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Excellent advice Karen. Thanks.

Posted By: nm on 2006-07-16
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    Excellent advice!
    .
    EXCELLENT advice
    posted by sm - an editor.

    Left alone to care for "two little ones" can be an exhausting responsibility even though you love them dearly.

    I encouarge you to consider a romantic weekend with just you and your husband, if you have family or a loving, trustworthy caretaker nearby to care for your "little ones" while you are away.

    It is easy for one's mind to think the worst and become suspicious. Put all your trust in God.




    Excellent advice. Don't use a
    credit counseling service. This is a racket and not in the best interest of the consumer. Educate yourself. Most importan to pay are secured debts such as house, car, rent if you are renting, student loans, taxes. Unsecured debts like credit cards should be on the bottom of the list. Also read a book called "Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt". It tells you in simple language how to get out of debt on your own without ruining your credit.
    Here, here! Excellent advice!!
    And what is nice in a hospital is you are getting an hourly rate and benefits while you are learning the ropes and building your expanders, etc. And hospitals don't pay too badly- our minimum starting level is 15.00 an hour.

    I would not recommend starting out in a production paying job.
    Excellent advice. nm
    x
    Ditto this excellent advice. nm
    //
    Thanks for your excellent advice Patti
    nm
    Support excellent advice from Brandi. NM
    x
    Excellent. The way I see it. She obviously has not sound advice to give any of us stay-at
    home moms, so she should just keep all comments to herself. She sure does sound like a pot stirrer and so we should just ignore her. Whadda you say?
    Karen....

    some of us were wondering how it went with you.  Have you filled all the positions you were advertising for?  Your job ads got a LOT of hits (over 1,000 I believe) and I think you posted somewhere that you received over 100 resumes. 


    About the DA127 or whatever - sorry I can't help with that.  Have no idea what it is or how it works.


    karen
    don't know what that invalid photo thing is either because I did not put one in there.  I am getting no help from work company or computer people so far.
    Do I hear Karen Fox?
    "If they get credentialed and they engage in continuing education, then there is no reason why they should settle for working for an employer that does not recognize the value they bring to their position."

    Why does AHDI think its CMT test is the only way to validate one's education & experience? I have an account with Medscape, get weekly case studies to read & test on. I can track my CME units,& IMHO it's a heck of a lot more reassuring to a doctor than some mickey mouse test (which I did take, BTW; I have since renounced my CMT status.


    I think there is only one better, Karen Carpenter, a natural.

    Meditech/ message for Karen from below:

    Hi Karen:  You stated >>>>>Meditech is horrible.  I use it, but dont like it....If I had known this was the platform, would NOT have accepted this acct.  I use shorthand and that is a life saver... I have also when typing regular medical (I do both gen med and rad) since they are so much longer type the report in word, use all of word features such as spell ck, grammar, stedmans goodies and when done cut and paste into the Meditech screen.  While it does take a while to peck it out, it still saves my sanity for not having any of the tools needed to type the darn thing....I also save my templates in word and use them from there.. Short ones i do put in shorthand.  Good luck.....<<<<<<<<<<


    I am thinking of doing what you do, put it in word and copy/paste it but my problem is I can't have both meditech and word document open at same time or meditech will time out and then close word after about 4 minutes.  How do you get around this???   I am going to have major carpal tunnel on this job not having any tools. 


    Quite frankly Karen, I LOVE MY JOB!!!
    I love my company, my hours, and most of all, I feel I am paid an honest wage (more than I was making in-house at a hospital). So, no, it is not ALL bad. I went through several companies and was very discouraged, but no longer. Good luck to you.
    Joyce CMT - e-mail karen - deleted your e-mail address nm
    nm
    Advice to YOU..1st learn to spell before insulting poster and trying to give advice...sm

    Sound advice from a fellow MT if you want advice or support (sm)

    I have been an MT for over 10 years.  I also am getting burnt out, tired of my job, day in day.  However, I do love transcription and make excellent money at it, have grossed over $50,000 per year the last 5 years.  I decided to go back to nursing school and am very happy with my choice.  However, over these 10 years of transcription I have had my ups and downs.  My biggest issue with being at home working is lack of socialization, being home day in and day out with just the kids and the animals really gets to a person, sure hubby is home at night and thinks working from home is the easy life, thus the return to school and boy has my overall enjoyment of life changed once I realized I was the problem, not everyone else and I needed to find myself again.


    Anyway, my biggest advice to you three-fold:


    1.  Get into counseling for yourself, find out who you are and what your needs are, whether or not you think you need to, I sense you are feeling overwhelmed and need someone other than your family to talk to that can be nonjudgmental to your feelings and needs.


