Couple of things
Posted By: Small MTSO/IC on 2006-07-12
In Reply to: Advice Please - In a Crunch
First, she should realize that it doesn't matter whether or not you deliver the work - if you transcribe it, it's billable. I would just tell them you don't want it sitting in your office when it's already done, and take it in. LET THEM DEAL WITH IT! If they can't handle the volume all at once, they can let it sit there. You've met your turnaround and they can't say you didn't deliver on time and use that as an excuse.
Second, you don't have a contract? I would get one.
I would let this play out without rocking the boat too much but I would advise also that when and where the doc and his wife take a vacation and how much they make versus your vacations and what you make are completely irrelevant and shouldn't even be part of the conversation. Your financial commitments and obligations are your problem, not theirs. They have no obligation to make their travel plans with you in mind, or budget for the business based on whether or not they know you have kids who require expensive tutoring.
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Just a couple of things I can think of...sm
You poor dear - we all remember being in your shoes. You will get your break. Keep up your confidence. Here's a couple of thoughts:
First, go through your resume and cover letter with a fine tooth comb (you definitely should send/e-mail a cover letter with your resume). Make sure there are no typos. Also, give to someone else to check for typos and look at format.
I think I have seen a few companies that say satellite is OK, but yeah, expensive! Keep looking for a company that will still allow dial-up. And, never fear! DSL came to me in the country, and I never would have dreamed that! You might call and tell them you need it for a job. If there are others near you requesting DSL, it helps alot.
Have you asked for any feedback on your online tests?
I hope these suggestions help. I'm sure other MTs will have good suggestions to give you too! Good luck to you. Keep us posted!
A couple things... sm
You mention being depressed, so I'm wondering if you really might benefit from an antidepressant? (I know mine works wonders for me.)
Another thing, I love to watch Oprah when she does shows about inspirational weight loss stories. You can read some of them at: http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/tows_2000/tows_past_20001109.jhtml
Oprah's website has a lot of info, and message boards for support. Apparently, her trainer, Bob Greene, has some great books out about weight loss and emotional eating.
For me, it helps a lot to keep a "food journal." My weight is okay, but I feel flabby. My challenge is eating healthy and exercising. I hate to exercise and I don't know why because I always feel better when I do.
Good luck to you. Hang in there, and keep looking for what works for you. 
There are a couple of things you can do - sm
1) Did you know the TAT going in? Obviously you did and you've been doing this for 3 years now. As an IC, you have the right to accept or deny these terms. If you dont accept these terms, then you need to either walk away or try and renegotiate with the idea that you risk losing the account. 2) They will not give you a raise. Again, as an IC you need to be the one to set your rates. Basically you renegotiate your contract with your MTSO again with the idea that you may or may not have this account any longer.
Realize that as an IC, you are basically an MTSO who contracts with other MTSOs rather than directly with a client. Begin thinking like a business rather than someone who is lucky to be able to work from home. Figure out what you need to to make and then adjust your rates. Also, feel free to start obtaining more work from other MTSOs/clinics.
Good luck to you.
a couple of things
I can *de-stress* by taking a break and sitting down on the floor and playing with my kids. Or maybe eat some chocolate. Or lay on the couch for a few minutes and turn on my fav radio station that plays 80s music (drives my older daughter NUTS, LOL).
Takes me back in time........ LOL.
Basically, if I am in the middle of a bad dictation (as long as it is not a STAT) I just take a few minute break. It always helps me.
I hope things get better for you!
A couple things you could try
I am able to use my F10 for normal speed/100% and F12 for 200% for proofing purposes. In settings, there is a place where you can edit hot keys too. :)
HTH.
A couple of things
For really obscure muscles, ligaments, tendons, etc., I use Gray's Anatomy online: http://www.bartleby.com/107/ . I do a search in the search box, then when it gives me a page, I do a search of the page for the term I'm looking for. The text is much too dense to try to read through it when you're working on a deadline.
If your Stedman's Radiology Word Book is current, it should have most of the information you need. For MRIs, there are a few acronyms commonly used in the technique like FLAIR, STIR, FIESTA, etc. If they use BI-RADS for the mammograms, you will want to get a list or sample of exactly how they want you to do it. For CTs, they generally use the same contrast material for most of the exams - Omnipaque, Visipaque, etc. Your Stedman's should have most of those.
