I've been doing this doc for many years, so I've learned how to function with him. sm
Posted By: R on 2008-01-29
In Reply to: dictators who stutter - jan
I can tell what's a stutter, what's another word, what's just an "uh." Years of experience will get you through a lot.
Wouldn't want to do his charts all day, of course, but a few per day aren't bad. I haven't had to send his to review in a long time, but they do take a little longer to shuffle through.
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I've worn contacts for 30 years. I've had both
hard and soft. My vision is much better with the soft ones than they were with the hard ones. When I first started trying contacts soft ones were still new and they couldn't get me to 20/20, so I went to hard. Hard were okay until my eyes started changing shape and then I could no longer wear hard ones. The soft should give you better vision as they conform more to the shape of your eye.
From what I've learned from...
doing psych reports, people rarely have MPD unless they've been abused horribly. First off, I wouldn't blame this poor child. Her life has obviously been unstable and erratic, no thanks to her parents. I type it time and time again.... Kids are brought in and labeled with all sorts of conditions, ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder, OCD, you name it. And WITHOUT FAIL when the doctor gets down to the social history, the child comes from some sort of broken erratic unstable home. The parents don't create a nurturing environment for their child, parade boyfriends and girlfriends in and out of their lives, and then the poor child is labeled with a dozen diagnoses. Sounds to me like this poor child has been abused, which isn't very far fetched if a mother is recycling boyfriends. I'd contact a local psychiatrist and start from there. I wouldn't take one person's word that the child wasn't abused. Even if she is lying, she's doing it for some reason.
Yes, several times. I've learned to listen to them. (s/m)
A very long time ago, I once had a dream that my dog got hit by a car - the exact time, place, etc. And exactly one week later, to the day, place and hour, she got hit & killed by a car.
Another time I was driving on the freeway, and suddenly in my mind got a very clear picture of a pickup truck on fire. Yet there was no truck on fire where I was, and no smoke or anything. About 10 miles up there road, I came around a bend and there was a truck exactly like the one I'd seen in my "mind-flash", and it was on fire.
Go figure, but yes, I definitely DO go with my hunches and premonitions.
Previous posters are 100% correct. Here's what I've learned...
There have been a lot of very good points brought out here, and I encourage you to consider the advice that has been offered and think this over very, very carefully before making a decision.
I've been in this business since 1996. I went to school (with 3 small children at home), studied at 4 a.m., maintained another full-time job, earned a 4.0, was lucky enough to get a part-time job in MT before I even graduated. I excelled at MT, loved the work and have worked my way up to the top. It has been a lucrative career for me and I've had the chance to stay at home with my kids while they were young (and I still work at home and enjoy being here for my junior high and high school age kids.)
HOWEVER, times have changed. I'm an MT instructor at a local college. We made the decision to drop the MT program because we simply cannot place new grads. I don't care how smart you are, how good your grades are, how much potential you have or how motivated you are--it's very, very difficult, if not impossible, to get a job working at home as a new grad. (Finding a job in a clinic is a little easier, but still difficult.)
If you are one of the few who are lucky enough to find a job working at home as a new grad, you will make next to nothing for at least the first year. New grads are NOT prepared to meet production quotas, they still need mentoring, and they still have a tremendous amount to learn. Most jobs, especially working at home jobs, are production based. As a new grad you will spend most of your time researching, and your production will be minimal; therefore, so will your salary. In addition, most work-at-home jobs have production quotas. Meeting a quota when you are still in the learning phase leads to a tremendous amount of pressure, which in turn, leads to frustration and is not conducive to learning and retaining information.
My first boss (the one who hired me as a new grad) gave me some words of wisdom that I haven't forgotten. She said that transcribing at home with small children NEVER works under any circumstance. Either the work will suffer or the parenting will suffer. I, of course, thought I would be the exception. (My kids were age 2, 4, and 9 at the time.) She had 25 years of experience as an MT and as an MTSO owner, and she was absolutely right. I learned quickly that I could be successful working PART-TIME with small children, but trying to do it full-time defeated the purpose. When you are transcribing, you may be physically "at home," but if you are doing a good job, your mind is tuned in to your work, not your kids. Constant interruptions lead to low production, errors, and huge frustration. I found that I could work a few hours in the early morning before they woke up, fit in a few hours throughout the day and finish up late at night after they were in bed. I was in a position at that time not to need a full-time income, so this was a nice compromise, and it prepared me for full-time work later on when they were all in school. I consider that period of time an extension of my training.