    2.  If you're only making $100 after you pay preschool you can either keep doing it and be miserable, or quit because you are lucky enough to have a husband who can support the family without your income. (See how fast his mind changes just by losing the income you do have as to whether your job means anything.)  Or look for a different company or office that you like more and are more productive if you really want to do transcription (lots of fish in the sea as far as companies).


    3.  Find a local "mom's" group where you can get out and socialize.  MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) is an excellent one that is nationwide, they have a website.  Also Mom2Mom is in a lot of areas.  They provide a once a week time for moms with kids the same age to get together, socialize, (some offer spirtual guidance some don't) and each week a different mom takes a turn watching everyone else's children at the facility that hosts it so the other moms can talk about things they have in common.  Every stay-at-home and work-from-home mom needs to socialize with adults, without their kids, or they will have a nervous breakdown eventually no matter how much they love their kids.


    Sorry so long but it does get better but you have to take the first step at making yourself happy.


    Excellent. Old dog here too. SM.
    I agree.  I know these young moms mean well, trying to stay at home and learn this and there is no freaking way.  I think it would be hard for even one with adequate experience to do it with a newborn at home.
    Excellent
    I hope to reach this point some day. How many hours per day do you work?
    Excellent!
    xx
    Excellent!!!
    xx

    EXCELLENT!!! sm

    and I don't think the top was *disrespectful* as the other poster said - it is a well-known fact that our current prez cannot form, for the most part, a proper sentence....


    and to the ones who don't believe the sentence problems - suggest y'all start watching the news and/or David Letterman's first 10 minutes nightly.....or go to youtube or any other the other free video sites and/or Google some *bushisms* as they have *fondly* became to be known as.....after 6-1/2 yrs in office.  LOL


    I went to M-TEC. It is an excellent course (sm)

    I have never heard of the other school, so I can't compare the two, but I have nothing but good things to say about M-TEC.  Once you graduate they have pages upon pages of companies that will hire you if you graduate with a good GPA, and that is key, as it is very hard to get a job as a newbie in this field, as many companies require 2 or more years of experience. M-TEC has a great reputation for turning out skilled graduates that many companies will waive their experience requirements.


    It's definitely not an easy course, but it prepares you very well for the extremely challenging career of medical transcription.  I have heard that Andrews School is good too but maybe a bit more expensive.


    I would recommend checking out the schools' websites if you haven't already to get more info.  M-Tec has a great message board that should answer many of your questions.  Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck in your choice!


    p.s. I saw your other post asking if you think it's worth it to get into this field, and only you can answer that, but for me it was.  I paid a relatively small amount of money to go to school, I don't have to pay for gas to and from work, "fancy" work clothes, daycare for my children, and I work the hours I choose in my own home as an independent contractor and therefore have lots of freedom in my day to day life, which has always been a dream of mine.


    On the other hand, I am pretty new to the field and find the job really challenging sometimes, and it is extremely difficult for me to get my work done with my 2 kids around, but each month it gets a little easier, and as it gets easier I am slowly making more money too.  


    Excellent!! Thank you very much! nm
    nm
    both are excellent, but........
    I did M-Tec and think Andrews is just as good as far as the grads going to work. It's been 7-8 years but at that time, you had three choices on the length of your program.
    Excellent!
    I have Raynaud's, so this would be perfect for me. Arthritis sufferers would also benefit. The ad suggests it might also be beneficial to those with carpal tunnel. I have a theory that one reason so many guys can type so fast is that they have better blood flow to their hands. In my current job I work outside. I don't spend much time on the computer, but if I was one whose computer was outside, I'd definitely get this product. Those of you with hot hands can't possibly understand, but there is no need to ridicule it at all. I have known about the heated keyboard for a while, but I think Transcription Gear just added it to their offerings. Good for them, I say.

    http://www.transcriptiongear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=T&Product_Code=KB-WARM-USB&Product_Count=&Category_Code=
    Excellent!
    I have sent similar letters and encourage every U.S. MT to contact their elected representatives, demanding they support this bill and do all they can to protect the American worker.

    Great letter -- Thanks for posting it.
    EXCELLENT!
    that's great info!
    That is EXCELLENT!
    And it exactly illustrates my problem with the pay rate for speech editing. It's knowledge-based. I apply my brain to each and every line on the screen. I should not be paid based on production.

    Where did this silly pay system start? Which large company first introduced speech and the half-rate pay scale? Apparently, they set the standard.

