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I would not do them back to back - I have done 2 and 3 jobs at the same time -- all PT - sm

Posted By: Laura E. on 2006-02-21
In Reply to: For those of you working two jobs... - TiredMT

It is possible to do of course but you will burn out fast. Now I do one almost FT (about 30 hours a week) and the other is about 8-10 hours a week-- I still get beat doing that and that is w/o set hours. I find that the older I get the harder it is to work late and I am only 40! But a mid afternoon 30-minute cat nap helps a lot in order to keep going on busy days.


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2 jobs here, also back to school, single working mom...sm
hi just me,
i'm rapidly approaching 50 and working 2 jobs (1 FT as MT, 1 PT as virtual assistant)using different programs (50 hours a week total), and going to school PT (10 hours a week), all as a single parent with a house and yard. in addition, i volunteer about 4-6 hours a week. NOT EASY! But, it CAN BE DONE! I think the secret is in motivation, planning and organization. my outlook calendar program looks like a rainbow! (and the task list is pretty daunting at times) =) let me know if you want more advice via email...good luck!
Back to school....or secretarial jobs??? Selling on Ebay??? Not sure myself....sm
I've been pondering all of the above, back to school and ebay seem to me to be better than back to the clerical/secretarial pool.  I'd like to get into working with kids or with people in general.  I'd like to work with disabled children, specifically children with speech problems, occupational therapy, speech therapy, applied behavioral analysis, something like that.  I know this job will not be here for the rest of my working life, time to start planning now I guess.
I sincerely hope that you are correct in that we will jobs coming back to the states, but I won't
I realize that India is a third-world country and it is a small percentage of Indian workers who are benefiting from the offshoring of American MT jobs and it may be only a small percentage of jobs been offshored, but the impact of this small percentage to the entire industry of medical transcription is tremendous.  It has lowered the standard wage for the American medical transcriptionist.  How can an American MT compete with 3 or 4 cpl?  By accepting only a little more per line than the Indians or by taking jobs editing the Indian MTs work for 3 or 4 cpl.  Either way, we lose.  We make less than we did 10 or 20 years ago and that's progress?!?! 
In the back of Advance Magazine you see all the coding jobs. Can access it online, too.
s
With short arms, I need chair with shallow seat, good back support and high back. Want arm rests
:+
OK! I'm glad you're back down here. Now don't go back up there and read those evil posts ag
Okay? But I have to leave you now, sadly. Thousands of noble dictating doctors are anxiously awaiting my help with their "dictations"....They're all loading up on chips, drinking lots of soda so they can burp, and then have to go to the bathroom...You know the routine! Off I go to earn some pennies!! But, truly, I am thankful that I have a job!
PS.. It apparently worked..I heard back and already submitted the paperwork back.

I'm not sure how many people they are hiring but you shouldn't stress too hard over it. Do the best you can.


Going Back in Time?
Hey all! I have another side of the old MT coin for you!  Well, I got the nerve up to leave that BIG national that we all know and love.  I have a job with a company, actually 2, that is nice enough, but...I really miss the technology of the big nationals.  I can totally remember not having work via the internet, but what I had forgotten from "the good old days" were the days when your supervisor got to "load" you with work - whether it be those old tapes or pooling work to your C-phone.  THE PRESSURE!  Its been only a few months, but I hate this. I had forgotten the drudge of C-phones and dialing in, and then the game of having to finish all the work in your pool "or else"... One night I started at 9 pm and wasn't done til 7 am the next morning.  But I did it like a jerk. My husband was furious with me when he woke up and found me typing - when he realized I had not gone to bed the night before. He was like, just hang up! But i'm the perfect wimp personality for being dumped on - how could I hang up? The work was in my pool, or the tapes were in my desk.  Remember those days? I do remember those were the days when I used to make BIG $$$$ - the tapes and work pools that you absolutely had to do, or you got fired. Period.  But I don't like it, either! I am really stressed out again, and dread work each day. I tell my supervisor I only want to type around 500 lines a day, but I get double or triple that. I really hate it, and am getting really stressed out again.  Its funny to me as well, with all the talk of voice recognition and Indian MTs, there are still LOTS of companies out there who use C-phones and tapes no less!  So, I feel like I'm going back in time instead of forward! I just read an inspirational message on my Sparkle paper towels...I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails...shows a cute little fish, but I feel like I'm swimming backwards........................has this happened to anyone else?
Man, if I could only go back in time...

Once upon a time, back when I lived in a city, I worked three 12-hour overnight shifts at an answering service and was all by myself.  It was considered full time and had all the benefits that went with that.  Sometimes it was busy but most of the time not so much.  If I knew about transcription back then I would have totally double dipped!  All I did all night was either read, watch movies, or surf por...um...educational stuff.


