Anybody willing to share your productivity secrets? I've been following the discussion below SM

about MTs who earn $50,000 or more.  A lot of the MTs are saying they have really honed their abbreviation Expanders and I was wondering if anyone would care to share exactly what they do with their expanding programs that increases their lines so drastically. 

In all honesty, I can type around 200 lph without using any kind of Expander and that's with me sitting and typing nonstop for 8 full hours (and we all know with kids, 8 uninterrupted hours is merely a dream).  With my abbreviation expander, I've increased my production drastically, but since I never really type 8 full hours a day, I'll never really know just how drastically.  I know that I can do 1700 to 2000 lines a day and only be "timed in" for eight hours.  How much of the eight hours I actually type, I really can't say.

I was just wondering what kind of secrets others have to tweak their expanding programs.  I mean, instead of doubting those ladies who are making the big bucks, we should be picking their brains.  I've been doing this a long time too and I started out transcribing standard size cassettes on a typewriter (yes, a typewriter!).  My first abbreviation expander was PRD+ that I used with Word Perfect 5.1 on a DOS based system.  I thought I was in heaven! 

So I say KUDOS to those ladies who are successful at what they do and I want to know just how you do it so I can do it too.  Oh, my paychecks are pretty okay, but who couldn't use more money?

• Anybody willing to share your productivity secrets? I've been following the discussion below SM - MissouriMT
  • shorthand expander - Beth
  • prd - ginny
    • I guess I should have added, now I use EXText with ESP and I love it. I just wonder if I could - MissouriMT
      • Wow--so similar. Extext lover. sm - Need help, too
  • Sent you an email - s
    • Shorthand user who needs help. - Could you email me, too, plz? I need expander help
      • I'd love any advice also. I'm new to the industry... - Jai

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I'd really be interested to learn if there are any tips you 40k&up folks could share with those of us who are... more financially challenged.  What is your schedule like?  Do you log off every time you get up to get a cup of coffee, etc?  Obviously you don't spend your work days on message boards; do you have any tips for how to Stay Focused? 

Sorry if I sound ignorant; I have been doing this for many many years and still struggle with the same self-discipline issues I had way back when.  I'd love to hear from those who have actually made good money at this how they did it.  Thanks!

No secrets.  My own accounts.  I have been doing them for 4+ years, surgical oncologists and know what they are going to say before they say it.  Have been told by many on this board  that my line rate is too low but I make a very comfortable living, they pay on time and as you can see I get decent line counts.   Got that many lines due to consult/letters out of a 45 minute tape -- 42 pages.  Talks fast, Boston accident but like I said I know him pretty well by now.   Downside is thaty don't like anyone else to do their dictation so when I am gone or under pressure from another account, this is one I cannot sub out so the tapes are sitting there waiting for me.   Have a good day.  Try for your own small acounts, you can do it.

I pay my IC's 8 to 9 cpl depending on which account, psych is less since there is a long TAT.  Just starting out and training I pay 8 and then up to 9.  Mine are tapes though but I do the pickup and delivery, printing and so on.  I just deliver the tape to my IC's and they type away.  They average 200 to 300 lines per hour.  I charge my clients 10.5 to 12.5 again depending on account.  I have psych, derm, surgical, surgical oncology, plastic surgery, hand surgery and internal medicine.   No secrets here. 

The very first day I did transcription, no schooling, no previous experience, I did 667 lines.

You're definitely not working very smart.  Are you using an expander/macros?  Are you spending a lot of time surfing the net?   I don't work hard and have very difficult accounts, not a fast typist, and don't even use as many expansions as I should and I did 800 lines in 4 hours this morning. 

There are so many myths, mysteries, and secrets surrounding the powerful history of the Holy Land - who is to really say what the truth is... 

This is just a rhetorical statement and requires no answer.....just food for thought...

not because I am egocentric and feel I need to be at the top, but because I just don't want to have to scroll down and look for it every time I have something to add.  So, it's not arrogance, it's convenience.  Also I would just like to add that I posted my "credentials" so to speak because I was asked to defend my position with what made me qualified to talk about poor MTs.

