I would love to help if I can, Lisa....sm
Posted By: CindiRI on 2007-09-25
In Reply to: I need a mentor! - Lisa
I love to help newer MTs, because back when I first became an IC, I was so shaky, I had my first two babies at home, my husband was gone most of the time for work, and this ANGEL that I met on another message board happened to see one of my questions and since she lived in my state and my area, and she had been doing MT for many years, we hooked up....she was so wise, and so helpful, and we became really good friends until she had to move to Italy with her husband. Also, if you are doing IC independently, I found so much info from my local SBA (Small Business Administration), they will actually let you know the laws of the state regarding setting up business, tax laws, tips, and they will just mentor you along in growing a business. Anyway, please feel free to e-mail me anytime, I will help if I possibly can! You'll be great!
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Thanks, Lisa! (sm)
I was pretty sure it wasn't illegal, since I signed all this paperwork and they did a credit check and everything to issue me the overdraft protection insurance, but it's nice to hear it from someone "in the know". Thanks for the reply!
On a Halloween sugar high, back from Trick or Treating with the kiddos, back to work and hoping I actually get paid for it....
(Sending out about 12 resumes tomorrow....)
Yes, you can Lisa if you look :o]
For instance if you have applied to a smaller company and they've filled the spots, you can offer assistance in the future with a backlog or to cover vacations. Keeps ya' networked, plus gives you some extra cash. If I had anything that I needed help with that is what I would do. I don't see anything wrong with advertising for temp/vacation help. Why not? Sounds like a way to meet quality transcriptionists that you can count on. The other ideas posted here are good, too, but if you need a vacation then you just need a vacation. Taking work on vacation just doesn't seem like much fun to me. I wish more people would network in this fashion, but I think there are people out there that might try to steal your accounts, so you might want to be very careful. JMO. Thankfully, I have not had that happen. 
Hi Lisa
I do not think that this is the trend, but have seen a few companies who are doing this. In a way, it makes sense because then you are getting paid for airtime and all the BS like conversations with staff, etc. that you would normally have to listen to and not get paid for. Most folks that I've seen post here on the subject would not do it for less than $1.00 per minute, but it really is about how long it takes you to type it (obviously) and how much your time is worth to you. Since a general figure of how long it takes to type 60 minutes of dictation, from what I've heard and experienced, is about 3-4 hours, at 0.67 cpm that would work out to about 10.05 to 13.40 per hour of typing time. Of course, I've had work that I could fly through, and then I've had work that would take longer than the norm, so like everything in this biz, it all depends. Hope that wasn't TMI, since you asked only about the trend thing :)
I also hope you are not talking about losing the account with the flashdrives, as I know that would be really disappointing after what you have done for them.
Have a great night, and a Happy New Year!
MedQuist - Lisa
With your experience, I would have to say it depends on cpl they are willing to offer you. I know of many companies that are generous in cpl due to the number of years of experience. I agree with earlier posting about it depending on if you get a good supervisor. The raises are not much to be desired, you will have to fight for one in the far, far future. Again, with your experience, don't settle for anything less than what you feel is fair. Worse case scenario, if you don't like the job, move on to another company until you find a job you do like. I don't think anyone can answer this ? for you.
Lisa - subcontractor
There have been people here who would like just a little extra. If you get the account and once you are settled, why don't you put your need on the board. You might find some bites. Some people like to do a little extra. Of course if it is something digital you could even go away from your state. Just a thought. I happen to enjoy helping others when on vacation. It has worked for me in the past as well when I needed a vacation .
Lisa - your 1st post was so optimistic....sm
Lisa: Your first post was upbeat and optimistic/positive. Then in walked the panners of MQ.....outside of a few clear realistic posts. Now, this current post of yours saying something to the effect of *now MQ isn't lookin too good* is indicative that you HAVE, indeed, let the panners influence you.
