I don't think the experience matters as much as...
Posted By: MTSO on 2006-03-16
In Reply to: Any tips on becoming an MTSO and landing first account? - sm
the ability to see an opportunity and make it work. As an MTSO you will need to be able to find a way to have transcription done and delivered, accurately and in a timely fashion. So you will have to have something in place in case you get sick or go on vacation, or your computer goes down. You will have to choose a file transfer system. You will have to have QA in place. You will have to have the ability to walk into a physician's office, know what data you need to make a proposal, then go home and put something together that has every step covered. You will need to anticipate problems and be ready to solve them (trouble shooting is a must). You will have to have an idea of what is going on in your field, what the going rate is, and how to use variables to your advantage. By that I mean, as above, things like don't print for the doctors! You don't get paid for any line you print, just the ones you type! Let the office secretary do that. She is paid by the hour, not you.
You will have to be ready to get the work done, no matter what, with no excuses and no compromising quality. And you will have to be resourceful and flexible to deal with things that come up.
That being said, it's a bunch of fun to run your own business 
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And this matters?
And you're miffed her E-mails are horrendous? Big deal! She's paying you; you're not paying her.
Where exactly DO you get off? 
She's entitled to fire off horrendous E-mails every hour on the hour if she wants to, and under the circumstances, she should - they don't have to be correct with every 'I" dotted and every "T" crossed, but the work she's paying you guys to do needs to be correct to the "T," so be thankful she was gracious enough to give those who do a substandard job notice and that she just didn't up and clean house.
And this matters?
And you're miffed her E-mails are horrendous? Big deal! She's paying you; you're not paying her.
Where exactly DO you get off?
She's entitled to fire off horrendous E-mails every hour on the hour if she wants to, and under the circumstances, she should - they don't have to be correct with every 'I" dotted and every "T" crossed, but the work she's paying you guys to do needs to be correct to the "T," so be thankful she was gracious enough to give those who do a substandard job notice and that she just didn't up and clean house.
actually, I don't think it really matters where...
you are, everybody is vulnerable to anything happening anywhere these days. These types of things have been going on for years, who knows exactly where.
Well, it matters to me!
nm
It matters not where we were. Only if we remember.
Imagine.
I'm sorry. I did not mean to make matters
I'm afraid that I am confused by your situation . . . the sound card is necessary for any computer to play any sound, as far as I know, but I do not work in/on any platform and am not familiar with any of them. I download files from an FTP site and then play them in either the free Express Scribe software that I mentioned or the Olympus software that I purchased. I figured you had a .wav or .dss file that you were needing to play.
And the platform matters
You can do more lines in long Word documents than you can individual reports on a platform (IMHO of course)
In neuro, it matters a lot...
It affects how they interpret the results of tests - not just lab tests, but reflexes, maneuvers, etc. Every neurologist and neurosurgeon will indicate this in their consults and HPs.
They are listed in BOS, as if that matters.
x
Ability to get job is what matters most
Yes,Andrews and M-Tec are more expensive than a CC, but if you want to work from home, the companies that are looking to hire you don't know if your CC program is adequate. Some are, some aren't, and there are lots of them around the country. The companies know that if you successfully completed Andrews or M-TEC, you are likely to succeed. There are so many posts on these boards from newbies who can't find jobs, yet M-TEC and Andrews grads get hired. I was hired fresh out of school by a large national, worked there 3 years, and was just hired by a smaller MTSO. Getting both jobs was a breeze. I have never had to test for a job. Both companies told me they hired me because I am an M-TEC grad, and they did not feel testing was necessary.
geography matters too!
I think where you live/work plays a lot into that. I live in a very large metropolitan area and our pay in-house is higher than that for sure. If you check AHIMA's salary survey for 2007, the median salary for MTs nationwide is about $36,000, which is roughly $18 per hour. Again, this will depend on your area. When I taught MT a couple of years ago we told our students not to consider anything under $13 to $14, and that was for our new grads. With experience here you would be starting at a minimum of $16 or $17 per hour.
I don't think it matters if IC or employee
If it is an assigned account, the Transcriptionist assigned to those docs gets all that docs dictations. You get to learn the docs verbalizations, whether ESL or not, and eventually can pretty much anticipate what is to be said next. The account manager does not just assign certain dictations, but all of the dictations from one doc. In other words, you are assigned doctors, not just dictations. To me, that is the fairest way to do anything. I hate these "pools" of work where just anybody can log on and learn the system and how to get around it, and only do the "good jobs." It only breeds selfishness, anger, and resentment. Trust me, the work does not get done any faster, and quality is out the window because everybody is rushing, trying to get more work before someone else takes it all. Again, just my opinion.
Idk if it matters, but I use version 8....
It is at the top next to Tools, Edit, File, etc., just like it is in Word. I just Click on "Stedmans", then click "Enable" and its up. Same as I do in Word.
