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A board to discuss how MT skills can

Posted By: Moving on on 2006-02-11
In Reply to: We need a new board for no more MTing - Still making good at MT

be transitioned into another line of work couldn't hurt. No matter how secure any job or profession appears to be, the situation can change at any time. That is the reality of the workplace with mergers, technology, etc.

One of the the worst career management errors is to become complacent. I can look back on seventeen years in this profession. It has changed, and not to our advantage. I can't predict the future, but it would be naive not to at least consider other options.


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The main board is used to discuss many different topics. sm
There are many posts on this board that if you were to be really technical about it, should be put on the company board, word board, productivity board, religion board, etc., but they're allowed to stay here and be discussed. If you don't like this topic, then feel free to skip it. But it really isn't a political discussion per se, so it shouldn't have to be taken somewhere else.
Please use Offshore board to discuss those topics. (NM)
Goldbird
Why don't you discuss this...
With her doctor and tell him that you know you are not a doctor but you read that menstrual blood among other things can effect the test results. Tell him she was on her period at the time so is it possible to test this again after she has stopped her period? Get his opinion on this.
If it ever comes up, discuss it then
with your supervisor, but until then, I would not worry about bringing it up. If it ever happens, just ask her should you do it or return it to the pool and let her make the call.

I did type a doctor's visit for a close friend's dad one time. My friend nor his father ever knew that I did it, and it's been so long I couldn't tell you what was in it if I wanted to. I do believe if it was family or very close friends, though, I'd let the boss know and do whatever she/he decided.
I'd tell me to discuss it with his boss

You gotta be r-e-a-l careful when you're talk state laws. The boss might consider him "problematic." I mean, how much money are we talking about in terms of travel from the boss to the client? If he's getting, say, $10/hour and it's a 15-minute drive ... For $2.50, I would just let it slide.

I'm an IC and work exclusively for one company, which makes me a statutory employee by IRS law. However, I'm making a high line rate, so I'm more than willing to leave things as they are and pay 100% of my social security tax.

This is one of those "silence is golden" situations.


Please discuss what you have firsthand
I have 14 years experience working for a prison system that included a work release center. Penal systems have to abide by certain guidelines set by the federal government when placing work release inmates in jobs. Inmates are forbidden from handling any type of mail. They are also forbidden from any job that involves access to credit card information or peoples social security numbers and other info.

If you have first hand knowledge of an entity or facility that has inmates working in a capacity where they have access to this information, please list the name and I will report it to the proper entity.

Please do not make statement about it being 'common knowledge that inmates process catalog orders' if you don't know what you are talking about. Which catalog has inmates processing orders? Please tell us. Some of you people are so messy and quick to spread false gossip. As adults, you should try to be more responsible about what you say.
I would discuss it with the head of QA....nm
/
Advise you discuss this with your doctor. Soon.
11
The mature thing to do would be to discuss your

feelings with your trainer.  If not satisfied, go to the transcription supervisor, and then to the overall manager. 


First, sit back and take a deep breath.  Put it all aside for a few hours and watch TV, take a bubble bath, do whatever, but get it off your mind.  Then make up your mind that you can do it, but you first must take time to organize everything in your mind.  If you really believe it is still the company's fault, then it is time for a new job. 


 


Find a doctor who will discuss it. I SM
don't know about the patch. I do know there are various dosages of the pills, but all of this needs to be discussed with your doctor. Sounds like you need a new one.
fortunately for the rest of us who dO want to discuss this,

Discuss this with OM and explain PA made
x
I agree, she should discuss it with her attorney but personally,
I would wait until the final papers are signed before I bought another house.
I neve discuss politics or religion
x
Her points are valid, true, and very appropriate to discuss here.
The only thing I would add to that is that in addition to discussing this age-old medical "dirty secret" here, it should also be discussed with anyone and everyone, until the issue can be brought to the forefront in the medical industry. A lot of terrible medical mistakes are being averted because of skilled MTs catching them.
We are an important line of defense in the medicolegal risks every doctor & medical institution faces every day. Yet because very few people know this profession even exists, we're continually being kept in the medical industry's darkest closet, and many of them get their hides saved from financial ruin every day -- literally at our expense.
Not OP and don't care to discuss details BUT OSI hired for a specific