Anyway, I don't know if I could be classified as an old-timer as I've not had to transcribe on manual typewriters from belts, but I did start out in transcription in the late 80s, right before the internet boom.  So I did start out in an office with other MTs who could lend me an ear and give me advice, but most of them were old-timers who felt lost when the internet did hit and changed our profession forever.  So all of my computer skills, internet skills, and researching skills are self-taught out of necessity.  Because I took the time and made the effort to hone my internet and research skills, I moved up the transcription food chain and moved passed a lot of the old-timers who trained me.  I guess I just have no patience for "old-timers" who wear their years of experience like a badge of honor, but then use those same years as an excuse for not using the internet efficiently.

I am more than willing to educate or mentor an MT, whatever it takes, but the MT has to want and accept constructive criticism gracefully instead huffing and puffing about how mean and evil QA is.  Most of the time MTs ignore their feedback and make the same mistake again and again.  I can quote chapter and verse out of the BOS to an MT trying to illustrate why they are wrong and it will not matter.  They see "QA" on an email in their inbox and automatically hit delete without a passing glance.

I am not the enemy in this war called transcription.  MTs and QA should be allies against offshoring and we should be trying to elevate our status in health information chain, but we can't be allies and we can't accomplish anything if MTs are constantly paranoid that QA is "out to get them."  The sad truth is that eventually we QA people are going to have no other options except unemployment or educating the Indian MTs and ironically the Indian MTs will welcome any feedback that will help them get more work from American MTs.

To all those who posted that I have a big head and have launched personal attacks, I would say you the ones who are arrogant and big headed if you can't just accept that you are wrong sometimes and you can always learn something new and maybe you can learn that something new from me, the QA person who has proven her skills, passed a harder employment test, to get the QA job I have today.

You can call me names and insult me, but the truth hurts and obviously those who are defensive have reason to be.

wildlife cam and people didn't want others posting about it - is the same thing as saying "I demand you entertain me by posting what *I* want to hear about."

What are everybody's thoughts on the show tonight regarding House and Stacy.  Do you think he told her no because:

A:  He feels he is not good enough for her.

B:  He does not want to hurt Mark after Mark came to see him.

C:  He feeds off his misery and can't give that up. 

What a great show, great lines tonight.

that is going to VR and dropping the rate from 10cpl to 3cpl MDI-MD?  I am dying to know what they are going to be paying for VR.  If they are dropping the rate that much, with their stellar reputation for caring about their transcriptionists, perhaps all hope is lost. 

Can somebody please spill the beans!

Everyone is playing the blame game.  It doesn't matter who did what or did not do now.  What matters now is to go on with life and reach in our hearts (Although some of you do not seem to have one) and give to the less fortunate.  This disaster will not only effect those in the coastal areas.  This will effect the whole United States and the world in some form or another.  Louisiana had a population estimated at 4 million.  More than a 1/4 of that population is without homes.  Can you imagine the indignity they indure living in shelters?  As a Louisiana resident, I would like to point out that the victims in the media are not the only victims.  They are the poorest of poor.  They do have many families and individuals that are displaced, living with relative, hotel rooms, no jobs.  Other states have taken in many of the victims but there are small rural communities and cities all over Louisiana itself that have taken in these people.  In the small high school in my community, enrollment went up by 200 students almost doubling the student body.  The small Catholic school my son attends took in over 40 students. Grocery stores running out of food because the extra people and trucks being delayed.  The list of changes and difficulties go on. 

Like 9/11, this disaster will forever change America.  Not all of the changes will be bad although it seems that way now.  This is the time people should stick together and focus on the good things that are happening, not the few people that take advantage of the situation or the people who have no souls and think of themselves.  Take an active roll in helping these people, you are not only helping them, you are also helping yourself and the whole country.  I have visited the shelters and I have close friends who have actually gone to help with the rescue.  Again, this did not just happen to the gulf coast. 

I will continue to say an extra prayer for all victims, and especially those of you who seem not to have a heart or soul where others are concerned.

"Oh, you should get a job at the school district.  They need cafeteria workers and it would work great with your kids' schedules."

I don't think so!  They pay $7 an hour to feed and clean up after other peoples' munchkins!  If I *ever* decided to work outside the home again, it'd be something that uses my education and pays way more.  Hubby butted in and said that I make at least three times what they do in a year by working at home.  That started the, "Oh, really?  I've always thought about doing that.  Where do you work?"

