Excellent post! There are still people with passion out there - that is great to know...
Posted By: soon-exMT` on 2005-09-15
In Reply to: That's what I was trying to explain the other day - - idiot jobs pay more than MT
Sometimes everyone sounds so harsh and cold about all of this.
Best wishes to you, and good for you for finding another way of making a living.
Hopefully, those of us over 45 will have luck finding jobs...
I should research what happened years ago when the steel mills shut down, or when automation took over. People must have had some kind of help when they got their pink splips...
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Lipton Orange/Passion Fruit Green Tea. It tastes great unsweetened. nm
nm
great post - we have people that work at home in our hospital - sm
but getting them to work is like asking them to do a big favor. They constantly have the excuse "oh my kids are here, I have to play with them." "I can't work because my kids have a cold." "I can't work because my kids want to go outside and play."
I could go on and on and on. Those of us that work inhouse and have kids don't seem to have "the problems"
Excellent post! I copied this post and...
am going to show it to my shrink so he can understand my frustration with my new "profession!" By the way, how much you wanna bet he pulls in 300$ an hour and has two years of schooling on me! Hmmmmmmm. Okay, you flamers, don't tell me to go back to school...I am thinking about it. Hmmmm
Excellent MTs make great QA.
x
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 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 post!
I totally agree with you. This is the most intelligent post I have see in a long time. I have always felt that it was the large services and MTSOs who stir the pot to keep MTs at each other's throats. It's a lot easier to manipulate us one on one. If we were united and had someone to "get our backs" they wouldn't be able to get away with the cheap slave labor they are trying to pass off these days. I would really, really like to see some real union amongst MTs. The only way we can fight what is happening to our industry is to fight it together as a group! AAMT has been a HUGE disappointment to us. We need something better. I think one of the main reasons we see so much bickering and back stabbing on here is that there is no job satisfaction anymore. There is nothing to feel proud of. We get beat down on all sides. It would be great to be able to look forward to going to work every day again. I know we need a union, but have no idea how to go about starting one. Where is Norma Rae when you need her?
EXCELLENT post! Here's something else....(sm)
A very similar job to MT, with only a slightly different twist to it, is COURT-REPORTING. Back in 1975, I (stupidly!) decided at the same time my friend was going to school for court-reporting, to instead to go school for medical transcription. At the time, both paid about the same, court-reporting being slightly higher. But that made sense, as she had to stay in school longer.
So here we are, 30 years later, and MT has become a crummy sweatshop job with what adds up to less than minimum wage in many instances. I live hand-to-mouth, and will never be able to own a home, or most likely even to retire. My friend, on the other hand, is paid a top salary, owns a home on the California coast, works when & if she wants to, and has tons of work. You never hear about court reporting going offshore, because it's a legal docoment that is being typed, and I guess a recording of the court proceedings won't cut it - it has to be transcribed live for it to be considered evidence. Same with taking depositions.
MTs are every bit as literate, highly trained and professional as court reporters, and we, too type medicolegal documents. At any time, any report we type could end up as evidence if that particular patient or doctor were to end up in court.
So it sure seems to me that if transcribed medical reports are going to be used within the American judicial system for any reason, then they should certainly be considered important enough to be typed by American CITIZENS who live within our own borders. NOT by people with green cards, NOT by illega aliens, and most certainly NOT by non-residents.
If our profession is compared side-by-side with court-reporting, it may be a bit like comparing apples & oranges in some respects, but in other respects they are still very similar, and are both FRUITS of the American labor force. Yet one is a high-paying, respectable career and the other is considered by many to not even be a "real job!
That has come about because of corporate greed, and by people in other countries looking to make quick, easy money.
Of course, the reason this has happened to MT and not court-reporting is mainly due to one thing: Our ability to work on PCs at home. If court reporters could sit at home and listen to court proceedings on a recording or over a live connection, they would have found themselves facing the same loss of respect and income that we have had to deal with.
excellent post. nm
x
That is an excellent post.
s
Excellent post!
Good insight into the complexity of trade, competition, and lower salary workers.
What an excellent post!
Thank you, thank you! I am a bit depressed reading the post above yours. This is exactly the kind of attitude that enables these companies to lower their rates.