Again, hopefully you'll get a GREAT supervisor....(not a given) - the supervisors can make it or break it for you...hopefully you get one with NO POWER OR EGO problems!! I always said, the day my PS leaves, I'm gone!! *lol* Good luck to you whichever way you choose!
To Lisa - Going Rate in Area
I would try Career Builders and look for on-site MT jobs in your area and see what the hourly rate is and try to figure how many lines you would do in an hour for this account. I'm no expert, but that is probably what I would do. It seems strange to me though that the Nationals pay pretty much the same line rate to their MT's, yet they are all over the US. Will you have to pick-up/drop-off tapes? Do you have to print? If yes to these two questions, bid in the middle to higher range. If it is all digital and you only have to e-mail the reports back to the office, then maybe consider the low to mid range. I'm on the East Coast, and the cpl ranges from 10-15 cpl (65 characters with spaces) or anywhere from $13-17 per hour. I hear though in some other states such as Texas, the going hourly rate is $9-12 per hour, so this would reduce the cpl rate. I guess it would depend on the type of program you are using. I only use Word and the line count built in. I do not have a separate line counter. I hope Patti has ideas, and she very well may. I think she said she's in Oregon, so that would be considered West coast, so I'd be anxious to hear what her opinions are on the average rate. She's pretty knowledgable and from her posts "plays fair". With all that being said, I think either 13 cpl or 15 cpl depending on the program and method of retrieving dictation and sending back reports once they are transcribed. Hope this helps! I tend to get real chatty! Sorry! 
I hope it was okay to e-mail you Lisa.
NM
Lisa/MT Student (see mssg)
I don't think you would have to pay to place an ad. See if there is a "Letters to the Editor" section. If not, it might have to be done the way the doctors do it: Their papers are submitted to JAMA for consideration of publication. Even though we MTs are not doctors, it is their work that we are transcribing. And sometimes (if we're lucky) we even get to transcribe those papers that they are submitting for publication! I don't think there is a single doctor or medical professor out there that would want their JAMA submission, book manuscript, etc. transcribed by an ESL MT.
Lisa, the truth of the matter is ...
that there *are* actually MT's out there who are still happy in their jobs and who make good money still in this profession. In truth, I still love the *type* of work that I do; it's the rest of what's going on that I'm sick of as well as the downward trend in pay. What we're commenting on here is the *overall* mood, feel, and status of the industry right now ... and my personal belief is that it's not going to get better.
I say hold true to your dream. If you really want to be an MT keep looking for that company that's going to be a good fit for you. It's going to be hard with you being a newbie, but it's still possible. Don't put all your eggs in this one basket though as some of us have done. Keep a back-up job in another industry so that as things continue to degrade on the MT side you'll have a soft cushion to fall back on. Keep reading the boards with an open and critical mind and decide for yourself if the common challenges that you see MT's as a whole facing are of an ilk that you can tolerate.
I hope this helps.
Hi, Lisa. Have you added macros to SM
your Expander yet for many of the common VR changes--such as for backspacing over a comma, adding a period, and capping the first word of the new sentence? How do you drop common words like, say, "she" into a sentence on the run? I hit "k" and in it goes, but I'm off scanning the next line by then and don't actually see it. Do you constantly use your program's function for jumping the cursor to the point of dictation and vice versa (assuming it has one)? This is a big speeder-upper.
And a reality that's hard for some to run into: Editing skills and talents are different than transcribing skills and talents. Reading fast and accurate becomes big. Punctuating fast on the run was always desirable, but it's more significant now as the ability to simply get the letters on paper becomes less so. Are you one of those this work suits or one it doesn't? If yes, keep working on speed. If not, move on sooner rather than later.
Hi, Lisa. Just wondering how the meeting
Hope everything went well!
Hmmm, interesting theory on Lisa. Maybe so, huh?
x
Hey Lisa - I'm from Lyons - give me a shout!