Personally, I adhere to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy myself when it comes to these sorts of things.  So long as one doesn't interfere with the other, go for it.  Like I said, if I had the jugs for it, I'd totally be hooking up a boobie cam so I could earn a little sumthin' sumthin' while I typed away. 



 


I think it's about time we took it BACK.
There should be a stiff financial penalty to them for doing that, too.

So let's all remember that when we go to the polls in November!
Mine too and 3/4 of the time I have to look at his back
while he puts everying in the computer. It's impersonal, it's rude, and it's the way of the future.
I applied with them some time back.

I was interviewed and asked to test. The test recordings were so full of static and hard to hear that I decided the tests weren't worth the time or frustration. I sent the recruiter an email regarding the poor quality of the recordings and never heard another word from her. Has anyone else had the same experience with their test recordings?


This has actually happened to me some time back sm

I transcribed the report.  I didn't tell the doctor about it.  I didn't tell the little MTSO I worked for and I didn't tell my family member.  I have not ever disclosed any of the information I heard, either.  As a professional, I can't be "interested" in what I am doing, not in that way.  What is contained in the medical records is not my business either.  I transcribed the report as any other.  I have to say that the family member in question doesn't know I transcribed anything to this day, although it was years ago.  It was, and is, my job to produce accurate medical records and not to concern myself to whom they belong.


I have talked to other MTs that this has happened to and they all did exactly what I did.  As a fact, the MTSO above had this happen to her.  A friend had an abortion, but told everyone she had miscarried.  This MTSO had been working for someone else at the time and had transcribed a report that discussed the abortion.  She kept it to herself because it was the right thing to do.  A gal who was a nurse at the doctor's office knew both the MTSO and the woman who lied.  SHE was the one who broke confidentiality, but before all was said and done the MTSO had been blamed for it, her boss had been blamed for it and there was quite a stink, but the leak didn't come from the MT end of the equation. 


Done that, but it turns back off every time.
Is there a trick to keeping it on? Or did I maybe get the one messed up program?
Thanks for your feedback. Will see about adding back the time.
/
Thank you for taking the time to post back....sm
I'm sure he must be depressed, and my brother also. I'll bring up the subject to him and see if I can make him see that they are really needing some outside help here, more than we can do just as family members.  You bring up a lot of good points.  Thanks again. 
I know because we are back to the SAME argument but worse this time...
We have spoken today briefly. He is furious. He is saying everything is my fault, etc. I just told him I am tired of the bickering back and forth, that it is both our faults, and if he wants to do the bills he can have them - but I reminded him last time he was offered this but did not look at the bills one single time. What can I do? Nothing I don't think.
time it takes to hear back

General question for you all. I recently applied with a company that took a month getting me through their hiring process only to be told that one of their accounts dropped them so they could not hire any more MTs. Now I've applied somewhere else and interviewed, a company that sounds like a great company, but it's been about 7 days since the interview and have yet to hear back. I interviewed with them last Wednesday and was told that I would hear back one way or another by the end of last week. I sent a follow up email yesterday and have not heard anything. How long do these companies typically make you wait before hearing something back? How long before I should give up and apply somewhere else? Thanks.


I saw on this board a long time back
a suggestion that helped me. put the drugs in your Expander using maybe the first 3 consonants, ie, lidocaine is ldc. Sometimes i'll use 4 letters. for some shorter words i'll spell it out in expander, and cap if necessary. you may wish to make some exceptions to the rule too, ie for me, Neo-Synephrine is neos.
This is the last time I will post on this subject or back to you beacuse
you are most definitely a very unhappy person who needs something to fuss about...... It can never only cost 7.5% more because your social security and taxes are based on how much you make. When you add your IC income it is different for everyone, depending on what tax bracket they are in, and yes it cost me more. Even if it were 7.5% I would still say it is not worth it for ME but that is my opinion - you are free to have yours.

P.S. I do fill out my own taxes because I also refuse to pay anybody more than it is worth to do them when I can go buy Turbo Tax and fill them out myself. If you really want to see the difference, fill out your Taxes without your IC income and then put it in and see the difference!
I'm 46 and I went back to school this year full time for a BSN...sm

I was worried about because, let's face it, my short term memory isn't what it used to be LOL. Plus the program is ONLY full time. They had 1000 applicants and picked the top 70 of us. If you didn't have a 3.5 GPA, you didn't get in. But I am doing really well in school - after I got past the shock of the first 6 weeks - tons of work- and I am at the top of my class. My husband, bless his heart, is doing all the cooking and we are basically kind of ignoring the dirt. My house will be clean again another day. I am finishing up my second semester, have 3 more semesters for a BSN, and then another 2.5 years to get my masters and be an advanced practice nurse. 41 is definitely not too old! You will have to work smart to save your back but it can be done. Also MT is starting a slow slide out...you would be smart to start your second career now while you still have a job... IMHO


good luck!