I think you spoke for a lot of us.
Excellent post.
Excellent post.
nm
A most excellent post
I think sometimes, in our zeal to get hired, we throw everything into the pot. We declare that we possess every skill that might help us to make the cut over other applicants. We're a nurse, we transcribe, we can make coffee, can get grease spots out of a Brooks Brothers suit, drop his kids at day care on the way to work - no! it's no trouble at all, really! - whatever. In this case, having your office nurse also be your Transcriptionist probably seemed an attractive prospect, until the doctor's wife figured they were paying twice for what she thought they should be paying for only once. Now these very skills have been turned against the worker. So your points 1, 2 and 3 are particularly valid.
I have seen ads for MTs in local papers and the description of duties sometimes says, 'medical transcription, reception duties, appointments, filing, other duties as needed.' Then I know I don't even want to apply for the position, as I have no idea how I could be MT as well as receptionist. How frustrating it would be to have my concentration constantly interrupted! This practice wants a secretary/receptionist they can make transcribe as well. Lots of luck getting someone who can do both well.
Any professional should balk at being told that a salary covers 'anything the boss expects' them to do. Especially if this throws out an established arrangement and doubles someone's work load. While we all like to be team players, if only the owner gets a tropy this diminishes our team spirit considerably.
I'm of two minds on this. I would either agree and simply not bust my butt getting the transcription done until it was piled so high SOMETHING had to change. Certainly there is a limit to how backed up this practice will allow its reports to become? Meanwhile I'd be looking for new employment. Of course, as the reports piled up, you have to know the office manager would be timing your trips to the bathroom with a stop watch and accusing you of wasting time on her dime (as seems to be her nature) but I'm sure you could perform all your usual nursing duties with just a bit less alacrity in order not to appear idle. Or I would simply call their bluff and refuse to go along (which might be shooting myself in the foot unless I had another job to go to. )
Excellent post and viewpoint
nm
What an excellent post you wrote! (sm)
Everything is a hit-the-nail-on-the-head ACCURATE description of the mess the MT industry has become today. If the doctors & hospitals truly don't care about such gross mistakes in their dictated LEGAL documents, I wonder why they even bother at all.
I also wonder how long MTSO's really think they are going to get the most experienced MTs out there by continuing to chip away at their pay and benefits. I'm expected to turn out perfect medical reports, which means, even with 30+ years of experience, that when doing difficult accounts, I can't blast away at Mach II on my reports - I have to spend a little more time looking up state-of-the-art treatments, drugs, etc., and then extra time proofreading each report afterward (which is difficult when you're proofing your own work). And yet in order to earn what would normally constitute 8 hrs. worth of pay, I often end up working 12-hour days. And yet my rent (which is way below-market, I might add) still consumes more than half of my income each month. (I went to school for WHAT??)
WOW!! Excellent eloquent post!
You covered everything and did it so well that there's not much to add.
I will say, though, that I have been in a profession in which I was in a union. I have plenty of gripes about the union, but it'd be nice to have that protection here. It'll never happen, though, because of the other shortcoming that plagues this industry: Offshoring. It used to be that, if you worked hard and were good at your job, you had some leeway because you just *knew* that your company wouldn't let you go because they valued you so much. Not so these days, at least not the company I work for, and not from many others if what I read on these boards is true. Most of the companies have a virtually endless supply of maleable workers who will work for little to nothing. I get the very distinct feeling that if I said I was quitting tomorrow, they'd almost be happy for it. After all, they can now just backfill my position with one of those nameless, faceless people in India, the Philippines, Viet Nam, or any of the various other 'offshore' places.
A friend who works for SPi and is very good at what she does, when she told her supervisor that she had gotten another job offer, was actually told by that supervisor her advice was to take it! Back in 'the day' and not too very long ago, the response would've been 'how can we keep you?' Every single QA or Editor that I know is actively searching for a new job, some in this same declining industry, others in completely other fields.
After working so hard for so many years, I now feel just extremely tired - body and soul, completely demoralized, struggling to have any pride in my work any more. It's bad now and getting worse. I only hope the above poster is correct and things will make a turn-around, but frankly, I'm having a really hard time seeing it or even mustering the optimism to envision it. :'(
Excellent informative post!
