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I also work from tapes and pretty much plan my day/weekends the way you do. sm

Posted By: Debra on 2006-06-07
In Reply to: From below regarding tapes - Patti

Agree with posters below-you owe nobody an explanation/excuse. It is your business/career to do as you see fit. Good luck.


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Anybody know of a place you can work just weekends (sm)
With going to DQS looks like the OT/bonus is gone.  Personally I can't make it without the extra (supporting 4 on one salary). Need to fine a place to work weekends only.  Anyone have any suggestions? 
IC being asked to work OT weekends
I'm new to the IC business, always been a employee in the past.  Can a MTSO ask you as an IC to work overtime on the weekends if that was not what you signed up to do originally?  Do labor laws require an employer to pay overtime over 40 hours a week?  With the summer months and the other MTs obviously on vacation, we are backed up  at work but I don't want to work every weekend when I've put in a 40 hour week (my regular scheduled hours).  I have always volunteered but its getting old and since they cut our pay scale for ICs 6-7 months ago, I'm really not motivated to break my fingers as it were.  Does anyone know the legality issue of an IC being asked to work more hours?
I work graveyard on weekends
I can't say there's any real way to prepare for graveyard shift other than going to bed earlier the night before, this way you are well rested for your shift.

I work day shift and evening shift Mon-Thurs, but come 3 pm on Friday, it's bedtime for me. I work graveyard shift on weekends, and I love it. I don't really have a problem adjusting my schedule, as I have massive sleep deficit accrued all week.
The problems that I do find are with:
Family not getting it through their heads that I wake/work early on weekends.
Deliveries (UPS, FedEx) normally take place during the hours I would be sleeping.
Phone usually rings during the hours I sleep.

Other than those outside factors, no problem for me adjusting back and forth between shifts.


wants to work weekends and they need weekend coverage.
Most companies now are going a Tu-Sa shift of Sun-Thu.   Clinic work usually is M-F.  
If they want to pay me 20 cents a line to work weekends.. I'm
and no I'm not making it up or exaggerating.. with 26 years experience you really CAN make excellent money in this business.
10K for 12 hour weekends, work privately

I always volunteer to work holidays, weekends, etc. because my husband is off
so he can watch the kids while I earn incentive and holiday pay.  Plus, I'm the one who has to cover so the childless women can go on cruises with their latest boyfriends or husbands, or they didn't show up for work because they met a guy at a bar and have the bottle flu.  Oh, poor you.  Life's unfair.  Suck it up and get over yourself.
How does it work full-time to have rotating weekends
My brain is fried with all this job hunting and I can't think.  All MTSOs want weekend commitments now.  If I offer to do rotate every other weekend for Saturday and Sunday, what does my schedule look like so that I still have two days together off, and without working 7 straight days (hope this makes sense...I'm so tired :(. 
You're confusing the new QA plan with the new pay plan. New pay plan is still completely under wr
Shhhhhhhhhhh....
I work on an account that still has tapes and ...sm
it is a very profitable account. The line count is twice as good as several of the accounts I have that are digital. To each their own, but there are many doctors out there who do not want to go digital and you will find when they do you might just lose them to VR, as I lost a very good account to that because they figured out how to do it themselves. If the account pays on time, the doctors are easy to understand, and they pay you a good line rate then go for it, tapes or digital.
I have little kids, but plan to work around them.
I have no set hours, so when they are ouside playing (they stay out for a while), or when they are sleeping I will work. It is too insane when I try to work and they AR here. They don't really understand the job needs 100% focus. But since there seems to be a wealth of work weekends, I plan to take advantage of it and get the job security and money my family needs me to have.
I have 2 clinics still on tapes, love'em! Also work for a national. Like that too. nm
nm
They do work pretty well, but.......
Hate to have to wear them for work, as it is so hot here they slide down my face. So far at my ripe old age of 58, I only need them for driving.
The midsize national I work for has a nice tiered incentive plan sm
for employees, not sure about the ICs.  In order not to qualify for one of the incentives, you'd have to transcribe at LESS than 150 LPH.  Pretty easy to make bonus each pay period.  The faster you are, the bigger the bonus.
Plan on plugging in a regular keyboard and mouse to work on. Much more efficient than trying to use
o
Pretty presumptious on your part. I work my own schedule,
off schedule according to you. I can work when I want, that's what an IC does. Yes, if we're working at the same time then we're both working, that's what we do. You presume too much to think that people who don't work regular set hours and who work when they want to make their line counts are also cherry pickers. Getting petty here and this sounds like it's just to start trouble. Bravo!
I work 2 jobs and have my hours set pretty good. First

job is Sun through Wed 6 am to 2:30 pm, since we only need 32 hours for benefits. Second job is 8-11 pm Sun through Wed. I work both jobs at home so on Thurs. and Fri. I volunteer at the middle school so I get a chance to get out of the house and deal with other people. I got lucky because both jobs pay every other week but on different weeks so it worked out that I get paid every week.