If there's any question on my knowledge in these matters,
I am a college educated and certified computer technician who has been in the technology field for 20 years now. FWIW, Atomic Clock Sync has rave reviews from PC Magazine, but merely synchronizing your computer clock doesn't fix the underlying problem. If the battery on your computer's motherboard goes completely dead, your CMOS settings will go byebye, which is a royal PITA to fix.
http://www.decosystech.com/Techsupport/Batteries.htm
Instant Text matters
Is Instant Text better than the others and how much of a difference does it make in my production from what I have been using? amj
that one only works with mono, if it matters
nm
I don't think it matters. They're not always truthful.
I asked several questions that they answered in an unhonest way. For instance, I asked if they were flexible with the hours or rigid. They said flexible. Right from the start were threatening emails about WORKING YOUR SCHEDULED HOURS! I think you get much better information on these boards than you do from a recruiter.
All this talk about size-matters!
I'm an 18-inch gal myself. I adore my little flat panel...if only for the fact that it doesn't take up hardly any space on my already dinky desk here. My husband is a freak and has 2 flat panels next to each other and is always doing weird things with them. They have come down so much in price these past few years it's not even funny. I highly recommend scoring one!
It's not the name that matters. It is who you associate with a name that makes it beautiful
:+
I wore one, but by all means DO WHAT YOU WANT! Your comfort is what matters.:-) nm
x
Is endocrinology too hard for a for a newbie to start in? I went to M-TEC if that matters.
.
Accreditation matters. It helps to avoid scams, but not always. sm
Pick a good school. It is extremely difficult to get hired immediately, even when graduating from an accredited school. It is a hard row to hoe. Most companies require at least 2, usually 5 years of time on the job. They just don't have time to train new MTs.
Do y'all think the size of the font matters in line counts?
If your font is smaller takes more characters to make a line? I just wondered this today.
In all due respect, I have more pressing matters to worry about them my dietary supplement freedoms.
I gathered from scanning that long article that they are looking for some regulatory commission on ingredients, along with cautionary labels, etc. I am ALL FOR THAT, as I am one of the many humans who is very allergic/sensitive/intolerant to herbal remedies, vitamins, and "dietary supplements" - wrong stuff and I could die. So I'm not concerned - sounds safer for me.
Experience on top, current experience first. Education second. Leave out ALL fluff.
Recruiters don't need your life story. They need to know if you can do the job. If you want, put your current employer, then state "I have 20 years in the profession doing....." Keep it simple; keep it clean. If you want to go into more detail, do it during the interview. A HUGE red flag is to see that you've worked for 10 different companies, for months at a time. I know that someone who has worked for the same company for 2 years or more is going to have some degree of loyalty and will work through issues rather than cut and run.
How is one going to get experience, when no one will hire without experience????
 I constantly see all these job openings asking for experience. How can I get experience, when no one will hire me without experience???
Do you need to have 2 years full time experience or just 2 years' experience? nm
..
In my experience,
ratio is about 3 to 4 on a large hospital account doing all specialities and report types. I think it would be closer to 2 or 3 with clinic work.
In my experience, I had to (sm)
allow the company to access my computer by clicking on an icon on my desktop. After they were done, I had to click "out" of the program, thus they cannot access my computer unless I give them my "permission" by accessing the program on my end! Does that make sense?
in my experience, (sm)
work always slows down in the summer, especially after a holiday. Hang in there, it gets better! 
I had such an experience
It was years ago but I woke up laying on my stomach with head turned to the side and arm up by my head, couldn't move then saw a transparent arm coming back down into my arm and when it was completely fused with my arm I could suddenly move. It was very weird, scared the crap out of me, but in later years read about what actually happened and like you said, my spirit body wasn't quite back into me yet when I woke up - astral travel, yes. We all do that when we sleep.
My experience...
I personally found many of the Texas hospitals had a lot of ESLs. My two primary accounts were in Missouri and Washington State and there were very few ESLs. The platform I was on was not difficult (TWS I believe it was called).
experience
I had a very hard time trying to understand the guy trying to train me. He would tell me he would call at a certain time and he wouldn't. It would be the next day or 2 hours later than what he said. Told me you have to work until the jobs are cleaned out of system. I don't think so!!!!!
My experience (sm)
The most I have made working for another service was 11 cents per gross line. That was 3 years ago and that company sold, I couldn't work for them anymore anyway.
Now I am ALWAYS offered 8 cents per line when looking for part-time. I think this is low, considering they charge 14 or so and want to see perfect documents and never proofread. Truly, I think that is a total ripoff. No benefits either.
Never in my experience. - nm
xx
My experience with IT
I found it to be a difficult program to use unless you have a lot of time to spend reading and playing with it first. I used it for 7 months but would not recommend it. I do not know about MT schools although in my 12 years of transcribing, I have yet to work where they go into much detail about these programs. Good Luck!