specialty that most MTs love and then overstaffed the account.  When MTs ran out of work on that speciality account, OSI offered to switch them to another speciality on a more difficult account. To go to work with OSI required much time testing, negotiating, training and specific equipment purchased so you have already made a time and financial investment only to discover that the specialty you were promised doesn't have enough work so to survive you either take the back-up account which is not as financially rewarding as the one you were promised or you lose the money and time you have put into going to work with OSI.  I also quit my other job so I could work full time for OSI based on promises made that were never intended to be kept. 


.(This is me after discovering what OSI was all about and not at all as promised)


so true - letter says call will be to discuss rewards BUT

anything!


Quit wasting my time with this MQ.


Either say what's on your feeble mind or quit calling.


Sorry, but your OP made no mention of the fact that you did not discuss your situation with this guy
:o
Can you call and discuss the situation? They may be understanding and helpful. nm
:+
Really tacky on her part - I never discuss salary with anyone but hubby!
She obviously has issues with feeling inferior somehow! What kind of person says, "I make XYZ amount of money" when no one even asks?
Free webinar to discuss Bentley College MT survey
This afternoon, May 16, at 1 p.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Mountain/3 p.m. Central/4 p.m. Eastern, Vance Digital/Webstream Information On Demand is hosting a free webinar to discuss the preliminary findings of the Bentley Report. This will be a round-table type meeting and anyone who wishes to comment or ask questions will be welcome to do so. The webinar will be recorded and will be available for purchase. If there is sufficient demand, we'll offer more of these webinars in the near future.

To join the webinar, visit http://www.conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs34fe20e1c1ac and download the tcConference plugin. Log in with a username of your choice and use guest as the password. You'll need PC speakers to hear others speak, and a PC microphone if you wish to speak. A microphone is not required to participate, as the webinar room has text chat capabilities also.

This session will be limited to 100 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please contact me by email at jaysvance at yahoo dot com if you have any questions.

The report can be downloaded from http://www.webstream.us/downloads/Bentley_MT_Survey_Preliminary_Report.pdf
people skills
I beg to differ. I agree with the OP - your post was rude and condescending. I see no evidence of people skills in anything you wrote or in the "tone" of your post.

Also, your reply had nothing to do with her post. She was sharing good news about a hiring phase going on right now. Too bad you are so miserable that you cannot even recognize when one human being is sharing good news with others.

From what I have seen and experienced with MTSOs in the last 2 years (28 years in this business), there are many owners, managers and supervisors with no clue about how to deal with their employees.

SO, maybe you are the one who needs to find another business.
Looking to upgrade skills, though sm

just for personal reasons, as I'm still working, etc.  I see Medword has a 9 specialty CD set for $269, and of course there is the SUM Advanced package but that's $840.  My goal is to be more employable by just broadening my skills as I've only been doing ER and clinic for years (going on 10); however, I'm certainly not made of money!  ;)  Do you think the Medword one would be okay or a waste of money?  I've heard great things about the SUM program but do you think it's really necessary?


Thanks for your thoughts!


I hope your MT skills



This is where your skills really come into play.
It will drive you mad if you let it.  Sometimes even the doctor is unfamiliar with the med especially specialists.  I have found that on an occasional basis. 
$$ should have nothing to do with your skills and conscientiousness. (sm)
you sound like one of the ones who is relatively new to the field (within the last 10 years) who pumps out reports, doesn't spell correctly, and doesn't like being corrected.  Am I right?
Gap in spelling skills, too.
I have noted that misspelled words are everywhere; spelling skills are apparently no longer valued (and I'm talking people with advanced degrees with atrocious spelling and grammar).  I need to go to the dentist and get some teeth fixed from clenching my jaws so tightly whenever a doctor says things like "he itched himself".
not too sure of skills, need advice

Just wondering if any of you have experienced a lot of "knocks" starting out in transcription.  I took an at-home course in 98 and finally got hired in 2000 and trained in office for 8 months.  I worked at home for about 3 months then my husband divorced me.  I continued to work in the medical field for the next 4 years, doing work in a hospital that included med term and typing with 98% accuracy or actual transcription.  My problem is when I find a job my feedback is that I am leaving little words out, or not paying close enought attention to detail.  What can I do to improve this?  the only thing I can think of is just keep practicing but I can't keep an actual transcripton job long enough!  What do I do? 