Like another poster said, I do not want to rain on your parade, but tuition is not cheap. (I'm STILL paying off a student loan.) Additionally, MT is not an "easy" curriculum to learn, and it takes a certain skill set and personality type in order to excel and succeed. You will invest a lot of time, money, and effort just in the process of completing your training. It may or may not be worth it in the long run. Career college admissions reps are paid on a commission basis; therefore, they don't always give you the "rest of the story." Those of us who have posted here today are trying to give you "the rest of the story," and our intention is not to discourage you but rather to give you an accurate picture of what MT is truly like, not what the admissions counselor might have told you.
If you do decide to go forward, go with your eyes wide open. I would also encourage you to find a mentor who can advise you along the way.
One thing I've learned in life is it's impossible to
stand up for themselves. Maybe only 1 in 100 will even try. Sad to say, but we've brought a lot of this onto ourselves.
At one time I would have let it slide, but now I've learned I can't afford it or
nm
I've owned cheaper chairs and learned the hard way.
The old saying that you get what you pay for is true when it comes to these cheap chairs! My back always hurt and I was having to buy a new chair at least yearly. You do the math; I've already had the $1000 chair five years and I quit having the backaches five years ago. This chair is no where close to wearing out and will last me at least another five years, probably more. So, if you think that spending $200 every year on a cheap chair is worth it, you go right ahead; I didn't hear anything but thanks for the OP for my suggestion.
I use EXText with my current job and I've used at a couple of other jobs I've had. I've ne
used DocQscribe, but I have used Meditech, Cerner, Vianeta, the Precyse platform (I can't remember the name), Dolbey, and Lanier platform I think was called Cequence (?).
Out of all the different platforms I have typed on, I have liked EXText the best. In my opinion, it's very user friendly, easy to learn, and I really like ESP which is the built in abbreviation expander. Plus it is very easy to create your own normals which I love. My fingers literally never leave the keyboard because there are macro keys for everything. You can use your mouse if you prefer or learn the function macros. I love it. I think I'm more productive on EXText than with any other platform.
you've been an MT for four years,
so, based on this information, that would imply that you are a grown woman. If this is true, does your handsome husband know how immature you are? Does he know that his hot wife is on this board making juvenile and childish remarks? Just curious, what makes a babe such as yourself do something like this?
gee, I've been doing this nearly 27 years
And the clients have always liked my work.
That is the only CORRECT in my book ... he who signs the paycheck.
I've been doing this for 25+ years. SM
My problem with changing accounts was not the terminology, the dictators (I do 4 big hospitals even now), but it was shuffling around to remember account specifics. That is ridiculous.
It is another case of an MTSO (not the client, the MTSO) treating the MTs as a cost center instead of a revenue center. The "money" was for the suits and the editors (no offense) and the MTs who did the work were at the end of the money line.
I've been with BTS for nearly 3 years now.
I've never run out of work, been slow at times, and asked for more. If you are a well-rounded MT the work is there. If you are limited to one or two specialities well, work is limited as would be anywhere. As for the pay, my check was been screwed up twice in 3 years. I had the difference in my hands the next day, the fedex the check to me.
Question to you? How did you treat BTS? Where you there to work if and when they needed you? Was your work 98% or better and within TAT? Most employers will treat their employees they way they are treated. It's a give and take situation people. I sign on do my work, send it to the clients and have no problems. If they need extra help somewhere I usually (but not always) say sure (who can't use the extra money anyway). When I want time off, they say no problem.
Did you ever try talking to the owners about your problem with pay or work or to your manage? You can't complain if you don't try and solve the problem first.!!
I've been using it for at least 4 years now and never
had any problems. I love it. It makes it so easy and it's a lot cheaper than paying someone to do it. You can load it on as many computeres as you want as you don't need the disk after it is loaded so me and my mom always go in half on the deluxe version so that we get state taxes included.
