I think leaving blanks when you are new...sm
Posted By: blondie_1147 on 2008-11-09
In Reply to: Good or bad MT - HomeMT
to an account is normal. You have to get used to the account and the doctors.
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- Good or bad MT - HomeMT
- I think leaving blanks when you are new...sm - blondie_1147
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blanks
Can anyone out there clarify how a company penalizes for sending in a report to QA and how do you know if your company does that? Thank you upfront!
blanks
Can anyone advise how long an MT should spend researching an item as opposed to letting a blank? The company I work for is very reasonable about 1 blank per document etc. I was just wondering if there is a general rule.
Thanks for the opportunities this board offers to learn, vent and feel less isolated.
How many blanks in a day?
I am wondering if I am a good MT. I am an IC that worked on the same account for 3-1/2 years and NEVER sent any blanks. The doctors were great! I lost that account and now my company has given me a new account for the past 2 days. I think I have left at least a few blanks in EVERY single report I typed that had to go to editing...is this normal? What are the average number of reports that most good MTs have to send to editing in a day?
Blanks
With a new account, you are getting used to the dictators.
Go back and listen after you have typed the whole report and 9 times out of 10, you will hear what they are saying.
more on blanks
The specifics of how to mark a blank for QA vary from account to account, service to service, etc.
When I was a QAS, I really didn't want my MTs to put sounds like phrases in, for example:
____(s/l) bazaar or bizarre____
because it would often be something completely different. I prefer to approach the blanks I'm filling in as a QA person with an open mind. I read through the body of the whole report while filling blanks in order to make certain that the word I'm hearing fits the context of the report, but I prefer not to be told in advance what the word is.
Yeah, I like crossword puzzles too.... LOL!
BLANKS
Hello, I am having a very tough time with blanks, especially with doctors who have accents. I try listening really close to how they pronounce the word, but after listening for a good few minutes, I find I still have to leave a blank; this is so fustrating. Are they any tips to cracking blanks?
Blanks
First question I ask -- are you a fairly new MT? second question, do you have access to company IM? I have worked in this busines many years and even those of use with experience have trouble with blanks at times - I did a dictation today and the docs dog was in the background -- one blank and really not bragging here but if I leave 3-4 blanks in a report it is because of horrid sound or terrible docs -- this is really where a lot of newer MTs need to be able to have contact with someone who "has an ear" 
Blanks
First question I ask -- are you a fairly new MT? second question, do you have access to company IM? I have worked in this busines many years and even those of use with experience have trouble with blanks at times - I did a dictation today and the docs dog was in the background -- one blank and really not bragging here but if I leave 3-4 blanks in a report it is because of horrid sound or terrible docs -- this is really where a lot of newer MTs need to be able to have contact with someone who "has an ear"
Blanks
First question I ask -- are you a fairly new MT? second question, do you have access to company IM? I have worked in this busines many years and even those of use with experience have trouble with blanks at times - I did a dictation today and the docs dog was in the background -- one blank and really not bragging here but if I leave 3-4 blanks in a report it is because of horrid sound or terrible docs -- this is really where a lot of newer MTs need to be able to have contact with someone who "has an ear"
BLANKS
Thank you all for the advice. It is much appreciated, and I will try the suggestions.
Realistically, 16 blanks they were able to get and you could not?
x
So you NEVER send anything in with blanks, or
Can you walk on water, too?
Blanks in a report
Are you serious? Are there really MTs that leave 20 or 30 blanks in a report? I feel bad about leaving a blank when the doctor dictates the wrong dosage or I cannot verify the dosage and decide it is better for QA to check it. Sometimes I leave a blank because the background noise is too loud for me to hear what the doctor is saying. The most blanks I have ever left were three during my first weeks as an MT. Now I know why my production has been low (because I researched). I am proud of my accuracy being at 99.97% to 100% and my reliability at 100%! Why is an MT allowed to leave that many blanks?
How can they predict how many blanks?
This annoys the heck out of me about some transcription companies. How in the world can they set a limit of one, two or three blanks per report? That's unrealistic. What do they want us to do, make it up? Well I sometimes wonder if that happens, or some things are just "skipped over". It's tempting, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I don't care how long someone has transcribed, there are things you just cannot hear, understand, or find. I'm finally working for a company that has no limit to blanks. They have a great editing system. I do a reasonable amount of research on terms I have not heard of. But if I can't hear it....I CAN'T HEAR IT. And don't even get me started on the subject of blanks in ESL dictation. Even the editors can't grasp a lot of it. I used to spend LOTS of itme on blanks, but I've wised up now and let the editors figure it out if I can't get it after a minute or so of research.
There is nothing wrong with a report going to the hospital with a blank. If I were a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional, I would rather deal with a blank than incorrect information. The doctor can fill in blanks when he signs the report.
