Hmmm, interesting theory on Lisa. Maybe so, huh?
Posted By: Can't stand Picker... The dumb blonde thing is on 2006-03-10
In Reply to: Idol top 12 - Misha
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Very interesting theory...
hmmm very interesting...sm
as I just received a letter from a company that my employer merged with recently and they are changing direct deposit date to two weeks after invoice. Invoice sent on the 1st and 15th, pay direct deposit will now be the 15th and 30th. Could this be a legal issue, as well?? just wondering. I do not like the change. thanks.
hmmm interesting
Thanks for replying. The info came from a person with a reputation for not paying her subs. Still think it's a load though. That info is not in my contract. Should have researched the co. first, but hindsight.....
the big bang theory and Darwin's theory of evolution are also extensively documented but
Thanks, Lisa! (sm)
I was pretty sure it wasn't illegal, since I signed all this paperwork and they did a credit check and everything to issue me the overdraft protection insurance, but it's nice to hear it from someone "in the know". Thanks for the reply!
On a Halloween sugar high, back from Trick or Treating with the kiddos, back to work and hoping I actually get paid for it....
(Sending out about 12 resumes tomorrow....)
Yes, you can Lisa if you look :o]
For instance if you have applied to a smaller company and they've filled the spots, you can offer assistance in the future with a backlog or to cover vacations. Keeps ya' networked, plus gives you some extra cash. If I had anything that I needed help with that is what I would do. I don't see anything wrong with advertising for temp/vacation help. Why not? Sounds like a way to meet quality transcriptionists that you can count on. The other ideas posted here are good, too, but if you need a vacation then you just need a vacation. Taking work on vacation just doesn't seem like much fun to me. I wish more people would network in this fashion, but I think there are people out there that might try to steal your accounts, so you might want to be very careful. JMO. Thankfully, I have not had that happen. 
Hi Lisa
I do not think that this is the trend, but have seen a few companies who are doing this. In a way, it makes sense because then you are getting paid for airtime and all the BS like conversations with staff, etc. that you would normally have to listen to and not get paid for. Most folks that I've seen post here on the subject would not do it for less than $1.00 per minute, but it really is about how long it takes you to type it (obviously) and how much your time is worth to you. Since a general figure of how long it takes to type 60 minutes of dictation, from what I've heard and experienced, is about 3-4 hours, at 0.67 cpm that would work out to about 10.05 to 13.40 per hour of typing time. Of course, I've had work that I could fly through, and then I've had work that would take longer than the norm, so like everything in this biz, it all depends. Hope that wasn't TMI, since you asked only about the trend thing :)
I also hope you are not talking about losing the account with the flashdrives, as I know that would be really disappointing after what you have done for them.
Have a great night, and a Happy New Year!
MedQuist - Lisa
With your experience, I would have to say it depends on cpl they are willing to offer you. I know of many companies that are generous in cpl due to the number of years of experience. I agree with earlier posting about it depending on if you get a good supervisor. The raises are not much to be desired, you will have to fight for one in the far, far future. Again, with your experience, don't settle for anything less than what you feel is fair. Worse case scenario, if you don't like the job, move on to another company until you find a job you do like. I don't think anyone can answer this ? for you.
Lisa - subcontractor
There have been people here who would like just a little extra. If you get the account and once you are settled, why don't you put your need on the board. You might find some bites. Some people like to do a little extra. Of course if it is something digital you could even go away from your state. Just a thought. I happen to enjoy helping others when on vacation. It has worked for me in the past as well when I needed a vacation .
I would love to help if I can, Lisa....sm
I love to help newer MTs, because back when I first became an IC, I was so shaky, I had my first two babies at home, my husband was gone most of the time for work, and this ANGEL that I met on another message board happened to see one of my questions and since she lived in my state and my area, and she had been doing MT for many years, we hooked up....she was so wise, and so helpful, and we became really good friends until she had to move to Italy with her husband. Also, if you are doing IC independently, I found so much info from my local SBA (Small Business Administration), they will actually let you know the laws of the state regarding setting up business, tax laws, tips, and they will just mentor you along in growing a business. Anyway, please feel free to e-mail me anytime, I will help if I possibly can! You'll be great!
