Good things take time. (this is addressed to OP, BTW) My first 15 years or sm
Posted By: nm on 2008-08-19
In Reply to: Kudos to you! You have a positive 'tude! - sm
so of MT was without the benefit of using an expander. When Expanders became the norm, I was reluctant to try, thinking that it would be more cumbersome than by not using it at all. Was I surprised and pleased I had ventured into the Expander world.
Since you're at home you can add entries on your free time, even if you do 5 or 10 at a time, when there is no pressure on you. Start out with expanders for "the patient," "-year-old," the names of your doctors, anything that is repetitious. You will be surprised how much time this will save you. My initial expander, PRD, actually calculated saved Keystrokes and productivity. Back then I was saving 30%!
The expander is especially helpful for those crazy terms that are hyphenated or have camel caps, those that I always had to look up to check myself. Create your brief form by just using straight lowercase, for instance, duoneb for Duo-Neb (or d-n).
Speed will come, don't worry. Good luck to you!
(Posted in the wrong place--I always do that!) This is in response to OP.
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If you don't take the time to find to do things
that give you joy you'll become a bitter old woman and you'll always have regrets that you gave so much of yourself to your job.
My mother died of cancer, she fought it for 17 years, but she was just 50 when she got it and the chemo damaged her heart so that she had no quality of life and she wanted to go to the beach one more time.
My father worked hours and hours, OT and weekends, and neglected his family, not out of financial need - not sure why exactly. He developed Alzheimer's in his early 60s, was not able to enjoy retirement and it didn't matter that he had $100,000 in the bank because he didn't know who he was, didn't know who I was, was in diapers, couldn't feed himself, etc.
Make the time to do what you enjoy, if only for 15 minutes a day. If $$ is an issue, use coupoons, buy off brands, shop yard sales, etc.
You can work until you last breath and they'll still be calling you to help with the backlog. The company doesn't care about you, doesn't care if your children are sick, if your parents are dying, if you are puking your guts out, so why should you kill yourself for the company.
Fun things to do next time you are in an elevator...
 Wave hands wildly at invisible flies buzzing around your head.
Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask: "Got enough air in there?"
Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you "Admiral".
Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then announce: "I've got new socks on!"
Frown and mutter "gotta go, gotta go" then sigh and say "oops!"
Walk on with a cooler that says "human head" on the side.
Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce "You're one of THEM!" and move to the far corner of the elevator.
Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your personal space.
I just had to lighten up this board a bit today!!!!
Not really hate..but not enough time for the things that bug me (nm)
"For 30 years, I've transcribed things by what is..SM
correct." This is where the problem is. Do you know that some of the most stubborn, difficult, argumentative, inflexible MTs I have ever met in the course of my career are the ones who parrot that particular sentence?
What was done or has been done for 30 years is not necessarily the correct way now. Language has changed. With the advent of VR, the way we transcribe is now more of a verbatim way than ever.
These 30-year MTs are still adding 's on to Down syndrome, still typing out the word "centimeter" even though it is no longer accepted as anything but line-padding....get my drift?
Any 62 year old should know by this time how to figure things out
I am older but I do not have to ask others how to get around money out of my husband's money to cover my expenses. Give me a f…ing break! All the time I have read these posts have never seen 1 person trying to be so underhanded. They are not glad to be able to make around $900- they were trying to do something against a company, IRS and anyone else she could. After all that time she comes back to rant some more and call us vipers. I am independent. Last year I sold property for $150,000. I did not pay all my independent taxes like I should but.... I had major expenses such as new computer, property upkeep on the one sold plus those taxes, my property taxes where I live and I made arrangements last year (hey, I was thinking ahead) and set up at least $46,000 in the bank JUST IN CASE I needed for the taxes this year. With all my expenses paid out, did my taxes and got back a little over $600. I did not retire, I did not flame others for what I should do, I used my head before time, not just running out and spending all and had a cushion in case I needed. I am woman, I am strong, I use my head for what it was intended. This is the way things should work, not retiring first, not having enough money, not trying to be sneaky about working and having others taking the credit and pay then paying me under the table, then trying to pull the wool over other's eyes!
Half the time they spell things wrong anyway! NM
!