I leave blanks for even slightly unclear lab values. I see when I review the QA'd report later that they have been filled in by the Editor and it amazes me that they could hear it clearly. Unless they called the nursing station at the hospital and asked them to look it up....which of course does not happen
Maybe I'm too naive about it. I could make a lot more money if I'd just ad lib and send it in. But, I never have been a good liar.
Definitely finish with blanks. nm
-
I think it is normal to have a lot of blanks when ...sm
you are learning an account. You have to learn the things the doctor says and get accustomed to it.
Docking for blanks
Encourages guessing....totally wrong. This is a policy adopted by people who have never done the job.
Blanks in tests
Hi!
I am looking for an opinion please. I have been taking my very first at-home test(hoping to come home and leave the politics behind). I was wondering if it would be counted against you if there was a blank in the one of the trascrption samples. My current employer prefers blanks to guesses but then again they are familiar with their employees' strenghts and weaknesses.
Any advice welcome.
We are allowed to send up to 2 blanks SM
per job without having to route it to QA--I can't remember the last time I had to, it might have been about 3 months ago.
Just finished. Took an hour. No blanks. Going to
and drink a beer lol
If it were just editing blanks, that would be one thing. BUT
to provide feedback to keep errors from consistently happening, to type whole reports or even whole paragraphs. It's too much and it does happen.
Wow.. Thanks.. what a relief.. no blanks in that report thanks to you!!
I give a damn but I don't have any blanks or
any "questionable" parts. So I proof as I go. If I didn't hear it right the second time, I rewind right then and there. If I don't get it then, I'll dig in and rewind, rewind, rewind until it pops in my head. But no, I proof as I go. No reason to go through it again for me.
With our QA department, blanks count against us..sm
If we have more than 1 blank per report, other than for dictation that is cut off or something like that, it counts against our percentage, which isn't very high given the difficulty factor associated with a lot of the dictators. Once the percentage reaches a certain point (and again it don't take much to reach that point) we start losing bonuses that we would otherwise be entitled to and even getting deductions from our pay. So, to say the MT doesn't get blamed is not true for everyone. We shouldn't get blamed, but a lot of us do.
Some accts do allow a certain amt of blanks on their files. Over that, and
m
20 or 30 blanks in a report is a NEWBIE.
nm
This whole discussion has turned to blanks, but -
it's about so much more than that. That was only a fer-instance. What my rant is REALLY about is that we are an educated and skilled specialty in the world of white-collar business. I can't understand why our country has allowed a decent-paying job to be trashed by outsourcing.
We lose money, so we end up paying less taxes. The big corporations are given a tax-break by offshoring, so they pay less taxes. The offshore workers pay no taxes. So where is the benefit if I finally give up and go on the dole in order to survive. One more taxpayer bites the dust. If we ALL go, the poor little wealthy darlings of the upper class will start having to pay their fair share and more, if there is no longer a middle class whatsoever.
I go ahead and leave blanks
They can't have it all if they won't let me have it all, IMO. If they want to block the site where I could look up the doctor's names, then they'll get a blank if I can't spell it. Let them waste their own time vs mine until the light dawns on their end, I'm not losing money because they force me to be less efficient.
Medquist docks for blanks, nm
nm
Just about anybody prefers blanks to guesses.
I believe some tests have things they know you probably can't get, just to see if you're willing to put a blank, or if you'll guess.
I have definitely gotten jobs even though I had blank(s) on their test.
Good luck.
Doing your blanks with the speakers helps too (no headphones) - sm
you "hear" differently. I my blanks both ways usually, helps a lot in hearing. Get tons of samples as suggested, they are great help in figuring out what that particular Dr. is saying. You do acquire an ear, takes some time though, good luck sounds like you took the bull by the horns.
We DO listen to the dictation! How else would we fill in blanks?
!
I don't recall saying I 'don't research' blanks.
is exactly what this portion of this thread is about. I never leave a blank until all avenues of finding the answer have been exhausted, which includes leaving a blank and continuing on with the report, as sometimes the answer can be found further down in the same report.
And here's another problem: sometimes the answer to the blank presents itself in the next report, or several reports down the line. By then the 'offending' report with said blank in it has already been sent and cannot be retrieved. If already-type reports could be retrieved and fixed by the original person that typed them a few minutes to an hour later, it would save a tremendous amount of time for all concerned: MTs, QAs, and the doctor waiting for the report that is languishing in a QA backlog.
Dont mean this situation. Mean repeat blanks,
x
Would you work for a co. that docked your paycheck for blanks?
nm
If they dock me for blanks, then they'll start getting
Agree - my reports are full of blanks SM
this morning. I refuse to guess on vital signs, lab values, and this ESL's mumbling. And lucky me, since I'm the first one on this morning, I'll probably get about 10 of his H&Ps.