I work for a hospital that is pretty liberal as far as formatting goes. SM

They have a basic template that they like us to adhere to as far as headings, font, font size, etc.  However, when it comes to more detailed formatting, they really have no set standards and leave it to our best judgment.


My question is regarding the medication heading.  Do you list the medications in a numbered list or in paragraph form?  I have a friend who is a nurse and she says the clinical staff, i.e. Nurses and Doctors like to have the medications in a numbered list because it makes finding them in a report a whole lot easier.  So would you list them even if the dictator is not saying "number 1, 2, 3,..."?


I'm pretty sure they told us it would not work with Word 2003 at all. NM
xx
I work for a national. Most of the time the voices are pretty good, but

I have been getting some of late that have background noices, door slamming, people talking,  Sometimes the doc will stop talking but the noices sound so close to him that it is annoying.  Do you think the sound card would interfere with my company's computer?  It sounds nice to have even though it does not help the background stuff.   I guess that is a good question for tech.  Thanks again! 


That is okay. Yes I do work for a service. The doctor uploads directly to me and he is pretty reg
Thanks for your input.
VERY hard to get - a few companies have rad tied up pretty tight. The hospital I work for sm
will not even look at a new company for radiology. The TAT is too tight, the IS issues complex, and the radiologists do not want to have to proof their reports. You would be better off with medical records or small offices to start to build your size and reputation.

I've found this resource pretty useful for rehab work. Link inside.

Have this as one of my bookmarks - found this handy whilst handling rehab work. Hope this helps!


http://medicaltranscriptionwordhelp.googlepages.com/rehabmedicineterminology


I am talking about the QA plan I dont know what the new pay plan is.
:
weekends
job seekers board -- one from 10/13 that says IC - op reports/genetics etc -- I talked to her  -- is looking for weekend people.  :}  Hope helps.
weekends
I think it's because everyone prefers M-F shifts and there just aren't enough people to pick up the load on the weekends.  Personally, I get on and transcribe as much as I can but my kids aren't here, they're in college.  Makes it tougher if you have little ones at home.  I think it would be wise if you can for the money and especially now with the holidays coming up.
I LOVE weekends........sm
Weekends not only pay more, the work is mostly ER.. chests, bones, etc. After MRI's and Specials all week, it's like being on vacation!
Who loves working weekends?

I DON'T!!!!!


Poll: Who is going to be working weekends more

It seems like there is more work on the weekends, and I guess this question is for SE/IC, more than employees, though it may apply to employees too.


Lots of companies seem to be advertising for mainly weekend and evenings, or shifts over the weekend, or actually giving preference on a bigger workload to people who do decide to work weekends every week.  Who has decided to go for that, since the work is there and so is the money? With the economy the way it is, this MT was just wondering if it makes sense to just grab the work when it comes in and less worry about the bills and the holidays. 


Thanks in advance for your conversation on this topic.  This MT wonders because it is hard to get a gauge what is going on outside of this MT's company and wants to see how people are handling their workloads/wallets.


Have always worked weekends and second shift. nm
X
Me too. We get called all the time, especially on weekends....
It seems some people do not want to work at all on weekends, but if everyone would just get on and do 300-400 lines, the ones at our MSO would not be called every weekend.
30 hours divided by four days equals seven-hour days. Most of us have to work pretty much every day
.
I think I'm pretty bright and pretty good, too, but
I am not a CMT. I am a medical transcriptionist who enjoys her job very much (most days). I have chosen not to pursue certification simply because I cannot afford to do so. I believe the certification is a nice thing to have, but I don't believe it is necessary for employment or for excellence in my job. If you can afford it, go for it. If you can't, don't feel too bad. You can still take pride in and do a very good job without it.
I'd be alot more interested in working weekends, -
overtime, holidays, etc. if what I got in exchange for that actually made any difference. Unfortunately it does not.
Probably people aren't too thrilled about being sick on weekends either. nm

