Appreciate your thoughts, but all of this is impossible.

For so many reasons.  As one poster stated, these boards only reach about 10% of the MTs (very small number).  I, among others, have written numerous letters.  Heck, I even wrote to Obama, my congressman, major news papers, news programs, news magazines, etc.  It does not do any good.  I filed a complaint with the Employment Comission and Labor Board on the working requirements and procedures (that got me laid off).

Another very important thing to consider here is that not all MTs are unhappy.  I was for a very long time, but I am quite happy with my working conditions and pay at this time (even though I do not expect it to last due to the industry evolvement).  There are also more MTs than not who can not afford to do what you say is a good idea (strike or whatever).  Some will lose their jobs as I did and even if they did not, they simply cannot afford to go without pay for any length of time.  How effective would all of this be if only a couple of people from different companies did this?  We all work for different companies, and again, they are not ALL bad, even though there are not many of those left.  There is also the consquence of them replacing us with near-newbies at even lower wages, increasing the company profits, and further damaging the industry.

Our only hope was the AHDI and they stabbed us in the back.  More offshoring is being done to cover the tax/cost implications currently in motion, again further damaging the industry.  I just have to believe that it will evolve to its worst, and then swing back our way.  Wishful thinking, I know but that's all I've got.

• numerous discussions here - jnmd
  • You keep saying ALL. And once again - only a very small % of MTs...
    • Finally, a voice of reason!! - Fingers
      • Congratulations on your healthy income! - Inquiring mind
        • Inquiring mind - Fingers
      • Really. Must be fun to rabble-rouse... - sm
    • your opinion - jnmd
      • So, seriously, how would you *realistically*... - sm
        • We need a national registry of MTs - Barry Watts
        • Talk about blowing smoke, ha. - Nonbeliever
          • proactive - cj
            • There is an organization... - sm
          • It really is, isn't it? Reminds me of ShamWow - commercials or a used car salesman.
  • Out of the approximately 100,000 MTs nationwide... - sm
    • The ones not on this board are precisely the ones - we need to be reaching. NM
      • Okay - Everybody reply with NM if you are going to quit working today! - Fingers
        • Ya know what FINGERS - jnmd
          • And YOU know what, jnmd... - Fingers
        • I would suggest setting a date and posting it on here multiple times - Anon
          • You all have fun- I have to work - Aint gonna fly.
          • EXACTLY - jnmd
        • I wasn't talking about stopping work today. Before we do - ANYTHING, we need to know roughly - SM
          • CAN'T STOP TODAY - jnmd
          • Okay, SM, when you get those numbers up, let me know. - Fingers
            • SOME ARE HAPPY - jnmd
    • AHDI has done a pretty bangup job of herding all - us MT cats into the poorhouse. Topaz -(nm)
  • The below posters are correct but - Backwards typist
    • wish I had read your post before I put mine sm - MT32`
  • sure,they would have to break to get us all back off ''strike'' - stunned
  • I've been saying this for years. Unfortunately, - sm
    • so where do you go from here? - jnmd
  • I completely agree with what you say. - Kiki
    • pay scale and benefits - jnmd
      • What is this "we," kemosabe? - sm
      • AAMT/AHDI is the the same organization, and it - - sm
        • check this out - acm
        • AGREE - jnmd
          • going to the hospital won't work sm - MT32`
            • We don't have to approach hospitals we work for; - Topaz -(sm)
            • Including refusing to work effective now? nm - Fingers
              • you betcha! I have had enough. sm - MT32
          • Wait. ''Not being an MT myself...'' ?? - and your interest in this is what then?
            • My interest in this??? - jnmd
              • No one would trust that everyone - Louise
                • Here is one that will say up front I am not going to stop working - Sally
              • MTs PLEASE READ AND CONSIDER - Fingers
                • FINAL CONSULTANT POST - jnmd
              • you are correct. But, this is what I think sm - MT32`
              • Half a brain?? You are not speaking for everyone here - SS
                • half a brain... - jnmd
              • The solutions you offer are correct. NM - anon
          • No offense, but you were unaware of the history of AAMT/AHDI - and don't know how to spell HIPAA.
            • and i would suggest - jnmd
              • You ''did not CALL for anything." ??? - sm
              • With your "expertise and very nice wealth,"...... - Fingers
                • I agree, especially after the initial subterfuge... - sm
              • don't worry about it. some people sm - MT32`
                • BRILLIANT!!!! - jnmd
                  • I have gotten it for years and tried sm - MT32
              • You sound snobby and I don’t think many will listen to you - SS
                • snobby NOT - jnmd
          • Wishful thinking. n/m - Not happening
            • Appreciate your thoughts, but all of this is impossible. - Fingers
              • happening??? - jnmd
                • You have to consult on something you KNOW about. - Fingers
                  • But consultants work with the client and sm - MT32
                  • EVOLVE AND CONSULTING - jnmd
                    • Please Do Not Turn My Words Around - Fingers
                      • response - jnmd
                        • One thing you said is correct - Your input changes nothing! - Fingers
                          • My input Carole - jnmd
                            • "Example... until we get benefits and a fair pay scale - we do not work... PERIOD!''
                              • TO THE POINT - jnmd
                                • No, you MISSED my point. - But that doesn't surprise me.