Bummer. I know those things aren't cheap. Better luck next time!
nm
Thanks for sharing. I also travel A LOT..and the majority of the time things go smooth, but sometime
Last time we went on vacation, I forgot to pack my keyboard that I had just bought for $50 and had to run to Radio Shack and get another cheapo for $30. Then, the hotel internet was AWFUL and kept cutting me off so production was sloooooow..Overall, I just check ahead to see what the hotel offers in terms of internet etc..and I do end up having to pay anywhere from $10-12 a night at hotels but it is worth it so I am not missing work or using all of my PTO time. We're heading to Mexico next year and the hotel has wireless so I think I'll give it a whirl. We have a condo in Hawaii and I have sat out on the lanai all day looking at the ocean and working. It was the highest production I have ever had. The only downfall I have found is trying to remember all fo the time changes so I am starting and stopping when I am scheduled. Hawaii is 5 hours different from home so I had to factor that in. In any event, thanks for sharing and I agree. Vacation can be fun AND productive.. LOL
Two good things
Quitting the smokes and exercising. You'll be a new woman!
Other good things to put in sm
I like to put in little cubes of cheese instead of shredded cheese. And I also add pepperoni and/or salami pieces (slices that have been quartered). Some people add cucumber, but I don't really like it in my pasta salad.
Other good things to add
My roommate and I made the Salad Supreme recipie but instead of Italian dressing we used ranch and I browned some frozen meatballs and cut those in half along with the green pepers and tomatoes and it turned out great!!!!
All Good Things
Wow! I have not thought about that way to transcribe in years. THOSE were the DAYS we got REAL LINE COUNTS!You are so lucky to find someone who still uses it. They are showing you that you are worth the money they pay you (unlike the platforms today).
Or discpline time! My kids would be very sorry if they threw things at me or in the house. Two hours
is not too long for them to give you some space. That's really sad for you, but maybe try to rein them in. Can't hurt, right?
You are welcome. Good things are just around the corner.
I have been where you are now. It is not fun, it is very upsetting and frustrating, but things will come your way soon. There are many accounts out there, you just need to find the right ones. All you need is one, and the rest will come by "word of mouth".
My advice is to just call and ask if they made a decision and if it is not you, then just thank them for their time and ask if it is okay if you check back with them periodically to see how things are going.
Good luck to you.
You mention some things you are not good at doing, but
try to think of something you may be good at. Not everyone on the outside is cruel and backstabbing. It sounds like you need to get out more and mingle. It is not healthy to spend hours in front of your computer and not interact with others except online. Do you have friends you socialize with? Sounds like the MT work at home is not going well for you. Don't give up on yourself. I hear your pain. Been there myself. It may be time for a new beginning. You are never too old for anything. Change your thoughts, and you will change your life.
Have always heard good things about X-Press
and have heard they pay really well
thanks!!! good website - learned new things
YAY!!! YAY!!! YAY!!! Good things happen to those who have the patience (I am not one of them)!!!
f
Good reasons to get more things worked out -
and in writing before accepting the job offer. I would work one weekend a month for average pay, two if the weekend pay was better. But not every weekend. Same goes for Friday nights. I prefer at-home to in-house environment-wise, but at-home pay is the pits, unless you're willing to work 16-hour days, 7 days a week, which is even worse than what you're doing now. I can't retire, either, even under the best of circumstances. But right now I'm having trouble just eating. I don't get paid 'til Friday, and my fridge has nothing in it except ice cubes.
If it is Accustat Carolinas..Yes that's true..among the other not so good things.
x
Top 10 good things about living in Havre, Montana
10.I can leave my pickup running while I run into the grocery store or post office.
9.I lost my house keys years ago.
8.Someone will call me on Saturday morning and tell me if my teenager was misbehaving Friday night.
7.If I have a flat tire, a farmer will stop by and help me out and I don't have to worry about getting assaulted.
6.I can stop and help out someone with a flat tire and not worry about getting assaulted.
5.A traffic jam is 6 cars in a row.
4. No lines at the grocery store.
3. Everyone goes to church.
2.The constant wind blows the bad smells away.
1.This cold weather keeps the riff-raff out.
Just reminding myself that it isn't so bad!!
Good for you. My brother is a sheriff. He tells me things I can't believe! nm
x
Wonderful! So nice to hear good things like this!
d
going on my 17th year of it and feeling good about things sm
still loving it just as much. I work for a hospital and they just sent us home to type so everything is new again, new system, new challenges. I need to be challenged or I become bored, so enjoy things at the moment.
