Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Have never known shift lead who just worked 8 hours a day for 5 days. By the time they

Posted By: figured actually time worked,they were making $11. on 2006-02-11
In Reply to: Needing to make a decision... hourly or production... - Confused MT

:+


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

Shift Lead MT/QA
In this position currently at 15.00 per hour.
What exactly is a shift lead MT?

actual typing time versus hours worked-venting here

I just have to vent about companies that keep track of your actual "typing time" and then say you are not putting in your 40 hours.  I always come up short and not by just a few hours.  They have said I worked only 60 hours when I worked 80.  But they say "their system is not wrong."


For one thing when you look up old reports or do research on-line or if you walk to the fridge, that shouldnt count as "not working" as long as you are getting your line rate.  Also something is wrong because I dont take that much time looking up things.


Also how can they get by with making you work 40 hours when you are paid "production?"  This is wrong.  Either pay me by the hour or leave me alone!!


 


30 hours divided by four days equals seven-hour days. Most of us have to work pretty much every day
.
Every company is different -- I worked FT for one as an employee but worked a split shift - sm
So I never took breaks. I would work 5 hours, break for about 4 hours then do another 3. Another company I worked for did not care what hours you worked (IC) but wanted a min. amount of work each day, 500 for PT and 1000 for FT-- BUT they paid you by how many lines an hour you put out, the higher the lph the higher up the scale you made per line in pay; they have since changed everyone to a flat rate with incentive. But bottom line, if you are an IC it does not matter what hours you work, though many ask for a schedule and ask you to stick to it, they just want you to meet line requirements daily, i.e. 1000 per day, 1200 per day, whatever it is.
Question about shift/hours

Do any of you work for companies who allow you to complete an 8-hour shift anytime between a designated 12 hours?  I think I have heard of this before on here and think that would be really helpful to me as an employee trying to raise my production.


I am wondering if it is difficult for companies to accomplish TATs with all their accounts allowing this, or if it works out well for them too.  (Thinking of approaching my company about it.)


Thanks for any feedback you can give me. 


Split shift MTs---what hours do you work? sm

I'm trying to revamp my schedule around transporting kids.  Would be interested to know what works for you.  Thanks! 


LOVE my job....Counting down hours til my shift starts
I love my job and my part-time IC jobs, too. I'm a workaholic, granted, but I've been a workaholic and not necessarily liked the job(s) I was working. At this point in my life, I love my jobs, especially my primary job.

Life is quite good at the moment :-)
Interpro did this to me. I got differential for 3rd shift but they wanted me to list hours. I
:+
If employee, work the scheduled shift and complete the 8 hours. nm
x
I prefer working a shorter shift 6 to 7 days a week. SM
I work hard when I work to put out a lot of lines per hour, which is very tiring. Also, my company has a work flow/volume problem, and this allows me to schedule my hours for those times when work is most likely to be available.

Regarding having a life, in a 24-hour day, subtracting say 8 hours for sleep leaves 16 hours, and subtracting 6 hours for work leaves 10 hours every day for "life," a luxuriance of time if you don't have young children or other heavy responsibilities filling them with other work.

The trick (sometimes it is a trick!) is be firm with yourself, and others, and get the work out of the way briskly and on schedule, such as those early-morning or evening and split schedules, and not drag it out through the entire day, sandwiched in between TV shows, phone chats, family duties, and so on.
I worked the 3rd shift for 5 years and....sm

found that each night shift person has to figure out for themselves what sleep pattern works best.  For some sleeping in the morning after finishing work is best, for others sleeping in the afternoon/evening before starting work bests suits them.   For me what worked best was when I was working from midnight to 8 a.m. I would log off at 8 a.m. and sleep  until noon, then would go back to bed between 8:30-9 p.m. and sleep about 3 hours.  Most of the time I didn't get sleepy during the night doing this pattern but if I did it would be around 4 a.m. and I would just log off and take about a 20-30 minute nap which would be enough to refresh me. 


Some of the best advice I can give you for sleeping during the daytime is to go to Target and in the girl's department they're currently selling some blindfolds, or you can go to Claire's boutique as I've seen them there.   I would have never survived sleeping during the day well without my Delta Airlines blindfolds that I had - they do a great job of tricking the body to thinking that it's night time when it's daylight outside.  


My blindfolds now reside on my brother-in-laws head at night as I'm no longer on nights and he is with his job - so he snoozes during the day with them on. 


