I don't see why employers are so afraid to ask for ... sm
Posted By: MSMT on 2007-06-23
In Reply to: An MTSO's perspective. - dizzi
at least the minimum lines each day. I used to work at a hospital where the required minimum was I believe 40 minutes, which ain't a lot of work. Most times (and this was when we were in house) the girls would chat and chat and chat and go for lunch and chat and chat, etc., and never work. And they got by with it because they were too scared to demand that these people stick to the guidelines by which they were hired. One day I went in to work OT on a Saturday and worked 4 or 5 hours, and I don't remember what my line count was, but one person typed 12 lines. And she was supposed to be the regular Saturday morning person. Some saturdays I would go in to work and there would be NOBODY there. NOBODY typing in a hospital transcription dept. just because it was Saturday. They got by with it for years, continued to get by with it, and we lost our jobs to MQ because nobody worked and nobody made them work. Me, I worked. I worked a lot. I had (still have) goals, meet them, exceed them routinely because I happen to like paying the bills and having money left over. Like I always say, people whine on here about no work but when there's a lot of OT to be worked they are nowhere to be found.
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We have a cocker spanial who is afraid of storms and afraid of the dark! He is up every night severa
Even with a night light he still gets afraid of the dark and I have to get up and pet him and tell him it is okay, et cetera. He will finally settle and go back to sleep, but will do it again throughout the night. I let him sleep in my room thinking it would help..but it didnt. He is just a big baby, so we love him and try to make him feel as safe as we can. If we have to deal with thunderstorms and the dark we are in for a long night!!
employers
I was just looking at the available jobs, and I noticed all of them require at least 2-5yrs experience. I also noticed that some of the employers can't even spell, yet experience is required. This seems kind of silly to me.
Just tell prospective employers you...sm
Stop behaving like factory workers on piece-work, demand a fair "hourly wage" for what you do. Find out what is paid in your area, 13.00 to 17.00 dollars is what I often hear as a range for MT pay. Decide what you want, be willing to give an honest days work for an honest days dollar" and then only work for an hourly rate. You will say, but no one pays that, and I will say that is only because no one demands it. We are not migrant workers being paid for how many bushels of apples we pick, why should our take-home pay depend on whether or not the doc is ESL, or is just having a bad day? I don't know about the rest of you, but I need to know how much I will earn to determine how much I can spend. When we start acting like professionals, I think we will be treated like one.
My 2 cents is that I wish all employers - sm
of MTs, whether MTSO or inhouse, would realize that their MTs are an ASSET, not just another 'unnecessary' expense that somehow needs to be eliminated. And then treat them as such! A very intelligent & highly respected MD I once transcribed for told me he couldn't understand the whole downward spiral of the MT profession, pay, etc., because we were the MD's 'first line of defense' against malpractice. He said his job was to practice medicine, and our job was to help him document it accurately.
The wages most places offer are an insult right up front. And then all the sleight-of-hand when it comes to cheating MTs with 'doctored' line counts, late paychecks, etc., adds injury to insult for the MT.
I think part of the problem lies in the fact that because most MTs are home-based nowadays, it's just too easy for them to become faceless, nameless, non-persons to the employer, and it's just too easy for them to cheat someone they don't have to look in the eye every day at work.
I think most employers have just left
this board
Well, it costs sometimes. I have had to change employers before because
they were not going to negotiate with me. HOwever, there are plenty of places to work and I have luckily landed in 2 good ones.
I feel very fortunate today with my employment. I know full well it may change tomorrow but I am prepared - emotionally and financially - and will not let that disrupt my life. Too many options out there, folks.
What is FTP site and do employers provide this?
I heard that they have this site and will give you a username and password. Or is this something I have to put together myself. If so, anyone have any information on how to set this up? Thank you.
Most employers are fine as long as you tell ...sm
them when you're interviewing the dates you'll be unavailable. When it usually becomes a problem is when someone says something like 2 days before Christmas "oh by the way I need the next week off...." and they wonder why you tell them no!