I've been in this biz for over 10 years
and can honestly say I've never had a background check to my knowledge. They really should let you know beforehand and I guess it is possible I've had one and not been aware but highly doubt it.
I've been using an erg for a few years.
It took a while to get used to but it did help with wrists. I have a really hard time typing on a regular keyboard now.
I've been at it for nearly 15 years
I consider myself seasoned, not because of my years of experience, but because of how many different types of work I have done. I think that being flexible, versatile, and maintaining a good attitude is what makes a seasoned transcriptinoist.
I've been doing this for years...sm
I have been saying this for years. If they would just contract it themselves.
I've been doing it for three years
I don't really have anything special I do. It's just something I'm used to. I work between 13-14 hours Monday through Thursday and take Friday nights off. I do have to have the TV on though. If it's too quiet, that's when I get tired and start to fall asleep. I don't like coffee, but I make sure to take some form of caffeine. I'll get up and walk around every few hours though.
I've been doing this for 20 years
Been in healthcare since 1972 :) Got halfway through my Masters in HealthCare Administration and stopped because I was NOT passionate about that. Got into this instead.
I am still passionate about my house and everything else I do. I'm 55. I'm not naive, or dumb. Passion comes from inside you, if you're not passionate, it's because you make yourself that way.
Thanks for the tip, but I don't have anything to get over. I don't waste a lot of time whining and complaining though. :)
It's been a few years since I've
been IC, but one of the things I did was to have my husband claim zero and at the single rate. If you're already doing that and it didn't help, you might want to have him pay in a little extra per pay or pay estimated taxes yourself. I thought with federal income tax, my employer did take it out because I was considered a statutory employee but still IC status. I think I had a little extra taken out and claimed zero and married at the single rate. A lot of things go into determining whether or not you owe taxes.
You say you adopted a child this year and will get that tax credit, did you have any children before? If not, then you likely didn't have much choice except to pay estimated quarterly taxes and have both you and your husband claim zero and the single rate. We have 3 children now, which definitely helps, but even still we continue to claim zero on our W4s just to keep ahead of the gov. We like that little "bonus" we get back for vacation, etc.
I know I always paid estimated state taxes. In some cases, you can end up paying penalties if you don't. Talk with your accountant. He/she should be able to give you ways to avoid having to pay in. You probably can't reduce what you make anymore than you already have. It sounds like you've got your deductions covered. Your only option may be to pay estimated. Good Luck!
I've been doing it for many years.
I work a few hours in the morning before kids get up, spend time with kids, do housework, fix dinner, etc. and then I work a few hours after dinner. I get up at least every 2 hours and do something, may put on a load of laundry, may lay something out to thaw for dinner, may take a power nap, etc. I couldn't sit for an 8 hour shift if my life depended on it.
It works for my and my family. My husband works 12-15 hours, a lot of them overnight and he is home by 11 most days, so my schedule works for him too.
I've actually been doing this for years!
i produce 500 lines an hour consistenly and average 3500 lines in an eight-hour day. Anyone who does not believe is jeolous, but that's JMHO.
I've been doing this for 28 years
And I get paid less now relatively seaking than 20 years ago. I've seen line rates as low as 5 and as high as 13-14 (if you're lucky).
MTs are not getting paid according to their experience, not anymore. Our pay has been so undermined by offshoring, if you find a company paying 10 cpl and up, good luck to ya. It is frustrating I know but that's the truth of the matter. I wish I could sing you a better tune.
I've done MT for 35 years, don't know how to do
to learn a new career, I'd be a 70-year-old "newbie". I don't think I'd get any job offers.
I'm with you. I've been doing this 20 years and
was a supervisor for semi-large company at one point, and I don't think it's possible to consistently do 4300+ lines of straight transcription per day...
After you've been an MT for years, have
experience with all the different foreign accents & high-speed/mumbling dictators & develop an ear for them, memorize the BOS rules, JCAHO, etc., then you'll be qualified to do what you're suggesting.
I've been in MT 15 years & have never
paid AAMT/AHDI a dime and never will because they're right in the big middle of selling us out to India. And you know what? Not having my CMT has NEVER been an issue because I know my stuff, have the experience, and test well. They need to rename themselves the Indian Association of MT.