Good luck to you!


Have always worked weekends and second shift. nm
X
When I worked for a hospital, 2nd shift was defined as 3p to 11p and SM

3rd shift was 11p to 7a.  They also had policy that said if you worked something like 12 noon until 8 p.m. you would get 2nd shift, shift differential pay for all the hours worked after 3 p.m. and if you worked 7p.m. to 7 a.m. you got 2nd shift differential until 11 p.m. and then 3rd shift differential for the rest of your shift.


I wondered if they could have complicated it more?


I go to the gym 4 days a week for 2 hours
each. I do 1/2 hour on 2 different machines and then go use the weights for the last hour. I had a trainer when I first joined and he taught me a lot about how to change my routine but his favorite job was the torturing. The gym has a day care that costs me $10 extra a month so I usually go right after I finish work at 1. You need to make time to exercise. It was hard at first to get into it but I love it now.
if you only agreed to days and hours

They have no right to make you work any certain hours, that's the point of being an IC.  Don't let them dictate how many hours you work at a time.  I have been an IC for 10 years and have only committed to days and lines.


By the way, 1500 lines per day is very good production.


Correction - They will be flexible with HOURS/days, etc.
...rather than benefits.
I type 16 hours 5 days a week
No cause I want to. Took a part-time job hoping to work into full-time, however, don't make enough with it after 1-1/2 years to make it full-time, so I'm still doing both jobs.. I guess I'm a glutton.. Would like one job to make that amount.
I work on my days off, but mainly because I haven't gotten 40 hours in for the
week and if I feel like working I am able to do so. Not working extra or anything, just have not gotten in a full week.
Not anymore. For some time now, I've been working 32 hours and am considered full time to receive
p
And then consider when you work 9 hours a day 7 days a week...that adds up to way TOO much!

two days, had hunch should leave within a few hours but stuck it out. LOL

Doing wrong? Probably only working 80 hours a week 6 days.


I have work...16 hours' worth every day, 6 days a week no less. nm
nm
I work part-time hours with full-time pay...
I made over 26,000 this year...
2-1/2 hours a day, 1300 lines/day, $150 a day, 7 days a week, IC status
a
I worked for two hours right away this morning.
Then I went to the farmer's market and stocked up on the space hogging veggies I don't have growing in my garden, like potatoes, corn, and beets.  Now I'm supposed to be outside ripping off the back deck and sorting through junk with hubby and the kids.  However, it's 97 degrees out and my allergies are bugging me, so I came inside to package some things that need to go to the post office.  I have to go pick some veggies in the garden and weed the flowerbeds today, but the air conditioning is too nice.  We're ripping out a concrete pad when the deck dismantling is done.  Who said weekends were supposed to be relaxing?  Oh, well.  I can relax in my new office and dining room when it's all done.....  Whenever that might be....  LOL
I have worked so many jobs, so many hours before
in my life it is time for me to slow down and enjoy life more. One thing about working as much as I did in the past, gosh that social security really increased to a wonderful draw now that it has started. I am not planning on leaving MTing but just don’t have to sweat those 2, 3 and 4 jobs at 1 time. I did it, figure others csn do the same. I was young, healthy and willing at that time, now not so much.
Doctors documenting hours worked

Does anyone else find it unseemly that some of these doctors are now stating at the end of the report how much time they spent examining the patient, talking to the staff, other doctors, the family members, reviewing chart data, attempting a lumbar puncture, etc., from 9 to 12 and again 1 to 2, for a total of 3 hours?


For some reason, this seems very unprofessional to me.  Am I just being cranky?


 


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.
I knew one that worked 18 hours a day and had a stroke
and could not work for a long time after that. We have to be so careful in this business.
Hours Worked and Line Count
I have a question about worked hours and line count.  These are remote transcriptionists who are employees--receiving all benefits.  The transcriptionists have a minimum daily line count and are scheduled for 8 hours per day.   At the end of the week they are paid time and a half for extra lines transcribed.   Do most companies require transcriptionists to stay on the system a full 8 hours ?  If a Transcriptionist can produce the required line count in 6 hours, can they be required to stay on for their full 8 hour shift ?  On the other side, can companies require that the transcriptionist be on the system for only 8 hours and must complete their line count in that time ?  Our system does not keep track of time logged into the system, meaning that some are on the system more/less than others.   I would appreciate any input into what can be required of an employee when they are working on production.  Thanks.
Back in the days when we all worked in an office

we got this new manager who I disliked immediately.  She couldn't spell every day words, she had absolutely no background in MT and figured she was doing somebody to get the position.  We had been promised an MT as our next manager.  She said she could type 85 wpm and she believed she could handle the job - HA.  We had an MT come in to interview and test and she had to ask me how to turn on the computer and how to print the report.   They company lost the account and it closed down that office and the manager couldn't get another job and had to move back home with mom and dad.  