 


 


 


I also lost my sex drive the minute I got pregnant the first time....never got it back....that was 8
x
To adminstrators. Love your new format. Could you please back the actual time of the post.
Love the little smiley faces that can be added too.  And the print.  Just bring back the time along with the date of post if possible.
How do you set your computer back 1 day. I messed something up and need to go back 1 day.
NM
Yes, you get back to work now. Go back to
some routine, and it does start to hurt less. I know  And remember, she is still there at work with you. Always will be. I figure at this point I have a whole herd of loved dogs under my desk each day - along with a couple horses, hamsters, parakeets, rabbits...If only I could see them - must be quite a happy zoo! But I know they are all there I sense their love.
supposed to be, after people lose their jobs, they are forced to take part-time, lower-paying jobs..
with little to no benefits. service jobs. where are you going to work in a few years, when Medical Transcription is replaced by technology? McDonald's, Walmart? you really going to like that?
Way back when, a long, long time
ago and in a galaxy far, far away, I had my own accounts also and some years cleared $75,000.  Yes it can be done, but you need to have your own accounts.  Also lots of delivery, and other duties involved.  I work for a large national now and make much less, but I got tired of accountants, having to deal with hardware problems, deadlines, driving deliveries, printing, printers, etc.  So I decided to simplify my taxes and stay home and just type.  Don't have to worry about computers either, because the company will just send me a new one. 
Can't anyway. Just get them back. sm

I actually tried to dump a report today, which I never do, because it somehow got into my pool in error (not my area of expertise), but it jumped right back up at me after the next report.  So I decided to just do it.  I don't know how well I did, but I did it.  It was over 150 lines long and took me forever.  Lo and behold, 5 reports later, same guy, same type of report 145 lines. Second time around was easier and faster though.  The way I see it is that if I get negative feedback, I'll let them know that those kind of reports really shouldn't come my way.


But cherry picking for line count is just plain wrong.


I did, but then I came back to it.

The other jobs I took involved quite a bit of computer use, too.  I got tired of the office politics and other garbage, so I'm doing MT again.  Now, I prop my keyboard up with a block of wood, although you can use a telescoping keyboard drawer/shelf to do the same thing.  I have a habit of letting my wrists rest on the keyboard, so I had to modify it to get my hands into the proper position.  It might have helped if I had taken piano lessons.  LOL  The only time my wrists ache now is if I work too much, which has been the case lately.  I don't know if it would be helpful for you to try.  I've been doing data entry or some form of computer input work for 17 years now, so I'm hoping carpal tunnel or repetitive motion injury isn't definitely in my future.


Going WAY back here
It's been a long time and I'm not "up" on the lingo, but by reformatting, do you mean you re-indexed?

I would go into whatever function that is where you can re-index all files or functions and do that.

If you still have problems, it might be that a file has been corrupted somewhere. That happened to me on that program a couple times. I'm not sure if it was the dictionary, but something somewhere stopped working right and I had to reload the entire program.

Be SURE to back up your autokeys immediately just in case you have to reinstall the program.


Can I get back to you about this later?

WAY BACK WHEN
It used to be that we were treated as valued employees, treated with dignity, and actually felt like the higher-ups gave a damn about us.  Length of service meant something and those who were dependable never had to worry about running out of work.  I knew I would be taken care of.  Never did we get cheap plastic crap as a Christmas present - we got real, thoughtful presents to show their appreciation for the hard work that they knew we did.  It's pretty much like night and day - nobody gives a damn anymore about us.  It used to be the only thing I knew I could depend on to be stable in my life was my job.  Not anymore. 
Yes, they could pay us better back then
because they weren't paying 2 people for one job (speaking of QA here). If you weren't a good, accurate transcriptionist, you didn't have a job.
Way back
I never heard the word at the time. It was fabulous! No turnaround time. I could shop all day and work all night. The service I worked for told me she wished she had 10 of me! Nice? Christmas parties and $100 bonuses! Flowers when a relative died. It was fun!
I think I might even go back further...
I recall using white-out and yellow-out for carbon copies (the REAL carbon copies) which had to be corrected separately. OH my... but I'm afraid I don't miss all that at all! LOL. I think it was okay to use the white-out until a couple years later, or maybe 10? Yeah, I'm old.