For those three types of exams, you shouldn't have too much trouble. CTs and MRIs can be pretty anatomy-intensive, but if you have good reference books, you'll be okay. Mammograms are generally not too difficult. Here is a site that gives a good overview and also gives the BI-RADS classifications: http://www.radiologyassistant.nl/en/4349108442109 .
A couple of things for you to consider.
First, you will still need to use the software that came with the Olympus recorder to get dictation off the machine and onto the doc's computer. That's the only way those recorders will work.
Next, you can look at several options for transmitting work (both ways if you're interested). One is to use an FTP site and/or free FTP software to communicate between the server and the computer. Sites like http://www.ibackup.com or http://www.zftp.com/ are pretty reasonably priced and sound like they may be what you're looking for.
If you or your doc are FTP-phobic, try something like www.filestogo.com. It's a little more expensive mostly because they expect that it will be used harder (more than one account) but there is no software to download as all transfer are done through a web browser. They do have an FTP side as well, www.ftptogo.com.
Good luck.
A couple of things to consider.
Have you tried turning off the computer and restarting? You should see a message that the computer has detected new hardware. Also, if you plugged it into a USB port and then pulled it out without properly ejecting it, the USB port will be unusable until a restart.
A couple of things... sm
A local agent where you can deal with and develop a relationship with one person or office is good to have, but if you can just take 5 minutes to check ehealth, they only want your zip code, weight, height, and birthdate to generate quotes, no personally identifiable information. They will give you several prices based on whatever you have in mind, and you can print out and compare in detail what is covered and not for each individual quote. You can choose a policy and then tell your agent exactly what you want and the price you are quoted, and they can give you an idea if that's really how it will be based on medical history, current scripts, and past diagnoses.
The other thing is that if you want copays on office visits, that's gonna be a high dollar policy. We started with BCBS (the best co., I believe) with a $10,000 deductible. We had no insurance previously but had bought our house, and my husband griped endlessly, because it covers basically nothing day to day, but if one of us were in an accident or something, we could likely pay off the deductible without losing the house. Also, someone finally enlightened me that even though a visit or script isn't actually covered, I still need to give them my ID card because I am eligible to be charged the rate that has been negotiated between the provider and the insurer, so there are discounts rather than the cash price, which is the highest price charged to anyone.
I did just get DH switched over to an Aetna policy where he gets copays for office visits and specialists and some drugs, and it's $145/mo with a 2500 ded. For men is cheaper than women, I think because women are much more likely to actually GO to the doc and seek treatment. But anyway, shop around and make sure you know what you're getting. Another thing to be aware of is that if your BMI is over 25 (I think that's the magic number), you should add 25% to the ehealth quote. So you might want to do the math, and if you're within a couple of pounds of the limit, I don't see any real harm in fudging just a bit. As a rule, you weigh less in the morning after you pee and before you eat or drink than you do at night after dinner, so it is pretty easily to rationalize a couple of pounds; I wish I had been aware of this because DH and I are both just slightly above the limit.
A couple things.
Years ago I was a foreign language student in the military and later in college. One thing I learned is that learning to SPEAK a foreign language is typically the last and most difficult part of language learning. Reading and writing may not be so bad and one can do a lot of that on their own. To learn to speak well, though, one really needs a tutor or teacher on hand to correct pronunciation mistakes on the spot as they happen. That involves someone else's time and somebody's money to pay for that time.
I've pretty much concluded that a lot of ESLs learn to read and write English largely on their own, in some cases pretty well, but may only spend minimal if any time with a tutor or teacher to correct their pronunciation. Thus they don't speak well.
I think some medical schools and/or hospitals could set up remedial classes in phonetics and pronunciation for those who need help with the spoken language. It wouldn't take up that much time and would (hopefully) only be temporary according to each student's needs. It could be part of the solution.
It also makes a big difference whether or not a dictator fully prepares the dictation in advance. It is too much for most dictators to compose and dictate their document all at once: composition detracts from dictation and vice versa. This applies particularly to anybody who does not have a strong command of the English language.
Compose, then dictate. Compose, then dictate. Compose, then dictate.