Just for some other information.  When Hurricane Rita hit in Texas, i.e. Jasper, Beaumont area, these people were not prepared.  They were not prepared because hurricanes do not come in that far inland.  The Jasper area is one of the areas where most hurricane victims evacuate too.  There are people in that area that are still without power including elderly people and children.  Most of the surrounding areas (Pineland, Rosevine, Hemphill) are retirement areas.  These are also low income areas as well.  These people definitely would not have expected the hurricane to effect them in the way that it did, but it did.

Also, people in Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas were effected from it as well.  Again, a hurricane never has come close to these areas and these areas are also where evacuees come.  During the time we had evacuees from Galveston, Beaumont, Houston, and still the ones we had from Louisiana drained the resources that we did have here (not saying anything negative by this – just a statement).  None of the businesses could get trucks in to deliver gas, food, ice, water, etc.  When we did get gas delivered, the lines were so long that people were waiting 9-10 hours to get gas and of course by the time most got up there, it was gone again.  This went on for several days.  Even the Wal-Mart here and in Nacogdoches was only able to be open a few hours a day and for the first few days after the hurricane because of the amount of extra people in these areas, they finally had to limit the number of people they were allowing in the store at a time.

Some of you say, people should be prepared.  I do agree and especially more so if you live in a coastal area.  However, these people affected in the areas I mentioned above do not live on the coast; however, were heavily impacted by this natural disaster.  You are saying these people don't deserver help?!  Well let me tell you this.  When we had a lot of LA evacuees here, FEMA stepped in and for a lot (not all of course) they received $2000.00 for help with housing, another $600.00 for food, and there $400.00 for something else (honestly do not remember what it was).

However, my mother and father-in-law who are elderly went 14 days without power, lost everything in the freezer and refrigerator, and they are also raising 2 of their grandchildren (both young teenagers).  They were unable to get FEMA to help with anything. 

I guess the point is this.  Before spouting off about who needs to do what or who the government does or does not need to help (or where you tax monies go), you might want to think about the fact that this was a natural disaster and therefore, no one can ever really be prepared for one.  I hope none of you ever have to deal with anything like this.  It is not a pretty site in this area right now.  Clean up is still going on.  There are still trees down on houses and cars.  How would you feel if this were you? 

By the way, yes I do feel that my family was very lucky to come through it unscathed; however, some were not so lucky.

Just my 2 cents.

/

 and other distracting Internet surfing, neglected art projects on the desk behind me, sunny outside, new powder on ski hill, new German Shepherd pup....

In reading the news release posted below about Nuance buying escription, I was wondering how different SR platforms are working for us MTs.  I do ASR on DQS and have found that on my main account the ASR is pretty good, so I don't have to make tons of changes. 

I tend to like doing the speech recognition and here is why I think that is so in my case: 

If I get my primary account it recognizes pretty well and I don't get much junk to have to change. 

Also, I can usually turn the speed to the fastest whereas straight transcription is usually about the halfway point for me, so I think I am getting it done faster. 

Another thing is that I never did get into the habit of really tweaking my Expander the way a lot of other MTs have.  I have seen some say they put anything that takes more than 3 characters into an expander.  I am getting better about this but not to that degree, so I think SR is faster for me. 

I think I have some carpal tunnel issues starting up so I can't transcribe for as long a stretch as I can edit. 

All that being said, about 25% of my work still comes through as straight transcription and it is a good thing because that significantly affects my hourly rate for the better, so I am not losing lots of $, although I have lost some.

So my question is two-fold:  If you do SR, what system are you using?  What has things specifically have made it better/worse for you?

If this evolves as planned, there will be no typing at all by 2010. 

How in the world do you accomplish so many lines.

I am genuinely interested in any advice you might have. I struggle to meet minimums when work is available.

Thanks!

used DocQscribe, but I have used Meditech, Cerner, Vianeta, the Precyse platform (I can't remember the name), Dolbey, and  Lanier platform I think was called Cequence (?). 

Out of all the different platforms I have typed on, I have liked EXText the best.  In my opinion, it's very user friendly, easy to learn, and I really like ESP which is the built in abbreviation expander.  Plus it is very easy to create your own normals which I love.  My fingers literally never leave the keyboard because there are macro keys for everything.  You can use your mouse if you prefer or learn the function macros.  I love it.  I think I'm more productive on EXText than with any other platform.