My experience as QA
I've found that when I'm dealing with someone new to the company, I find myself more picky as far as punctuation, etc. Trying to show them the correct way or the preferred way at first. Show them a few times but don't hound them on the little things that won't matter in the long run. I always try to teach the preferred way in the beginning but eventually you focus completely on demographics and terminology.
Our experience...
My husband had a small lump about the size of a pea not in his cheek, but on the inside of his lip near the gum. We went to ENT and it was just a plugged duct. They lanced it, and it was fine. He developed another one a couple of years later that just eventually went away on its on. Prayers are with you!!
From my experience
They do not ask you. They recommend certain MTs.
You DO want to do ASR because if you don't, you will be left with what's left. Nuff said
Same experience with the big "S"
It did not get any better. I left after numerous account changes, disorganization, etc. Some thought it was their way to save money. It really put the brakes on. As far as learning new accounts every couple of weeks, it requires taking a LOT of your own time to do it. I have a family and a life after work.
my experience....
When my 12-year old son went from absolutely loving to play soccer (having played from age 4 up) to being in tears when I dropped him off at practices, I began to wonder what was going on. He was on a traveling select soccer team. The coach was a screamer and I thought maybe it was just that my son did not respond to that kind of coaching. He had been playing on this team for 2 years and the coach put a LOT of pressure on the kids. However, I felt thinking it was too much, but others would tell me how it would teach him discipline, etc. I knew in my heart that something was wrong if he was so adamant and upset about me dropping him off at practice. Finally after a lot of talking and trying to come to the bottom of why he absolutely hated to be on that team, I let him quit. Never another word was said about playing soccer again. Come to find out 3-4 years later, the coach was gay. My son would never tell me that he tried anything with him, but I learned later that he had with other players, so I've always wondered. Sometimes there is more there than meets the eye when a players decides to quit. I wished I had first listened to my son.
my experience
Well, a prominent man in our town (bigwig at newspaper) took him in and let him stay in his spare room while he worked here in town and coached our kids. Like I said, my son finally quit the team and it was several years later before it came out that he was gay. He had gone on to coach our local high school soccer team and it came out at that point. I guess older guys are not nearly as likely to keep this a secret as the younger guys. And to be honest, I'm not sure what all happened with the high school, but there was some trouble. He left town and I'm not sure what happened from that point. I was just glad that I had let my son quit after all. To this day, though, my son will clam up when I ask him about it. He has said he never tried anything with him, but I'm still not sure.
What experience do you have? nm
:
experience
I have three years psych transcription experience in/outpt and disability, etc. notes. Do you know of anything?
Different experience
Maybe I have been lucky but I have worked on three different accounts for them and there has always seemed to be plenty of work. Rarely have I run into NJA, except for a few times there were system problems and then, of course, on Mondays (if you work clinic accounts) you may have to wait until the docs start working before the dictation is available obviously.
Personally, I don't feel I have been misled in any way. I try to meet my minimum line requirements and keep my quality up and I have had no problems. I don't get moved from account to account and when I have asked to try a different account they have tried to accommodate me if at all possible.
There always seems to be someone available to answer questions with normally fast responses and you get several updates a day on what the job stats are.
I have worked for them for close to a year and pay has always been on time and accurate.
I feel they are a very organized company unlike some others I have had brief encounters with (brief due to that very reason - so unorganized) and any contacts I have had with supervision, account liaisons, etc., has been very positive.
That's been my experience a lot lately.
I'm tired of it. I took on my third IC job last week until I can find a company that I can make half decent money with.
No Experience
Alll the jobs state they need expereince. How do you get hired with no experience. Very frustrated. Appreciate any help. Want to do transcription from home. What is the best way to get started. 
If you don't have that much experience SM
and you get hired by a company, they expect you to do your part by researching and looking up words and spelling them correctly as well as other aspects of the reports such as grammar and punctuation.
Companies do not have the time or resources to teach people what they are supposed to know. That's what schools get paid for.
Considering the fact that you had less than two years' experience, you were lucky they hired you in the first place.
Instead of being angry, try to make yourself a better MT and go to the table with a little more to offer. It worked for me.
And just how much experience do you have?
There are $.09 and $.10 jobs out there with decent bosses, on time pay, and easy work that isn't all ESL.
My experience
I make a little over $20 an hour QA, salary not production, and not CMT. I get the same amount every invoice whether I was twiddling my thumbs or busting my butt. No typing unless an MT misses a report and there isn't enough time to have them do it, so maybe 2-3 reports every six months. No production typing.
for someone with a lot of experience sm
that would be the norm but a newbie? Could be dictators are talking slow. I do 30 minutes per hour, so that would be a couple hours or less for 60 minutes of dictation, but there are variables.
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