Compose, then dictate...
Bonnie, there are a couple of things that could cause this...sm
Unfortunately there is no such thing as 100% reliability when it comes to the Internet, it just does not exist. Occasionally a file could become corrupted in transit and would not open on the receiving end, but it's really rare for a file to completely disappear in transit. But in most every digital setup I know of, there is always a copy of the original voice file on the sender's computer, so that in case something happens in transit, it can always be re-sent.
Jay
PS - a couple of other things I have thought about
are Public Administration and Health Care Administration.
A couple things I would recommend...
I had a lot of problems with my fingers/hands and once I bought the softest touch ergo keyboard I could find it made a world of difference, My hands and fingers never hurt anymore. I found the Kinesis Classic to work the best for me but it sure took some getting use to! I can't type on a regular keyboard now at all.
It might help to consider some of the gloves they have out there as well. I have tried a couple different ones and found some at Staples, the drug store, as well as on line.
Another thing is I use is the Evoluent Mouse which has been the only mouse that stopped my wrist and forearm pain. It is not cheap but I have had mine for quite awhile so it seems to last. As soon as I use my touch-pad on my laptop for any length of time, I note pain in my forearm in particular.
Another very inexpensive thing for ankle discomfort - I bought a rectangular-shaped gardening knee pad (a small one) and I place that in front of my foot pedal and rest my feet on it while working. You won't need to flex your ankle much at all. I have not had ankle pain in years! :D Sounds odd but who cares as long as it works, right? :D
I can share a couple of things..sm
I was using Windows 98 SE and had WP51 loaded on my desktop, and it would load in the background DOS format in Windows and worked just fine. I also use PRD.
Another option you can try that also worked for me is acquiring ShortHand 8, which is a short-cut program that works in Windows, and you can convert all of your PRD short cuts and use them in Shorthand. When I purchased the program, the guy incorporated my PRD into the Shorthand for me.
A couple of things to keep in mind
Are you sure DSL is available in the area you are moving to? ATT advertises it all the time where I live, but it is not really available. Last I heard, they were having a difference of opinion with the Illinois Commerce Commission about how much they could charge competitors for the use of their lines and decided not to expand DSL service until they could charge what they wanted.
Is the bundle rate a long-term price (say a year or more) or just a 3-month teaser and then you get socked with a huge price increase to the regular rate?
If the phone part of the bundle is VOIP (voice over Internet protocol or phone through your computer), make sure your 911 dispatch center can find you.
It sounds like you will have DSL and cable available to you. This is good in case you find whichever service you pick is of poor quality. It would be even better if there was more than one DSL and more than one cable provider. At least you will have another option and won't lose your job. Plus, threatening to change services is sometimes the best (only) leverage you have against poor service. Does it sound like I've been there and done that?
Can you answer a couple more things for me please? sm
We have a DVR receiver, it is only 8 months old but I don't recall what it cost. Can you tell me what type receiver you have?
When you say you can select 3 different groups of channels, are these channels you can put in 3 lists of your own or are they groups Direct has designated and you cannot change? We are only allowed 1 "favorite" list to make ourselves. I would like to make a favorites list for our most watched and a list for the music we enjoy but we are just allowed 1 list. The "Channels I Get" menu on ours is actually ALL the channels Direct offers and not the "channels I get" (we have Total Choice too) so making lists of channels we watch is really important.
We are getting a new HD TV and since it will mean upgrading our receiver, I have to make a decision as to whether or not to pay to upgrade or cancel and pay a penalty (and go with Dish, so any information is truly helpful! Thanks.
A couple of things come to mind..
Years ago while doing my OB rotation as a nursing student I developed an axillary rash after shaving. It got really ugly and spread, and my theory was that it was a staph infection I must have gotten from a baby in the newborn nursery. I figured I was holding or feeding one of the babies and s/he was breathing bacteria from his/her nasopharynx into my irritated armpit, where it was nice and warm and moist. I treated it with OTC triple antibiotic ointment and it went away quickly.
The other experience with underarm rash was my husband's. He came to me with a flaming red bilateral rash extending down his sides and asked if I knew what it was. It took me about 30 seconds to figure out he was having a reaction to his deodorant.
