I'm very bummed out. He's the anchor I always looked for during any major news story. nm
Posted By: He did good. May he rest in peace. on 2005-08-08
In Reply to: Anyone else saddened by the loss of Mr. Peter Jennings? - sm
nm
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FOX news headline story on their web site
nm
Did anyone hear the full story on the news about...sm
using your bank card as credit instead of debit and being charged $20-50 extra. I just keep catching the tail end of the report but really want to know if I heard it right??
Yes, he was a great anchor NM
...........
I confess. I did it. Adopt an Anchor, Save Our Jobs Foundation
Yeap, I confess. I sent my husband out on his dingy, and he dropped anchor because he is sick of me not paying all the bills and giving him thousands each month.
I confess.... I wanted the clear dictators that they send overseas while we struggle with the worst ones.
I confess... I am tired of getting paid half of what I was making interning in college with 4 times or more the cost. I do not get raises ever; I get pay cuts while spending more and more money on technology to ease the doctors' dictation process.
I confess.... I am sick and tired of seeing so many of my own medical reports look like swiss cheese. No wonder I flat lined during surgery when the overseas Transcriptionist typed the wrong medication, and my anesthesiologist overdid it...
I confess..... I want my own accounts back instead of working for services that pay me 1/4 of what they charge the client....
I did it. I am now trying to locate tankers on the other side of the world for additional help or loaning me their anchors. Please donate to the "Adopt an Anchor, Save Our Jobs Foundation." Who knows, the next anchor dropped could provide you with a job!
bummed out
I know I've had so many ESL docs who change the gender of the patient with every sentence that if I don't pay close attention to them, I can screw it up big time. Could that have happened here?
Bummed out.....
Been there, done that. And, it's usually my signal to get up from here and get outside for a while.
Don't give yourself too much grief here. We all do it!!
Don't be bummed out
I've been there too. We're all human, we all make mistakes......even doctors. Don't beat yourself up.
Hope today is a better day.
I'm so bummed...sm
First of all, thank you for your very kind and inspiring post. (lol, I remember living in 1 bedroom apartments during my single days. Always had a beagle and a cat; one cat was with me for 16 years!.
The reason I am so bummed is because I haven't heard anything from any of the organizations about being a foster parent. I had even decided we could take more than one dog, and SD11 would like a kitten or an older female (already have a male).
Here's the biggest reason why I'm bummed - yesterday, several organizations for animal rescues had volunteer sign-up sheets on their websites. These organizations were also calling for volunteers at makeshift animal shelters; Best Friends included. Well, last night, somehow, definitely with God's guidance and grace, I talked DH into going down near the hurricane area and, ya know, feed, walk, love and help with whatever is needed. DH is a framer and can build anything (crates maybe?). I didn't know if I would be able to convince DH that we needed to go down there to help, but I did! I was so excited to get to those websites this morning to sign up as a volunteer. Best Friends, as well as others took the volunteer portion out! I read that they only want rescue-trained people. Today, most all animal rescue websites are requesting only monetary donations.
I can give time and even recruit my husband, but money is the one thing I have very little of. DH has had full custody of SD11 and SS7 for 2 years now, and it's been quite a struggle getting bills paid, making sure needs are met, and sometimes do something fun together, at least once a month. We were going to put off paying a bill so we could use some of that money on gas for the van and pay that bill with my next paycheck.
So, my desperation to help on a "basic" not a "rescue" level is not needed. I guess the animals are being taken care of after their rescues. They must have a lot of volunteers, because the number of animal rescues being reported are astounding. They had better not be dishonest when it comes to the care of these already-traumatized animals. After all, they are essentially turning away extra pairs of hands, not to mention a lot of compassion and love.
May God Keep ya'll Safe!
