DH & I started new jobs & his mom died. Employers couldn't care less. nm
Posted By: They really do not and they will make you feel gui on 2006-05-26
In Reply to: Feeling Frustrated and need some opinions - cowboysgirl
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I suspect employers are being forced to care. SM
Since it's a new platform, it's a new problem that probably a lot of companies are just waking up to. My sympathies for people who find themselves effectively "forced" to use it as it apparently is now.
With serious compatibility issues with common brands of the Expanders that have become vital to so many of us, at this point I would not apply to a company using it, and I suspect few other good experienced transcriptionists reading about it would either. This seems such a grave flaw that it will have to be repaired, or this platform will end up a dead end used by only a few institutions.
How about contacting the company that developed the platform directly for answers and fixes? Also the developer of your own expander, who must be well aware of the issues Chartscript raises for them. The ShortHand tech guy (not my own MTSO techs!) fixed me up promptly when I was put on eScription and developed glitches. Best wishes with this.
I told several of mine. They couldn't care less.
x
It is odd, though, that the pody couldn't prounounce diabetes mellitus, since they do foot care f
Diabetics aren't even supposed to trim their own toenails because of the peripheral neuropathy and chance of self injury, so podiatrists usually have a large patient base of diabetics just for basic foot care, not particularly injury or surgery.
Then again, a lot of diabetics don't ever pronounce "diabetes" correctly, LOL. My favorite is "diabeetress."
I have a couple of jobs, but just started...
And can't get a paycheck until the 10th, which will be too late. Can't seem to make a good living at this anymore and it is all I have known how to do, will be out on the street if I can't pay my rent.
I have started many jobs with the undertanding that I already have time off scheduled. sm
Most companies who need MTs need them on a chronic basis. If they find a "good hire" they will usually work with your upcoming time off or let you start after your time off. I would be looking. More people look at the first of the year because of benefits, so you might get a jump on them.
Hi all! I have started a blog and am looking for opinions - care to indulge me? sm
 http://mtfiles.blogspot.com/
I started on Acute care, then went to clinic work, - sm
and then back again. I found clinic work to be more challenging, plus it often included radiology. I think it's more a matter of just getting familiar with each institution's way of doing things, along with new doctors, and getting familiar with a few new terms (which don't we all do every single day, anyway?) than it is one being easier or harder than the other.
ER died when Mark Green died. The 'new'
the same oomph as the originals. Not as exciting as it used to be. I had watched since the very first episode and loved every episode until then. Now it's BORING!
I work 2 jobs, one FT that takes care of
my taxes (I have extra held out), and also as an IC.
I have 3 jobs, 1 FT doing acute care, and 2 PT doing clinic work. sm
It can be a challenge juggling things, and I really do not have much of a social life, but for now it works. It not only keeps the wolf away from the door but allows me to build up a little nest egg and save for a mega vacation I have planned in November to celebrate turning 50. Having goals definitely helps me get through it all. 
employers
I was just looking at the available jobs, and I noticed all of them require at least 2-5yrs experience. I also noticed that some of the employers can't even spell, yet experience is required. This seems kind of silly to me.
Just tell prospective employers you...sm
Stop behaving like factory workers on piece-work, demand a fair "hourly wage" for what you do. Find out what is paid in your area, 13.00 to 17.00 dollars is what I often hear as a range for MT pay. Decide what you want, be willing to give an honest days work for an honest days dollar" and then only work for an hourly rate. You will say, but no one pays that, and I will say that is only because no one demands it. We are not migrant workers being paid for how many bushels of apples we pick, why should our take-home pay depend on whether or not the doc is ESL, or is just having a bad day? I don't know about the rest of you, but I need to know how much I will earn to determine how much I can spend. When we start acting like professionals, I think we will be treated like one.
My 2 cents is that I wish all employers - sm
of MTs, whether MTSO or inhouse, would realize that their MTs are an ASSET, not just another 'unnecessary' expense that somehow needs to be eliminated. And then treat them as such! A very intelligent & highly respected MD I once transcribed for told me he couldn't understand the whole downward spiral of the MT profession, pay, etc., because we were the MD's 'first line of defense' against malpractice. He said his job was to practice medicine, and our job was to help him document it accurately.
