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Do you work outside your scheduled hours to get extra lines?

Posted By: Just Wonderin' on 2007-07-03
In Reply to:

Or do you stick to your schedules and just roll with however many lines you make during that time?


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I work Mon-Sat, but only scheduled for M-F. Need the extra $. nm
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For all the extra hours I put in on DQS to get my lines, no way.
:
If employee, work the scheduled shift and complete the 8 hours. nm
x
Thanks. I'm only scheduled for 35 hours, but have been
working a lot lately as there is so much work and an extra 5 hours of OT would sure be nice. 
where do you work that you just do lines, not hours?- nm
nm
Yep, I am scheduled to work Tuesday
through Saturday, so I worked Thanksgiving day. Then I ran out of work yesterday after less than 3 hours on my shift because of the greedy MTs who took Thursday off with pay and now want the extra money they are getting by taking my lines. They will get a really nice paycheck and I will get less than usual. So not fair!!!
scheduled days, I work 'em.....nm
x
Extra shift or extra work
Has anyone taken on an extra job or shift with a new company for a just a few months to get out of debt or to be able to pay for something that is needed or wanted?  I am thinking about taking on another job to get out of a stressful debt situation.   I am just afraid I would be going into another stressful situation working more hours with the very busy family schedule I have.
No..I mean 900 EXTRA lines. SM

Meaning, I get paid the incentive pay from lines 1100 to lines 2000 (or a TOTAL of 900 lines out of 2000).  Hope this helps clear it up.


Chickadee


I do 2000 lines in 6 hours - so maybe 3 hours - nm
x
Forced to work scheduled shifts..no flexibilty..what gives??? So frustrated.

I started MT two years ago for a medical clinic of about 100 doctors.  I am now working at home.  I get paid hourly 10.50/hour.  My employer will NOT let us work flexible shifts.  I have to work a standard 8 hour shift with a one-hour lunch break that is unpaid. 


I got into this field because I wanted to work from home and have FLEXIBILITY.  I have a toddler under the age of 4 and when I interviewed and shared my reasons for wanting to work at home (my children) I was told I was a "great fit" and then I get in my home and am told there is ZERO flexibiity and I have to work 8 hours straight just like in-house people!  This is extremely stressful for me having a small child and I don't make enough money to afford daycare. 


I started working with Medquist part-time for extra money and AGAIN I was told I would have to work a set shift, with no flexibility. 


Where are the jobs that you guys have where I can work my own hours?  Sitting here typing 8 hours straight everyday with a demanding toddler is starting to wear on me, but I need this job badly. 


What gives? I thought the nature of working at home with MT is flexiblity and every job I've applied for in MT has given me NONE. 


 


 


I would charge more per line for working holidays or if asked to work scheduled days off. SM
But did you address that in your contract? 
I think an extra 1,000 lines is pretty nice - shame on her for not appreciating it! nm

Good luck! I just got $0.0010 which means and extra $1 for every 1000 lines - Whoo hoo! Very insult
x
But in transcription, if you are good at what you do, you can do 8 hours of work in 4 hours. So eit

you slice it, both companies will still get 8 hours worth of work out of you.


That is the problem I've been having lately being an MT.  Companies want to pay us on production and they set minimum productivity standards, but want us timed in for 8 hours a day.  My thinking is, if they want 8 hours of work out of me, pay me hourly with production incentive.  If they want to pay me on production and tell how much I have to produce in an 8 hour period, then when I hit that mark, I should be able to call it a day even if I've only worked 4 hours.


Seems these companies want it both ways and it is simply not fair to us MTs.  JMO, tho.


462 lines in 2.5 hours.

need lines not hours
do you do radiology?
Hours/lines
I personally have never run across a company that pays by the hour. Most companies assign you a shift, but you get paid by the lines. So, it is UT to you if you take a lunch or breaks. How long you stay off your computer will have an impact on your line count of course.
2200 lines in 3-4 hours?
IMPOSSIBLE! NO WAY! unless you are counting lines with 5 characters as a line?
1,100 65-character lines in four hours.
I was doing 1,100 65-char lines in four hours. Unemployed now and big nationals don't pay enough. Why do all the great accounts go to VR or newbies and I get stuck with ESL garbage?
Hours per 1200 lines

Just want to get some feedback on how long it takes to do 1200 lines.  I did clinic notes and was an IC for four years and work on and off throughout the day, so I really never had to work straight through the day to produce.  I am now going to do acute care-hospital work minus lab and radiology reports.  I have about four years experience.