Especially for Iowa, that is pretty good. UI can get good over time, but that's because of the u
What I think is so sad is that people may give up good jobs to go there to find out these things all
to late. The newbies can learn and use MQ and move on which they do but of course the clients suffer then with all the people learning on them but this is what MQ causes and when they lose clients with poor quality or people that just throw out work then they caused their own problems. You cant keep good MTs with no work I dont care what incentives you offer because they mean nothing with no work ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I wish people would understand that when MQ hires them.
I heard a lot of good things about them and am looking to purchase a laptop, so your information
is very helpful to me. Thank you!
was the post addressed to YOU?....sm
Have you got a life, yourself, by the way? 
Another topic that might be addressed
in this context would be the potential for identity theft. I am sure that if I, without a larcenous bone in my body, could think of the following scenario, others could too.
Suppose an unscrupulous overseas MTSO "contracted" with an ID theft ring in the US to supply names and SS numbers harvested from medical records.
This MIGHT have already happened to me; there's no way to know for certain. But last August, I went to the local GI clinic for "that procedure" that they recommend for everyone over 50. I used my credit card for my copayment, of course.
I happen to know from my local MT contacts that this practice offshored its work to India a few years ago.
Not too long after my procedure, I received several dubious "male enhancement vitamin" products in the mail. Huh? And then my credit card was charged for the products. Since I didn't order them, the credit card company reversed the charges. The identity thief was too stupid to actually change the mailing address, in addition to thinking that the "vitamins" would perform as advertised. (Anybody want 'em? I still have them. I wasn't going to pay to ship them back, no way.)
The timing of this COULD be sheer coincidence... but it's just a little suspicious to me. My credit card number was stolen from SOMEWHERE.
This town is small enough that if my local congress-critter (and his wife) have had "that procedure," they probably had it done at the same practice where I did.... I do believe I shall write him a letter; but I will have to compose it in words of one syllable or less, because he is really, really stupid.
I do believe she is good enough, and has more than proved that time and time again. NM
z
One from MQ, and in it a letter addressed from the lawyers
I am just afraid the rug is going to be yanked completely from under us, and I have no plan B. The changing of management, no raises, and losing accounts is nothing new, but my biggest fear is being sold and being at the mercy of a lower pay plan, worse rules, etc., i'm comfy where I am.
Yup, I addressed this with the company I work for,
and they said they would crack down on it. But did they?
And mom isn't doing such a hot job of picking husbands, either. THAT should be addressed. nm
x
I also noticed that they *finally* addressed....sm
the issue of generic versus brand name drugs and state that generics should not be capped. One thing that drove me nuts, but nothing to back me up.
More about phrases as other poster addressed
Since the dictators seem to say the same thing in so many different ways, I have found I often have to add a a bit extra, and it would have been easier if I had thought of that when I first started making Expanders so I would have started right off being very consistent.
For an example CTDW, CSTDW, CDTDW = (respectively) continue to do well, contintues to do well, continued to do well. - It is amazing how many things will overlap or conflict.
Or, they will use a phrase with the word "or" or "and" in it AND without them ...
like, cyanosis, clubbing, edema ... and cyanosis, clubbing, and edema ... Or even worse, they flip the words around to clubbing, cyanosis, and edema.
So many dicators and so many ways of saying the same thing. That is what gets frustrating to me. It's endless.
I have used this one for 5 years. It may be time for a new one
It means I saw an email stating this, but it was not addressed to me.
nm
I justed attended a meeting and this was addressed
There are now computers that will be performing surgery. The medical field is changing in ways that are not good, according to the speaker, in that the younger physicians coming into the field are not comparable to physicians of yesterday, generally speaking. He thought it was a good direction, this computerized physician. He also did state that insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies have much to say about what goes on in the medical field (they have power/money).
Need to hook up a USB pedal to RealPlayer. I'm sure this has been addressed before. sm
I have a test wave file I need to play. It runs fine from my desktop, but I can't get the pedal to work. I have an Infinity In-USB-1 I just plugged into the hard drive, but it will not play the file. Will this work wtih RealPlayer? TIA.