I had a man looking for his wife to be able to do something where they could work and travel and he said his wife had a business degree and he felt she could do the job too.   I also had an associate whose husband got fired AGAIN and she called me wanting to know how she could do what I do, like she could start tomorrow.  


I've decided I'm going to tell people I'm a medical langauge specialist from now on and when they ask me what that is I'm going to say I'm a translator.  


I taped my back in the days, which worked.
nm
I've tried Vivarin and the 1st two days it worked great
But after that they put me to sleep like anesthesia. Go figure.
Control, shift, space, all at the same time, should work...nm
x
i think anywhere from 14 to 20 an hour depending on hours worked, kind of work, etc.
nm
Hold down Ctrl and Shift and use right arrow to highlight one word at a time. sm
You can highlight noncontiguous words by holding down on Ctrl and selecting different words.
Yeah, but full-time lines does not necessarily mean full-time hours, so I would do it if your produc
-
I time myself for 2 hours and
then I get on my ellipitical or do some other exercise that makes me sweat for 20 minutes.  I find if I exercise, that helps me sit back down and work quietly for another couple of hours. 
Full-time is 32-40 hours BUT
This is where full-time gets tricky. Say you work you full-time hours 32-40, depending on the company,but you haven't made your line quota, hence, you end up working more hours to make your quota. Also, if your company offers health insurance and you haven't made your line count, then your health insurance is in jeopardy. That is why it is important that you have "work" consistently so you don't have the added pressure of worrying about keeping your health insurance.
Military time would be 1645 hours.
x
If over $200 is not the normal for 8 hours production time
I wouldn't think of calling it a good day. Before these slave labor changes when 6 hours PRODUCTION time was considered a full time day (as it is in the outside world)under 1500 lines a day I would consider a BAD production day.
It's dear husband most of the time, but there are a few days where the D might
x
One time I had a dictation that was 3 days long! sm
The jerk didn't disconnect Friday evening when he was finished, and the darn thing recorded all weekend. Oh, did I wish I could be paid by the minute then!

By the same token, one of his colleagues would leave the dictation running while he gossiped with other docs (I heard some really juicy stuff!) about other docs and would resume his dictation when he felt like it. I did one report for this guy that registered over an hour. I had to listen to it all to get his dictation. Got sick of hearing about the cowboy boots he always wore (an ESL, too!) There was nothing, NOTHING good about that doc, and I pity the MTs who have to transcribe him daily.
Yes, it does take a long time. Usually 2-3 days. We have a pool too and of course I cut around that.
And to the poster who suggested I get the mower fixed. Well, you have to put the mower on the trailer and take it to the place to get it fixed and I just can't do that with the 2 little ones right now! LOL I can do everything else, but I can't work on that trailer! It's huge (14 feet long) and I have to put it on the hitch and that is hard!

Even with all of this, I wouldn't trade any of this for anything.....Nick Hotel here we come......
Usually lines produced and not hours. Have seen 600 lpd for part-time min. nm
x
Time saved working at home is about 2 hours
The time it takes to get up, shower, do make-up and hair, dress, get in the car and drive to work, then back home equals about two hours for me. I work a PT job along with a FT job at home. Plus money saved not needing to use a dry cleaners, keeping up the ward robe.


can you not work 6 hours a day and still qualify for full time? sm
i know most places it is usually 30 or 32 hours constitute full time. if it is 30 hours, then you could do 6 hour days 5 days a week and get in 30. is there a possibility you could do a split shift and that would allow your feet and you rest time between shifts? guess no possibility of working from home, LOL. i definitely understand your frustrations. sometimes the good employees get the short end of the stick cuz they need you the most.
there is no way you can work 8 hours for 2 companies at the same time. My current
job requires 8 hours a day period, not a specific line count. Granted if you are working a job that does not require 8 hours, but only a minimum line count then fine, but not if you are REQUIRED 8 hours a day.
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!!!!