I'm a member, it costs me $20 to take a webinar.

• Credentialing - Thaddeus Bruno
  • RE: Credentialing - Kim Tallitsch
  • Utter waste of time, unless you have a lot of time--then have at it! nm - CMT= money pit
  • Waste of time - NM
  • It's rip-off. Not worth it. - nm - BrainDeadMT
  • MTs who aren't credentialed - sm
    • Uhem, I took and passed the CMT exam back in the day... SM - RockinMT
      • Being a former CMT by exam, thank you for speaking my mind! Good post! - nm
      • U sure got THAT right! - sm - I refuse to be railroaded by AHDI
    • please rethink this... - banshee
      • Totally ELOQUENT post! This should be sent - to every member of Congress, etc. - nm
    • noncredentialed do-nothings?????? - sm
    • I find your post interesting. I am one of those that will not do this. sm - hm
      • The above post ROCKS! - That was very said! : )
  • Credentialing - nm
    • YUP! It's otherwise known as 'Putting the fox - in charge of the henhouse!' - nm
  • I get a 1 cpl CMT differential = about $6K a year. - CMT
    • CMT benefits - Tracy
    • not many companies offer that either. - nm
    • How much do you put out per year to stay - a CMT? That cuts into the 6K right?
      • Have 3 years to meet all the CE requirements. - Just costs a few bucks a year to do it.
        • Correct - a few bucks a year. - CMT
          • They Have You Snowed - tynkerbelle
        • A few bucks.. So $3.00 a year? - come on....
          • I'm a member, it costs me $20 to take a webinar. - Most are worth 1 CE.
          • I was going to ask the same thing...$3.00??? - Keystroker
  • It is definitely a crock and a rip off.... - nm
    • CMT status - just me
  • In my most humble opinion, I think credentialing is a crock. SM - RockinMT
    • SO well-said! I think AHDI should be - thoroughly investigated for FRAUD.
    • very well put my friend. - nm, 30+ yr MT (not CMT)
      • I agree...doesn't seem worth it in my opinion... - Keystroker

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Things in this field have changed for the worse over the past years.  Salaries have decreased, yet expectations have risen.  Benefits are contingent upon production, yet a good share of the time production can't be met due to complications outside of the MT's control.  When it comes to taking the losses due to changes in the field such as offshore outsourcing and technologic advancements, it isn't the clients or the service owners taking the major hit.  It's the transcriptionists.  Yet AAMT has done NOTHING to help the transcriptionists in general.  In fact, it has gone out of its way to PROMOTE offshore outsourcing and even to change some of the guidelines in the newly published, amended BOS to accommodate voice recognition and other technology geared to replace the MT or relegate transcription to other forms labeled "editors", which in reality involve retyping whole reports or major portions of reports at a cut in pay, of course. 

All anyone, newbies included, needs to do is to look at the history of the medical transcription field, see the changes, and then see how much AAMT did to promote the worth of the Transcriptionist in this country.  The depressing message isn't coming from those speaking against AAMT, it is coming from the consequences resulting from the actions of the AAMT.  One fact alone can depress a newbie, and that is to look at the average line rate in 1995 compared to the average line rate now in 2005.   Thank you, AAMT, for promoting that.

to start holding hands with India. They are not out to help AMERICAN MTs. They don't care one way or another about American MTs anymore.

Their latest pitch is to the  MTs STOP transcribing verbatim. So not only will we have to be language specialists, we'll have to put a doctor's words in "proper English."

It doesn't matter what the docs want. It's what they want. Baloney. They are not our boss. Our docs are our bosses. If the docs want verbatim, that's what they'll get...at least from me (except for the JAHCO list of unacceptable terminology).

I'm so glad there are hospitals and doctors out there that don't give a hoot about AAMT. I sure don't. Oh, and if anyone noticed, usually buying products through AAMT doesn't save a dang nickel. In fact, you pay just as much, if not more, for the same products you can get by dealing directly with the company that makes them till all is said and done.

I'll save my money and spend it on more important things.

I went to visit my aunt last night.  Last week she fell and broke all the bones in her ankle.  She has plates and screws.  This is her fourth fall this year, but that is another story.  I looked at her cast and placed my hand on her leg just above the cast and it was warm.  I felt her other leg and it was cool.  The more I went up on the broken leg the less warm it got, but all the way up it was definitely significantly warmer than her "good" leg. 

My mother is a nurse practitioner and she showed up while I was there.  I explained my concern to her (my aunt is also a diabetic) about a possible infection.  She wouldn't acknowledge my concern.  I repeated myself and still nothing.  Lately my mother and I have had a couple issues regarding family members and their heath.  I am not a nurse nor do I claim to be, but being in this profession you do learn about the medical field and somtimes I feel I see a different side of things than my mom.  I can't figure out why, but she just doesn't see any value in my thoughts regarding medicine, ideas, thoughts, alternatives, etc.  In every other way she is the best mom in the world and I love her so much, but I feel she is disrespecting me by not taking my opinions/thoughts into account regarding the field of medicine and our family.