The wages most places offer are an insult right up front. And then all the sleight-of-hand when it comes to cheating MTs with 'doctored' line counts, late paychecks, etc., adds injury to insult for the MT.
I think part of the problem lies in the fact that because most MTs are home-based nowadays, it's just too easy for them to become faceless, nameless, non-persons to the employer, and it's just too easy for them to cheat someone they don't have to look in the eye every day at work.
I don't see why employers are so afraid to ask for ... sm
at least the minimum lines each day. I used to work at a hospital where the required minimum was I believe 40 minutes, which ain't a lot of work. Most times (and this was when we were in house) the girls would chat and chat and chat and go for lunch and chat and chat, etc., and never work. And they got by with it because they were too scared to demand that these people stick to the guidelines by which they were hired. One day I went in to work OT on a Saturday and worked 4 or 5 hours, and I don't remember what my line count was, but one person typed 12 lines. And she was supposed to be the regular Saturday morning person. Some saturdays I would go in to work and there would be NOBODY there. NOBODY typing in a hospital transcription dept. just because it was Saturday. They got by with it for years, continued to get by with it, and we lost our jobs to MQ because nobody worked and nobody made them work. Me, I worked. I worked a lot. I had (still have) goals, meet them, exceed them routinely because I happen to like paying the bills and having money left over. Like I always say, people whine on here about no work but when there's a lot of OT to be worked they are nowhere to be found.
I think most employers have just left
this board
Well, it costs sometimes. I have had to change employers before because
they were not going to negotiate with me. HOwever, there are plenty of places to work and I have luckily landed in 2 good ones.
I feel very fortunate today with my employment. I know full well it may change tomorrow but I am prepared - emotionally and financially - and will not let that disrupt my life. Too many options out there, folks.
What is FTP site and do employers provide this?
I heard that they have this site and will give you a username and password. Or is this something I have to put together myself. If so, anyone have any information on how to set this up? Thank you.
Most employers are fine as long as you tell ...sm
them when you're interviewing the dates you'll be unavailable. When it usually becomes a problem is when someone says something like 2 days before Christmas "oh by the way I need the next week off...." and they wonder why you tell them no!
Illegal immigrants do it as well as their employers and....sm
they're oftentimes working "x" hours a week or even full-time. It's a big problem here in Georgia because it's not fair that these people not only get the jobs that they're being paid cash for but then they show up in the ERs when sick and are given Medicaid to pay the bill, even though they're not US citizens. Their kids are given free education and right now the illegal immigrant groups are mad because the state of Georgia is planning to start making them pay out of the country tuition to the universities if they aren't documented legal residents - which I think they should be forced to do. Heck, if I were to get on a plane to say France I couldn't walk off the plane and demand that I be allowed into college at the local tuition rates just because I'm there - whether or not I were there legally.
There's some legislation going forward in January here to put a stop to some of this but of course the illegal immigrant groups are fighting it.
I don't mind paying someone cash if they're doing something rarely for me (i.e. once or twice a year).
For those of you who use say teenage babysitters do you really report every dime you give them to the IRS? What about when you go to a restaurant and tip the wait staff in cash? Do you make sure the manager knows you gave them a cash tip so it's reported? Ever have a neighborhood kid rake leaves for you? Do you pay Little Johnny and then demand his SS# to report you gave him $20 to the IRS?
Still INFJ. We had to take these at a few of my previous employers.
I actually got denied promotion for being an INFJ. Go figure. Then another supervisor told me I was the exact type of employee they were trying to avoid because INFJs are two-faced backstabbers. I've never been like that. If I have a problem with someone, I'll measure the severity of the situation then tell them to their face. Nothing two-faced there. I don't think those personality tests are an accurate projection of a person's future actions or successes. They shouldn't be used in employment or managerial decisions.
Do employers not realize that a little explanatation
low work volume would go a long way? Nothing special, just to notify us. Just like they expect to be notified if our schedule changes, it would be nice if they let us know about volume and if they were trying to do something to get us more work, etc. Rather, they let us sit here and wonder what the problem is!!! 
Pity my employers? Furthermore, grow up!
x
My employers forbids us to have VoIP because...
it fouls up lots of things. Also, I have a friend with Vonage and we are constantly cut off, or it sounds like she is talking from the bottom of a fish tank. She hates it.