Thanks,



Well, I just transcribed 1500 lines in 3 hours. sm

I work on the same account every day, same dictators, lots of templated reports I did myself and put them into auto correct.  I get up early, start at 7 am and today I was done by 10 am.  Cleaning the house now.  Also, the line pay is slightly higher than most, so 1500 lines is fine for me today. 


On harder days when the account is really behind,  I get up and vacuum the house after 3 hours of transcribing then come back for 1 hour.  If things are caught up, I stop for the day.  If not, I will go back in the evening. 


I can't sit for 6-8 hours straight.  Making $160 bucks in 3 hours is good for me and enough.   Tomorrow is another day!


Use templates and short cuts - that will help!  I have whole reports in my auto correct, but you have to listen through and change and correct things as each patient is a different case. 


I do have to tell you, I do not get this many lines every day in such short a time.  It just happened that today was a good day.


 


Hope this helps.


Yes, I'm back. 3 hours=255 lines. Think I'm just a little upset here!!!!

Yes, I am - worked 7 hours @ 3218 lines.
It all depends on your account and worktype you transcribe, as well as your expander. I am an MT with 25 years experience also, transcribing all acute care, mostly op reports.

As far as tricks, I don't have any. I consistently do at minimum 2500 lines in 5-6 hours daily. I think the key is the account you transcribe.

I have been where you are now, and it is not fun. I finally found my company/account and have for the past 6 months. I have to enjoy while it is here, tomorrow may be a different story.

Keep looking for that right company/account. You will come upon it soon. Good luck.
3000 lines - 6 hours- VR editing. nm
x
I type 1000 lines in about 2.5 hours (sm)
I type on a gross line and I can type 1000 lines in 2.5 hours +/-.  When things were good at MQ on the Cottage program, I could type 450-500 lph.  Everybody's situation is different.  Sure some people stretch the true, but it is still possible, but you have to take into account all the different variables.  I utilize my word Expander to the fullest.  Any little thing I can think of to save me Keystrokes I use.  I checked my stats for my shortcuts the other day and in 3 hours I had actually saved 56% of my keystrokes.  Can speak for anyone else, but on most days, I can type 900-1000 lines in 2-2.5 hours.
That's it??! Doesn't sound like a lot of lines to me in 4 hours. nm
x
It took me 8-10 hours for 100 charts 1000 lines sm
This was with ExText, 20- to 45-second (give or take) reports. I did have distractions. I was completely bored with soooooo many short-short reports. Also took some time in the document info screen because company I was in did not have their act together. Had to search and recheck that I had the correct visit and location.

Hope this helps somewhat.
Absolutely. If I need someone to transcribe 500 lines between the hours of
8 am and 5 pm, it's up to you to take on that contract as an IC or not. But if you agree to do it, it's your responsibility. You don't have to accept the position as my IC if you can't or don't want to provide what I need.
I type no less than 1500 lines in 7 hours

On my slowest day, I will not allow myself to get less than 200 lines an hour.  Depending on the worktype, I can type up to 400 lines an hour.  It is hard for me to consistently stay at that speed as I have orthopedic issues!!!  I also can type extremely fast, (120 wpm).  I also use a lot of Expanders and shortcuts. 


I had 2256 lines yesterday in about 7 hours...
I just had a deadline I had to meet and worked my butt off...I use my Expander to the max...I can do 1200 lines in 4 to 5 hours...
Average about 2300 lines in 6 hours but
this is a mixed bag of editing and straight typing. The split is usually about 75% editing and 25% typing, If that helps any.
What do you call it when you do your 1100 lines in 4 hours? sm
and I call it normals and I call it lots of canned dictation.

Unfortunately, I am employee and I can't take the rest of the day off. Had this Saturday, had this today. IT NEVER HAPPENS and I have had it twice in a week.

Looking for my super streak to end now, go back to being a typing machine on a chase for work.
I must say, I work long hours, sometimes 12-14 hours a day.
I thought it was important to mention that. However many hours it takes to get the work done is what I do. Some days 12 hours, other days 6 hours and sometimes 14 hours. So, I guess there really is no easy answer.
I just type 250-275 lines per hour and transcribe about 6 to 6.5 hours a day.

I am a seasoned MT who back in the day 2000 lines was nothing to achieve.  I sat for 8 straight hours, barring potty breaks and 30-minute lunch.  But now that I am pushing 50, I can hardly stay in the chair 2 hours at a time.  I have set my goal at 1600 lines per day as that is what my employer pays 9.5 cpl for.  If I drop below that, my cpl drops also.   In addition, I have a backup up IC position with another company (to compensate when I run out of work on my FT job)  that pays 10 cpl.  I type 2 hours  on that account  (usually at night) and get 600 lines per day.  Fabulous account, fabulous "internet software" everything is right at your fingertips, and they count spaces, headers and footers.   Actually both jobs count spaces.


