I've made a decision to leave MT...

And to pursue my RN degree...I've had quite enough of being treated as a 2nd class worker...enough!!! I'm tired of paying for xxxx doctor's mistakes. I'm tired of being "talked" to by "supervisors and QA" who know even less than I do. And basically, I'm tired of making squat for wages while I work my fingers to the bone...

So, anyone done this transition before? I'm sure there are some out there who have and have been quite successful at it.  If so, I'd love some words of encouragement. Unfortunately, I'm stuck doing this junk until I'm done with school, which will probably be a few years......but hey, I've done it this long, what's a few more, huh?

• I've made a decision to leave MT... - sm...
  • don't expect miracles - me
  • Wise move. - Go for it!
  • Good for you--I left the field in January - Gone
  • Had the same thought... - tia
    • me too... - OP
    • back to school . . . - Free MT
  • In adversity there is opportunity . . . - MTness
  • I am in nursing school right now... - MT2RN
  • Ditto - Dawn
  • I don't thinking nursing is a lot better. BTDT. - wannie
  • Good for you!! - Carol D
  • Curious, who are you with...nm - ntkn
    • Why do you want to know? - sm...
      • Just want to avoid the same mistake...nm - ntkn
      • Maybe she wants your job. - NM

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My husband doesn't want to work.  Never has and probably never will and it took me 16 years to figure out that nothing was ever going to change.  He has been in and out of college over the years with a number of different majors and when he is on the verge of actually finishing something, he up and quits, because I believe he doesn't want to actually go out and get a job.  He loves the going to school part, the studying, etc., but the actual finishing and putting his education to work, that's too overwhelming.

For years I made excuses for him, supported him, and actually believed that as he got older he would mature and finally find his way.  He's 42 now and runs off every day with one of his unemployed friends to play frisbee golf or go hiking or water skiing or fishing while I'm sitting at home at my desk typing until my nose bleeds!

I was one of those women afraid of being by myself.  I recently had a major depressive snap where I cried nonstop for three weeks.  I found a great doctor who became a great friend and she helped me find the right medicine to get my head clear and then she helped me realize that I don't have to be afraid of anything.  I was already supporting myself and my kids without anyone elses' help.  What was so frightening about leaving my husband behind?

So quietly I made my plans to leave.  I let my husband know that I was going to move back home to the area where all my family still lives when school let out this summer.  He didn't believe me because I had said it all before.  So I just made sure he knew I was thinking about it again.  Then May came along and miracously a job opened up at the hospital in the small community I wanted to move back to.  This hospital never has openings because they virtually have no employee turnover whatsoever.  Everyone's been there at least 5 or more years.  I took it as a sign and made my move.  Within two days of submitting my resume, I had an interview set up.  Without even waiting to see if I had the job, I packed up my kids and our stuff and told my husband "I'm going.  I love you, but if you want to be with me you need to get a job and actually be my partner not one of my kids."  And I left.

I got the job, thankfully.  I've been here a month and I know without a doubt that it was the best thing I've done in a long time for me and my kids.  My teenage son had built up a lot of resentment towards his father and their was a lot of anger and tension between the two of them before we moved.  Now, my son is happier than I've seen him in years.  He's more social, made a lot of friends, and even has a girlfriend now.  My daughter misses her dad, but she has always been remarkably wise for her young age and is very open about saying how calm everything is up here.

So there's my story.  I would never encourage anyone to divorce or leave their husband, and I haven't actually taken the step to file for divorce yet myself.  But sometimes separation is liberating and therapeutic.  It has been for me.  I can't remember the last time I felt so peaceful.

Back when I was starting out as an MT, I worked with an older woman who was an ART and told me if I ever wanted to earn those credentials, she would mentor me.  That's all you had to do was sort of do an apprenticeship with a mentor and then you could take the test.

Now, if you want your RHIT, you HAVE to complete a RHIT education program.  That's one of the hesitations for me in trying for my RHIT.  I'm not sure I want to commit to full-time school!

You can take the CCS exam for coding without a formal education just as long as you have work experience in HIM and transcription counts.

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.

Will you be looking for another job any time soon?  Will you make more money as a CMT?  Will it make you feel good about yourself to have the certification?  Will you have time to study for the test?  Make a list of pros/cons and decide from there.