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if they just want people to quit.

since I can't take any time off from the qwerty keyboard.  How did you make the conversion? 

While I feel empathy for her family wondering what happened and wanting closure, frankly I'm tired of hearing about the case on the news, and that we have tied up FBI and even the military resources to look for her.  We have people that go missing in the US every day... and people visiting countries disappear - and you only hear about the ones who have families that are rich or well connected with the media. 

In my town there's a college girl who has been missing for over a week and it finally made the newspaper in a small blurb today.  This girl missed a flight to visit her family for a vacation and hasn't been seen or heard from since then, and her family says this isn't like her and that she was excited about the vacation.  Are they getting the attention this chick in Aruba is getting?  No.... because they're an average middle classed family.

I do know how you feel.  There are a few things I've done to cut that type of sress down...

I'm not sure what your company is like, but for mine, we have a primary account, and many people also have secondaries (mine is so busy that I don't usually need back-up work, so I have one major account).  It pulls from several clinics, but with a pool of about 20 or 30 dictators, after awhile, you get the hang of even the hardest ones.  There are some dictators that are just really bad, and I struggle with.  When I can't figure something out, rather than spending 10 hours searching and struggling, I use blanks.  I give it a good faith effort, as best as I can, and then I move on.  Since I usually clip along at a good pace and am pretty confident in 99% of the work I do, I don't let myself feel bad for sending something to an editor, if I truly don't know what it is.  Of course, I do the research, but if I'm looking for something for more than a few minutes, it's been too long.

You may need to look for a different account/specialty or even a new company, if you think that is the problem.  I know that, at one point, I ended up moving from a difficult but high-paying account to an account that paid less, but I was more comfortable with.  I ended up making more with the lower-paying account, because I wasn't having to stop every 2 seconds, and I wasn't tearing my hair out, and ending up in tears at the end of the day.  Of course, people should move up as they feel ready for that, but perhaps you need a workload that doesn't create so much extra work for you.

Those are just some thoughts, but you CAN do it.  Be proactive in finding a situation that works for you.  You are more of an asset to your job when you are comfortable and not stressing and struggling.

Hang in there!

 I would want to know what type of docs run the clinic - whether anesthesiologists, physiatrists, ortho, neurology, etc, as this will guide the typical direction of the dictation.   Because pain med Rx writing is always under scrutiny, there will probably be a fair amount of repetition for every pt on medicolegal issues.  Most, but not all, of my experience is with neuro/physiatry-based pain management.   For both these, I found the doc more likely to do further workup, which leads to much longer and involved reports. In the middle would be those docs who do extensive review of the patient's history and only minimal further testing.   The extreme other side of the coin are those, what I call, in/out pain clinics where the pt shows up every 30 days, re-signs their drug contract, has their BP checked and leaves with a new Rx.   I would always expect the initial H/P to be extensive and the f/u notes relatively brief.  Typically lots of phone call documentation and referral/followup letters or information.   Anesthesiologists lean more toward a lot of injectable therapies, blocks, epidurals, etc., at least initially, putting more of an op bent on their practices. 

As far as interesting, pain patients are very repetitive in their complaints and their needs.  Typically,  by the time a pt gets to a pain management practice, the cause of their pain has already been extensively worked up.  There are true chronic pain sufferers and those who are drug-seeking only.  Things do get interesting with the latter because they are very creative when it comes to trying to con or manipulate the docs.   If I were in your shoes, my first question would be what speciality of docs run the clinic.  As far as job security, it is way up there for legit practices.  More often than not, the average family doc is not willing to prescribe pain meds beyond a certain amount of time/quantity and feel forced to refer the pt to a pain  management practice in order to protect themselves from the medicolegal aspects of the business.    Hope something here helps - best of luck to you. 

Homosexuals as well as other "minorites" have been treated as second class citizens for so long now.  Let them be proud of it!  Do I think they go a bit far sometimes?  I sure do!  But I don't have a problem with it.  If a same sex couple wants to hold hands on the street then let them.  We don't need to stare in disgust and shield our eyes.  They are just trying to have the same freedoms as we have.  Discrimination is alive and well even today.  I know this because I have gay friends and hear about it all the time.  I feel that as long as you are happy and living your own lives then then let them be.  I know many "straight" people who are living in dead-end marriages,  completely unhappy and not doing a darn thing about it.  But their union is so much more sacred?  I think it's hogwash.  We are all different.  Let's celebrate those differences, not put others down because they aren't "fitting the mold" of what's acceptable.