Illegal immigrants do it as well as their employers and....sm
they're oftentimes working "x" hours a week or even full-time. It's a big problem here in Georgia because it's not fair that these people not only get the jobs that they're being paid cash for but then they show up in the ERs when sick and are given Medicaid to pay the bill, even though they're not US citizens. Their kids are given free education and right now the illegal immigrant groups are mad because the state of Georgia is planning to start making them pay out of the country tuition to the universities if they aren't documented legal residents - which I think they should be forced to do. Heck, if I were to get on a plane to say France I couldn't walk off the plane and demand that I be allowed into college at the local tuition rates just because I'm there - whether or not I were there legally.
There's some legislation going forward in January here to put a stop to some of this but of course the illegal immigrant groups are fighting it.
I don't mind paying someone cash if they're doing something rarely for me (i.e. once or twice a year).
For those of you who use say teenage babysitters do you really report every dime you give them to the IRS? What about when you go to a restaurant and tip the wait staff in cash? Do you make sure the manager knows you gave them a cash tip so it's reported? Ever have a neighborhood kid rake leaves for you? Do you pay Little Johnny and then demand his SS# to report you gave him $20 to the IRS?
Still INFJ. We had to take these at a few of my previous employers.
I actually got denied promotion for being an INFJ. Go figure. Then another supervisor told me I was the exact type of employee they were trying to avoid because INFJs are two-faced backstabbers. I've never been like that. If I have a problem with someone, I'll measure the severity of the situation then tell them to their face. Nothing two-faced there. I don't think those personality tests are an accurate projection of a person's future actions or successes. They shouldn't be used in employment or managerial decisions.
Do employers not realize that a little explanatation
low work volume would go a long way? Nothing special, just to notify us. Just like they expect to be notified if our schedule changes, it would be nice if they let us know about volume and if they were trying to do something to get us more work, etc. Rather, they let us sit here and wonder what the problem is!!! 
Pity my employers? Furthermore, grow up!
x
My employers forbids us to have VoIP because...
it fouls up lots of things. Also, I have a friend with Vonage and we are constantly cut off, or it sounds like she is talking from the bottom of a fish tank. She hates it.
Maybe I'm from old times, but I doubt employers could get away with that...
if the EMPLOYEE has proof they are really an employee and not an IC, especially when it came to tax time. They'd need their W2. That's why I ASKED. I'd flip if an EMPLOYER did that to me. There were no need to get snippy about it. I was stating a fact.
Part of the reason employers are getting away with - sm
turning MT into cheap sweatshop labor is because most people don't even know this problem even exists. It is the healthcare industry's "dirty little secret". If this skeleton in the closet of doctors & hospitals throughout the country were to be made PUBLIC (i.e., 60 Minutes,) maybe it would give us a foot in the door to getting things turned around, before we all have to move to India in order to survive in this business.
How valuable is the RMT credential to employers?
x
Did you notice they DON'T recommend that employers
Well then, gee -- I guess that just leaves the MTs! (Why am I not surprised?)
most employers use the Book of Style sm
for standards and I would get one and read up on it to know the latest info...what did you fail on your testing? Speed? accuracy? You can certainly brush up on these things with practice tapes/dictation. Have you thought of typing independently for clinics in your area? Don't forget about psychiatric clinics, physical therapy clinics and other, less obvious places where documentation is necessary. Go personally to a doctor's office, speak only to the office manager there and tell them you are looking for work, perhaps at first only as a helper/coverage for their current Transcriptionist (I cover many doctor's offices for vacations). It will get your foot in the door at least. I have had two doctors ask me to be their full time transcriptionist after their own had left because I was their vacation coverage and they knew I could handle the job. Keep your head up! Perhaps working at a local hospital is the way to go. Good luck to you!
I get extra incentive from my 2 employers too.
nm
Until employers start thinking of us humans again
sunk.
And the American Way seems to be "bottomline" all the way.
I wish Bill Gates had his computer stuck up where the sun doesn't shine and
the person who invented the "hold button" could be on the next space shuttle.
Those 2 objects set us back a million years in treating each other decent.
I know what you mean about even hospitals getting cut-throat about "produce,
produce". Seems like nobody cares if the product is a stinker or any good - just so
a warm body is in the chair and some black ink is on the paper so as to
collect money.
Having MQ experience on resume is appealing to employers.
I think the new employer realizes you have just come up from the bowels of the transcription field and will work hard and be dedicated if you actually survived for a few years with MQ.