You have given us all something to think about because you are right. We are not the only field this is happening to.
Lydia - I think your post was excellent however
I would like to bring up the new technology of VR where the use of word Expanders no longer has the impact that they have with straight typing.
I am doing editing and when I talk to others they were doing 300-400 lines with straight typing and word expanders. Now they are editing that same work and perhaps doing an average of 400 lph and yet making half as much money. It is an entirely different skill set learning to navigate quickly and get the work edited for speed, something which I am struggling with. I would love it if editors would share their speed tips but usually all the posts I get go something like this: I do 500 lines and hour and make more money editing OR I had to take a pay cut editing but no specifics as to why or how to build speed. So that is not really helpful as to why there is more or less $ with editing. I use my keyboar and not my mouse. I am working as hard as I can but I only can do maybe 100 more lines tops with editing than I can with straight typing but my pay has dropped by 50%. I don't see editing going away so to that end it seems as if the pay is dropping in transcription. Does anyone else see where I am coming from????
Thank you for an excellent post. I wish we had our own board. nm
x
Excellent post and info...a must read.nm
x
Here's an excellent link to a post for suggestions
Here's a link to an excellent post at Productivity Talk by Tonks. I'm trying this out right now. If it works, I'm going to send her a big thank you.
http://www.productivitytalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3683
Excellent post. I totally agree.
nm
Shorthand is excellent--had for 5 years, does everything but diaper the baby, NO problems. Great pr
x
Post not EXCELLENT, but completely out of touch with reality
like you think the MT's control the pay in the MT world? Either you need the job and you take it for the pay or you have another option. MT's without another option will take the job at 6 cpl, or 4 cpl or whatever. When working at McDonald's becomes an option that is equivalent to MT work, then MT's will choose McDonald's.
The Transcriptionist is just ONE cog in the wheel of the whole industry. If people continue to look at only the MT's part, they miss the big picture. If all it took were people saying Let's all stand up together and demand better wages, then why couldn't the cashiers at the grocery stores across the US do the same thing? They can't. Because it they don't cashier for $8 an hour, there's somebody else who will. Same thing has happened with transcription. If you don't take the job at 6 cpl, somebody else will. It might be somebody from India (which you so quickly discounted) but I'll let you in on a little secret. The people from India who are doing MT typically have 2 master's degrees. They are hungry for work. They are intelligent, competent individuals, willing to work hard. They might have a little bit of a quality issue right now because of the language barrier, but it won't be long before you have lots and lots of Indian MT's with 2 years experience, who have learned from their mistakes, who have learned American idioms... and then you are really going to see the bottom drop of out the market.
Great post. I swear by both Advantage and Frontline Plus-- both work great! - sm
I don't know about "natural" approaches for the house. I have always used flea bombs in the past before the miracle of Advantage and Frontline changed my life. Have not had a flea problem at all since I began using those products about 10 years ago, dose all the dogs religiously once a month with the Frontline Plus except in Dec.-Feb. to save a few bucks and because the ground is generally frozen by then and no fleas are scurring about. -- Hope you get flea free soon.
Great post -great job of wording your answer! (sm)
Original poster - I completely agree with this answer, especially the part about finding yourself and using all that you have learned intellectually and connecting that to something that you will also enjoy with your heart!! You have so many wonderful options for your future - much more than many of us.
HATE ER notes with a passion
x
Way to go OldTimer! Follow your passion (sm)
and enjoy it!! I love photography but don't have the dedication needed to do it professionally. I also love being an MT and will do it until I can't do it any longer BUT I'm also starting back to school to (hopefully) finish up a nursing degree. My ultimate goal is to own a lakeside small resort (or lake property) but I need a career and a backup career to make this work.
Thus I will continue to treasure the MT clients I have but will also work toward something in case the negative predictions are true. In either case, a little more education can't hurt and can only enrich my life in my opinion.
