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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

It's a different world now of course, so I'm thinking about going back to work.

Posted By: grasshopper on 2009-02-23
In Reply to: Thinking about returning to MT - Nancy

Well, you may be rusty at first but start out slow and build up speed and knowledge. You have a huge advantage I think over newbies in the field as it's there in your memory cells and all you have to do is "open the file" so to speak and build on what is already there in the hard drive. Just going on vacation makes me rusty so I can imagine that you have your work cut out for you but its still the same job and you know the drill.


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Yes, and what about Moon Zappa and Dweezil? What in the world were they thinking?
Horrendous.
Anybody else ever go from QA back to MT world?
OK - I love transcribing - LOVE it. And am, or was, great at it. For just about 2 years next month, I have been in QA. I hate it, absolutely hate it. I am wondering if any of you have been in the same boat? "Promoted" in theory up to QA, but then have been unhappy. I miss the isolation of NOT having to deal with coworkers - I hate the office politics, which sickeningly still go on via cyberspace, yet its worse cause you can see their back-stabbing til its WAY big and you have so many knives in your back that you can't sit down in your chair.  MTs are frazzled, so hate QA - period. They don't want to know me from Mars, and hate any and all feedback. MTs hate being critiqued at all. Period. I remember - I do. I could put a big happy face sticker and wrap it up in a big red bow, and they still HATE FEEDBACK. And management? Forget it. No recognition either monetarily or just a pat on the back. I can pull a medical term out of the air that is correct and impresses even ME, but who cares? I am phenomenal at QA. But no one cares at all. In fact, its the opposite - coworkers are cut-throat and competitive, conniving and scheming. MTS are frazzled and hateful. The $$ is nice, but is it worth it? I'm also afraid I'll lose my transcribing skills. Its been years since I typed more than a message for a forum! I don't even know how to transcribe voice recognition, though I could probably pick it up quickly. I miss working my own hours, I miss the hustle and bustle of getting those jobs! I miss actually producing a report that is MINE. I am always fixing up someone else's work, and the original producer usually hates my presence in HER job. I miss earning incentive bonuses. I miss a challenge. I miss BEING A TRANSCRIPTIONIST!! Can anybody relate? Am I being foolish? I definitely make more $$ as QA, but...is it really worth it if I hate it this much already - burned out after 2 years?
I'm ready to go back out into the world and buy
new clothes, commute, the whole enchilada, if it means a decent wage, which in turn would mean I could go back to having a life again. Working 6 1/2 days a week for a place to sleep, but nothing else, is CR@P.

My co. is disorganized, too. They keep changing their minds about style. As soon as you pick up speed and accuracy on an account, they switch you. That tactic does NO ONE any good - not the worker, not the company, and not the client.

You know where their heads are, and it's not on their shoulders.
I am seriously thinking of going back to college at 38

years old and still work full-time. My kids are older now and pretty much self-sufficient. I would still have to work full-time though - need the money too much to go part-time.


I was thinking about going into the field of speech language pathology but not absolutely positive on that. The only thing I am positive about is my income as an MT is at a complete stand still and I'd like something to fall back on when this field no longer suits me.


Are there any other Moms out there going to school and working full-time? I'd like to hear how it's going for you.


That's tough, I think I'd try it thinking I could get another job back in MT if I had to.
It really sounds like too good an opportunity to not at least give it a try. If it doesn't work out, it would still be a great experience I think.
Thinking of going back to school; anyone

I've been an MT forever, and am now 58.   Retirement for me will be out of the question, but as we all know, the MT profession has taken a nosedive in past years, and the outlook is bleak.


From what I've read so far, an ultrasound tech can become certified at the proper schools without having to already have had extensive college.  (Only 2 years here, and that was in English, not pre-med, biology, science, etc.)   


Have any of you tried the same thing, or know people who have?  I definitely have to do SOMETHING, and time is obviously running out.  I also don't care for nursing. 


Any feedback appreciated!!!     


If I cant get google back, thinking of applying
x
Boy, you brought back memories. I remember crying too and thinking I'd never get it that first y
x
I'm thinking of going back to school to become a meteorologist when my hands give out....
nm
Editing 3rd world work

I just edited two jobs that were typed in the Middle East. There is NO WAY anyone can truthfully claim these people will make fair MTs, never mind good ones and to say nothing of great one.  And the foreign owned companies think it will be possible to send this type of work straight to the facility without US ED??


