Advise on important questions to ask on job interview

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I am graduating soon and beginning to test and interview. For BTDT Transcriptionists, what kind of questions should a prospective employee/IC ask during an interview?

My 16-year-old son has his first job interview at K-Mart. He has basically applied for any position they will give him. I'm insisting that he he wear a nice pair of Dickies and a polo shirt (which I will have to go buy but this is not a problem as I expect to do this). However, My DH is insisting that it's ok for him to go in the nice pair of shorts (not Dickies but more along the lines of baggy shorts that the teenagers are wearing these days) and a t-shirt. Am I in the wrong here? I've seen the way these kids dress after they get the job (although I'm not sure if they wear t-shirts and shorts). Am I being old fashioned in assuming that you dress decent for a job interview (although if he was applying for a welding position at the local shipyard I don't know if I'd make him dress up). Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA

I just recently went back to work in the office at a local hospital. We type in both Meditech and Cerner, depending on what you are typing, i.e. Medical Records reports versus Radiology. We are currently typing blindly in Meditech, meaning we do not have access to our line counts and must depend on management to give us our totals. In Cerner, we are able to run a line count report and print out a hard copy of our line counts at the end of the day.

We are finding that 800 lines in Cerner equals about 500 lines in Meditech. We are not paid per line nor do we have an incentive plan, but we have a new HIM Director who would like to institute an incentive plan and the administrator over our department has laid down the law and decreed that all transcriptionists not making minimum in the department will be written up. Problem is according to Meditech line totals that we have been given, that would be about half the department.

The transcription supervisor has taken our concerns to the new director who told the MT Supervisor to hold off on writing people and has taken home all the line counts from the last month and she is going over them with a fine tooth comb this weekend.

I am not a very trusting soul by nature, so I am doing a little research on my own. I've been in this business for about 15 years. I started out in a hospital and have worked for a few services at home and am now back in the hospital setting. So I know a few things about line count and I consider myself to be pretty well informed on trends and technology in the industry. I would like to walk into our next department meeting armed with as much knowledge as possible. So I have come up with some questions that I would like some fellow MTs to answer, give opinions, and maybe even direct me to websites or individuals who could give me a better understanding of Meditech and Cerner. Here are my questions:

I was thinking of presenting the idea that we keep track of productivity using minutes instead of lines since there is such a discrepancy in Meditech. I also worry that if an incentive plan is put into place and we are still typing blind into Meditech, what's to keep management from shaving off a few lines here and there?

Feel free to email me or post here any responses. Either is fine. I really appreciate any input, comments, or just plain old supportive posts would be nice too!

I appreciate the good tips about the company board, but my situation is unique. I currently have more than enough work to keep me busy; however, I may be interested in getting a business license and picking up a few more clients and having my cousin (who just graduated as an MT) work under me where I can supervise her work.

If I were to start my own small business, I would like some sort of website and would need a method for my clients digital files to be sent back and forth which is HIPAA compliant (my MD now insists on using email, which I have told him is not secure).

I emailed sitefever earlier today and they showed me an online demo of this file management system they have under development, which they said should get released before Jan 2006. It seems really easy to use, and it is designed for MT's and their digital files. They said the cost is only $60 per year, which seems like a really good option. And, best of all, it's HIPAA compliant!

So, just sharing with you all some things I learned today just by asking a simple question!

I learned the hard way years ago out in my garage with no AC on a Royal typewriter, stacks of black carbon paper, a typewriter eraser, the aid of a good medical dictionary plus a kleenex or two to wipe the sweat off my brow and you know what? I'M STILL TICKING! I have so many accounts and doctors screaming to sign up I can't find girls fast enough but I would say to you to save your money and time about school. Invest in a good computer, a medical dictationary, learn to use google as a backup and for any questions but ..... DO invest in a good AC unit! Hee Hee!

If you are asking because you were approached about a job please feel free to e-mail me for details of reasons not to do it.

First, send your grievances to your employer in writing. Give them a chance to rectify them. (Yes, I know you may already have done this, but there is a procedure for these things.)

Sever people have mentioned starting blogs. That would be a good place to share the answers everyone receives (if any) from the employers. THEN would be the time to talk strike, if the employers' response does not address the issues.