Lisa - your 1st post was so optimistic....sm
Lisa: Your first post was upbeat and optimistic/positive. Then in walked the panners of MQ.....outside of a few clear realistic posts. Now, this current post of yours saying something to the effect of *now MQ isn't lookin too good* is indicative that you HAVE, indeed, let the panners influence you.
Again, hopefully you'll get a GREAT supervisor....(not a given) - the supervisors can make it or break it for you...hopefully you get one with NO POWER OR EGO problems!! I always said, the day my PS leaves, I'm gone!! *lol* Good luck to you whichever way you choose!
To Lisa - Going Rate in Area
I would try Career Builders and look for on-site MT jobs in your area and see what the hourly rate is and try to figure how many lines you would do in an hour for this account. I'm no expert, but that is probably what I would do. It seems strange to me though that the Nationals pay pretty much the same line rate to their MT's, yet they are all over the US. Will you have to pick-up/drop-off tapes? Do you have to print? If yes to these two questions, bid in the middle to higher range. If it is all digital and you only have to e-mail the reports back to the office, then maybe consider the low to mid range. I'm on the East Coast, and the cpl ranges from 10-15 cpl (65 characters with spaces) or anywhere from $13-17 per hour. I hear though in some other states such as Texas, the going hourly rate is $9-12 per hour, so this would reduce the cpl rate. I guess it would depend on the type of program you are using. I only use Word and the line count built in. I do not have a separate line counter. I hope Patti has ideas, and she very well may. I think she said she's in Oregon, so that would be considered West coast, so I'd be anxious to hear what her opinions are on the average rate. She's pretty knowledgable and from her posts "plays fair". With all that being said, I think either 13 cpl or 15 cpl depending on the program and method of retrieving dictation and sending back reports once they are transcribed. Hope this helps! I tend to get real chatty! Sorry! 
I hope it was okay to e-mail you Lisa.
NM
Lisa/MT Student (see mssg)
I don't think you would have to pay to place an ad. See if there is a "Letters to the Editor" section. If not, it might have to be done the way the doctors do it: Their papers are submitted to JAMA for consideration of publication. Even though we MTs are not doctors, it is their work that we are transcribing. And sometimes (if we're lucky) we even get to transcribe those papers that they are submitting for publication! I don't think there is a single doctor or medical professor out there that would want their JAMA submission, book manuscript, etc. transcribed by an ESL MT.
Lisa, the truth of the matter is ...
that there *are* actually MT's out there who are still happy in their jobs and who make good money still in this profession. In truth, I still love the *type* of work that I do; it's the rest of what's going on that I'm sick of as well as the downward trend in pay. What we're commenting on here is the *overall* mood, feel, and status of the industry right now ... and my personal belief is that it's not going to get better.
I say hold true to your dream. If you really want to be an MT keep looking for that company that's going to be a good fit for you. It's going to be hard with you being a newbie, but it's still possible. Don't put all your eggs in this one basket though as some of us have done. Keep a back-up job in another industry so that as things continue to degrade on the MT side you'll have a soft cushion to fall back on. Keep reading the boards with an open and critical mind and decide for yourself if the common challenges that you see MT's as a whole facing are of an ilk that you can tolerate.
I hope this helps.
Hi, Lisa. Have you added macros to SM
your Expander yet for many of the common VR changes--such as for backspacing over a comma, adding a period, and capping the first word of the new sentence? How do you drop common words like, say, "she" into a sentence on the run? I hit "k" and in it goes, but I'm off scanning the next line by then and don't actually see it. Do you constantly use your program's function for jumping the cursor to the point of dictation and vice versa (assuming it has one)? This is a big speeder-upper.
And a reality that's hard for some to run into: Editing skills and talents are different than transcribing skills and talents. Reading fast and accurate becomes big. Punctuating fast on the run was always desirable, but it's more significant now as the ability to simply get the letters on paper becomes less so. Are you one of those this work suits or one it doesn't? If yes, keep working on speed. If not, move on sooner rather than later.