    I recently picked up a pamphlet from my old college, and I see they are offering a certificate program in therapeutic horticulture, therapy through gardening. It sounds so interesting. I'd love to do something like that, but it sounds like the sort of thing that won't have a lot of job openings in this economy.
    Excellent! sm
    Thanks soo much, this was great. How can I get other tests, other than April 2008 to Sept 2008?
    Excellent tip!
    All my years of transcribing and I never knew that!  Thanks!!!!
    EXCELLENT!!
    EXCELLENT Post!!  Have you considered writing to TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, etc.??
    Thanks for the excellent post!
    d
    EXCELLENT POST QA
    Thanks so much for posting. Believe it or not, your post made me feel good. I am new, and am lucky enough to have mostly good dictators and only a few really bad ones. (But the account with the SKIPPING-TAPE-THING GOING ON IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!) Anyway, I know QA can understand about the skipping tape thing. I proofread every single report (so you know I am not making much money), but I rarely hear from QA, so I must be doing something right. It is just nice to finally hear from someone from QA on this board and to know they appreciate a job well done. I have e-mailed QA back, thanking them for the help, but lately have not, thinking that I might be annoying them - taking time away from their work, but now I know that e-mail might be appreciated instead. Now...we will probably get some slams from people having a bad day, but I thank you for writing. You should post more often, and we all would LOVE to hear some of the funnier "bloopers"
    Excellent company
    You have to be kidding.  They are the greatest company and I have worked here 3 years.  They used to have bad management but the management now is great and very supportive.  Looks like someone that is a poor loser to me
    I have a friend that is an excellent MT and she -
    dances one or two nights a week in the fall. It's not for me, but hey, it works for her!
    This would be an excellent reason to
    fill out an Employee Complaint Form on QNet.

    The letter announcing the upcoming program did, in fact, state that you will be contacted personally to "...discuss the new Rewards Plan and to answer your questions."

    If the person you talked to was not able to discuss and/or answer questions on the changes, but instead now we are to wait until the proposed package arrives with a phone number for us to call if we have questions ... that is certainly not what had been promised.

    When I receive my phone call, if they are not able to discuss nor answer questions, I am most definitely filling out a complaint form. I will also be writing Adele Barbato myself and possibly placing a phone call to that office.

    We will see what happens, I suppose.

    That's right! Excellent way to state that!
    Even at 8 cents a line you can make $20 an hour with just 250 lines in an hour.

    Excellent post! Well said!
    My kids belonged to a bowling league..my oldest boys being in public school. The youth director confided in me that their 'homeschool league' kids were SO much more respectful and better behaved and an absolute pleasure to work with than the 'regular leagues.'

    You are correct. Homeschool does not mean isolation whatsoever, unless, of course, you are way out in the sticks without a car, etc!

    I homeschooled my daugter for 5 of her school years. If there was a sociability contest, she would WIN hands down! Everyone says so!! Her very best feature!
    excellent opinion
    I feel the same way. My 5 yo comes into the shower w/me, or invites me into his bath.. I do not believe there should be shame associated w/nudity. All bodies are perfect, as designed by God. We should be comfortable in our own skin.

    My brother, on the other hand, who has a 5 y/o daughter, has always worn swim trunks when he bathes with his daughter..
    Excellent! - Idea
    I think we should all call CitiBank and demand to be taken off their solicitation mailing list. I have never done business with them, but they send me about 100 pieces of junk mail a year! What a waste! I will NEVER do business with them.
    That's an excellent idea. I need to try that.
    x
    What an excellent idea - thanks!
    I'm going to look into that. Thanks to everyone for all your input - it is so helpful :)
    This is excellent! Very informative!
    Tons of good information on these sites!  Thanks again for your help!
    This is an EXCELLENT thread--thanks! nm
    .
    Excellent idea. Maybe I should do this!
    Housing market seems to have cycles. And, there are always going to be those young first time home buyers. Plus, all of the migration with the gulf disaster and those needing new homes should help real estate in your area.

    It will definitely make you feel more secure and with that sense of relief, you will enjoy life so much more.

    If nothing else, this MT situation is anxiety provoking and from what I can see from reading all of these posts, it is having a definite negative impact on the quality of all of our lives with the possible small exception of those who do not rely on their income to pay the core bills.
    Excellent point, please do that for them.
    x
    If you have excellent QA to help - you will be fine.
    Meaning - transcribe the reports, leave blanks of anything you are unsure of, and with great QA feedback, you will learn in no time.

    You can do it - don't be afraid.

    On the other hand, if you do not have a great QA department to help you with your blanks and accuracy of your reports, I would say stay with the what you know for now.

    You can learn it. Maybe you can just do a 5 or 10 reports a day along with your clinic work to start with or without great QA help.

    Good luck to you!
    Excellent points! (sm)
    I like the idea of the letter serving double duty both as information about and an example of your transcription.

    [I also like how you broke your post up into small paragraphs -- so much easier to read online where solid, dense paragraphs appear so inpenetrable.]

    Cold-calling and mail solicitations rarely yield immediate results, but within 3 to 6 months inquiries should start trickling in from the managers who were impressed by the presentation and filed the letter for future need.
    Excellent! Good for you!
    .