Bummed out
I have searched the help-wanted ads now for weeks. Endless weeks of testing and testing and testing (I could probably do the mttest blindfolded now). Here are the results: 1) One MTSO told me that the average salary now for 20+ years is 7 cpl and that's including shift differential. 2) Another offered 2 cpl for editing. 3) Went with one FT and had ONE report per day the entire first week (and they insisted on FT, no part timers accepted. 4) Tried another (still there to have at least some income) and on the date of hire, had a 5 minute training session on the program they use, given no account specifics, no instructions whatsoever, no samples. If you send something to QA, you don't get a copy back. I had one foreign doctor and I missed the same word in all of his reports and will never know what that word is, thus the report must go to QA and each one counts against you. They have no night or weekend tech support and I was down a full week waiting for the one guy to work me in. I have searched every website I can find for job postings. I did find one for Indian-based companies and there were hundreds of jobs on there. Guess it's time to either change professions to move to India. I've watched the salaries drop every year. I make less now than I did 10 years ago. It's more like assembly line work now, push push push, quality be damned!! What happened to going in there and taking your time to put out a quality report instead of everybody wanting 200 lines per hour? If you have a perfect account, sure, but not on ESLs and such. I have lots of personal friends in the business who are not too happy as well. The AAMT guidelines change daily and then only apply if the particular account wants them to. What happened to knowing your employees? My manager knows nothing about me or my experience, neither does the person who hired me. Didn't ask anything. It's like they throw you in there, sink or swim, and if you don't stay for whatever reason, there's always somebody else out there who might put out some work for a week or two. I find a company on the net, look it up here and find it's crap. I spent 3 hours taking a very long test overnight, finished it, and THEN found out none of the contact emails on the company website were valid!!! If anybody out there can tell me of a company who hires you, gives you what you need to work (reference materials), and pays more than 7-8 cpl, let me know! Hospital desk clerks make more than most of us now!! What happened to our profession? We aren't unskilled workers by any means and it's a slap in the face to make less than a clerk who only has a requirement of an 8th grade education!
When I am bummed out on MT ...
which is most of the time these days, I consider working for Starbuck's Coffee. The benefits are good there and I think working around yummy smelling coffee and pastries all day would be oh so nice! 
Bummed Out - My heart goes out to you.
I picture myself in this situation daily as job security as a SE is nil & I keep wondering what I think I'm going to do when I'm all of sudden "let go", since our so called "Profession" has sunken to the status comparable to that of a worker at McDonald's.
First of all, our profession since the 1960's has never evolved nor been recognized as a "Profession" - it is a "job" that any "typist" can do - period end!! That being said - around the late 1980s, early 1990's, those savvy in business became aware of the "need" in this job market & saw it as an opportunity for "big bucks" with no knowledge nor regard or concern of the medical knowledge required of those required to produce quality medical records. That's the key - quality has been replaced with quantity.
Only when us "Oldie" transcriptionists leave our beloved field & the physicians eventually become aware of the poor quality of work & the fact that patient care is truly jeopordized & sadly ends up suffering from the consequences of such - will medical transcription ever hope of being recognized as a "Profession."
The sad fact is that as long as us "oldies" stick around & correct the mistakes of the newbies, transcribe the worst of the worst undecipherable dictation & correct the ASR - we are sadly contributing to our own demise. Without us & our medical knowledge - being paid a pittance - the worst of the worst wouldn't be transcribed nor would ASR be edited!! I'd love for the work I now get to be sent overseas & see the end product. Out of thousands of doctors on a teaching hospital roster - I get very few. I get no normals (but did when initially started on this account. I get garbled, faint, cell phone dictation cutting in & out, & the same undecipherable dictators with whom no rhythm can be established - having to listen word by word & typing as such daily. My production keeps decreasing as well as my pay - but I'll bet my "employer" is tickled pink. I'm supposedly at "top pay", therefore, the less I'm capable of doing equals more money in their pocket, i.e. have to pay me less - hire more overseas.
Physicians are our lifeline & need to be made aware of the difference between a "medical transcriptionist" doing their dictation versus a "typist." Albeit most are intrigued by "Voice Recognition" now on the market, I'll bet 95% at hositals are unaware their dictation is being recorded in the background to Automated Speech Recognition - only to try to be deciphered & corrected by a medical transcriptionist. Without our medical knowledge & expertise - whether transcribing or editing - the medical record is worthless & patients are going to suffer. That being said - our expertise is worth more than 7-8 cpl or 2 cpl for editing. Somehow - we need to make physicians aware of the price that is being paid for their savings on their dictation, who is typing their reports & whether HIPAA regulations are being adhered to.