 


Simply leave out the language.   Goldbird


The MT world is hard work (sm)
Honey, I've been a Transcriptionist for 20 years and believe me, it is hard work. But it was even harder when my children were small (I had 3 of them). It sounds like she knew the job wasn't working out and had to do something about it. I agree with the other poster...try not to take it personally.
Why in the world would you continue to work
out there?   Are you mentally challenged???
I would say NO otherwise our work wouldn't be in a 3rd world country.
nm
In a perfect world, the mobile devices will work perfectly..
It will only take a few big money malpractive suits and lawsuits against hospitals for this standardized text and free text to be proven to be inadequate documentation. Do you honestly believe Joint Commission and insurance companies will relax their standards for health care documentation? I could be very wrong, but I'm not throwing in the towel yet.
That is what I am thinking...Work is so slow..sm
I can't recommend a company right now.
I was thinking about this situation with companies that hire people and then there is no work. When
you think about that, that is about as low as anyone can get to just run people out of work for whatever reason when people need money to live, pay bills, support children and feed them, etc. When you really think about that, people's lives hinge on their income and as far as I am concerned, that is the worst thing any company can due to the people that work for them. That is how I feel today because I have been out of work and scrounging for lines and I am disgusted with the whole business. I hope that companies will soon wake up and stop doing this to people. It is disgusting.
Yes, you get back to work now. Go back to
some routine, and it does start to hurt less. I know  And remember, she is still there at work with you. Always will be. I figure at this point I have a whole herd of loved dogs under my desk each day - along with a couple horses, hamsters, parakeets, rabbits...If only I could see them - must be quite a happy zoo! But I know they are all there I sense their love.
Speaking of Kenny Chesney, is anyone thinking what I am thinking? see message
When I hear the words, "annulment" and "fraud" in the same sentence, I can only think of one thing.  Anybody else thinking the same thing?
Sure does, if you are going back to work (sm)
and want to get screwed out of your disability money.
Back to work
I started working 2 or 3 weeks after I delivered via C section. I might have even been back sooner but I had twins. But I am only part time and ~at the time~ had a flexible schedule.

Good luck! A bit of advice, don't resume a regular diet right after the C section. Liquid diet the first 24 hours. Soft diet the next 24. Then resume regular diet, as tolerated. Take it from someone who ended up with a bowel obstruction and NG tube (terrible!!!!) because the nurses said GO AHEAD AND EAT!!! when the cafeteria brought me chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, some kind of veggie, and a dinner roll.
Let's take the work back!
I agree that unionizing is not the answer at this point. I would like to see us take the work back from the MTSOs from the hospitals and physician offices. Let us talk to our local medical facilities, explain what is happening with their work (nationals, overseas), and ask for a chance to prove ourselves. If we offer a reasonable rate and perhaps even a small free sample of our work, maybe, just maybe, we will find facilities ready for a change back to a more personal transcription setting.

No, I don't have all the answers - wish I did - but this is my suggestion, and the only one I can think of at this point. I am one of those MTs who has been an MT for 20+ years who has seen a decrease in pay, as many of you have also seen.

I will read with interest any other reasonable suggestions from my fellow MTs.
one last comment for me, then I'm back to work. sm
Consider that someone (lets say Magdelena) is Buddhist (or whatever) and Jesus is "just a nice guy" in her opinion.

Then lets say she led an exemplary life, servitude to others, love of mankind, everything "good".

Then lets say Jesus was THE only path. Would Jesus, a man of his magnitude, deny Magdelena the kingdom of Heaven if she lived her life with Jesus' principles but didn't believe he existed. I think not. He would say, pleased to meet you and come on in!
Frank, I will go get back to work as soon as I
fix my makeup and put shine serum in my hair to look beautiful typing today for you.
sending back work
I have made it a point to learn the *hard* doctors, cause they are sent to me quite a bit, cause MQ knows I can do the *hard* doctors..Its crummy having to learn them and knowing you are losing money in the process but once you learn the *hard* doctors, you know the ones who are ESL or English as third or fourth language (smile), you can do them and then it is no big deal.  Yesterday, I got a half transcribed report with at least seven blanks for Q/A..I was able to do the report with no blanks cause I have learned this doctor, who has what I think is a Middle Eastern French accent..He is quite hard but I can do him as I have learned him over the years (since 2000).  Practice makes perfect and the way transcription is going with voice recognition, I think the only transcriptionists who will be left in the end are the ones who can do the ESL, mumblers, speed talkers or speech impediment doctors, the ones who voice recognition cannot do.
Made more back then, did not work
for a large service, had my own business and also worked for a clinic, better pay.  Services are stingy.  I hard one complaining because half their expenses were MT salaries.  I asked him why don't you just get rid of the MTs, then you won't have to pay them.  Cheapskates. 
Not! They are why I went back to work for a hospital
to work
Going back to work after c-section
I returned to work two weeks after my c-section working 6 hours per day. I however made sure to get out of the chair frequently so as to not get so stiff from sitting for so long, which does happen so soon after a c-section. I wouldn't go back to soon though, as it can be very stressful with a new baby and a job to tend to on top of it all.
Tell her NO exceptions, work has to be back. If she is not

able to do the work don't give it to her.   You wouldn't tolerate it with the other MTs and I sure which I had an account that wouldn't drop me if work was that late.  Send her (if you haven't already) a form where you state TAT and ask for her commitment on a monthly basis.   You can state in the form that failure to meet TAT could/would result in termination.   She is taking advantage of you but only because you allow her too.  


Maybe only give her work 2 days a week  and give her only an amount that she seems to be doing currently.  If you give her less work maybe she will be able to meet TAT. 