Yes, I've used one for years
Ever since they first came out I have been using. I prefer some of the cheaper knock-off brands to the MS though. Does anyone remember the Wave keyboard? It was the precursor to the MS and also there was an actual split keyboard and one time, where the keyboard broke in half so you typed with your hands vertically instead of horizontally. I also tried learning Dvorak and that was an interesting experience!
I have an MS at work and one at home. My hands hurt less and my shoulders are not as tight. I can't stand to use a regular keyboard as I tend to hunch over and my shoulders get tight, not to mention make all kinds of errors! I don't know about using the "B" with your other hand though. Never heard of that. I just use a standard technique.
I've been doing this for 3 years
and have never made anywhere close to $31,000.
I've been saying this for years. Unfortunately,
all too often, whenever an employer pulls another fast one on us, or in the case of Acusis, pulls the rug (our paychecks) right out from under our feet, we're furious about it for a few days, and by about the 5th or 6th day, we suddenly become complacent and unwilling to stand up and fight against the status-quo.
That fight doesn't necessarily mean quitting your job (or getting fired). Fighting back can be done in your spare time. It can be done on your cellphone on the bus. It can be done next time you're in the waiting room at your doctor's office. A revealing and poignant letter can be written to a local newspaper's editorial page, an internet blog or chat room, a state governor, a congressperson, a hospital CEO, etc. The number of things we can do are limited only by our imaginations. If every MT in the country sat down and wrote a letter to Congress or their Senator (not a cookie-cutter email that gets deleted the minute it's received, but a real, hand-written or hand-typed letter that tells your personal story, of the stories of people you work with, or that you chat with on MT Stars, maybe someone with more clout and a louder voice than we have will see it, grab onto the story and run with it. When a country goes to war, it ultimately boils down to each individual fighting his own personal war. When the state of affairs in our field reaches almost-rock-bottom, which is where it's at right now, the only way for the MT species in America to survive, and not be wiped out entirely, is to network, talk to or write to as many MTs as you can, set up chat-room, or send out emails when possible, and help MTs start a movement. It takes time for a movement to build up momentum, but every little bit helps towards that goal. Even one letter is better than no letters. One person in your doctor's waiting room told what's happening to their medical records, and the quality of their care when their records are offshored, is better than no one told. We need to start making our voices heard. Not too many of us are going to last another 2 years in this business at the rate it's deteriorating.
Becky, I've been an IC for seven years now without
any type of liability or error insurance at all. As the other poster said, the physician is the one that's responsible for reviewing and signing off on the reports. If you don't believe me, go to Google.com and type in "transcriptionist sued" to see how many lawsuits are out there where doctors sued their transcriptionist. Zero. It's not going to happen. Besides that, technically you are a SUBcontractor for softscript, so it's their butts that are going to be on the line no matter what your employee/IC status is. THEY are the ones that signed the contract with the hospitals or physicians, not you. Also, if you search the MTstars archives about that company, they don't get rave reviews. You can find a better company where people actually know what they're talking about.
I've used it for 2+ years, no problems.
x
We've been doing this for 1-1/2 years. It's no surprise. nm
nm
I've used Speedtype for almost 2 years
and I love it! I have verson 8. It's very easy to use, particularly when changing dates every day, etc. Once I'm at the beginning of a new month, just delete the whole prior month and begin again. It's easy to format anything. If I have one word or a small grouping, it's easy. If I have a large chunk of dictation, that's easy too. The woman who sells it is extremely helpful. I've never had one bit of problem since it was installed. And does it help with productivity - absolutely!
I've used Bytescribe but it was years ago
and I currently use Stop/Start for an overflow account. Depending on the file format S/S will do a conversion and it may take 15 seconds or more to run the conversion depending on the size of the file. I had trouble with Bytescribe, but that was years ago, and I don't remember much about it. Both Bytescribe and S/S play many file formats. I've never heard of PowerPlay so I can't speak for that one.
I've worked for MQ for years and
have NEVER been given the opportunity for bonuses. Those who have gotten them have been lucky.
I've worked for MQ over 4 years now and
I have never been told how many spaces to put or not put after a sentence; I have never been paid for spaces, by my count at least. I occasionally check my reports. I do not get spaces.