Unskilled workers - that is exactly what we're considered & being paid as such. Unless & until we can collectively convince physicians that quality is more important than the almighty dollar - we're resigned to the designation of "typists" & paid as such -period end !!
I don't know who you've endlessly tested with, nor if you're seeking employee status, full or part-time, or IC or SE status, & will probably get flamed - but have you tried applying at Medquist? Really hesitant to suggest it as I have no clue as to what is happening with their new so-called "Rewards Program" that is supposed to be going into effect - but from the sounds of your past experiences, I wouldn't think it could be any worse -who knows at this point!!
Well, I looked & looked but did not find it. Maybe tomorrow!
`
just checked i-mail. no news. how did you get your news?
love,
frank
News flash..Don't know where you get your news, but the economy is doing very well.
s
My theory is no news is good news. (sm)
If there is really a problem with your transcription, then I would not worry about it. They will get to you if you screw up.
As far as policies and procedures, look in your manual. I am sure they gave you info for all of that stuff. JMO.
I have good news and bad news 4U...
The good news is on Saturday, July 1 many of your least favorite residents will be "graduating." The bad news is that on the same day you'll be getting a virtual box of candy with brand new residents who have no clue how to dictate! RU excited?? ARGHHHH!!!! 
There is something major going on here
Accounts that used to be really busy have no work. Multiple accounts are asking us not to work on their account for the day. Last night an updated was posted with 100 something jobs available in one account, and then later an oops, sorry, I meant 0 jobs available. What is up with that? Don't know what's happening with this company.
French Ed. major
with English Ed minor and Music minor. No jobs around here in Northern Indiana, and extended family is here, so once started having kids, kind of just fell into this work. Love it, though, love using the Latin I had years ago.
We have DirecTV and have had no major
issues. I have internet through the cable company and have had lots of problems. If cable is through Time Warner they have the worst customer service. In my area the programming is about the same between cable and satellite, except DirecTV has just added satellite radio. I don't know if cable charges per each box, but DirecTV does charge $5.00/mo per box after the first one. The only complaint I have about DirecTV is that we had a big storm and after that we could not get every channel on every box (we have 3). We're not sure where the problem is, but for them to come out is an automatic $70.00 and then depending on what the issue is there could be more charges. When my internet goes out there are no service fees, although it is a pain in the rear getting anyone out to fix the problem.
With satellite you may have to put the dish in your yard on on your house where it might be an eye sore, but if the dish is on the house they only have the run the wiring down the house and not in the yard. If you have cable they have to run it from the pole to your house and they barely bury it, so that you have to have it located every time you need to do any planting/digging.
With satellite when it rains real hard we lose signal, though it doesn't usually last long. When we used to have cable we might not lose signal entirely, but it would be very fuzy. Cable really utilizes satellite. Our local cable company has huge dishes setup and the cable feeds from those.
some major issues!
If the post set off some "emotions," then keep them to yourself, or scream them out loud at home where no one can hear you. The person who posted this did not do so to set off YOUR PERSONAL "emotions." I think your major emotion just might be jealousy!!
These are not petty! These are major sm
things that any experienced MT should know. You need to take the correction as it was intended...........not to be petty but to fix things that you have been doing wrong for years! The docs don't know formatting and unfortunately most of the hospitals don't either. Be glad you FINALLY have some correction! Why you would waste your time checking everyone elses transcription is beyond me.
This kind of transcription is why I don't get too excited when I have an "experienced" MT call me to test for a job. I have tested MANY MTs with experience even more than yours and gotten the same thing! Sometimes people have been working for the same place for years and never been corrected.
