I think one reason MTs find it hard to have diverse skills (s/m)
Posted By: Burned on 2006-06-17
In Reply to: One thing I have realized since I left MT....sm - Marie
is that for all these years we have been pigeonholed into just one specialty - typing medical reports. When I started MT at my organization, we had a variety of duties. Now we just sit and type. Interestingly, the few who got promotions within or out of the MT department were the ones who weren't too smart, and not very good MTs. The good MTs were kept where they were needed - doing transcription work only. And the smart ones are considered a threat to management, so they have no hope of ever advancing.
I've been to night school to try to broaden my computer skills, and the community college system is totally not on the cutting edge. Everytime I learned something useful, it became obsolete before we could ever implment it in our workplace.
I've looked into changing fields, and one of the big stumbling blocks is all the prerequisites for just about any field of study. Many of them involve the math & science classes I was steered away from due to my gender. (This was the 60s, remember... it was still legal to discriminate back then.) I looked into training as a veterinary technician, and working full-time and going to night school, getting all the classes in that I missed in high school was going to eat up about 4-5 years. It would probably take even longer to get into the vet-tech program. By the time I graduated, I would probably be in my early 70's. What veterinary hospital is going to want to hire a 70 year old newbie who will either retire or die before she's even learned the ropes at the new job?
Meanwhile, what ticks me off is that MT's are expected to have a very broad knowledge of English, medical terminology and computers, and be whiz-bang typists as well. And yet the same people that want speed, accuracy and experience, don't want to pay squat for it.
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Good for you. There is no reason any hard working MT should put up with that crap. nm
:)
For some reason, I find that poster a little dubious. SE done really get OT per se. We shall see.
:
I'm sorry, but I find this hard to believe sm
 You actually expect us to believe that you work part-time and still do 16,000 per pay period at MQ. How? What's your secret? You must be superwoman or something! Cause I work full time and can't do that many lines! Boy, am I jealous!
I still find it really hard to believe.
There are hundreds of thousands of people who will be just throwing their TVs away because they'll refuse to pay for cable or dish. What about all the elderly people? No way are they going to pay for something that's been free since it was invented. I do have basic cable, but it's mostly smut and garbage on there. I only keep it for PBS and Disney channel right now, but we've been seriously considering cutting it off. Every time we try to watch something on TV, the ads for other programs are just not something we like to expose our children to. If we cancel cable, I guess we'll just watch DVDs and not have TV at all any more. (Or watch it through the Internet like we listen to the radio now.)
Trying to find the way out? It's not THAT hard...
get another job! GET ANOTHER JOB! GGGEEETTT ANNOOOTHHHERRR JOOOBB!!!! ROFL
OMG, you really can't be serious with that line, can you?! Trying to figure it out? TRYING?
You apply...you interview...you accept another position...you work both jobs until you're up and running with the 2nd one and then you QUIT MQ!
And since no one at MQ seems to have any work except MY office, then that should be a real breeze for ya!! You're obviously not working anyway! OMG how many brain cells are you actually utilizing to stay where you have no work or they crap all over you like you claim?!
Oh, that is SOOOOOO hilarious!!!!!!! I do appreciate the humor, people! Really, I do!!!!!
I think it's illegal too. I find it hard to believe
you've earned. Talk to an attorney who specializes in employment law.
I find it hard to believe that the MTs overseas
experienced at MT, but that's just me. These companies are just trying to save money, plain and simple because people in those countries can and will work for peanuts.
Because...I worked so hard to find it. You can to if you try..nm
x
I do not get when "in a rush" became a good reason to not find your own answers..
better up my meds I guess.
FRANKY, DO YOU HAVE A DIVERSE WORKFORCE?
=
Yes, it's hard for me, too. It's such a struggle to find money
to buy gifts for people. I always try to give something I know they collect or a gift certificate to a restaurant or book store. In return, I've gotten Fingerhut freebies, an employee baseball cap, and clearance bath stuff in nasty fragrances like Freesia with the tag left on. I don't see the point in it. I wish our families would agree to stop giving gifts to adults. I seem to be the only one that feels this way. Then again, that's not fair because I've got the most kids.
Sorry, just don’t find the hard workers here you are talking about
Most of us have the good life and would not dream of doing the jobs Hispanics do. I used to work at least 2 jobs to have the kind of money I wanted and had more jobs than that at 1 time- hardly anyone wants to work like that. I think America has gotten soft in a lot of ways whether school systems, work ethics, children and too numerous to count ways. You can bet your bottom dollar if an American is standing out with a sign saying will work for food- ha! Try to get them to come work and see what happens. Your president needs to close the borders- until then I will get the best person I can to work for me, to do a good job and not grip the whole time nor sit down wiht the job half done.
Also, good MTs hard to find. Might be worth
x
MTSO knows hard to find good MT,especially 1
x
Harder on my eyes than my ears but I find it hard to
believe that listening to dictation could cause hearing loss. Blasting music through headphones maybe, but not dictation. I've been doing this for 20 years and have not noticed any difference in my hearing.