My advice to anyone wanting to get more lines- first and foremost priorty is check out the software the company uses.  If it is not user-friendly... forget it.  There was this one company who paid 10 cpl, and I could hardly get 500 lines in a 2-hour period.  They said they counted spaces, but it was hard to tell, and they surely did not count footers or headers.


Usually lines produced and not hours. Have seen 600 lpd for part-time min. nm
x
Good so far, 1000 lines in 2 hours. Busy!
So sorry to hear there is now work for you MTs at MQ. Maybe time to find another job with another company.
Darnit! Should read 񟼨 lines in 8 hours?!'
Poop...hate it when I do that.
I have more than paid for VR. I achieve 1200 lines in 3 hours. No need to hate sm
the MT to use technology to its full capability. Do you think a company cares if you type everything no. The bottom line is you have to get you line count.
2-1/2 hours a day, 1300 lines/day, $150 a day, 7 days a week, IC status
a
I can do 1200 lines in 5 hours so with 2 full time jobs
I work on average of 9-10 hours a day.  When I sit down to work, I do not do anything but work.  I do not surf the net, etc.   Also, I am single and I live for my weekends so during the week I work hard.  I also have 2 kids so most of my work is done during their day at school and after they are in bed for the night.  I have a ton of short cuts in my Expander program too.  If I type something twice, I come up with a short cut for it.  Its not that hard.  I would try the one full time and one part time and see how your time is first and if it is okay, then I would bump it up gradually.  You don't want to burn yourself out but if you can do it and you have good accounts, go for it!!!!
I have a friend who consistently does over 3000 lines in 8 hours on the basic four, so yes it is pos
z
Always asking for extra work.
Do you all get as tired as me when the QA people are constantly hawking the MTs to do extra work.  Every day its the same old thing - but they do it in a very passive aggressive "pretty" way.  I figure, if there's that much work constantly, hire more MTs.   I mean, how much can we stare into the screen!!
That is a lot of work/lines for 2 people. I do 3000 lines per day sm
if you times that by 30 days that only comes to 90K lines a month, that is working 7 days a week including weekends. I don't think 2 people can handle that.
Extra work possibility

Just wanted to post something that might help those of you looking for work... while I realize this is a medical transcription board, with our work being outsourced more and more each day, we have to do what we have to do to earn a paycheck.


After talking with a police officer and hearing how many hours they spend doing written reports of calls/incidents, I mentioned that it was too bad they could not dictate their reports and have them transcribed.  He really liked the idea and so did I as I thought more about it.  I finally scheduled an appointment with the Chief of Police and made a proposal to him.  I had to do some research -- average pay per hour of a police officer x hours per day spent writing reports, etc, -- but that was not too difficult to get. 


To make a long story short -- he tried this with a couple of his officers on their lengthy and very detailed reports. 


Because it allows more time for actually being a police officer instead of being tied up writing illegible reports by hand, they love the idea. 


I submitted my bid, which was approved, and the contract was signed.  There is never a dull moment with this! 


Demographics/extra work
How many of you are being asked to do more demographic work and other extras in your job that do not apply to your line count?  An email went out telling us that these areas "had to be filled in" because it caused too much work for the hospital if we didn't do it - but these demographics do not add to our line count - so I have a hard time understanding why we are to take 2-5 minutes in each report to do work that we are not paid for - for one report it doesn't seem like that much - but add it up to all that you do in a week - and well, that's a big pay decrease from where I stand.  How many of you are dealing with this problem.  It is probably not a new one - just new to me.
I would work extra if it is not asked of me
too often. Would you rather they hire extra help and then there may not be enough work to go around?
I have 17 years acute care experience and don't make 1200 lines in 6 hours. sm
I work for a company that is VERY picky about their work, 100% QA everything.  I have been with them over a year, and have to go back and listen to my work a second time while proofing.  I only make 160-170 lines an hour, but the pay is good for that, and I have learned so much in the year that I can go to work anywhere without problems.  For me it is worth the extra time to put in the few extra hours a week to have really top QA.  There is room for all types in this business, the really fast ones, and the slower ones who work differently, you just have to find your place.  Ideally, we should all type 200 lines an hour and have 99%+ QA, but I don't thank too many of us make it.  Good luck to you.
Are you getting extra for weekend work and holidays.
:
Where's all our supervisors on this question who have to work extra to keep
accounts within turn around time. what happens when account falls out and you can't keep it up by yourself?
Hospitals should be paying us extra to NOT go to work

It would be so so so easy to show how to win malpractice cases with what I know about the medical transcription system as it is operating now.