This kind of stuff is why (in my opinion) that all MTs should have at least 2-5 years experience in an acute care facility before going out on their own! This "new wave" of going to MT school and then opening your "own business" is bringing this profession way down! It needs to stop.
major discrimination
My husband works for an agent with a major insurance company. He is not the agent although he does have to have agent's licensing. We were told probably 15 years ago, that a white male would not be allowed to become an agent for many, many years due to people (this happened to be two women) who declared that they were discriminated against in this company. So to compensate for discrimination this national company will not hire a "white male" for the appointed amount of time (which was a very extended time period of many, many years) unless that "white male walked on water." That was their quote too. I have heard (but have not verified this) that this same "discrimination" is going on in the medical field. Therefore, you have all the ESL's who are able to get into med school but the American Caucasian is not chosen because you cannot discriminate. My question is "Who is really being discriminated against?" In my husband's company -- It is the Caucasian white male and I have a feeling that it is the Caucasian that is discriminated against in the medical field as well.
What is a major bummer is...
A lot of the older MTs in this neck of the woods have lost their jobs not to outsourcing, but inability to keep up with technology, and it's not their fault either. All of these transcribing companies seem to have upgraded their technology so now people NEED high-speed internet/cable, and dial-up just won't do anymore. Imagine losing your job because the cable/phone company won't string up cable or DSL in your neighborhood because your're just too rural. It's a huge problem and I can see why that would make many people (including myself) jaded. What in the heck do you do for work when all you've known is transcribing? Hardly any hospital hires in-house these days either. Scary times indeed.
me too... lost major $$$.. sm
I lost my derm practice to EMR, $1500+ per week. That was my only account. Very humbling experience. I know a lot of you are in the same boat. Now it is taking me about a month to make what I made in a week. Have a couple PT accounts and am working for my FP doc that has EMR. He dictates part of the note and I put the typing where he wants it. It is slow as I have satellite but at least it is some income. I think EMR is the wave of the future. Hopefully it doesn't become a law soon.
For me, a major consideration is, would you be
nm
MAJOR PROBLEMS!!!!
Okay first of all I updated to XP from ME, lost my Microsoft Office so had to reinstall it. I use Express Scribe to play dss files. Before my update I updated ES to version 4.16. Found out that does not play dss files so uninstalled that and reinstalled v. 4.15 and it worked. After the upgrade, I reinstalled version 4.15 and it does the same think at 4.16 did. WIll not load dss files. They appear in the file list but with a duration of 0 seconds. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling, restarting and everything I can think of. Even with the extra dss .exe that the website said I needed. Is there a possibility that XP doesn't not run with ES or dss files or do I need to install another component to make my files play on XP?
Please help, I am getting backlogged and starting to freakout.
major errors
Only 2 major errors allowed? When learning a new account that seems a little strict. I understand they can't have major errors but give someone a chance to get things right and learn the way of doing things.
I would say those are major. Hospitals SM
often have this sort of policy and expect the services doing business with them to enforce it.
Major error?
That is not a major error. They are just two straggling headers that got left behind, an oversight at best but not major error category. What is wrong with these people? If they call that major what do they call a real major errors that could possibly affect the outcome of patient care? When you consider all the malpractice that goes on with direct patient care involving doctors and nurses, two straggling headers on a report is really very minor.
The major obstacle is the ...sm..
long distance phone charges for the C-line. Check into Magic Jack. Some people have been very happy with it and have used it for long distance while using a C-phone. It makes no difference what kind of computer you're using when you use a C-phone.
Link to Magic Jack info is below.
A Major Rant
A rant letter to a couple of doctors:
What has happened to the medical profession in this country? Why is it that doctors forget their Hippocratic Oath? Why is it they forget the purpose of their career choice? I've transcribed this week on numerous elderly patients who have been with their doctors for five, ten or even fifteen years, but they have to seek care elsewhere because so many doctors are refusing to accept Medicare. How would you feel were if it were your own mother or father being refused care with their established physician just because they became classified as "elderly" and qualified for Medicare? If it weren't for your "connections," your parents would face the same dilemma that other elderly people face.