I prefer weekends. I find most cherrypickers also avoid
weekends, so I at least get a decent selection of work to do.
1700 during the week, 2500-3000 on weekends
:-)
working 3rd shift and weekends sometimes gives you bonus incentive pay. nm
x
Hi Neighbor - middle-TN -- AND all the public pools close except for weekends.
we are on year-round scheduling 9 weeks on, 2 weeks off and just off June and July.
I've worked weekends for 10 years, now I want to move onto a company
that does not require at least one weekend day.  I realize hospitals are open 24/7 but you would think that companies seeking good MTs would be more willing to offer a M-F shift.   
In our area of NY, I've found that hot summer weekends are terrible...sm
for sales. No one wants to get out of their cars in the heat! Have done best in early spring or in Sept/Oct., here anyway. And a Fri./Sat. combo is more successful than a Sat./Sun. weekend. Have BIG signs at major intersections and showing the way into your neighborhood and right to your house. Run an ad in the Garage Sale section of your paper. Be prepared for early birds coming down your driveway or right into your yard 2 hours ahead of time. Block your driveway with a car or sawhorses until you're actually open, but be ready to say 'come back later' when people show while you're setting up. Have prices on everything or group things by price in one location. Have lots of singles and quarters for change. Bring your phone outside with you. Paper and pen if people want to call you later. Have packing material for glass and china, plastic or paper bags for purchasers. Some hard candy/mints on a table out of sun helps people stick around longer. If you have big jackets, long dresses, bedspreads, etc. put them up for display - on hangers, in trees, strung up between ladders. Try and keep all your displays up at table height - people aren't keen on getting down on the ground to paw through boxes or check out stuff spread out on a bedsheet. Use every card table, picnic table, folding table, etc that you can find for displaying stuff. If you have anything electric to sell, have an extension cord plugged in so people can see that items still work. Keep expensive small items near you at your 'check out' station to keep them from walking away. And always be ready to come down on price as everyone will ask you, "can you do any better?" Or "what's your best price on this?" Enjoy your sale and treat yourself to pizza after all your hard work! :)
Tapes

Can you reuse the same tapes (standard size) over and over? I have been for a while and I was wondering if they eventually get bad.


Thanks!


Tapes
Tapes are great, they fly. Working for a national also, 50% of the time and tapes the other 50%. Enjoy the tapes much more, make much better money (gross line count, not 65 ch). Have always set my word expansions up in Word itself. That way, no matter who I work for I use my own version of Word and my expansions are always there. Enjoy the tapes. Hope this helps. PS. They print at the site for me.
This happens a lot with tapes too.
I have noticed that with digital there are more safeguards.  When the office downloads the files to their computer they usually save it on their computer.  Once they send it to you, you save it to your computer too.  Sometimes the doctor erases the file before all this happens, but when the doctor erased a part of a tape there was no backup then either.     
From below regarding tapes
Okay, I started typing today on tapes picked up yesterday.  (I deliver between 10 and noon)  So I could have done then yesterday but had graduation for nephew.  So I started today at 5 o'clock and it is now  close to 11.  I  have typed, printed, showered,  made deliveries and pick-ups, went to bank, know what I have to do tomorrow and made $201.  No sudden files sent, no sporadic files sent, have the complete day's dictation , and can schedule the rest of the day and tomorrow morning the way that I want.  So this works for me and I appreciate the input from Tikki and all, but will keep doing this if they want to continue to use tapes.   All my accounts are within a 4 mile radius from each other and the majority at one of the hospital medical buildings so it takes me 35 minutes to do the deliveries from walking out my front door and coming back through.  I respect everyone's opinion and hopefuly you respect mine.   I get exercise as it is half a mile from my car to home round trip.  -- Live on the river in a floating home.   Patti
I'm still doing tapes too!
Some docs don't like to change.  If you have a good relationship with the office staff, then they shouldn't have a problem using digital.  Most doctors do not want voice recognition because they want their reports edited.  If the doctor is a taper user, he very well may adjust to digital and just have his secretaries upload the dictation to send to you.  You may have to spend some time in the office instructing them on how to do it.  You may want to Google "FTP sites", and see where that leads.  Good luck!!!! 
sum tapes
Does anyone still use the Sum Tapes and Transcript keys for practice?  If so, what is the copyright date on them?  Mine are 1994.  They seem to be a little out dated.  Does anyone have any newer ones?
tapes
I agree, I do tape accounts, a small one, but they do treat me well. I also type straight from the doctors notes on a major account, nice people, too. We make a good living.
Tapes

I have had that happen a couple of times and I have a friend that just transfers the entire tape to a new casing and attachs that.  Only rarely have we lost any dictation or have it become so distorted that we can't hear it.  Perhaps a couple of sentences.  Guess I have been lucky.   But again, I would write to Maxwell and tell them that you got a bad batch or lot number.  Good luck.


 


YES you can fix the tapes yourself
see entry above; OPERATE ON THE TAPES.
tapes to wav/mp3
there is a program online - inexpensive - that you hook you tape player up to your computer, play the tape and have ability to modify the tape sounds, editing etc - play it as a wav or mp3. Polderbit is the one I use - you can Google - tape to wav and many will come up