A fungal infection is probably a good guess, so if you want to self-treat you could try clotrimazole like the other poster suggested (I would use cream). You should see an improvement pretty quickly if you're on target.
Did I mention I am saving for a couple of things? sm
I have some divorce debt yet, not of my making, which I am paying on. I am a little concerned about taxes, though I think that is a nonissue. My credit isn't good and I need a new vehicle, so I am saving to pay cash for a used car.
For work, I am an employee with a split shift. I work as an IC to deduct my business expenses somewhere. My IC work is transcribing and doing QA being paid hourly. I don't work at a frantic pace, I can't. I am sick again right now (I have an AID). Sometimes I can hardly move, but I still work. Not good for anything high pressure.
Hmmm I'm none of those things and I am on a couple of dating sites. SM
I'm not sure why you'd say all those things are true, when you have no possible way of knowing that.
Okay - I AM weird. :D I am an MT and I work at home. But I'm no misfit.
I have 2 middle age couple friends. One couple became pregnant from condom failure.
This is not just "irresponsible" behavior! Both couples are "fixed" now, because for them, reliable birth control was NOT. But it's an error to assume this stuff happens to people who are unmarried or irresponsible. Both these couples are raising 2nd families, now, but it wasn't "irresponsibility" that did them in!
Bad things? what bad things? people's being petty and small?
x
i take a couple but i too wonder if it's
the mind over matter thing working. i take flax oil capsules for my skin and i can definitely tell a difference if i stop taking it. grape seed plus (antioxidant), i can't tell one way or the other if it works. my neurosurgeon suggested glucosamine for the aches of joint surgery and the grape seed extract because he thought it was pretty good. i stopped the glucosamine because after 2 months i didn't feel any different.
i have been buying the least expensive or whatever is on sale so that might have a lot to do with the results. i would love to find a great energy source!!!
I use a couple..
I have two of the Olay Regenerist products. I like them. I especially like the thermal skin polisher, calls itself a "mini-peel treatment".
Also I have a couple of ESL
who spell things wrong all the time so I can't usually go by them spelling something. After they spell it and it come up when I do the spell check, I always end up having to look up the work anyway.
Yes, I do have a couple of ...
... jobs in mind and plan to put in applications for them tomorrow. I'm single and I have been out of work in the last 2 years for 9-10 months; also have gone through my meager savings--that's gone. I do want to work. But as I've worked for several companies in the past (other than MT) and paid taxes for over 30 years, I feel I've earned some unemployment compensation. Thanks for your input--
There are a couple out there.
I can't remember the name of the company but one of the owners was Tari. I think they were getting eScription work from Focus but weren't actually Focus.
here's a couple
labtestsonline.org
medilexicon.com
No, there are a couple.
x
Just a couple
For one thing, with the ESL dictators, as you may have guessed the more you type the better you get. When you're new, and especially when your testing and not under production pressure, you might be better off listening to it all the way through once or twice. The cadence and the way sentences are formed, and their syllable accents, etc. will become more clear, especially as you hear them in phrases that you can catch. Then it will be easier to go through and say things like, "Oh, yeah, this guy's E's sound like A's and he says GULLBLUTTER instead of GALLBLADDER.
It gets easier in time, to the point where now I can type with a Hindi accent without thinking about it(and even learned a few cuss words to toss at the doc at appropriate intervals). Most of the companies that I have tested for have maybe had 1 out of 4 or 5 test dictations that were ESL. I would assume that if you did swimmingly on the English speakers and even just fair on the ESL, they would give you a chance, but then again I'm just a worker bee and not very corporate at all!
Here are a couple that I use. sm
www.superpages.com
http://doctor.webmd.com/physician_finder/home.aspx?
Hope they help.
Try e-bay. There are a couple for --sm
$120+
You can't make things worse and could make things better.
The skinny woman may be ill. The guy might not know the dog is a nuisance. Who knows? Maybe it is not as forbidding as it seems and maybe they just need to be asked in a nice way.
Here are a couple lazy MTs now...
Its attitudes like this that give our line of work absolutely NO respect. Take pride in your work girls, you'd get treated a LOT better.
Couple of hints.