Maybe I'm from old times, but I doubt employers could get away with that...
if the EMPLOYEE has proof they are really an employee and not an IC, especially when it came to tax time. They'd need their W2. That's why I ASKED. I'd flip if an EMPLOYER did that to me. There were no need to get snippy about it. I was stating a fact.
Part of the reason employers are getting away with - sm
turning MT into cheap sweatshop labor is because most people don't even know this problem even exists. It is the healthcare industry's "dirty little secret". If this skeleton in the closet of doctors & hospitals throughout the country were to be made PUBLIC (i.e., 60 Minutes,) maybe it would give us a foot in the door to getting things turned around, before we all have to move to India in order to survive in this business.
How valuable is the RMT credential to employers?
x
Did you notice they DON'T recommend that employers
Well then, gee -- I guess that just leaves the MTs! (Why am I not surprised?)
most employers use the Book of Style sm
for standards and I would get one and read up on it to know the latest info...what did you fail on your testing? Speed? accuracy? You can certainly brush up on these things with practice tapes/dictation. Have you thought of typing independently for clinics in your area? Don't forget about psychiatric clinics, physical therapy clinics and other, less obvious places where documentation is necessary. Go personally to a doctor's office, speak only to the office manager there and tell them you are looking for work, perhaps at first only as a helper/coverage for their current Transcriptionist (I cover many doctor's offices for vacations). It will get your foot in the door at least. I have had two doctors ask me to be their full time transcriptionist after their own had left because I was their vacation coverage and they knew I could handle the job. Keep your head up! Perhaps working at a local hospital is the way to go. Good luck to you!
I get extra incentive from my 2 employers too.
nm
Until employers start thinking of us humans again
sunk.
And the American Way seems to be "bottomline" all the way.
I wish Bill Gates had his computer stuck up where the sun doesn't shine and
the person who invented the "hold button" could be on the next space shuttle.
Those 2 objects set us back a million years in treating each other decent.
I know what you mean about even hospitals getting cut-throat about "produce,
produce". Seems like nobody cares if the product is a stinker or any good - just so
a warm body is in the chair and some black ink is on the paper so as to
collect money.
Having MQ experience on resume is appealing to employers.
I think the new employer realizes you have just come up from the bowels of the transcription field and will work hard and be dedicated if you actually survived for a few years with MQ.
That was my perception anyway. Whenever I would state MQ was a past employer, they seemed pleased and anxious to talk more.
supposed to be, after people lose their jobs, they are forced to take part-time, lower-paying jobs..
with little to no benefits. service jobs. where are you going to work in a few years, when Medical Transcription is replaced by technology? McDonald's, Walmart? you really going to like that?
No way. Univ. of Phoenix is considered a joke by employers!
http://uopsucks.com/negletters.html
The best way to obtain an on-line degree is to attend an accredited university that was already well-known for its academic program way before the internet was invented.
Check out University of Massachusetts, Temple University in Philadelphia, University of Minnesota.
The fly-by-nights like U. of Phoenix are the equivalent to the crap that used to advertise "degrees" on the back of matchbook covers and have no credibility in educational and career circles.
Seriously, stick with an accredited, well-known school, not some bogus piece of crap like that.
You get what you pay for.
Several jobs on Monster & CareerBuilder for inhouse office jobs down there through an
s
Kinship care versus foster care/adoption
Having been placed in a position where I now have custody of my 3 YO granddaughter and going through the legal system, I sought an online network of relative caregivers for children. I would encourage you, especially since you are in Georgia, that if you take any children into foster care with the idea of adopting them, there is federal law that requires the state to take certain actions in a specific time frame. When a child is removed from it's bio parent(s), the state is required to investigate any possible relatives who can take the child before foster care is considered, but even before that, reunification with the parents is the priority. Once a child enters the system and is in the system for 15 out of any 22 months, the state is required to find permanent placement for the child.
The problem with this is that there are case workers who may favor a foster family and do not seek out relative care. I have a good friend in Georgia who had to fight all the way to the state level to get custody of her grandson after the child was placed from the hospital into a foster care home with the promise that the foster parents would be allowed to adopt. She has now adopted her grandson, but it was a long, hard battle to get the state to admit their own interests were placed above those of the child and/or family.
If you get a child placed through the state, please make certain there is not a relative who wants that child before you get your hopes up. The courts are now favoring return of children to relatives even after a child has spent years with a foster family who hoped to adopt them.