Hi, Lisa. Just wondering how the meeting
Hope everything went well!
theory
The headers and footers being taken out, yes, that can add up and make a difference, but since I don't have to enter the headers anymore myself, I actually do better because I have more time for just typing. I came from MTShell and am more productive on DQS. I have been wondering if the people who have line count problems are just coming from other platforms or if any came from MTs like I did. There was something somewhere in those lawsuit papers about Medrite inflating the lines, so my theory is people struggling with lines on DQS came from a program that padded their lines (not due to any misuse on the MT's part). Maybe I'm way off here, but that's why it's a theory, not fact.
just a theory
I agree,, they didn't check any of my references because I asked the people whose names I gave. I started working before I even filled out any paperwork. I had worked for another company using their computer, it took 3 months for them to come pick it up after many, many calls.
Theory indeed!
I work for a major national and have the option of using my own PC. Trust me, they are making plenty of money on the computers they supply! Even if they lose a few, they are making big bucks at $50 month!
As for references, mine were checked! Do you work for a national? Have you ever? Have you as a seasoned MT been able to pass a national test? It sounds like you haven't. Makes me wonder what your problem is?! There are plenty of new grads who do it everyday.
There are plenty of seasoned MTs working for nationals, as well as many very good newbies! Some of you "seasoned" MTs need to remember where you came from!
Here's my theory
I think it was an accident that took on a life of its own.
Her mother was the typical stage mom, wanted her daughter to be perfect, and didn't tolerate otherwise. I think JonBenet did something that made her mother angry, probably just some typical little annoying thing that any 6-year-old would do like wetting the bed or being a little too rambunxious in some way since it was Christmas, and Mom got carried away with the physical discipline, lost control and JonBenet ended up dead (hit her a little too hard in the head probably).
Then since they were such "fine upstanding members of the community" Mom and Dad wanted to cover up what happened and staged the "tied up with a garotte and hands tied together" scene to divert attention to a fictitious home invader/child molester so their socialite friends wouldn't think they could be responsible for hitting and killing their own child.
I still think their son will spill the beans eventually because he was there, and since he was clearly always playing second fiddle he is probably growing up to be quite an angry young man who feels neglected and resents being told to lie about what really happened for all these years.
Just my take on it, but Mom did it, although not on purpose and I'm sure they would both love to have that night to live over again and not have gotten into this mess.
Hey Lisa - I'm from Lyons - give me a shout!
X
Lisa B - my rates and a long message
Again, I am from the old school, old way of counting and have had my accounts for many, many years - some 18 years. I do the simplest and easiest for me which is just doing gross lines per Word -- which I know counts the spaces but that is how these accounts were started and when I inherited some of them was told to count top to bottom -- but with that in mind -- I keep my rates a little lower. I am from .11 to 12.5 cpl. The lowest is for my Psych accounts as they give me 3-5 days turn around and we insert a lot of templates. The others are internal medicine, surgery, surgical oncology, Plastic/Hand surgery and Dermatology. I do pick up delivery, print, envelopes, cut apart chart notes but I average $35 to $45 and sometimes over $50 an hour (depends on how many Op's and consults that I have) and cannot see raising my prices. So I am happy and content. My pick up and deliveries take me an hour each day (depending on how much I visit with the office staff and docs) and I usually stop at the store or something but it gets me out of the house and I really do not mind that at all. I figure this into my work day to get my average hourly rate and am still happy with it. I will probably raise my rates at the end of 2007 but it has been two years. So with all of that said -- again it depends on your variables -- pick up and delivery, printing, etc. But for a ballpark figure I would go for 12 cpl for digital and 12.5 to 13 for pick up and delivery knowing that it will take 3 to 6 months to get your average up there while getting to know your docs, etc. I have used Sylcount for another account and to me that was too cumbersome. I tell my accounts the simpler, less time consuming we keep it the more savings I can pass onto you. And yes, they do appreciate me, pay on time, Birthday cards are received, Christmas bonuses received, included in staff parties if I want and the doctors actually talk to me and treat me as a person with a name and joke with me. Nobody can really answer this question for you as only you know what the account entails, your experience and what you want to make. You can always raise in a year or after doing it for a while. Good luck, e-mail me if you need any other additional info. Patti
That's why this is a great Site! Congrats Lisa!