ANYBODY assigning work to MTs is a bad idea. Whenever human intervention is introduced there is the potential for mischief and abuse. Even if the person who starts the practice of assigning work is an honest broker, there are no guarantees that that person will be there next week doing it. People often tend to exercise what power they have, big or small, to advance themselves and/or stifle their rivals/least favorites. Nothing beats letting the machine assign jobs, oldest first.
The following does not address the issue of MTs finding a way to reject jobs they don't like. Most of the systems I have worked on have disabled that capability.
It may be obvious that there are two basic methods of large-scale cherrypicking/assigning work: 1) Assigning all the good dictators to "somebody", leaving all the bad dictators for "somebody else"; or 2) assigning all the bad dictators to "somebody else", leaving all the good dictators for "somebody".
The main indicators of cherrypicking that I look for are large gaps between job numbers and/or dictation times that don't seem to fit.
Example: Last 3 job numbers were 13605, 13610, 13618, and 13630, and were all decent or a mix of good and bad dictators, but current job number is 14221 and it is a crummy dictator. Especially suspicious if more crummy dictations follow.
Another example: Dictation time of last 3 jobs indicates they were dictated on 1st shift but then suddenly you start getting dictation times from 3rd shift and the dictator(s) is pretty bad. What happened to 2nd shift's dictations?
Basically it's about irregularities in the pattern of jobs you get.
As you suggested, it may be that the in-house MTs get an incentive bonus or just don't like doing all those crummy dictators so they casually assign themselves the good work.
My experience is that MTSOs typically do not want to deal with "crummy dictator" issues. I've never known of one--or anybody else in the medical field for that matter--that has shown any willingness at all to try to help a crummy dictator improve his/her dictation skills or to find any other solution to this enormous problem.
I have only been at it for a couple of weeks..
Having several years experience, I thought I could step right in and nail it. There are a variety of issues/concerns most importantly the accents, getting use to the different accounts (I have several) and unrealistic expectations I have set before myself. It is a good thing I get paid by the hour because if I got paid by the line, I would be starving!!! Some files are easy to zip through, others are are a real dragon!!!! I am going to give it more time though. I have wanted this position for a while and I don't give up easy! Thanks for letting me vent.
I always preferred a couple
bong hits while typing... it made the work a lot easier. Not sure I could type while doing alcohol.
A couple of ideas...SM
I would suggest you pick up a copy of your local area's business journal and see what terms other businesses for sale are offering. Then place an ad in it yourself once you decide what you want. If you don't have a business journal in your town or one nearby, check the classifieds in your local paper (you won't find as much there, though). You may even want to pick up the Wall Street Journal as a last option, just to see how the ads are worded and what terms/rates are out there.
To add value you need to be offering things like an established company name, any archived files you have, hardware and software used in the business, any "norms" you have set up, etc. You will also want to offer your services during the transition, as a liason between the new owner and the clients to train and troubleshoot.
Finally, be sure to get a well-written contract that spells out exactly what you are selling and what you are/are not liable for. Be sure your business is in compliance with all regulations and don't release any medical records without the knowledge and written consent of your clients, and then only to the new business owner who has a "business need to know".
Good luck!
I had that for a couple of months and it has
recently gone away. I tried pillows, sitting up straighter, etc. Nothing seemed to help. It was to the point I could only sit for about an hour at a time. I didn't realize it until I saw your post, but I'm not hurting anymore. I haven't been as stressed lately and I wonder if that was causing it. I tend to manifest stress with a physical ailment, used to be migraines, then back spasms when major sudden stress.
As of about a couple months ago, we are to
not spell out any number at all. I hate that because it looks ridiculous.
A couple of thoughts for you....sm
Rule #1 for any business that requires you pay "x" dollars to get involved is to ask yourself the following question: What is the commission rate and how much do I have to sell to recoop what I spent to get into the business? Do I know enough people that would buy the product to recoop and then keep buying so I can make money? Will my family, friends and neighbors get annoyed if I ask them to buy something from me? Do I really believe in the product/products? How will I sell the product/products after I've approached all friends, family & neighbors?
Good luck with whatever you decide.
A couple of additions
That should have read put the DISK in the A: drive and then search for the *.acl file. (If you want to transfer the *.acl file you have on disk to your computer in case something happened to the one on your computer C: drive).