X
Lisa B - my rates and a long message
Again, I am from the old school, old way of counting and have had my accounts for many, many years - some 18 years. I do the simplest and easiest for me which is just doing gross lines per Word -- which I know counts the spaces but that is how these accounts were started and when I inherited some of them was told to count top to bottom -- but with that in mind -- I keep my rates a little lower. I am from .11 to 12.5 cpl. The lowest is for my Psych accounts as they give me 3-5 days turn around and we insert a lot of templates. The others are internal medicine, surgery, surgical oncology, Plastic/Hand surgery and Dermatology. I do pick up delivery, print, envelopes, cut apart chart notes but I average $35 to $45 and sometimes over $50 an hour (depends on how many Op's and consults that I have) and cannot see raising my prices. So I am happy and content. My pick up and deliveries take me an hour each day (depending on how much I visit with the office staff and docs) and I usually stop at the store or something but it gets me out of the house and I really do not mind that at all. I figure this into my work day to get my average hourly rate and am still happy with it. I will probably raise my rates at the end of 2007 but it has been two years. So with all of that said -- again it depends on your variables -- pick up and delivery, printing, etc. But for a ballpark figure I would go for 12 cpl for digital and 12.5 to 13 for pick up and delivery knowing that it will take 3 to 6 months to get your average up there while getting to know your docs, etc. I have used Sylcount for another account and to me that was too cumbersome. I tell my accounts the simpler, less time consuming we keep it the more savings I can pass onto you. And yes, they do appreciate me, pay on time, Birthday cards are received, Christmas bonuses received, included in staff parties if I want and the doctors actually talk to me and treat me as a person with a name and joke with me. Nobody can really answer this question for you as only you know what the account entails, your experience and what you want to make. You can always raise in a year or after doing it for a while. Good luck, e-mail me if you need any other additional info. Patti
That's why this is a great Site! Congrats Lisa!
Way to go Lisa
The 1st giveaway had 92 entries with Lisa I. of CA as the winner.
Directly after announcing the first winner, the second hunt began. There is indeed an I FOUND IT message posted and will be awarded over the weekend.
GOOD LUCK!
Lisa, you make a very good point. sm
I guess I should have been a little more specific. If ALL MTs were to go on "strike" and not accept the low wages these MTSO's are offering, they eventually would HAVE to offer a decent wage we can live on. But, the other side of the coin is, if the MTS WOULD STRIKE, then the MTSO's would no doubt just hire those non-U.S. MTs anyway, because that is the reason in the first place they are paying so little. The U.S. MTs have no support, that's for sure. (and I apologize for the misspelling of a word in my previous post.)
N-n-noooooooooooo!!! Not Kev! Did you see how crushed Lisa Tucker looked
because she didn't get the boot? As she walked over to the host, she looked very unhappy. Then as soon as she went by Ryan she put on a weak smile to walk back over to the other contestants. She wants to go home.
Congratulations! Lisa I. of California on winning the first dinner!
Email to admin@mtstars.com with your full mailing address and your choice of restaurant and we will send out your gift card immediately.
Thank you for playing MTStars Fall Scavenger Hunt!
Administrator
MTStars
CONGRATS to Lisa R. of Wolcott, NY on winning the $10 gift certificate
/
love, love, love the show. hate american idol. this show is for real.
the only reason i entertained watching it was because of mark burnett and as usual he has such genious casting and editing. btw, don't know who anything about "metal" music but these performers make me like it. love marty and jd as performers. HATE JESSICA. susie is so nice and so emotional. it seems they all support each other and enjoy each others skills. regarding ty and bob marley, ty was excellent but he also lucked out on the song! bob marley was genious too and his music is very easy to listen to. i don't like 3/4 of what the others are given to sing but their performances make me love the music. dave navarro shines on this show, very gracious for the most part and letting the contestants down easy when they have to leave. he was great last night with brandon (?). sweet, sweet show. i am so impressed with everyone involved.
Yep that's it, 4000. Love, love love the zoom
But I feel like a dork typing...every time I try to type But it is coming out as Nut!
I love it too - love doing my nails 5 hours a day and staying awake
Love NOT getting paid while sitting doing my nails too. It's a real turn on.