Way to go Lisa
The 1st giveaway had 92 entries with Lisa I. of CA as the winner.
Directly after announcing the first winner, the second hunt began. There is indeed an I FOUND IT message posted and will be awarded over the weekend.
GOOD LUCK!
Lisa, you make a very good point. sm
I guess I should have been a little more specific. If ALL MTs were to go on "strike" and not accept the low wages these MTSO's are offering, they eventually would HAVE to offer a decent wage we can live on. But, the other side of the coin is, if the MTS WOULD STRIKE, then the MTSO's would no doubt just hire those non-U.S. MTs anyway, because that is the reason in the first place they are paying so little. The U.S. MTs have no support, that's for sure. (and I apologize for the misspelling of a word in my previous post.)
no, it was Cottage...theory? sm
please do tell! And any suggestions would also be welcomed! 
Thoughts on DQS, theory, etc.
From what I've read here in last month about MQ/DQS, I would agree with your theory in general (MTs from different platforms may experience decrease/increases in production, depending).
I worked on INET previously and have experienced significant decrease in production/pay with (MQ)DQS. Some others who posted here have had same experience going from INET to DQS. I have yet to hear from colleagues or read posts here where ANY INET MT has experienced anything BUT decrease in production. I keep hoping, but not a single post.
Regarding another post in this thread, I too received comments (from not only several tech people but also my supervisor) that implied I was the only one experiencing a decrease in pay. That is just nuts. Thanks to all of you who have the courage to post here and be real. I think when we just talk about what we experience here, it is much more positive than some of the company bashing - or inter-MT bashing that seems to go on here. A lot of us are experiencing the same thing with MQ and need reassurance we are not alone, not crazy to think we are getting less pay when WE ARE - until it gets better or we leave the company... for those MQers who are doing great, I am pleased, and believe you me, I wish I was in your shoes!
Regarding other MQ programs being padded to account for significant decrease in pay on DQS - at least regarding INET, I can't really speak to that (no proof for or against). I made a very decent living (though no raise to speak of for almost 8 years) previously averaging from $18 to $25 an hour. I'm nowhere near that now. I'm amazed to read that MTs think that averaging $13.50 an hour is great... and I too wonder if maybe they are newer to the field (I'm at 20+ years).
What I do know - something is not right with MQ and with this industry in general. I don't have the answers, but sure wish I did. Looking around at other companies sure is not providing an immediate answer - in fact, it makes me realize that I will actually make LESS money if I jump ship... Choices: less money with another company I don't know, or pay cuts from the "new improved " platform even transcribing accounts I have been on for years - how screwy is that!?
In the meantime, keeping my eyes and ears open, trying to stay on a positive yet realistic note!
This is precisely my theory, as well!! sm
One other thing that intrigues me...Patsy died of ovarian cancer, right?
Consider the fact that OJ Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian died of esophageal cancer, and OJ lawyer Johnnie Cochrane died of brain cancer. While I realize that cancer strikes and kills many thousands of people, I find it interesting that people whom I suspect are guilty of other crimes end up dying of cancers related to their crimes. A lawyer who vocally defended a murderer dies of throat cancer....a laywer who was the "brains" behind the defense of a murderer dies of brain cancer....a mother who killed her own child dies of cancer of the reproductive system. Maybe it sounds more like sicence ficiton than a plausible proof of guilt, it's just something that intrigues me.
In theory, it's basically the same as the other
MSWord version; it just has all the bells and whistles.