Another example is she has trouble with the pronunciation of medications.  I'm not claiming to be a pro, but I hear doctors and nurses says these meds over and over and over and I feel the majority rules in this regard.  Again, she thinks I'm wrong and doesn't really listen to what I'm saying.  The only reason I correct her is because I think it would be embarrasing to speak with a doctor and not say a med correctly.  I think it is a reflection on her.  It also helps with dictation too (as we all know).

Any ideas.  I don't know what to do.  I tried talking to her about this a couple weeks regarding my dad's health and she really didn't listen to what I had to say.  With certain things you can just blow it off, but this is the health of my aunt and father and I just couldn't live with myself if something happened to them.

Thanks for listening and for any ideas. 

I have been at this for about 15 years and have thought off and on about becoming an AAMT member and about getting my CMT, but always stop short because of the cost and basically the inconvenience of having to find the testing center that seems to be located in some obscure office building I've never even heard of.

However, I have recently started working for a facility that actually encourage their MTs to further their education, to network with one another and share information, and offer pay raises for the CMT credentials.  So, once again I am considering the pros and cons of membership and taking the CMT exam.

Has anyone ever had a family member who they believed is a hypochondriac?  We have an individual who seems like he always has something wrong.  It is to the point now if he really does get sick I can't believe him anymore.  I can't even bring myself to calling him to see how he is feeling when he says he is sick b/c I think he is just making a mountain out of a molehill.  Am I being insensitive?  I am just so tired of hearing it. 

I am sure someone is going to recommend counseling but he already does that.  Anyone have any other advice how to handle him?

TIA

I am wondering what the proper protocol would be if I ever came across a report that was dictated on one of my family members. 

I just started doing transcription for a hospital in a really small town--the ONLY hospital in that town--and it just happens to be the same town were most of my family lives.  I know myself well enough to know that I won't break any rules of confidentiality.  However, is there anything in the *laws of transcription* that say I legally am not allowed to transcribe reports dictated on relatives??

I am afraid to ask my supervisor this question, as I really like this account and don't want her taking me off of it.  It's chopped full of *standards* and the line count/pay just doesn't get any better than this.

The taxes are more as an independent contractor.  period.

you pay the matching that the employer would pay.

Normally your benefits pkg from the hospital or employer of sick days, holidays, insurance, etc is worth about $10,000.  Somehow you have to absorb that with what you charge.  In addition to losing the matching the employer is paying.  Otherwise the company you are contracting with is making out like a bandit -- and you truly are coming out on the short end of the stick -- they know this -- and they are laughing up their sleeve until we wake up out here and start charging so they won't be coming out the winner in this all the time.  The very reason they OUTSOURCE is to get rid of those hidden costs and we now have taken on.

And then of course the hidden days down for work on computer, waiting for storms to pass, and the various and asundry responsibilities you take on and absorb that the company you are contracting with gets to turn loose of. 

p.s. and oh please don't pop up with ITS WORTH A LOT TO TYPE IN MY JAMMIES.  No, we are expected to be professional whether in Gucci or WalMart specials.  And we should be paid accordingly.  That argument doesn't fly.  and being home with the kids doesn't either.  Only one thing can be done at one time, and you can watch the kids or you can transcribe but you can't do both simultaneously.  The guilt factor may be less when one needs to do errands in the day -- but guess what -- while people are sleeping guess who is up into the night beating the keys.  No, this should not be a trade off.  It's a business like any other business who does a contract with another company. 

While not available in all areas, this is a wonderful program to help out families and communities.  I used it for years when I lived in Colorado and now that I have moved, I am in the process of finding this program in my state. 

The program consists of paying a certain amount for a given box of food (you can buy more than one) on a certain day or days.  Then, you put in volunteer hours in your community for each box you purchase.  You have a volunteer slip signed where you volunteer.  On D-Day, you go and pick up your boxes of food. 

The boxes consist of fresh fruits and vegetables and meat items.  Occasionally there is cheese too.  There might be pasta and/or rice.  There is often a prepared food item.  They offer seasonal boxes for holiday baking, meat lover's boxes in time for summer grilling and Thanksgiving boxes.  The retail value of what you get in a SHARE box is usually at least double the cost of the box, and that has been my experience.  The kids and I used to go and help on D-Day, passing out boxes, cleaning up for our volunteer activity.

http://www.sharecolorado.com/

is for Colorado and several other states, but should link you nationally too.

two little words,  consider waste and fraud,   people who have zero hope of meaningful life being on total support which many of them do not want, many disposables could be changed back to reusables by proper sanitation.   up coding to get more $$, etc etc.  there is probably more but those two came to mind. 

 yes $40 an hour seems excessive to me too.