I tell all my friends to try it -- sit in front of your computer while you have no money to pay your rent and instead do your nails, you get a real buzz down in the pit of your stomach.
Also LOVE LOVE ESCRIPTION and make good money but...
Can I ask how you sit there for 8 hours. Lately, I'm having a motivation problem. When I focus, I can rack up the lines, but lately, I get so easily distracted. My mind wanders and I struggle to get my lines. Any tips on how you stay productive who do you work for?? I work for Transcend.
People either love it or hate it. I personally love it
but I know a lot of people say you cannot make any money on it and will not work on it. I do okay. I'm obviously not getting rich but I am making a living. I found it easier than Dictaphone and faster such in downloading and uploading job and you only have to log on one system and not like Dictaphone where you have to log onto the VPN and then log onto the program. It's always worth a try, but yes, the biggest complaint I hear is that no one can make a living and the cpl isn't that great.
I went back in house and love it. I love not being
secluded. I was working in my PJs, less organized and feel much better now that I get up and dress for work and see people (even those in traffic aren't so bad anymore). I find that I have more of a life now, and my family says that I spend more time with them now.
Working at home served its purpose for a long time; I was ready to go out into the world again now that I have no little ones at home.
BD WONG! I love him! I love all CSI and Law and Orders!
I am so addicted. I actually schedule my job and family around the shows LOL.
Love love love my chair
The arms can be lowered so they won't be in your way, I don't know about the tilt limiter. But I bought my off ebay about 6 years ago and can't do without it. No I do not think you can find another chair that even compares to the aeron, changed my working life completely, no sore back or butt. You won't regret it, but you will if you go for a cheap imitation.
LOL. I love it. I also love the song sm
I wouldn't take nothing for my journey now. Miss the Happy Goodmans!
Repeat after me: I love my job, I love my job. :) nm
nm
You can love a job and still love being home! sm
I got into medical transcription for many reasons. Yes, one was that I wanted to be home with my children, another was that I wanted to be in the medical field, and yet another was this just fits me. Medical terminology and grammar are two things that have always come easily to me. So, this fits. I can work early, early mornings and late nights when they are asleep. Also during afternoon naps. Yeah, doesn't leave a heck of a lot of time for myself, but THAT is a sacrifice I am willing to make, leaving my kids for someone else to raise/care for all day wasn't.
I do not love money but I love what it can buy
for me. I work 4 days a week now and was not bringing home what I wanted every 2 weeks, for some reason that is at least 1,000.00. I just decided to turn up the speed and put my mind to doing at least 3000 lines a day and figured by that should get what I want in the pay line. Worked well for me. I tell people if you want to talk with me call before I go to work, do not let outside influences bother me during my hours. Other than a bathroom break, glass of water, here for the straight 8.
I love Google and I love MTs
Okay, who in their right mind would not only discuss but have passionate opinions about hyphens and apostrophes? I love it!
Anyway, in googling grammar rules I found numerous references that two days' time would not but hyphenated but when used as a modifier like two-day history, it would be.
I remember telling an OB nurse friend of mine about fretting over 38 weeks pregnancy and whether the hyphen belonged in there and she just laughed and said she thinks she would get the point either way. Well harumph!
Love Judge Judy but love Judge Joe
Brown. I often wonder how many of the people involved in Judge Joe's cases have to go home and look up in the dictionary what he said to them. Some of them just have blank faces staring at him when he is giving them a lecture, w/o a clue of what he is actually saying to them.
Love Sci-Fi!
cant wait to see it!