I'm looking forward to Rosie being on The View.  I don't think she'll slam her sexual orientation down our throats at all.  She has very precise views, yes.  And she will talk about them.  She's VERY political and I feel that has nothing to do with her orientation.  SHe's given and helped raise MILLIONS for children and others who are less fortunate than her.  So why is it any time Rosie comes up people automatically make fun of her being gay?  Get over it people.  SHe's a person just like you and me.  jeesh!!!

My 15 YO daughter has a part-time job...she works 2 days a week at a local fast food restaurant.  Her best friend, on the other hand, doesn't work.  Her mom thinks she shouldn't work until she gets out of high school. I say, that's up to her, but I think it's to her daughter's disadvantage.

It was my daughter's idea to get a job, we didn't push her into it. She likes going shopping, movies, Starbuck's, and loves having her own money to do it with.

Now, her BF just turned 16 and her parents (she has 4 of them...my daughter only has 2!) bought her a car and set her up with her own checking account to pay for the gas. She has no responsibilities whatsoever, which drives me up the wall!

Oh BTW, she just got her license YESTERDAY...and last night, she was driving around to Wal-Mart, Target, Starbuck's...ALONE...with her 10 YO brother in the car with her...and we live in a small, but very busy part of town...you know, one main road that leads to everything! Is it just me or is this crazy?

Opinions please, as I know y'all have 'em!

I had no formal training.  I lost my job and my future mother-in-law was an MT with her own business.  I asked her to train me and she did.  For three years I drove over 50 miles one way 3-4 times a week to work in her office.  I feel it was better training that I could have ever gotten from any school. 

My MIL has told me she had many people try doing transcription without experience and I was the only one who worked out.  She even had people with training who didn’t do as well as me.  I believe it truly depends on the person and you should know right away if she will work out or not.  You have to have an ear for it and that can’t be trained.  You have to have good English skills and you have to be willing to work very hard.

It is possible.  It will take a lot of work on both your parts.  My MIL knew from the beginning that I would work out compared to what she had seen before.  You should know this too and be prepared to cut your losses if you feel she isn’t the right person for this field.

If you get your own accounts the charge is usually less than that of a large nationals or even semi-large nationals and that is why they will lean towards you.  You don;t have the overhead of a large national and can charge less and still make great money.  Also they sometimes like having only one person handle the account.  You learn that account, make your shortcuts and you can really produce the lines.  Since I don't have the overhead of an outside office, employee benefits, etc. I do pass those savings onto the doctors and I still make a great living.  (Hitting over 5K this month and that is just me not my IC's)   And yes it is possible as in the past two months I picked up two accounts and just heard about one yesterday and these are tapes with pick up and delivery but the pay is very good and I will take them.  As for taxes, all the nationals do is to hold out your money for you to pay your taxes (with the exception of your 7.5 SS) and you just have to plan for that and budget and be strignent about putting the money aside.  With all of the write-offs I have so much more usable income with by husiness and being an IC than being an employee.  It is not MORE EXPENSIVE.  You are just in charge of holding out your taxes.  Go for it but I do not think you should go into it thinking you will get the 18 to 20 cpl that nationals charge.  But that is me. 

Patti

Depends is it all digital, will you be picking up and delivering, printing or what.  If it is all digital and you don't have to print or deliver I would go probably 12.5 to 13.  Once you get the doctors down and you macros, templates, auto correct or whatever shortcuts you use, it will be good money.  Also is it gross or cpl, character line.  I pick up and deliver, print, and start my accounts out at 12.5 but this is Portland and I count gross lines.    Just don't tie into a written contract that prices cannot be negotiated or raised within a certain amount of time.  It will take you a while but bet even at 12.5 to 13 you will be up to $40  to $50 an hour fast.  So I think you are in the ballpark.  Don't want to go too high but not too low.  So if you can get a lot of shortcuts and once you get used to them you should be able to do 300 to 400 lines per hour which is good money.  Good luck. 

have reason to question my returns! 

If he is going to be fairly easy to do after a while and you can easily get your lines per hour up to about 250 to 300  and perhaps more if you can get his exams down and save them and insert them as he dictates them.  I would charge around 12  to 12.5 cpl per gross line.   Even with pick-up and delivery it is only once a week  20 miles is perhaps a gallon of gas a week or less which is only $3.   My toner in my printer lasts me 6+ months and I run approximately 600 - 700 sheets per month  This could very well work out to $35 to $40 per hour.  Of course it could turn out to be the other way but they usually don't for clinic notes and even even the worst dictator  if you have him every day you do get used to them.  But I would not overprice to start but do gross lines at 1" side margins at a Courier 12 font and you will do fine at 12 cpl.    If he wants a different font used, and most of my accounts do, I simply change the document back to Courier 12 and my margins and do that for my line count.  I use sticky paper and so as to not use so much use .5 margins on the side.  Good luck.