It's easy to get carried away with enthusiasm, but you don't what to shoot yourself in the foot.

I really enjoy reading the posts here. I am getting back into transcription after being in for over 15 yrs and out for about 2. I have a new (1st) grandchild that I love to death and babysit quite a deal for my son. She is 16 months old and loves me to spend all my time with her. Now that I am going to be busy transcribing; how do those of you with small children keep them busy or balance working around them. This is my main concern with coming back to transcription; how to let her know Grandma cannot occupy her every waking moment now.

Well, it's time to put the old one out to pasture and get a new one. Computer, that is. I really want a laptop so I may travel with husband to clinics and now follow games and a daughter (cheerleader) going to college. But my primary use will be at home. Do any of you laptop users have any trouble with the monitor going out from over use? I was told it would be best to hook up to another monitor (already going to hook up another keyboard) for everyday use at home.

I need help as I don't want to make anyone sick LOL. Baby shower tomorrow night, my co-host who was making the deviled eggs along with other things broke her wrist this morning...soooo, I am in a time crunch and would like to know if I can make these things tonight (36), just boil them tonight, maybe do the prep just fill them tomorrow?? I usually make them & take them or serve them, but don't know about preparing them this 24 hrs ahead of time.

Thank any of you experts in advance for your opinions..this is so much easier than trying to call Betty Crocker

HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS
BEFORE THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 11, 2005

Henry Lamb- A Great Freedom Fighter Documents how your Dietary Supplements are Under Attack

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to read "Your dietary supplements: Under attack again" by Henry Lamb, which I am inserting into the record. Mr. Lamb explains the threat to American consumers of dietary supplements and American sovereignty by the Codex Alimentarius commission, commonly referred to simply as Codex. The United Nations created Codex to establish international standards for foods and medicines. Just last week, representatives of the United States government agreed to a final version of Codex's standards on dietary supplements which, if implemented in the United States, could drastically reduce Americans' ability to obtain the supplements of their choice. Members of the American bureaucracy may be hoping to achieve via international fiat what they cannot achieve through the domestic law-making process--the power to restrict consumers' access to dietary supplements. American bureaucrats may gain this power if the World Trade Organization, which considers Codex "guidelines" the standard by which all other regulations are judged, decides that our failure to "harmonize" our regulations of dietary supplements to meet Codex's recommendations violates international trading standards! This could occur despite the fact that American consumers do not want to be subjected to the restrictive regulations common in other parts of the world, such as the European Union.

This article is typical of Henry Lamb's work. For almost twenty years, beginning at an age when most Americans are contemplating retirement, Mr. Lamb has worked to expose and stop threats to American liberty, sovereignty, and prosperity. Mr. Lamb became involved in the battle for liberty when, as the CEO of a Tennessee construction company, he founded a state association of contractors to work against excessive regulations. In 1988, Henry Lamb founded the Environmental Conservation Organization to defend true environmentalism, which is rooted in the truth that there is no better steward of the environment than a private property owner, from those who used the environment as a cover for their radical statist agendas. Since 1992, Mr. Lamb and ECO have focused on the threat to economic liberty and self-government posed by the radical global environmental agenda.

Henry Lamb works to further the cause of liberty by giving speeches around the country, editing an on-line magazine, making numerous television and radio appearances, and writing a weekly column to inform his fellow Americans of the latest scheme to undermine their freedoms. Mr. Lamb is the model of a citizen-activist, and all who wish to become involved in the battle for freedom can learn from his example. In conclusion, I once again urge my colleagues to read Mr. Lamb's article to learn about the need to protect American consumers from Codex, and I thank Mr. Lamb for his tireless devotion to the cause of freedom.

YOUR DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS: UNDER ATTACK AGAIN (from WorldNetDaily, June 11, 2005)

(By Henry Lamb)

The Codex Alimentarius Commission sounds like one of those shadowy, sinister organizations conjured up by one-world-government nuts to scare people.

Truth: It is!

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization created this commission in the early 1960s to set standards for food safety and to ``harmonize'' the laws of member nations. The commission was endorsed by U.N. Resolution 39/248, which says:

``When formulating national policies and plans with regard to food, governments should take into account the need of all consumers for food security and should support and, as far as possible, adopt standards from the ..... Codex Alimentarius. .....''