That was my perception anyway. Whenever I would state MQ was a past employer, they seemed pleased and anxious to talk more.
I suspect employers are being forced to care. SM
Since it's a new platform, it's a new problem that probably a lot of companies are just waking up to. My sympathies for people who find themselves effectively "forced" to use it as it apparently is now.
With serious compatibility issues with common brands of the Expanders that have become vital to so many of us, at this point I would not apply to a company using it, and I suspect few other good experienced transcriptionists reading about it would either. This seems such a grave flaw that it will have to be repaired, or this platform will end up a dead end used by only a few institutions.
How about contacting the company that developed the platform directly for answers and fixes? Also the developer of your own expander, who must be well aware of the issues Chartscript raises for them. The ShortHand tech guy (not my own MTSO techs!) fixed me up promptly when I was put on eScription and developed glitches. Best wishes with this.
No way. Univ. of Phoenix is considered a joke by employers!
http://uopsucks.com/negletters.html
The best way to obtain an on-line degree is to attend an accredited university that was already well-known for its academic program way before the internet was invented.
Check out University of Massachusetts, Temple University in Philadelphia, University of Minnesota.
The fly-by-nights like U. of Phoenix are the equivalent to the crap that used to advertise "degrees" on the back of matchbook covers and have no credibility in educational and career circles.
Seriously, stick with an accredited, well-known school, not some bogus piece of crap like that.
You get what you pay for.
Yes - I agree - my 2 employers didn't even acknowledge MT week - so this was very nice
DH & I started new jobs & his mom died. Employers couldn't care less. nm
.
One of my employers told me to just add a 0, i.e. 30 minutes would roughly equal 300 lines. sm
Of course, if someone talks fast, you'd get more lines, and if you get one of those guys who stops and turns pages and/or talks slow, the lines would be less. Seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb for me.
As for the length taken, when I started doing MT work 30-some years ago (back in the days of the vinyl belts and carbon paper -- eek!), the quota was that you should be able to 15 minutes of dictation in 1 hour. However, I think anyone with experience would probably do it in much less time.
Hope this helps. 
WebSense is a filtering program that blocks certain websites. Usually used by employers... SM
to give their employees access to the internet via their network but only allow certain surfing criteria.
I work for a hospital and I connect to their network via a VPN connection to work. I can get on the internet and access certain educational and work-related sites, but Websense blocks me from any sites classified as "entertainment", "shopping" etc.
So the question would be who do you work for and do you connect to there network via a VPN? If so, then Websense is their way of controlling the network.
So totally and completely false! Plenty of employers test who are not partners with top 3!
nm
Not *discussing* your line rate is a bunch of baloney....encouraged by employers....
They don't want us all to know what each other makes so they can keep paying as low and unfairly as possible.
How is the WORLD can letting someone know your line rate hurt you or anyone? It doesn't--only benefits employers.
Not *discussing* your line rate is a bunch of baloney....encouraged by employers....
They don't want us all to know what each other makes so they can keep paying as low and unfairly as possible.
How is the WORLD can letting someone know your line rate hurt you or anyone? It doesn't--only benefits employers.
What is the minimum lines per week required by employers for part-time for transcription?
nm
That's what I was afraid you were going to say.
xx
Why are you afraid?
Why are you afraid to state your business name? You have said yourself that you rather like Indian MTs when compared to US MTs, so why not come forth? Could it be because you really do need the US MTs to run your company and make your bucks?
I'm afraid...
I've been sworn to secrecy. I simply cannot divulge!
I'm afraid...
Janelle lost the final HOH competition and Yvette won, who immediately evicted Janelle, so now its just Yvette and Nurse Maggie. Yvette basically gave the game to Maggie now since most of the evicted guests do not like Yvette and won't vote for her. How dumb!
I'm just afraid
she'll do it and LOOK OUT when it comes time for her to flash her
@@
if ya know what I mean. LOL
Her and her boyfriend might be approximately Demi and Ashton's ages, but that is the only similarity. LOL
Yes, I'm afraid so...
Tonight at midnight, according to PC World. They said it probably won't do much damage, and is a single person doing it. Weird. U might want to go to Microsoft's web page and get their just released security update for this - I did and I feel all safe and cozy! 