I can't even bake a straight cake ... I'm thankful for those who do the baking and decorating so you go girl!!
absolutely loved Passion of the Christ
very moving spiritually
That's great for you. I know other people who have been
treated wonderful by Transolutions, but I also know people who have been treated HORRIBLY by them. I find it odd. I, personally, prefer small, more homey companies. I get paid 10 cpl and I don't work weekends unless I choose to. Same with holidays...not of that rotational stuff like Transolutions has. I get paid more if I do STAT reports and I also do some editing. I guess my point is..not everyone is going to be happy with ONE company. You have to look to find your place! It's not fair for some people to say things like "well maybe you just weren't good enough" because they didn't fit into a particular company, which if you read enough of the Transolutions post, you will find their employees/IC people doing that to others who didn't have luck with that company.
Scuze any typos...only 3 sips of coffee LOL.
My healing agent of choise is Passion Fruit Rum, but Tequila comes second. nm
x
it works great for a lot of people, but
be aware that as with most medications it starts to wear off, so if it works for you, I would say go for it and don't dilly dally around with it, because one day it will not work for you, at least that is what happened to me years ago.
Yes, I went and it was great. Very informative. Lots of people. sm
I love being able to talk to fellow transcriptionists to share war stories. The place was beautiful and not expensive as most of our meals were provided at the conference.
I think that transcriptionists should stop complaining about everything and start taking action. One of the best ways to do it is to get involved with the 7000 other transcriptionists with the AAMT.
What a great post...(nm)
z
Great post! nm
x
This was a great post, thank you!!!
dd
GREAT post. Thank you.
.
Thank you for the great post
What a nice thought. A happy MT week to everyone!!!
WOW what a GREAT post!!! nm
Great post! LOL
I always always have to follow it up with an explanation as to what it is, exactly. I think I'm going to start saying I'm a *medical* court stenographer ;)
Yours was a GREAT post!...sm
More advice would also be that one has to *put in your time*, especially if you're young, i.e., I worked at a hospital for 8-9 years in 3 diff depts, did MTg along w/other duties, then worked for a svce 7 years, and another one for 1-1/2 yrs, then got my own accts.
But I learned terminology all along the way and at the hospital took a basic med term course and got a certificate, (not CMT though). Learned 3 fields there while working. However, when I got to the first sve, thinking I knew sooooo much, WAKE UP CALL, I felt I knew nothing - as svce had full hospital accts (along w/pvt MD accts). I took on 12 accounts there for 7 years. I learned just about every field there, love working from home.
Just for the record, I ALWAYS get dressed every day and never *stay in my jammies* working, as someone else posted, as if that would be something to aspire to (?). I think getting dressed is great discipline or keeps one disciplined I think, in my opinion.
Hope everyone has a nice profitable week
GREAT post nn.......thanks for that!!!..sm
I, too, believe we are the JEWELS of the industry - us older ones who have been doing this work for 3+ decades or more or less.......We step up to the plate just like we have been for ALL those years.
Thanks for your positive post! You hang tough too!!! *S*
Lottery? We have a better chance of getting hit by lightning, unfortunately, than winning the lottery - which is a 1:14,000,000 chance at that. Hence, I NEVER do play it anymore.
Have a great Sunday!!! 
Great post, really. :) NM
nm
Great post.
x
great post!
What a great reply! It's odd that on this MT forum, medical transcription and the qualifications necessary to be a successful MT are often trivialized or maligned (like the nasty poster who said ''It takes intelligence to be an engineer''). Yet when the MT--who knows better-- protests, she gets personally attacked as ''neurotic'' or ''personality disordered''. What MT would take the time to visit, for example, a forum for teachers or nurses, post nasty pot-shots about a profession, and then claim the person responding to the insults is ''neurotic'' or somehow at fault for responding!
Very well said. Great post. Thank you. NM
Great Post!
I love your avatar, by the way.
Yes, stories like yours will inspire the incoming hopefuls to this field. Determination, savvy, and brains do count tremendously, not just the program attended!
Great post, but I'm
I think unions served a purpose at other times in history, when children were working in sweat shops & that sort of thing. Now I think they can be kind of dangerous...& become part of the thing a group was initially struggling against. Too powerful, too money-hungry. I've witnessed things like people being forced to join a union in order to get a job. The job was an on-call position; i.e., no call, no pay. At the end of some pay periods, people would have no income but still owe union dues. That sort of thing. Also they can protect good employees; unfortunately, they also protect terrible employees who deserve to be let go. This can cause the rest of a great staff to have to work around one inept person who sleeps on the job.
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