 


I have work going back years - sm
others keep it a month or two. I have one doctor who sees patients on a yearly basis, I pull the previous report so I don't have to retype a lot of it, as he basically repeats the old one with a few changes, I'd have a lot more work to do otherwise. I have another account that constantly misplaces their work, I have to retrieve work from months earlier because they cannot find their copy. I can either pull it from my stash, or the MTSO has a FTP where we back up all our work just for this purpose, she keeps it all there going back years. I have no idea how often she cleans it out, but she hasn't in the almost 2 years I have been with her. On another note, I only keep the sound files for a month, then I dump them.
yes, when all that overseas work comes back
after it becomes illegal to outsource work with our personal information.  I am hoping that day comes soon.
bringing back the work!
In addition to doing MT, I also work as a coder at a very large teaching hospital and academic facility with 160'some clinics. Our transcription is outsourced and recently started going overseas. Guess what - our hospital is bringing it back to the States AND will not accept voice recognition! Too many errors that affect coding, AR days and, thus, reimbursement. Our dictation will continue to be outsourced but will not be allowed to go outside the US and can only be done by a real MT. Too bad it had to be the reimbursement that was the only issue that will bring the work back and not simply the fact that the quality is just not there but..at least there is something that will keep the work here in the US and keep it from being doing by VR. I just thought someone might like to know this is happening. I am hoping other hospitals get the hint.
I work on an account that just came back from India sm
They had an outsourcing company that sent their stuff to India. They were so unhappy, they brought the account back to be done by AMERICAN MTS.

But the poster below me is right, the government IS doing something, they are making it easier and more financially rewarding to go overseas. One day and sooner than later, the American worker will be so poor and so economically depressed that America will no longer be able to import goods/services from overseas because we can't afford them. By that point, we'll be gardening in our window boxes and stockpiling foods that we will no longer be able to have or afford.

The tip of the slippery slope towards another Great Depression.
Oh well, as long as it gets our work out of India and back to us
I would go back to the office in a second for decent money and affordable benefits. 
I went back to work when babies were 9 days old
And yes, you can transcribe with TWO babies on your lap. It's a royal pain getting spit-up out of the keyboard though!

And before anybody starts a flame war on me, the boys are 10 years old now and now I get to work while they're asleep.... ;)
Going back to Office Admin Work

Hello everyone.  I wanted to sign in and thank everyone for all the info that has been posted on this board.  It was a very important web site for me during my short transcription career.


After being laid off from a company in Michigan 3 weeks ago, I have searched for and found an office manager position in a non-MT environment.  I'm going back to my routes in Admin.  I tried to make a career change a few years ago.  Maybe it was not the financial environment to make such a change or maybe it is just not for me.  What ever the case is, I'm leaving.  I have invested a large amount of time and money into this dream but sometimes you have to know when to "fold 'em."  Lucky for me hubby is on board and not making me feel bad about our investment or how this dream of mine drained our finances. 


So, again, thanks for all the help and good luck to everyone. 


DId NOT work. Had to pound the keys -- took it back in 2 days. nm
x
Sorry, I got cut off and didn't realize it. I was told it was more of a way to get the work back
I was told it was more of a way to get the work back and forth.  Does it actually affect the line counts? 
You might be sending finished work back to an FTP site
s
I work whatever hours I want, as long as I have the reports back in TAT...
I have assigned doctors...
Mind is willing to work but legs and back aren't cooperating.
Any cures for MT body aches?
Get samples. Proof your work. Have back up equipment. Meet TAT.
dd
I would just supply one digital copy, either send the work back
via an FTP site or email attachment or whatever, or keep addending to a CD, but let them keep their own archives. And why can't they print when you deliver the CD or the work in digital format? I don't do any printing at all. Everything goes back digital and they keep their own copies. Once I bill for the month, everything gets deleted, as it should be under HIPAA.
Just say it's not going to work out, quit, and send the stuff back. Not like you'll be using t
s
Was offered 7.4-7.7 cpl for clinic work back in 2005 and 8 cpl for hospital. Is it still
s
looking for people that used to work for small MTSO in Suffield, OH a few years back.
ss
if you purchase bytescribe/docshuttle, you can actually upload the completed work back on there. nm
;
I didnt ask for ANYTHING. Merry Christmas and watch your back when u work for a national.
thats MY point.
Worked in clinic for 30 yrs and have tinnitus. I am used to back ground noise, hard to work
:+
With short arms, I need chair with shallow seat, good back support and high back. Want arm rests
:+
OK! I'm glad you're back down here. Now don't go back up there and read those evil posts ag
Okay? But I have to leave you now, sadly. Thousands of noble dictating doctors are anxiously awaiting my help with their "dictations"....They're all loading up on chips, drinking lots of soda so they can burp, and then have to go to the bathroom...You know the routine! Off I go to earn some pennies!! But, truly, I am thankful that I have a job!
PS.. It apparently worked..I heard back and already submitted the paperwork back.

I'm not sure how many people they are hiring but you shouldn't stress too hard over it. Do the best you can.