I would love to but
my husband does not think we will make it on the bills (I think he likes all of the extra money I'm making on the side) He is a good guy with a good job and does support my choice since he bought me a new computer and paid for my school, but he also is use to a life style that he leads where he does not worry about money. In my day job I make about 27000.00 a year and I know in my first couple of years I might do close to that if I'm lucky and can land a decent account. Sorry I'm just venting and I'm so tired of working so much, thank god I dont have kids right now I don't have the time to go to the bathroom anymore.
love IT
:
sure do love rather
A true patriot and truth teller..too bad the source he got his truthful information from about Bush running away from his military duties did not have the original reports..Bush, warmonger, military deserter, governor who murdered the most on death row, destroyer of environmental protection, jerk when it comes to global warming, idiot when it comes to understanding evolution..just a plain low IQ idiot..who should never have been president but he had plenty of oil biggies who paid his way and now he is repaying them big time to the detriment of the middle class of America..
the one I love the best is (sm)
the incinuation (sp?) that I don't have a "real" job! I even hear my kids telling their friends that I "don't work, just at home". UHHH, hello? I get a paycheck, don't I! No respect! I just like to think the other folks are jealous! Oh, well, too bad for them! 
Love my job
I have an associate's degree in secretarial studies. I ended up working as a secretary in a multispecialty clinic, which led me directly to the transcription department to train as a transcriptionist. I love being home to be there for my children. My husband, on the other hand, has a master's degree in business, and he is the main breadwinner in our family. 
Love rad but...
teaching hospitals tend to have really long reports due to residents and their tendency to TALK A LONG TIME so as to impress the attending physicians. That is my only complaint about it, tho. Its understandable - they're new on the job and all - but its funny when an old-timer doctor gets on and tosses off a CT or MRI in a few sentences while the new resident makes it into a thesis or term paper! ARGH! But overall, I highly recommend rad.
I love my MT job!
I am an IC and absolutely love working for myself! Its not all bad
Okay, how many of you can truly say you still love being an MT?...
I am really close to leaving MT work, but so far the benefits are outweighing the negatives. I just need to hear that someone out there still loves being an MT, works for a good company, and is making enough money to not only pay their bills, but are doing okay. Is anyone out there?
I don't love being a MT, but
I work for a great company, always have work, make a good line rate ... and it's all done from home.
As the song goes, "who can ask for anything more."
Hey, I am from HI and we love him, believe it or not! sm
He has done some real good to the people of HI. He has a ton of money and uses his money to help people, give them jobs, pay for rehab, etc. He is a "born-again Christian" although I know some may not believe it since he acts like a hellion sometimes, but we really do love him!
I no longer live in HI since I married, but my entire family still lives there. My sister was visiting me a few months back (she actually has never left the island we are from) and we were sitting in my living room here watching it one night. All of a sudden she starts yelling and screaming at the t.v. saying that her neighbor was one of the fugitives they were looking for! We didn't know whether to laugh or cry! Needless to say, she ended up moving from that neighborhood! She knew the guy personally and had no idea he was a fugitive or even did drugs like that! She is an MT too.
As far as the guns, well they don't believe in them and they only carry mace to catch the criminals. I am worried that he and his team will be shot one day. Of course, the locals who are clean and are NOT fugitives love to get the bad guys out of their neighborhoods, but the bad guys hate him! I'm sure there may be a bounty out for him because of the way he goes about things. But, I love him. I had to get used to his wife, but she's sorta grown on me and now I like her! I know behind that mean persona she has a real soft heart!
My sister ran into him at the airport when they were filming one day. I got her hooked on that show!
Can you tell I am a big DOG fan? I just have to get past that darn mullet and wife-beater t-shirt. My DH says I like DOG so much that he's thinking of dressing up like him for Halloween. I asked him not to wait that long! LOL :)
I did and Love it!!
I know everyone's experience is different, but the only thing that really changed for me was it put me back on track workwise, nothing else really changed as far as accounts or anything, I am just more motivated to get my work done in the proper time frame now so instead of working 6-7 days a week I work 5 and am earning PTO, have health insurance, etc.
I love these!!
The "Poor transcriptionist" got me going  and the "operator" kept it going....I will be smiling the rest of the day. Thanks for sharing!!!
Don't you love when that happens?
NM
Love it!
I bought an '05 this year and I absolutely love it!
Love that name!!! :) nm
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