I tried honey at first because the theory behind sm
the Hiburnation Diet made sense to me. Although I have lost weight, and more importantly inches, the great sleep is what keeps me using it. I just take 1 or 2 tablespoons straight off the spoon and within 20 minutes I'm nodding off. My dreams are so vibrant and detailed now. I really enjoy sleeping again :)
I don't use IT, I use Shorthand, but the theory would be the same....
I use one big glossary for my main full-time job. Most of my abbreviations are single words, or phrases that are common to pretty much all dictators (chf = congestive heart failure, for instance). I also have entries for all the various formatted paragraph headings, in all their permutations. And so forth. I also have some entries for phrases that some docs use all the time. The real trick is making up a system that works for you, for how you assign the abbreviations/keywords. There are threads on other boards where people share their own systems.
I also have one "moonlighting" local account. He's got a separate glossary, and the main reason for that is that I do his work on my home computer, and I do the full time work on a company computer. Most of the entries are the same between the two computers, other than the things like formatted paragraph headers that are specific to the account/platform. I try to keep them as uniform as I can because my memory is not getting any better as I get older, and the more that I can do on "autopilot," the easier it is to keep everything straight. (And it's faster.)
N-n-noooooooooooo!!! Not Kev! Did you see how crushed Lisa Tucker looked
because she didn't get the boot? As she walked over to the host, she looked very unhappy. Then as soon as she went by Ryan she put on a weak smile to walk back over to the other contestants. She wants to go home.
Congratulations! Lisa I. of California on winning the first dinner!
Email to admin@mtstars.com with your full mailing address and your choice of restaurant and we will send out your gift card immediately.
Thank you for playing MTStars Fall Scavenger Hunt!
Administrator
MTStars
theory on why nationals are so awful
If you think about how much money they spend on computers and equipment, shipment, they need to make sure they are not just hiring any joe who does not know what they are doing and can walk away with a free computer. That explains the testing that goes on to get hired on with these companies.
Not only that, being so remote, having so many MTs, they have no time to check references, or to know whether or not you are seasoned or how much experience you might have. You could lie your way all the way into becoming an MT, they lose clients because of the lousy work from inexperienced MTs, lose money because of the thieves who just want a free pc.
We seasoned MTs get lost in the blizzard of this. They are just looking out for themselves, for good reason if you look at it from their perspective.
While all of what you said sounds good in theory...sm
and I used to agree withyou, in this real world of MT, we are just typing peons, that are almost disposable... not appreciated and expected to do nonproductive work, not complain, and sit w/o work many days... so in the real world, if we don't jump through the hoops, we just don't have the work, plain and simple as that.
In theory this is correct, but in reality all of us who are ICs - sm
and work for MTSOs or nationals know otherwise. I have negotiated for a higher rate when applying of course and have gotten it at 2 previous IC jobs. I never got more than that though. At my current IC job though I have asked 2 x and have gotten raises. My last raise (yes my 3rd) I did not solicit, though I was about to ask. I did not get as much as I wanted (only .005) but agreed to it and probably next Spring I will ask (and I am sure get) for another .01 (I make .09 now). I think demanding an increased rate does not go over well, and if you tell them you will only accept .12 or whatever, expect to be "let go". As for the OP, it is unfortunate her MTSO said no way. If I were her I'd be actively looking for a new IC job and get a better rate that way.
that sounds good in theory BUT -
As was already pointed out, it depends on the difficulty accounts, the skill level of the MTs, whether or not you are doing 100% listen, if you are required to send e-mails with corrections (as opposed to the MTs just looking at their reports later), etc. It all sounds easy until you consider these factors.
Gross Line theory
I once was told if you were going to charge gross lines, you should be basing your rate on a 12-point Courier font with 1-inch margins. I understand the reasoning for that, and it is a great theory, but how does it work in practice? I know some people do use this theory to calculate line rates as it has been discussed on this board, but what do you do if your doc doesn't use the 12-point Courier font?
