting MTs from within the company to work on these new accounts that are coming on board soon in order to solve low work volumes many of us have been encountering. It's not very comforting to hear that they are doing exactly what they promised not to do (hire new MTs for these accounts).
Proscript low volumes
Anyone else get the e-mail about low volumes at Proscript and what do you think?
Proscript low volumes
Proscript has just had layoffs for no work.
FOCUS WORK VOLUMES
I just wanted to add that I find plenty of work if I work between 5pm and 11pm, eastern time. If I want to work during the daytime, say between 8am and 5pm, the queues are often empty (3 of them). There was one time that I logged in at 4am, and I found the queues all empty at that time as well.
Good luck.
That speaks volumes for the respect MTs have for
NM
My experience was low pay, low work volumes
But they were very nice. Unfortunately, nice doesn't pay the bills. :/
I have noticed low volumes but so far no emails. sm
Maybe it depends on your account.
QA is good, they are fair - DSG not the only one with low volumes
Some days I think the industry itself is in a death spiral... there certainly has been a yo-yo effect for a while now on volume.
My suggestion is that people start looking in other directions at least for back up/part time income. I could be wrong but I just don't see a reversal happening in this industry.
Not only is VR working against us, it will only improve with time - and possibly to an extent that will even reduce VR positions. Likely more software is in development that will further erode job opportunities and/or drive down wages.
Outsourcing is playing a huge role as well.
Not to create or add to anyone's panic, but read the writing on the wall before it's too late - diversify your skills and don't put all your eggs in the transcription basket, cuz me thinks there's an egg-sized hole in the bottom. insert wry smiley face here.
Unless she can provide large volumes of
eventually the big co's with their guerilla business tactics will stomp on her little business, too.
Low work volumes, horrible sound
What is going on with Transcend?
I am about to leave also and I never thought I'd see myself type that!
Great company, low escription volumes but..
hopefully it will pick up. I really love working for them. I only want to edit, do not want to type
My experience is work volumes fluctuate SM
but fairly predictably, and a full shift is virtually always available IF you choose to adapt work schedule for those days and periods when work is plentiful.
Until recently health benefits were available for a 36-hour workweek, now it's a 40-hour work week with some flexibility.
Working that full schedule, though, a skilled MLS (medical language specialist) with a well-developed and used Expander who is familiar with the assigned accounts can make good money, and many do. The incentive bonus schedule is quite good and rewarding to high producers.
Percentage of ESL is quite high, but they're as doable as any others once familiarity with their dictation is achieved (typically they know we can't understand them and try to vary as little as possible from their standard verbage).
WebMedx specializes in mid-sized community medical centers. No Cleveland Clinics or UCLA MC here, which is the biggest drawback I know of, really the only one, with this company. This type of workload does contribute to getting that high-line-count familiarity, though. Accounts and formats are typically easy to learn, with relatively little in the way of fussy individuality to keep track of.
I do believe WebMedx is genuinely trying to get and hold onto good people by treating them well. Absolutely no complaints in that regard in all the time I've worked there.
So, welcome, NN, and best wishes on your decision, Decision. :)
Your positive attitude speaks volumes! Good for you! sm
I worked for JLG in the past and it was a stable, quality company. There are always bumps in the road for everyone--even for companies.
I wonder if these students aren't doing some Webmedx dictation already with work volumes as they
It ain't all the economy. They are either OVERHIRING incredibly or the work is going somewhere else. Definitely. They should have the decency to be straight with us.
The staff and the attitudes of the staff. Very helpful, cheerful. (sm)
They seem to work extremely hard to balance everything out, enough work, enough MTs and always making sure they let the MTs know they are a valuable asset to the company. That means a lot. Not to mention the bennies are pretty good, too.
No, not how many rotten companies -- how many rotten ATTITUDES are on here!
Don't be so gullable.
They don't want the MTs to speak with SM
each other because they might share information on line rate, how easy/hard the accounts are and MOSTLY because they do have favorites who get flexible schedules, high line rate and cake accounts and they don't want groups of people emailing each other and discovering this.
speak for yourself
I have a friend who works there and makes over 75,000 a year.
Speak for yourself
I think you have it backwards. There has never been any mass exodus unless you consider 3-4 people a mass exodus. Actually, those 3-4 people might still be with the company if not for a certain someone who egged them on until they quit. This person herself stayed on for another couple of years trying to stir the pot with complaints about fabricated events. This person finally left a few months ago.
Crap happens, no matter where you are, who you are, or what you do.
Transcend is STILL a good place to work.
Too bad so many people don't have the wherewithall to actually work for a company longer than a few weeks before they come to false conclusions about a place and then quit.
speak for yourself
I have been an MT now for 7-1/2 years and make 50K. Not sure of how many babysitters do that in 40 hours.