States get bonus federal funds by complying with the time lines and being able to close the case, so some states place children in foster care because it is easier than trying to locate relatives.
Didn't mean to go off on a tangent, but I can't imagine my sweet bella going to someone outside her family.
Yes - I agree - my 2 employers didn't even acknowledge MT week - so this was very nice
One of my employers told me to just add a 0, i.e. 30 minutes would roughly equal 300 lines. sm
Of course, if someone talks fast, you'd get more lines, and if you get one of those guys who stops and turns pages and/or talks slow, the lines would be less. Seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb for me.
As for the length taken, when I started doing MT work 30-some years ago (back in the days of the vinyl belts and carbon paper -- eek!), the quota was that you should be able to 15 minutes of dictation in 1 hour. However, I think anyone with experience would probably do it in much less time.
Hope this helps.
WebSense is a filtering program that blocks certain websites. Usually used by employers... SM
to give their employees access to the internet via their network but only allow certain surfing criteria.
I work for a hospital and I connect to their network via a VPN connection to work. I can get on the internet and access certain educational and work-related sites, but Websense blocks me from any sites classified as "entertainment", "shopping" etc.
So the question would be who do you work for and do you connect to there network via a VPN? If so, then Websense is their way of controlling the network.
So totally and completely false! Plenty of employers test who are not partners with top 3!
nm
Not *discussing* your line rate is a bunch of baloney....encouraged by employers....
They don't want us all to know what each other makes so they can keep paying as low and unfairly as possible.
How is the WORLD can letting someone know your line rate hurt you or anyone? It doesn't--only benefits employers.
Not *discussing* your line rate is a bunch of baloney....encouraged by employers....
They don't want us all to know what each other makes so they can keep paying as low and unfairly as possible.
How is the WORLD can letting someone know your line rate hurt you or anyone? It doesn't--only benefits employers.
I did 3 jobs for a while about 3 years ago, you burn out quick, I was doing 3 MT jobs though...after
10 months I cut down to 2 as I don't like to have all my eggs in one basket. But I am considering going down to 1 in September for my sanity, its a good steady job so financally it should not be an issue. I have 2 right but have not worked the 1 in about 3 weeks due to some problems at their end, supposed to learn a VA account but not sure if I want to pursue it right now or not, they are waiting to hear from me at this point. I still have a lot going on with chemo, etc. so am mulling things over. But if you have a full-time day job, then I would just go with 1 part-time MT job at night, unless 1 is during the week, and the other weekends only, then of course you will be working 7 days a week, very tiring I know. I have been working 7 days a week for 3 years now but I do slack off now and then of course to recharge and get sleep etc. But burnout happens fast and I doubt you want to lose your day job so be careful. Good luck. 
Who died?
and left you boss? 
I used to have one of those (died on me too).
If you really like the mechanical keyswitch feel (which I sure do) and don't need a split/ergo keyboard, then you might want to think about trying one of the old Model M IBM keyboards ... very similar in feel (actually, better, IMO) to the NMB. I, unfortunately, have to use a totally split keyboard now, otherwise I'd be using a Model M myself.
You can sometimes find vintage ones cheap in local little computer stores too (I got one for $5 once that way).
http://www.clickykeyboards.com
If it was a clinic, it might have been urgent care, but it was NOT acute care. sm
Acute care refers to work in an acute care setting, a hospital, doing at least History and Physicals, Discharge Summaries, Consultations, Surgery notes, Emergency Department notes, and much more, including GI procedures, Cardiology procedures, Neurological procedures, Pulmonary Function Studies. It goes on and on and it means and acute care hospital setting, not a clinic.
What is the minimum lines per week required by employers for part-time for transcription?
nm
He died because of his fame. Not enough for you? SM
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They do different things that make them heroes to different people. What you really meant to say was that John Lennon was not a hero to you, right?
died today at age 83...........nm
x
he died almost a year ago (sm)
He had hypertension, diabetes, and had had a stroke in 2003. He was only 54.
No, it's not bad. I cried more when my cat died than when
t
I'm a wimp. I got another dog, just like the one that died, 2 weeks later.
I missed her so much that after we came back from vacation, I got another just like her. Same coloring, same breed. Only this time I got a male instead of a female and he has green eyes, not black. I can't believe how much alike they are.
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