However, my eyes get soooooo tired. I've started zooming in to make the print look bigger and that helps a lot.
When you are really smart like this, it's hard to find anything to hold your attention.
The Olympus DS-330 has been discontinued-- hard to find now expecially for $99 - sm
I just got one for $140 total (with shipping, new off of ebay). They have new models out to replace the DS-330 about $150 and up, you have to shop around to find the best price. I got the unit for myself to check out how they work, etc., also to record my husband sometimes so I can play it back to him when he says "I never said that".....have some fun with it.
So what do you do to keep motivated to type during the work day? Sometimes I find it so hard to...
stay focused. When you're working at home it is soooo easy to turn on the TV, take frequent breaks to answer the phone, talk to hubbie, play with the kids, take a hot bath, play solitaire on the PC, surf the net, post on a message board, etc.
I just wondered if anyone had any miracle cure for the wandering mind?
Even with multiple GOOD dictators, I still find it hard - sm
to do '8 hours' worth of transcription in less than 11-12 hours, mainly due to the lack of ability to make templates, as each doc does his H&P entirely differently. Also they want extraordinary accuracy, grammar clean-up, and proofreading done on each report. So a longish H&P can sometimes take an hour.
Have heard it is hard to find position in coding
x
Your MTs will find it hard to make any money with eScription.
A good MT is hard to find. Check back with those 2 companies
io
i have a Geneticist that i type and find it extremely hard with the terms of all the genetic disabli
;
If it rains hard, the wind blows hard and there are trees
nearby, it snows heavily it will mess up the signal. The speed is not constant, sometimes as slow as dial-up, but at least still connected. Many companies will not allow satellite.
So, you think it is okay for hard-working MTs to earn 7-8 cpl for their hard work?? nm
:{
people skills
I beg to differ. I agree with the OP - your post was rude and condescending. I see no evidence of people skills in anything you wrote or in the "tone" of your post.
Also, your reply had nothing to do with her post. She was sharing good news about a hiring phase going on right now. Too bad you are so miserable that you cannot even recognize when one human being is sharing good news with others.
From what I have seen and experienced with MTSOs in the last 2 years (28 years in this business), there are many owners, managers and supervisors with no clue about how to deal with their employees.
SO, maybe you are the one who needs to find another business.
Looking to upgrade skills, though sm
just for personal reasons, as I'm still working, etc. I see Medword has a 9 specialty CD set for $269, and of course there is the SUM Advanced package but that's $840. My goal is to be more employable by just broadening my skills as I've only been doing ER and clinic for years (going on 10); however, I'm certainly not made of money! ;) Do you think the Medword one would be okay or a waste of money? I've heard great things about the SUM program but do you think it's really necessary?
Thanks for your thoughts!
I hope your MT skills
This is where your skills really come into play.
It will drive you mad if you let it. Sometimes even the doctor is unfamiliar with the med especially specialists. I have found that on an occasional basis. 
$$ should have nothing to do with your skills and conscientiousness. (sm)
you sound like one of the ones who is relatively new to the field (within the last 10 years) who pumps out reports, doesn't spell correctly, and doesn't like being corrected. Am I right?
Gap in spelling skills, too.
I have noted that misspelled words are everywhere; spelling skills are apparently no longer valued (and I'm talking people with advanced degrees with atrocious spelling and grammar). I need to go to the dentist and get some teeth fixed from clenching my jaws so tightly whenever a doctor says things like "he itched himself".
not too sure of skills, need advice
Just wondering if any of you have experienced a lot of "knocks" starting out in transcription. I took an at-home course in 98 and finally got hired in 2000 and trained in office for 8 months. I worked at home for about 3 months then my husband divorced me. I continued to work in the medical field for the next 4 years, doing work in a hospital that included med term and typing with 98% accuracy or actual transcription. My problem is when I find a job my feedback is that I am leaving little words out, or not paying close enought attention to detail. What can I do to improve this? the only thing I can think of is just keep practicing but I can't keep an actual transcripton job long enough! What do I do? 
Looking to strengthen skills...
I have been in the field for 7 years with the same account (IM and Family Practice.) Looking to strengthen my skills. The areas I feel I need improvement in are grammer, proofing (something I have done very little of), and a stronger understanding of terminology. If you have any advice on where to go from here. I do not need a full transcription course, but does anyone offer a "refresher" and/or practice dictation in different specialties. Thanks so much!!
What if you were an LPN with not so hot typing skills?
Would that duty still be required of you? Sounds like you are not that busy as an LPN. Small office? This was not in your original job description? I would ask about a pay increase along with the duty increase.
thanks...just knowing there are others, same age bracket, skills, etc...does help...
like you, I LOVE this job, and actually chose it - not the other way around. Fortunately, it has not cost me anything, really, like the other poster mentioned; but I too am scared.