Personally, it's not worth it for me.  I don't want to support the AAMT because they're supposed to be for Americans, but they promote offshoring.  I have enough certifications and education papers kicking around that I don't need another one.  CMTs don't get paid any more at my employer.  I also don't want to drive 300 miles each way to take the test.  It's expensive, and you have to recertify every three years.

I prefer IC as well.  When you're an employee, they pay you less per line than as an IC.  You still pay taxes, federal, state, Medicare, Social Security as an employee.  However, the employer pays for Worker's Comp and matches the social security and Medicare only portion of your taxes, which I believe is only 7.65%.  That social security percentage is quite small when you consider the fact that self-employment taxes are only 15.6%.  I don't remember the exact percentages because it's been a while since I had to manually figure it all, but you can look it up on Google.

As an IC, I get to deduct every little thing I can think of.  I can deduct my home office, a portion of my utilities, a portion of my Internet and phone, any mileage, office supplies (and I love office supplies!), furniture, software, computers and other equipment, paper, reference materials, everything.

The issue is that when you are an employee, those taxes get taken right off the top so you don't even miss that money.  Most people don't set aside a percentage of their pay that should have gone to those taxes, so they grumble when they owe at tax time.  You actually get to see how much you're paying out in taxes.  However, they got to use their money all year instead of loaning it to the government interest free.  That's a perk.

I took 3 documents in Word and the program calculated the amount of characters with spaces and without spaces.  I divided the character counts by 65 to get a line count.  I then multiplied the line count with spaces by 8 cents per line and the one without spaces by 9 cents per line.  In all 3 cases, you are better off taking the job at the lower rate counting spaces. 

Example:  1 document 4339 characters without spaces, 5179 with spaces.  Divide each by 65 comes out to be 67 lines without spaces, 80 lines with spaces. 

65 lines x 9 cents = $6.03

80 lines x 8 cents = $6.40

The others came out with a discrepancy of 78 cents and $2.16. 

I did other size documents and none of them came out where you were getting a better deal by being paid the higher line rate with no spaces.

I hope this helps.

Hi,

It sounds like, despite all the problems, that you love him and want to remain a family, particularly for the sake of your son. 

Without disrespecting that, what I would suggest is that you tell your husband to either grow up already (and pull his weight around the house while he is at it) or please go ahead and divorce you and marry his mama. 

In the meantime, make sure that your name is not on his credit card bills, etc. and that you DO expect him to provide child support while he is absent from the family, the home, the marriage.  If he fails or refuses, take him to court--that should make him wake up and smell the coffee and grow up fast.  Otherwise, let mama figure out how to manage his payee check with that new expense. 

HTH. 

I think combining the measurement with the unit of measure is an editorial decision. I personally like it, for I think it is more clear, and you never have to worry about the measure and the unit being on different lines (with auto wrapping as in all word processors). I believe its origin stems from the scientific community.

You would never see 2 " for 2 inches, but it is 2". By the same token:

10mg, or 5cc or 1L seems more clear than:

10 mg, 5 cc or 1 L.

10mg qid. Seems very clear. It is just an editorial decision. No right, no wrong, just an attempt at greater/unmistable clarity.

Same editorial factors are working in writing 0.125mg and never .125mg without the 0. Leaving the 0 off can lead to misunderstanding: To the fast reader the . could be a fly speck, the the 0.125 is unmistakable. I think clarity ought to be the goal, and not strictly historical considerations.

vJoe

Can any of you that have been at this for a long period of time answer me this question?  When you first started out...did you feel overwhelmed?  How long does it take a person to really see if this is something they'll be good at?  I find myself getting headaches really easy and only after a few hours of typing.  I feel fatigued.  Is it normal to feel this way in the beginning and what suggestions do you have to help?  When do you feel that things are finally settling down and you start to move along at a normal pace? I'll give it a few months I guess...I'd think at that point I would have a pretty good idea if this is something I'm going to be productive at or not.

Sorry for all the questions.....I guess I am feeling uneasy and was hoping for some reassurance or words of wisdom from none other than another MT. 

I would like to know: are there jobs for MT's that you can work PT as in: log on, take the work you can do for the day, turn it in, and get paid for it? What I'm wanting to know is if PT work is available to work at your convenience or is it always told to you when and how much you need to work?

Thank you in advance for your response. I feel like I have read so much about MT's but can't seem to find this out!