When the *.acl file that you are working with becomes corrupted and will not work right (most often because of large size) -- what I do is rename the one on my computer C: drive, the one that is not working, by searching for the *.acl drive on the C:drive, right clicking it and renaming it the file name plus the word "old" and then transferring the one from the A: drive to the C: drive and that way it just becomes the new *.acl file, named the same way it was.
One of our MTs just went a couple weeks ago. nm
xxx
Couple of comments
I have been dieting for three years....just trying to lose about 25 pounds. It's been hard. Now I have to tell you that I am just under 5'8" and now weigh 140 pounds. Sounds great doesn't it? Well, my significant other has never seen me naked in 8 years because I think I still look kind of gross. My point is, that while being fairly slim is, of course, a good thing, you may continue to have issues with your looks. I still focus in on all the places that I find unattractive or flabby. I don't think I would ever be happy with the way my body looks.
I think part of the problem is cultural, in that we are daily bombarded with women on TV, in magazines and in movies who are not representative of what women generally look like.
Yes, your weight right now is probably too high but perhaps you should set some realistic goals rather than trying to look like, well, you know, all those women I was talking about. I found that exercise combined with the dieting was the most beneficial. But you probably already know all this.
A couple of months???
Gheesh! They're nickle and diming her to death for the love of Pete, and you want her to do them a favor and give them two months' notice? Heck! Why not give them a couple of years' notice so they can continue to take further advantage of her???
I did a couple of years ago
I did about two years ago, two years after I got divorced with a lot of debt. At first I tried to settle the debts at 25-40%, and supposedly would have 3 years to do so, but then got sued anyway and had two lawsuits, so I was back to where I started. Spoke to a lawyer about bankruptcy and he said go for it and encouraged me to do it myself. Of course I didn't own anything except for a car that was worth about $200.00, so it was easy. It was the last thing I thought I'd ever do, but it flew through without a hitch and four months from the time I filed it was over. Yes, my credit has been stinky, but it's coming back. Wish I would have filed sooner.
Don't know about your situation, but a lot of lawyers will offer a free consultation so you could see if it would be worth it for you.
Good luck!
I have a couple of ESL doctors who say
"full stop" instead of saying period at the end of a sentence. The first time I had one I didn't know what he was saying because he wasn't clear. After QA told me what he was saying I could hear it, but still drinks me crazy.
I also have an ESL doctor who says "paragraft" instead of paragraph.
Couple of remedies to try sm
I had severe eczema a few years ago stemming from medications that I take. Couldn't stop taking the pills so had to try the remedies. He had me try Vanicream skin cream and Robathol oil . It worked pretty good but I found the oil worked better if I applied it to dry skin and the Vanicream directly over it and I could use it once a day instead of twice, so I just put in on before bedtime and my clothes didn't messed up. Kind of pricey though, the cream was 12.00 and the oil was 18.00 and it lasted about a month if you used it twice a day. Now I just use Avon Skin So Soft and Vaseline creamy every night which I think works 100% better. You can get a big bottle of the oil for about 15.00 and the Vaseline creamy at the dollar store for a buck. I tried using the oil in my bath and quit (clogs the pipes), then tried putting on wet skin and towel drying and it didn't seem to work as well as putting it on dry skin and then the cream over it. It seems to seal it in better. Give it a try and see how that works for you. It completely took the itch away. I tried Benadryl for the itch and it just dried my skin even worse.
I was in the same boat a couple
years ago. There is just so much you can deduct in paper, pens, etc., including electricity and on and on. I decided to change companies and go to an employee status. This way I don't have to worry about deductions for SS, taxes, etc. Good luck and I hope things work out for you.
A couple of years ago . . .
this lady in California won the lottery. She divorced her husband and didn't tell him about the lottery. He thought she was being very generous because she let them have their house and most everything else. Well, he started getting all this mail for lottery winners and put 2 and 2 together and took her to court. The judge was very hard on her for lying and made her give everything to the husband. Live and learn. 
You have said in a couple of sentences SM
what I have felt about this field for years now--it is next to impossible to deal in a normal way with most MTs--they have warped personalities and have no concept of how to act in everyday social situations.
I'm going there in just a couple weeks.
I'm going to Sedona to check out Valley Verde School for my son. Are you familiar with it?
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