Why is it that when a patient comes into your office complaining of feeling fatigued and achy that you automatically assume they're depressed and pop out a prescription for them to pop a pill? Why not LISTEN to what the patient is saying and realize that while some MAY be depressed, others have a legitimate medical problem going on? Why not do some labs on them to check for anemia, hypothyroidism, etc.? Oh, I get it -- let them wait two hours to see you after their appointment time and then spend two minutes with them... after all, time is money. By the way, I guess that kid who came several times a couple of weeks ago complaining of abdominal pain wasn't just trying to get out of school since I saw his obituary in the paper this week. Even when his mom and dad brought him in a second and third time, you brushed them off. I hope seeing his obituary hurts your heart at least half as much as it hurt mine. I can't imagine the pain those parents are enduring right now, but I doubt you've stopped earning money long enough to let it bother you. And, no, I won't cover your butt if I get a subpoena when his parents sue you for medical negligence.
Why is it that you cringe when I tell you I need to raise my rates when I've not had a rate increase in three years or longer when in the mean time you've raised your rates at least three times a year every year? Oh - ok - your expenses have gone up? Do you think they've discounted my electric bill, gasoline, supplies and everything else?
Remember that last check before Christmas that I asked about when you were late paying me? You know, the one where you said you didn't have the money to pay me until after the 1st of January - although my contract with you explicitly explains payment arrangements? That was hard to swallow when your wife was standing there while I was waiting to talk to you and making out a check for $8200 to have your home decorated for Christmas? Yes, it ticked me off that you had the money for that in your budget but not the money to pay me my measly little $702. It also ticked me off when you took your three-week vacation to France and left me waiting for payment.
I do understand - its all about the money. Of course, that is why I work. But, if I ever get to the point that I'm so cold-hearted or money-oriented that I cannot try and give the best of my abilities in my transcription for every patient I type on, I have common sense enough to know its time to get out of my profession. Yes, to you I'm just a "typist", but how many times have you picked up the phone and called me asking, "Do you remember the names of the tests that I need to order for Lyme disease?" Or, what about when you can't dictate a proper letter and you say, "This is what I want to say - can you fix it for me?" What about those times when I've flagged a lab result and said, "This patient would be dead with a potassium of 988." Regardless, I remain just a "typist" in your mind.
In spite of all your faults, I do my best for you. I give you accurate work every day of every week because I know one typo (on the transcription work you don't review) with a drug dosage could mean the difference between life and death of your patients. But in the end, does it really matter to you?
At least 200; FT account is a major
trauma center, PT is a major surgical center. Both are teaching hospitals, so I have all the residents thrown in too.
This was a major national. You can mess with just about anything...
as long as you have a space bar.
to fellow psych major
I would like to start working in the field before I get my BA. Do you know how many credits you would need in order to do that, and is an AA degree far enough to begin work? You're a lot closer than me so I figured you might know this. It would be a big weight off my shoulders knowing I could work within three years rather than 7, which seems so long. Thanks in advance
Major patriarchy brainwashing.
Having sex does not make you a "wh0re." It usually means you are a functioning adult capable of making your own choices and not having your entire life dictated to you.
We have Publix - MAJOR stores all over....sm
Publix says tipping is not allowed. I do not agree with that. They are loading TONS of stuff into cars, why shouldn't they get a tip? I tip, their bosses are not outside watching anyway and I don't know that anyone ever lost a job with Publix (one of the largest employers in the SE) due to this
to each his/her own I suppose 
Dude, what's your major malfunction? sm
Since I've been working for the last 1-1/2 years with a company and more recently with my own accounts, I daresay that I am doing just fine with or without the RMT. I wanted to take the RMT for my own fun. I am sure there are others that either want to take the test or that are waiting to hear their results after waiting several months.
It is not a major deal to set up Meditech....
I went remote over 10 years ago and I set up most everything myself with installing the program for Meditech with dial up. Now I do it VPN which they installed but I probably could have done myself. More hospitals should look at contracting or hiring the MT directly. It is so much cheaper for them. After increasing my rate a couple of years ago, my hospital looked into hiring an MTSO and was surprised at how much more they would have to pay (more than 3 times what I charge) even if they did offer health insurance and taxes. As to the poster below, I rarely miss work because if I don't work I don't get paid. And when I can't, the hospital has a back up they hired themselves. There are always somebody willing to do extra work somewhere.
Me too.. Lost major account
to EMR.. basically put me out of business. I could have "stayed-on" in house doing limited transcription and scanning for 1/2 the money. System was not very friendly to transcription, had to constantly switch screens, etc. would have really lost $$$ if I was paid by the line. Either way hourly/cpl, less money for me. I decided to just stay home and go with national. Hopefully I can hold out for the next 5 or so years, or else I guess I'm off to Walmart!