That's what I'm afraid of!! nm
nm
Afraid so, saw one ad for 6 cpl...
I've been trying to get extra work for a while now but I will not work extra hours for what they are offering, especially when it is left over stuff and late hours.
I'm not afraid
I am just a very private person and I do not want other people knowing my business unless they have a NEED to know it.
If you want to shout from a soapbox, find something worth shouting about. This is getting boring.
That's what I was afraid of. Thanks...NM
x
That's what I was afraid of...
I saw a demo of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Medical Edition on the Nuance website. The doctor in the demo dictates a section of a report and the software makes no mistakes whatsoever. While this part is hard to believe, he then says "select congestive heart failure", which the software does and highlights. He then says "ICD-9 that", and the software inserts the correct ICD-9 code in parentheses behind the selected text. The ICD-9 codes are pre-programmed and inserted based on recognized *text*, so as long as the right text is highlighted, the only way an error could occur is if the programmers had entered a wrong ICD-9 code, which is unlikely and would be quickly fixed with a version update. I don't know if this will eventually eliminate coding or if it will just make coders more productive, but that coding course at AHIMA is looking more and more like a waste of money. An online Bachelor degree is beginning to look like the only way out of this conundrum.
P.S. Don't be afraid to go over the head of
your local boss, they are likely to stonewall you. You should follow protocol and START there, but do not hesitate to carry it further if not satisfied.......... the protocol for this is actually outlined on QNET.
thats silly. what are they afraid of if
I mean come on, we won't become millionaires. There should NOT be a limit on how much you make. A raise per year for cost of living, a raise or higher rate for experienced and good MTs, and also a raise for putting up with the BS.
Don't be afraid to tell her how you feel.
My brothers and sisters would get together and talk about how my mom is. I told them to tell her, but they said they did not want to hurt her feelings. Yeah, but it's ok for her to hurt ours. NOT! I finally told my mom. She was very defensive at first. She did not speak to me for about a month, but then she called and said she was sorry. If you are honest and sincere, things will work out. Your sis will never know how you and your other sis are feeling if one of you does not step up to the plate.
Don't be afraid. Use the law to your advantage. SM
Stop a minute and think about this. What other person on the planet would be allowed to do this to you? Not one. The reason he is allowed to do it is because you let him.
"Tired of working?" Hell, we're all tired of working, but we do it because we have to. You keep your chin up, girlie. Find you a rat-hole and put some money in it. Even if it's a quarter at a time. Save your change, filch from your paycheck. Get a little padding there so you will have some options.
I lived with a horribly abusive man who took advantage of me for 30 years. I'd still be living with him but he's dead. I know I'd never have left.
Don't get me wrong. I adored him, God knows why - I let those "good times" outshine the horrible times and I stayed with him till death did us part - all to the detriment of my poor children. I have a daughter who thinks it's noble to stay with an abusive man. I have a son who, I'm grateful to say, is kind to his SO, but he endured a 10-year relationship with a lying, emotionally abusive girl - all thanks to me.
Do it as soon as you can. If that guy quit his job because he's "tired of working" there's nothing he won't do. Sending a hug. I know where you're coming from.
Not for me--I would be afraid they would somehow make
nm
Thank you. I wonder if you would be so kind as to tell me how to zip? I'm afraid I'm at a lo
x
Everyone is so afraid to ask for a raise.
I guarantee you that the people you work for have gotten a raise in the last 4 years, so why not you? Just do it. Like you said, all they can say is no, or give some BS excuse. But just look at the enormous increase in gasoline over the past 4 years, never mind everything else. No one can continue on the same salary.
Those afraid to ask for a raise are their own
This is one of the major reasons why women are paid at least 20% less than men doing the same job. Women are intimidated to just go in and say, "Hey boss, I need a raise."
Many years ago, I was working as a cashier. Certainly not a great job, but for low level work, it didn't really pay that bad. I had been there 5 years, had received my usual raises and a merit raise. However, I still felt my level of flexibility by being able to take over in a lot of other departments at a moment's notice made me a valuable employee. I went into my supervisor, told them what I thought my value was to the company and asked for a dollar an hour raise. He gave it so quick, I probably could have gotten more.
I would be more afraid of American
because they know how to identify theft better than offshore countries I'm sure. 
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