I'm not sure why, or actually by the anonymous stature of posters on this board, IF anyone has really been told to limit spaces to one after a sentence.
If MQ really isn't paying for spaces, it wouldn't make any difference monetarily so I cannot see that they would make a stipulation like that.
I've been doing radiology for 4 years--
and I think it's great. It can get a little dull because you tend to hear the same things over and over, but you can get good line counts with it.
I've been doing qwertyuiop for 30 years. sm
and transcribing for 20+
I can't imagine stopping to start all over again. It scares me to think that the "hunt and peck" types are now being catered to instead of learning the keyboard the way it should be learned. But then again, I'm an "old timer."
When I learned qwertyuiop it was on a manual typewriter. The manual typewriters are what gave us old timers our speed. It also gave us concentration when you had to flip the handle on the left and push the roll back into place for the next line. Not to mention exercise when you pushed it too hard and the whole roll flew off and landed on the floor. 
Heck, I used to do MT on a very old electric typewriter with a bottle of White Out handy.
My top 5 minute timed typing test for a job interview was 138 wpm on an old electric and that was almost 20 years ago. I think I'll stick with the old stuff.
And, by the way, I have no wrist pain, finger pain, etc. Guess I'm either lucky or it's because of the fact that I'm ergonomic, do my CTS exercises, and wear wrist supports when I type.
I've never had a pay problem in over 6 years. NM
x
I've been there almost 2 years. Best employer
I've had in my 12 years in the business. Good software and lots of work to do. Lots.
I've been a broker for 22+ years and . . .
every listing contract should say the listing agent will use "due diligence" in selling your home (or something similar). My suggestion would be to contact the agent's broker, tell them what has transpired and ask that another agent take over the listing. With your complaints known, I would bet the new agent will give you much better service.
As for reporting them to your state's division of real estate, depending on what state you are in, most likely nothing would be done and a case would not even be opened. They are after fraud-type cases and rarely, if ever, get involved is situations such are yours.
I do. It's the "new way" I think. I've been doing it for years. SM
I have a macro that goes back and double checks for two spaces and changes them to one.
Then I have another (for an old-timey account) that goes back and finds period space space and exchanges it for period space.
That way I don't have to remember.
I'VE USED IT 2 YEARS AND LOVE IT!!
I find it to be a really easy platform to learn and to use. I've used it for 2-1/2 years now. It has its own expansion program and I also find it really user-friendly.
That's not true. I've been an MT for 25 years and
seasons. It's absolutely NOT true that it is slow this time of year. I also have had my own hospital accounts/surgery center accounts. A lot of times it is BUSIER at the end of the year. The reason there is no work is that MDI overhired.
I've been there nearly 2 years and still happy. sm
What did you want to know? Pay is okay, accounts are good, people are good.
I've had the same keyboard for probably 8 years now. It isn't
wireless, but has a light touch, which I like. I eat and drink while I work too. I just put my keyboard in the shower, hit it good with the shower massage, let it dry upside down for a couple of days and I'm good to go again.
I've been doing Cardiology for 7+ years -
and have been thinking about changing as the company I work for is beginning to send things overseas. What company is hiring for oncology? I gues it wouldn't hurt to inquire. Thanks and good luck to you.
I've complained for years.
And have quit several companies because they refuse to make an attempt to do anything about it. Of course there are many Americans who are equally poor dictators (and will be throughout their 40-year careers because nobody will ever say anything to them about it).
There are things that could be done: the medical schools/hospitals could require mandatory phonetics courses until the ESLs have attained an acceptable level of language proficiency; they could require that unacceptable ESLs find their own MT who can understand what they are trying to say and discuss it with them if necessary; the hospitals could provide surrogate dictators to dictate for the basket cases or require that the ESL find his/her own surrogate dictator; etc.
Instead, the issue is normally swept under the rug and ignored by the people in a position to do something about it. I consider that negligence.
I've been tired of it for years...but
been at it way to long to switch. Only have 4 years left. I would enjoy it much more if I did psychiatry or ER reports. You could check into legal transcription/medical malpractice. I almost did that years ago after doing a few depositions. Seemed much more interesting. Sorry I didn't change then....too late now.
I've been using one FT for 6 years. I do use an external
keyboard 99.99% of the time though.
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