Looking to strengthen skills...
I have been in the field for 7 years with the same account (IM and Family Practice.)  Looking to strengthen my skills.  The areas I feel I need improvement in are grammer, proofing (something I have done very little of), and a stronger understanding of terminology.  If you have any advice on where to go from here.  I do not need a full transcription course, but does anyone offer a "refresher" and/or practice dictation in different specialties.  Thanks so much!!   
What if you were an LPN with not so hot typing skills?
Would that duty still be required of you?  Sounds like you are not that busy as an LPN.  Small office?  This was not in your original job description?  I would ask about a pay increase along with the duty increase.
thanks...just knowing there are others, same age bracket, skills, etc...does help...
like you, I LOVE this job, and actually chose it - not the other way around. Fortunately, it has not cost me anything, really, like the other poster mentioned; but I too am scared.

It is always upsetting when you life changes because of things out of your control...at our age, we are from the times when people had one job until they retired. I know that is history, but man, this way is ridiculous. Flying from job to job, no continuity, no structure. What good can come of this anyway.

like the other poster mentioned, who cares about us anyway, really. the rich only care about getting richer, and that crap about giving the tax cuts to the rich and they will 'share it' - what a bunch of fools we have been.

thanks for sharing!
Advice on expanding my skills..

If I  want to specialize in Orthopedic or Cardiology or some other specialty, what is the best way to do this?  I currently only do ER.


Would I  have to enroll in an on-line school or can I just use practice tapes? 


Any advice is appreciated!!


Need fast skills update
Need books/tapes to upgrade skills to do acute care work. Any advice on materials I can purchase. Going back to school is not an option right now.
Test your typing skills
http://www.arcadespot.net/play-1126.html
If your DD has previous skills she can post
resume on the on-line sites like monster.com.   There are few jobs that are legit.  If they require $$ upfront you can bet they are a scam. 
Just good parenting skills -nm
m
If you are confident of your skills, testing
x
The people who hate QA are the ones with bad skills and cannot type for nothing!
Maybe these people should learn how to bring their scores up instead of thinking their mistakes are right!
Maybe if you spend more time honing your skills and
x
She fears because of her own lack of transcription skills, sm
not because the ESL doctors do not give good patient care.  If you are not up to the job of transcribing the reports, then you should not try to do it.  But do not blame poor patient care on the ESL doctors.
Good research skills the best skill an MT
x
Your account is too easy for your skills would be my thought.
For instance, you are making very good money easily while other MTs may be on a more difficult account and making less. You may one day be looked at as a person to move into another more challenging account to keep you in the curve of pay for MTs. That would be fair, actually, when you think about it.
failed skills test for national sm

Hi all.  I have been an MT for 10 years and took a skills test for a national and FAILED. 


Oh my goodness, talk about a slap in the face!  All I know is they require 90% accuracy and apparently I failed that. 


It has me questioning my skills at this point.  PLEASE tell me others of you have had this problem!


 


Thanks


low level, low income, low education, low coping skills.
birds of a feather flock together FOR THE MOST PART.  why don't rich people move to trailer parks?  the mentality.  why do low income people stay low income?  no education.  why no education?  no forward thinking as to why some people can make money and others don't.  sorry if you don't like it, but stats don't lie.  do a google search.  there are certain neighborhoods that have income levels, education levels, crime rates.  these low income housing units, trailer park, section 8, apartments that do not require credit checks have higher crime rates, lower education levels and lower incomes.  google will answer all your questions regarding stats.  why do you think some neighborhoods are more valuable than others?  where i live the same house could be in one neighborhood and be more valuable than a house sitting in another neighborhood that is zoned for trailer parks.  why is that?  go figure.
Absolutely! Wonderful hobby and your skills will only improve.
I started knitting, quit for a year when I got discouraged because I couldn't fix my mistakes easily, then went back, determined to learn the craft. For me, what was wonderful was when I automatically could recognize what was right and wrong, and fix it easily. Now, I have more yarn than I could ever use, and more projects started than I'll ever finish. It's a lifetime hobby. There'll never be enough yarn.
I started MT to gain skills to eventually work....sm