It is always upsetting when you life changes because of things out of your control...at our age, we are from the times when people had one job until they retired. I know that is history, but man, this way is ridiculous. Flying from job to job, no continuity, no structure. What good can come of this anyway.
like the other poster mentioned, who cares about us anyway, really. the rich only care about getting richer, and that crap about giving the tax cuts to the rich and they will 'share it' - what a bunch of fools we have been.
thanks for sharing!
Advice on expanding my skills..
If I want to specialize in Orthopedic or Cardiology or some other specialty, what is the best way to do this? I currently only do ER.
Would I have to enroll in an on-line school or can I just use practice tapes?
Any advice is appreciated!!
Need fast skills update
Need books/tapes to upgrade skills to do acute care work. Any advice on materials I can purchase. Going back to school is not an option right now.
Test your typing skills
http://www.arcadespot.net/play-1126.html
If your DD has previous skills she can post
resume on the on-line sites like monster.com. There are few jobs that are legit. If they require $$ upfront you can bet they are a scam.
A board to discuss how MT skills can
be transitioned into another line of work couldn't hurt. No matter how secure any job or profession appears to be, the situation can change at any time. That is the reality of the workplace with mergers, technology, etc.
One of the the worst career management errors is to become complacent. I can look back on seventeen years in this profession. It has changed, and not to our advantage. I can't predict the future, but it would be naive not to at least consider other options.
Just good parenting skills -nm
m
If you are confident of your skills, testing
x
The people who hate QA are the ones with bad skills and cannot type for nothing!
Maybe these people should learn how to bring their scores up instead of thinking their mistakes are right!
Maybe if you spend more time honing your skills and
x
She fears because of her own lack of transcription skills, sm
not because the ESL doctors do not give good patient care. If you are not up to the job of transcribing the reports, then you should not try to do it. But do not blame poor patient care on the ESL doctors.
Good research skills the best skill an MT
x
Your account is too easy for your skills would be my thought.
For instance, you are making very good money easily while other MTs may be on a more difficult account and making less. You may one day be looked at as a person to move into another more challenging account to keep you in the curve of pay for MTs. That would be fair, actually, when you think about it.
failed skills test for national sm
Hi all. I have been an MT for 10 years and took a skills test for a national and FAILED.
Oh my goodness, talk about a slap in the face! All I know is they require 90% accuracy and apparently I failed that.
It has me questioning my skills at this point. PLEASE tell me others of you have had this problem!
Thanks
low level, low income, low education, low coping skills.
birds of a feather flock together FOR THE MOST PART. why don't rich people move to trailer parks? the mentality. why do low income people stay low income? no education. why no education? no forward thinking as to why some people can make money and others don't. sorry if you don't like it, but stats don't lie. do a google search. there are certain neighborhoods that have income levels, education levels, crime rates. these low income housing units, trailer park, section 8, apartments that do not require credit checks have higher crime rates, lower education levels and lower incomes. google will answer all your questions regarding stats. why do you think some neighborhoods are more valuable than others? where i live the same house could be in one neighborhood and be more valuable than a house sitting in another neighborhood that is zoned for trailer parks. why is that? go figure.
Absolutely! Wonderful hobby and your skills will only improve.
I started knitting, quit for a year when I got discouraged because I couldn't fix my mistakes easily, then went back, determined to learn the craft. For me, what was wonderful was when I automatically could recognize what was right and wrong, and fix it easily. Now, I have more yarn than I could ever use, and more projects started than I'll ever finish. It's a lifetime hobby. There'll never be enough yarn.
I started MT to gain skills to eventually work....sm
outside my home. I was working another small business from home too and had been home for 13 years total. My MT skills got me a job as a secretary for the Army. My first position didn't pay a lot, but it was still about $3.50 more an hour than I could find anywhere else locally. In August 2006, with promotions etc., I will have had total increases in salary of 45% in two years. My next move is to start taking some college courses (which my employer will pay for) and applying for positions with a more defined career field. Having a hard time figuring out which field, as I have a lot of options/opportunity.
Working from home served a huge purpose, but since DH is also self-employed, my current job adds a lot of security to our family in terms of health/life insurance, retirement, paid vacations, etc. I added up the cost of all my paid benefits vs. paying out of pocket as an independent contractor, and they were worth another 35 - 40% of my salary, which will increase once I start taking college classes.
If you are not looking in the medical field, gear your resume towards your other skills. MTs have a myriad of skills (research, computer, organizational, listening, following instructions, bookkeeping). If you are an independent contractor, you are more than an MT, you are a small business owner, which puts a host of additional skills on your plate. Get creative and look at some on-line resumes in different fields, you will probably be surprised how many skills you have.
When I decided to look for a job, I researched all the highest paying companies/opportunities within the distance I was willing to travel and only applied to those companies. It took about a year and a few interviews, but I eventually got exactly what I was looking for. I still get calls from some of the places I interviewed/applied offering jobs.
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