I can't speak for everyone, but I like it here
I have a great lead, who is very knowledgeable, kind and even funny at times - and she tries her best to keep things running smoothly, and pleasant. I don't know how the other leads are, but I would at least give them a chance. I've got no complaints.
Did you really speak to him?
I was a one of those MTs who made 3cpl. If he denies that they pay newbies this amount...he is lying. If he denies that you have to wait a month or more to be paid...he is lying...unless something has changed.
I can't speak for anybody else,
but as far as these posts go, I use the same initials all the time, so no, I haven't posted multiple times under different names, but I do know of several people who quit this place because of the owners nastiness, and lack of work. Even a QA person quit who was getting paid hourly, in one week she had a total of 6 hours work, nobody can live on that. I was there eight months and they kept promising me work, but it never came. It's landmark and made up of disgruntled ex-MQers.
Can't speak for all MTs but I have been
MTing for about 5 years and looking to get out of this field. I do not want to be an old timer. I have found out that hard work does not always pay off in this field. I worked 7 days a week with this company because I was eager to learn the account, learn the dictators and bring up my line count. When my lines got into the extra money range -- BOOM - here come dictators that were not around previously. I'm sick and tired of the games MTSOs play and don't want to complain about the same thing 25 years from now. The other thing is this - they are looking for people to work the holiday with no incentive. As far as I'm concerned - let the owner of the company work. I'm tired of their games.
OBVIOUSLY I DO NOT SPEAK FOR EVERYONE...
Not everyone is smart enough to get out of a terrible work enviornment, and that is why they are still in business.
please don't speak for all of us
I have no interest in this company either, but I dislike board bullies who tell people what they should or should not post about. Another pet peeve -- responders with check the archives reply. We can post and respond to what we like -- we do not need people (besides moderators) patrolling these boards. Think Dwight on The Office . . . . you are he!
Can't speak for everyone else, but...
I got fed up with everyone bashing me for making positive comments! I love my job at Keystrokes. I have been here since January and am very satisfied with my primary account and my direct deposit paychecks.
I have answered several posters requesting information about Keystrokes, but, frankly, I do not appreciate the negativity I was shown in response from some anonymous posters. Therefore, I chose not to respond to this post - but I guess I did, anyway!
I can't speak for TT
but I use the cntr I feature where I work and what I see is what I get paid for, this already has headers and footers taken out, and I don't find anything amiss with it. I find it to be very fair and accurate. Guess every company has their own way of what they count and what they don't and is totally up to their discretion.
I can only speak for myself, but (sm)
I was told that my doctors would be about 50:50. That was 2 years ago. I have since added several backup accts that have more ESLs than the original one; but I have yet to encounter one where I had that bad of a time with it. Like the above poster said, you can pretty much figure out what they are saying by looking at samples; also, as someone else said, more than allowed # of blanks, give to QA. I wish I knew what this acct was everybody is complaining about (I'm thinking it might be the one I do). First initial of the place maybe? Can we do that?
I cannot speak for others, but I was .....sm
asked to go part-time. I basically lost all my benefits when I went part-time though. They worked with me for as long as they could, but we just came to an agreement and that is what I did. I am not sure what others have done though, so I would go to your supervisor and tell her your concerns and see what you can work out with them, as they tried their best to work with me, so they should work with you. Good luck. 
You speak for most of us
:)
Have to speak up here.
Amphion's accounts used various degrees of BOS and some none at all. In fact, there were accounts that required you to capitalize every drug, generic or name brand. They don't strictly follow the AAMT BOS, they follow their own rules, and many different ones at that.
That does not mean they do not speak clearly.
xx
please don't speak for me
we are ALL not in a sad state. and ya know what.... right now this is my dream job. I'm happy as a clam.
Speak for yourself. 50K is OK with me. nm
Can't speak for others, but
I've never even come close to running out of work. The platform is great, there's a fair amount of flexibility, and the people are absolutely wonderful. Webmedx was just named 2008 AHDI Employer of the Year -- and it didn't surprise me at all!
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, KEEP YOUR VR..NM
SPEAK FOR....
yourself. There is every arrangement from nuts to diapers in this industry. People need to learn to speak their own experience what happenned, not conjecture. In turn, let people speak their opinion and dont say they're so wrong. I have worked in manyh responsible jobs in m life... in hospitals. Nothing has come close to beating me up like this industry. And I'm working on it!
Well, at least they speak...
...the same language....sort of!
I can't speak for TT...
But I have worked for Keystrokes, and I found management there to be extremely flaky. I guess it depends on what exactly you are looking for. The pay is okay. They are pretty flexible with scheduling, but you will not get overtime there despite the fact that many leads there push for the MTs to work overtime on a regular basis. I'm sure there are other MTs here who work for them and can give you additional opinions.
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