Leaving MQ
A friend of mine left MQ and went back into a hospital setting. She went from barely making 1200 lines a day to over 2000 a day (8 hours). She also went from statuatory with no benefits to all the perks of being in-house including insurance, vacation, 401K, paid holidays, etc. She was also offered after training the opportunity to work from her home which she took. She is so happy.
Leaving MQ?
x
Leaving this
Hi Romey, you're not alone. I've done this for 20 years and I find I can't even look at it anymore because of some of the things that have happened in the field. Don't know what to tell you to do because I'm searching too. I should have listened to my common sense a long time ago.
Please consider leaving
Your local police department can give you information on shelters or organization that can put you and your kids in a safe place until you get on your feet. If he is abusing you, you must also consider calling the police on him so the abuse is documented. I'm sure you know of the fatalities that happen everyday due to domestic abuse. Please take action. If he is abusing your children and someone else finds out about it and reports your husband, they can arrest you as well for having knowledge of the fact that your kids are being abused and doing nothing about it.
My heart goes out to you. I have a background in counseling and had sessions with women for years who were being abused. It frustrated me to see these women twice a month for counseling because all they wanted to do was talk about how their spouse continued to abuse them but they wouldn't do anything about it. Your kids will always remember what they are going through. This type of environment often scars children emotionally as well as physically. They can grow up to have major psychological issues as a result.
Life is too short to be miserable everyday. He is not accentuating your life in any way. He is taking from you in every way possible. I beg you to give serious thought to removing yourself from this situation. I know it may feel like you are jumping without a parachute but think of it this way...how much worse could it get? Things can only get better.
Take care.
leaving
Yep, I left. It was NOT easy. Some days i did not think I was gonna make it -- but you know what? I left a big farmhouse and live in a small 2-bedroom apartment. But it is near everything - the library, the school, etc. At first my daughter threw a fit......and my son cried. But a month later...everybody is much much happier. Now, when I walk out of my peaceful car to my peaceful door and lay on my rent-a-center peaceful couch -- I think.....God...where is the screaming? How did I stand it that long? No one is mad around here? And my children are adapting perfectly. And I walk in my room, take off my clothes, lay on my bed and grab a book and read...and it is pure joy. Worth every tear. You'll see. All of us..all of us -- we want you to have the peace that you need and that your babies will thrive with. It's tough..but you are gonna make it.
Did she say why she was leaving sm
I know Star and Rosie don't get along. What did she say? I haven't had time to watch in a couple of weeks.
tia
Leaving MT
Fellow MTs, I am leaving our once-esteemed position. I am taking a position as a trainer at a large national insurance company. More money than I've ever made, lots of paid time off plus holidays, and weekends off. It's been 10 years since I've had a "real job" and had not had to work weekends and holidays.
They are playing for my airline tickets, my accommodations, food and car while stationed away from home. I am one lucky duck.
I used to love doing MT, but it has been a challenge for me the past 2-3 years to stay focused. To all of you who still love the job, I say hurray! This is a blessing for me to make this move at this point in my life and I'm very grateful. I intend to enjoy every moment of it.
Bye, all!
Leaving MT
Congratulations on your new job! There is a time and a season to everything in life, and this is your season for change. God bless you.
Leaving MT
You know what? I just cannot do this anymore. My last day was 12/31/06. I am moving in a different direction--not sure what all yet, but I just cannot transcribe any more. After 17 years of listening to doctors chew, and waiting--listening to silence--with my pay rate DROPPING over the years  , not increasing--I have to leave.
There's only a tiny, tiny part of me that feels sad--it's the part of me that was so overjoyed to be able to do this at home and be here when my children were little. I really thought I would keep doing this forever. Recently, though, I just cannot do it anymore! One day I woke up and had had enough!
I am working on some things here at home that I had going. Some home businesses, things I make, etc.
I just wanted to say BYE.
Lynn
leaving MT
I wish you the best. I know how you feel. After more than 20 years I too will be leaving transcription. Transcription is just not what it used to be.
Leaving MT
I've already left and felt kind of blue but after reading so many posts here, I feel a relief also. No money in it anymore and I have done this for 35 years! Now I'll turn my attention to sewing, selling on E-Bay, whatever, to keep myself active. Good luck!
What makes this especially bad is they monitor blanks now on this new QA point plan in the NE and if
you get no feedback you keep sending in the same blanks so seems pointless to have this QA point plan if there is no feedback and nothing to go on when you get stuck especially in new accounts getting dumped on us all the time. It aint gettin no easier out here in MT land.
I had one yesterday that hiccuped through the entire report. I had about 10 blanks!
nm
You're human. Blanks happen. Should never be penalized for them. nm
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