Were STAT reports addressed in contract? sm
I had a doctor that did this same exact thing. He would procrastinate on doing reports, or just overbook himself so he never had time to dictate, and then when someone called wanting a report, he'd call me to see if I could do it ASAP. Of course, he didn't want to pay extra for this service, though. He would also call me night or day and expect me to drop whatever I was doing for other (better-paying) clients and do his "urgent" report. I go by the old saying that poor planning on his part does not make it an emergency on my part. I will do it for them IF I have the time and IF they pay a higher rate. Otherwise, I will not cater to this behavior because the poster above is right - they will continue to do it as long as you oblige. You have to be the one to set the boundaries. Get voice mail and caller ID if you don't already have and screen your calls. I found that sometimes just waiting a few hours before calling them back allowed them to calm down and realize it's not the end of the world, and they'd then say it was okay to get in by the next day or whatever. Sometimes it's not so much that it's a stat report in terms of the patient's need but that they need it to get paid, in which case they'll sometimes back down if you quote a higher rate or tell them you simply cannot fit it in right then. Same doc would pile me up with a week's worth of dictation and expect it all back in 12 hours, too, so it was an overall mentality with him that he wanted everything done NOW. It wasn't even humanly possible most of the time but try getting them to see that. You should have no social life, after all, and live to work! LOL
Good luck with that. I got rid of the client that did it to me. He felt I should be at his beck and call but argued the rate at every turn, and it wasn't that much to begin with so it wasn't worth the aggravation! Seems like the most demanding ones are usually the biggest cheapskates, too.
1st time 22 (6 yrs). 2nd time 33 and 13 years.
Still going strong!
26 years is a looongg time to be
doing this job, and every weekend at least one day. Had about the same experience with my DH, me working all the time trying to get line counts while he would go weekends to the lake to go fishing.... I had about all I could take, and for a couple of weeks, at times, I would sit at my computer, trying to type while crying....stress of the job, financial stress, and him gone fishing and having a good time. Well, it just so happened that he heard me crying, not because I wanted him to (he has hearing difficulties) but he just happened to come into the room when I was sobbing and typing, having a real hard time with this job, getting knots in my stomach. He asked me what was wrong, and this time I told him exactly what was wrong, how I was feeling, what this job was doing to me, and he came to a decision that it didn't matter if I worked or not, he didn't want me getting physically ill. That did it for us.... I don't know if that will work for you, the crying part, but it got my DH's attention. Sometimes you just have to come out and tell him, or do something, that lets him know you will NOT go it alone anymore. Years ago someone asked me if I was tired of being a doormat....wonder if you are feeling that way? You were not put on this earth to keep everyone happy..... I'm still trying to learn that but you MUST say something... After awhile, you won't be able to hide it ...you will either get sick, or you will just blow up. Stress has some nasty side-effects. Hope this helps. God Bless.
IC 12 years, took 2 vacations in that time
It is very_difficult to get time off for vacation when you work for yourself and cut out middle people......I do exactly that and I haven't had a vacation since 2005 and before that during 9/11/01. The offices may understand and allow you 2 weeks but then you have to play *catch-up* when you return, trying to bring them all current.
It's a trade-off for sure, unless you have friends that can cover your vacation time and who you trust with the work.
Don't feel bad. For the first time in 2 years,
I didn't get my lines or hours. Work has been low lately. I've usually been way above the required production.
14 years at the time I took the test.
But if you have the CMT review guide and study it, take the little tests at the end of the chapters, you WILL pass. just don't be nervous. They give you something like 4 hours and I was out of there in a little over an hour. You don't need to get a 100%, just pass it. And before anyone starts ragging on how it's not worth it blah blah blah, I did it for ME. I spent my own money to prove to MYSELF that I am not as stupid as all my supervisors who don't know s*it from shinola about MT imply that I am. And I got a personalized license plate but I suppose the morons down here think I am affiliated with a cement company.
neither slow, nor stupid, but I think there are lots of variables that need to be addressed..
such as all the crap some companies want you to put into headers, cc's, etc., and make sure you know every word in the client's profile and check every day to see if anything changed - (of course, they don't PAY for time spent researching client profiles) - it's like "who's on first?"
Do you need to have 2 years full time experience or just 2 years' experience? nm
..
I think presenting a letter addressed to him and/or the office manager to submit to him is very
appropriate. That is exactly how I presented it as I was having a hard time thinking how to say and what to say. It was much easier to "plead my case" on paper. Go for it.
Ooops, transferred the 25 years old to your age at the time.
df
I had one for 3 years and it worked fine the whole time.
On vacation for the first time in 2+ years - YAHOO!
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