Nice in theory, but most of us have to work a lot more than
Very few people are so fast that they can make a living at only 6-7 cpl within the confines of a 40-hr. week. It's often even hard to meet the minimum daily line requirement within an 8-hour day because of all the detective-work we have to do with names/addresses of doctors, brand-new medications not in the books yet, and poor-quality dictating. It's more common to work a 12-hour day and then have to write '8 hrs' on our timecards.
CONGRATS to Lisa R. of Wolcott, NY on winning the $10 gift certificate
/
Here's my theory. We were taught to place nice.
Even if you hated the person and hated their ideas we were taught we needed to share and play nice. Well here on boards and in chat rooms, you don't have to play nice and we can vent and rant and not have to suck it in.
I believe it is healthier here on these boards than in real life where you need to smile in people's faces in the workplace, in the neighborhood or even in the family when you would rather tell them what you think at best and at the very worse give them a good old fashion A$$ kick and tell them to get out of your face with their BS..    
Here you don't need to be phoney baloney and you can tell people exactly how you feel w/o repercussions. And that's a good thing.
slinging insults supports her theory
you know. The OP made some plausible, even if offensive, statements. However, I am ashamed at your comment and even more offended by it.
I have a theory about grammar, proper English going the way of
the dinosaur. I am beginning to think that with all the ESLs who cannot speak English, that everyone else has totally forgotten how to conjugate verbs, have no idea what sentence syntax means, understand the relationships of nouns to verbs, etc. I am wondering how long it will take before no one makes much sense and it really bothers me. I see paragraphs where truly, it is difficult to tell exactly what is being said, what relates to what. I long for the days when I had an ESL who wanted me to correct her, even to the point of completely reworking her sentences to sound better.
In theory approx. 750 lines, but depending - sm
on the speed of the dictator it could be more or less obviously. I have a dictator who will do a 13 minute report, I am lucky if it is 80 lines (same with her 18 min. reports), totally stinks.
thats all good in theory....calling the floor sm
getting the numbers, dialing into the system, etc. etc. In a perfect world! These docs are not going to do that.
MTSOs are hired to provide a service. They do whatever they have to do to provide that service. I have also had the experience you have had working in the hospital system where turnaround was never met by the MTSOs. MTSOs were hired because turnaround was never met by the hospital either.
Do you ever wonder that these problems with turnaround both on the hospital side and the MTSO side is one reason that outsourcing got started???? Please don't flame me for that statement but I guess if the MTSOs are not going to be able to keep up with turnaround then they have to do whatever they need to do to stay in business. I don't agree with it and I wish it were outlawed, but its just food for thought.
Calling in on the weekend and listening to a dictation may work in a smaller hospital, but I don't think its a very good solution for a huge major medical center, at least not for very long.
From what I see on this board it's ok to bash those of us who ARE flexible and make it work. But it is not "politically correct" for us to say anything about the folks who want to work for MTSOs and not facilities, but don't want to be very flexible in their working hours. Just an observation.
Yep. The "forced attrition" theory is starting to seem more and more plausible.
Though I just really suspect major "suits" cluelessness about how to keep this company's head above water, honestly.
Ah well, made me sick to think about helping to pay for all their Bahamas' vacations and BMWs all this time anyway. Hasta LA vista, babies.
here is my theory....... patsy knew him from when they lived in georgia. sm
i think together the two of them planned the plot to get money, i.e. the ransom note already said to have come from patsy's handwriting by one analysis and only referred to "Tom" throughout the note. thus, why he is saying it was acidental and it was only supposed to be a kidnapping and why he is only saying he was with her when she died.
Hmmm
If that comes to pass with the hospital that I work for (my full-time job) I sure hope they switch us back to being paid by the hour, or better yet, I hope I will still have a job!
Hmmm, well
the fact that you have to continue to state over and over that you will be making so much money leads me to believe that you won't be making that much money. You must really not have a life if you are working all day to get all of your lines in and then you are on here all night, as well. Sorry for you. If you really seriously aren't no whining, which I doubt, I hope you too don't have children because you obviously are neglecting them as well.
Hmmm, where is your
husband? Better check, I think he is calling me from his cell phone because you are soooooo frigid.
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