Major bummer dude!
This is my 2nd Saitek...the first one had silver keys and oh ya, I got the paint on them babies worn off within 6 months. I'm totally bummed to hear this one will do the same thing, because I really looked at it hard before buying and saw the letters were "etched" in and not painted on. It's no biggie for me, being a touch typist, but when family or friends want to plink around, they got totally lost...plus it looked fargin' ugly too.
I use the angry red lights when typing that ESL crap (red alert!), and the happy purple the rest of the time. The old one was just blue, so I'm kinda sick of that for right now, but it is so much fun to mess with the mood lighting. Simple pleasures for simple minds 
Currently working for a major national, they use BOS because they want
all MTs transcribing the same. What the client wants comes first, then BOS on the majority of accounts. This is SUPPOSED to make QA-ing a report easier.
Making major purchases
Dh and I were looking for a house about 3 months ago because the one we are in is too small. We put that on halt. For one, I am worried about my job. I work for a hospital. OM announced we are going to upgrade to a new system. One of our MTs got to see this new system (I don’t know how) and she said it was great. She told about those 3 doctors that say when doing one of their DS to cut and paste from their HP and then they begin with the hospital course. We get paid for all those lines. Well, now the HP is just going to feed into the DS so we won’t have to cut and paste. Plus some, not all of the docs are going to be able to do VR. They will still need us for editing they said. They already took the headers and footer pay away from us because it automatically wraps into the report.
Now assuming that if the things that already wrap into the report we don’t get paid for, those wonderful DS that we love to get with the free lines is coming to a halt. Also, assuming from what I have read on this message board and others, pay decreases with VR. None of this has been said yet by OM but I am expecting it to come. The other MTs are saying oh this is wonderful, oh this is great. I haven’t mentioned any of my concerns to them mainly because I don’t want to let on that I am worried. I just quit looking for a new house. One of the MTs did purchase a new house recently because since they took us off of hourly and put us on production, she is making great money and we are, actually better than what most the MTSOs pay. I am just afraid it is just going to come to a halt. Do I have a right to be paranoid? Has anyone else put big purchases on halt because they are worried about what is to come? I am kind of the worry wart pessimistic type.
Preparing for a major cut in pay is scary.
I am without an emergency fund :( and no one seems to be responding to my resume.
This is so cruel.
I lost major $$ when they discontinued that. nm
X
10.5 with major national, 65 chars with spaces,
nm
Every day I make a chore list. Nothing major, just...
one kid has to empty the dishwasher and take out the trash. The other has to pick up the family room and vacuum it. I make the list each day and leave it on the counter. They aren't allowed to turn the television on until it is done.
Having a major brain fart--need to document the use of --sm
or not to use a hyphen for words like schapho-lunate and lunato-triquetral. Having a major argument with QA and need documentation but can not think of where to find it. Tanks
Radiology MTs - Major cuts in outpatient
imaging by Congress - called the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Signed by Bush in December. Over five years will amount to 20 Billion dollars cut from outpatient imaging payments for Medicare and medicaid patients. This will have a ripple effect. Private insurers soon will follow suit. Posted the DRA but it was removed by Administrator.... This will have a detrimental effect on us all, as cuts will begin occurring in every aspect of radiology.
Here is a comprehensive article. Please do not remove this post for one day, Administrator. This will impact MTs in radiology significantly.
imagingBiz.com - The Information Service of the Imaging Center Institute
Pogo.com for me for games major addiction nm
:-)
Sorry, but major HIPPA violation to "keep a
little file...that's a HUGE industry NO-NO. Talk about lawsuits and professionalism!
Have had three major surgeries and mistakes were made...
So, I fully understand how he forgot but admitting to this would have been worse than saying the procedure was completed. However, you do have a case that can be proven simply by no incision lines that correspond to the operative report's description. Finding any physician who will testify against a high standing member of the medical community sounds like the challenge. Sorry this had to turn into a nightmare for you.
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