The Codex Alimentarius Commission consists of delegates from 163 member nations representing 97 percent of the world's population. It meets every two years, either in Rome or Geneva. Between meetings, the commission is governed by an executive committee that directs the activities of its many committees.

Of immediate concern is the ongoing effort to bring dietary supplements in America under the control of standards set by this commission. Dietary supplements generate a $17 billion industry in the United States, which affects more than 150 million consumers, according to Congressional findings (H.R. 2485). Proposed procedures and standards could virtually destroy this market and deprive millions of Americans of the supplements they want to use.

The European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements, which becomes law in August, severely restricts the types and quantities of supplements that may be legally sold. Most forms of vitamins C and E, for example, are not available, or are available only in extremely small doses. If current plans proceed on course, American consumers are in for a shock.

How can this little-known international commission control what consumers buy in the United States?

An even less-known agency, deep within the bowels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for U.S. participation in the Codex Commission and designates delegates to each of the commission's committees. Barbara O. Schneeman is the delegate to the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Food for Special Dietary Uses.

The effort to regulate dietary supplements has been under way for more than a decade. In 1994, Congress adopted the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which kept supplements beyond the reach of the drug police. In the past, Codex recommendations have been non-binding. Now, however, the Codex Alimentarius Commission is teaming up with the World Trade Organization to bring international enforcement to the dietary-supplement battle.

Ironically, it was primarily the U.S. that brought the WTO into existence in 1994, as the successor to GATT, the General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade. The WTO agreement specifically requires that the member nations--including the U.S.--conform its laws to meet the requirements of WTO decisions. Failure to conform results in stiff financial penalties. The Codex Commission and the European Union want the WTO to enforce Codex standards, which fly directly in the face of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.

Pascal Lamy of France was just selected as director general of the WTO. Lamy served as a member of the French Socialist Party's steering committee and was chief of staff and representative of the European Commission for President Jacques Delors. Since 1995, he has served as a member of the Central Office of the Mouvement Europ�en (France) and as a member of the European Commission, responsible for trade.

The Codex Commission will be meeting in Rome July 4-9 to adopt the final rules on dietary supplement use. Dr. Carolyn Dean, president of Friends of Freedom International, will attend this meeting and return to the U.S. just in time to present her report to the Sixth Annual Freedom 21 Conference in Reno, July 14-16.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission's reach is much broader than dietary supplements. Its committees are also working on standards for pesticide residue, labeling of all kinds of foods, food additives and nutrients, veterinary medicine and drugs, as well as standards and methods for analysis. The function of this organization is to establish standards for all food worldwide and to enforce those standards through the power of the World Trade Organization.

Few people know that there is such a thing as the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It was created to promote food safety in international trade. It is on the brink of becoming an Orwellian bureaucracy--far worse than the worst fantasies of the one-world conspiracy theories.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is neither fantasy nor theory; it is real.

http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/c...05/cr071105.htm

I also have an interview today with Transcend and wondering what to expect. Hopefully, I'll be leaving Medquist soon, too.

Hi all ... I'm going to a local hospital tomorrow for an interview. The job is in the laboratory. It's a f/t position where half the day you do pathology transcription and the other half secretarial work. It's mon-fri, 9-5.

This is in New York (the suburbs) actually, about 1/2 hour north of NYC. I have 13 years of medical records transcription experience, and prior to that for 5+ years worked as a secretary to a medical director.

I went for a job interview at NYC's largest hospital yesterday. The job was for an Admin Assist position, with a lot of transcription skills as well. For the transcription part of the exam, "all the equipment is in use right now" they told me, and they decided to give me a LIVE test:

They got one of the anesthesiologists on staff to find a chart and pull up a chair next to me. Face to face he dictated a report to me, as I typed it. It was weirdddddd! But I did very good on it actually ... it was an easy (for me) report.

I don't want the job though ... they practically told me on the interview the job pays from 9-5, but the hours are WHATEVER IS NEEDED - and that they needed 'flexibility'. You know what that means - the job better become my entire life. And I'm not willing to do that.