And 8 or 9 books? Did they even make that many back then? I can recall having a PDR and a word book that was separated into specialities. Oh, and the surgical word book. It was red. I am visualizing it now.

My form of research was more like finding the chart and going from there. Ah, but that was before production. Remember those days?

I wish I could remember the name of the first word processor I used. It was a mess!! More trouble than it was worth, but on the cutting edge of technology... and I was there!!

And here I am now, an MT dinosaur, getting ready to start using ASR...

Yeah, DixieDew, we have come a long way.

But miss it? Do you remember the noise those Selectrics made? And I complain sometimes because I can't stand the clicking of the keyboard when I have barely audible dictations.

One more thing... and please tell me if you miss this... "Standard" reports that you had to copy type instead of just having them appear on your screen with a few keystrokes. I used to HATE standard reports to the point of tears!

Okay, my ranting and reminiscing is done for now.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. :)
Come back
That Alice was bad, bad, bad. Are you and "her" coming back tonight though?
I will back you up too

I was told the same about two years ago by recruiter in Midwest.  She did not give specifics, but basically said that the full time employees would get priority if the work was low. 


 


I wish they would come back!
No doubt Zipper, Chucky, MQLOVER, and Frankie Boy made this board alive - I would rather laugh in hysterics with their words than to listen to the same ol, same ol'!

By the way, admin confirmed it was not the same person posing as all of them!
You never go back
Truly - once you make the switch, it is absolutely impossible to switch back to a standard. Give yourself a couple of days is all.
I know .....been there....won't go back.
A person can only take so much hurt ......I keep my distance now. Family can hurt you the most because you love them the most. For me, it is easier and less hurtful to pull back and keep my distance. The less I know, the better off I am.

My children and I always were disregarded in a similar manner. We just see some family members on holidays. I tell my kids, mommy and daddy will always remember you and give you gifts...not to look elsewhere for them.

Be proud of your sons..they are real gentleman and not materialistic. It hurts, but guess what, they will be stronger for it.

Hugs and more hugs to you!
Yep, I would back off..
When she's 18, nothing you can do about it anyway. There are lots more important issues at this time of her life, and she sounds like a good kid! My 18-year-old graduated last year, and as soon as he did, he dyed his shoulder-length brown hair completely white and started dressing in all black. It never amounted to anything but an outward appearance, and he's a good kid, too! So try to keep it in if you can, Mom!
BACK-UP
I have a complete back up system of everything I use, computer, transcribers, foot pedal, etc.  When I buy a new one I keep the older one for back up.  Buy a new computer every three years.  It has come in handy when things happen as without them I make no money.  Also have a place I can go and work should I be without power.  That is just me. 
Back at Ya
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to you also.

Better back then
Made way better back then. All used gross line count. Worked for smaller, friendlier services, had better dictators, thoroughly enjoyed work. Made approximately $50,000-$60,000 a year back then. Some days now even hate to touch it because of the way it has become.
going back...
As the other 2 posters said, finishing the dictation and then going back to listen to the blanks works best for me. Most of the time I can hear it then. If I'm really get uptight and frustrated with the job, I'll walk away for a minute or two and come back - sometimes just a "mini break" is all it takes.
really going back
remember the old belts before they even had cassettes? 1967-68 or thereabouts?
How far back do MT's actually go? sm

I have a 1936 medical dictionary that the hospital I used to work at was going to throw  out. It's leather bound, but the cover is missing. There is actually a section on using leeches for medical treatment.


Think about it. How far back does MT go? The docs used to write notes and then they had the nurses write the notes, but how far back does the first actual typewritten MT report go?  Did they hire someone to type while they talked to them. Someone posted below about an MT that sat in on autopsies to type the findings. Hmmmmm. Interesting.


The old doc I used to work for (with the typewriter) was from the old school and always did handwritten notes until the insurance companies required them either printed or typed. He reluctantly hired a Transcriptionist but this was in the mid-1980's and he was still grumbling about paying someone to type what he could write when I worked there in 1994.


I say run and run now!! Do not look back!
They pretend they are so great to work for, but then lie about pay and screw you over in so many other ways. PLease do not go there!!
You have to keep a back up IC job.
All companies have this problem at one point or another. Going from one to the other is not going to solve your problem. I have a full time job and an IC position.

I strongly suggest you try to add to your pot instead of jumping into another.
way back when
Mine also involves JFK - I was in 9th grade science class when the P.A. system announced his death, they let school out and I ran home crying to my mom! I was so scared, I didn't know what was going to happen. And i also remember our first color T.V. What a treat!
Why did you ask him-- why not just tell him you ARE going back?
nm