outside my home. I was working another small business from home too and had been home for 13 years total. My MT skills got me a job as a secretary for the Army. My first position didn't pay a lot, but it was still about $3.50 more an hour than I could find anywhere else locally. In August 2006, with promotions etc., I will have had total increases in salary of 45% in two years. My next move is to start taking some college courses (which my employer will pay for) and applying for positions with a more defined career field. Having a hard time figuring out which field, as I have a lot of options/opportunity.


Working from home served a huge purpose, but since DH is also self-employed, my current job adds a lot of security to our family in terms of health/life insurance, retirement, paid vacations, etc. I added up the cost of all my paid benefits vs. paying out of pocket as an independent contractor, and they were worth another 35 - 40% of my salary, which will increase once I start taking college classes.


If you are not looking in the medical field, gear your resume towards your other skills. MTs have a myriad of skills (research, computer, organizational, listening, following instructions, bookkeeping). If you are an independent contractor, you are more than an MT, you are a small business owner, which puts a host of additional skills on your plate. Get creative and look at some on-line resumes in different fields, you will probably be surprised how many skills you have. 


When I decided to look for a job, I researched all the highest paying companies/opportunities within the distance I was willing to travel and only applied to those companies. It took about a year and a few interviews, but I eventually got exactly what I was looking for. I still get calls from some of the places I interviewed/applied offering jobs.  


I think one reason MTs find it hard to have diverse skills (s/m)
is that for all these years we have been pigeonholed into just one specialty - typing medical reports. When I started MT at my organization, we had a variety of duties. Now we just sit and type. Interestingly, the few who got promotions within or out of the MT department were the ones who weren't too smart, and not very good MTs. The good MTs were kept where they were needed - doing transcription work only. And the smart ones are considered a threat to management, so they have no hope of ever advancing.

I've been to night school to try to broaden my computer skills, and the community college system is totally not on the cutting edge. Everytime I learned something useful, it became obsolete before we could ever implment it in our workplace.

I've looked into changing fields, and one of the big stumbling blocks is all the prerequisites for just about any field of study. Many of them involve the math & science classes I was steered away from due to my gender. (This was the 60s, remember... it was still legal to discriminate back then.) I looked into training as a veterinary technician, and working full-time and going to night school, getting all the classes in that I missed in high school was going to eat up about 4-5 years. It would probably take even longer to get into the vet-tech program. By the time I graduated, I would probably be in my early 70's. What veterinary hospital is going to want to hire a 70 year old newbie who will either retire or die before she's even learned the ropes at the new job?

Meanwhile, what ticks me off is that MT's are expected to have a very broad knowledge of English, medical terminology and computers, and be whiz-bang typists as well. And yet the same people that want speed, accuracy and experience, don't want to pay squat for it.
With your people skills, you'll stay unemployed. nm
x
Dictators/Docs should be rated on their dictation skills!
I get so tired of hearing how hard everyone thinks it's up to the MT to keep trying to decipher poor dictation--that the CMT credential would actually help with that! I have a feeling most MTs probably wouldn't do better/worse if the had the CMT credential. I'm convinced most of us do just fine without a CMT credential if you could just understand many of the darned docs with their poor dictation techniques. How about if they were rated based on their dictation competency! Would it help if we could classify the ones that dictate with speeds like a runaway train, their poor sentence structure, ESL language incompetencies, slurring, mumbling, chewing, etc., so even a marginally competent MT could get the a document transcribed. That's where they should put the onus of responsibility for getting better quality work. My thoughts.
Sounds like a great way to use the skills you already have, but you have a real career with a future
x
Would state you are a fast learner with good computer skills
and able to pick up things quickly once you are shown. Good luck!!