In addition to the Soft Flex gloves I recommend...sm
Posted By: oldtimer on 2008-07-31
In Reply to: Smart gloves vs. Softflex gloves - Advice - NDMT
an ergonomic keyboard (the old Microsoft Elite PS-2 is my favorite and I have three stockpiled); but, the thing that has made the most difference for me has been typing with my keyboard in my lap. I have rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthitis in my hands, as well as CTS. Transcribing with my keyboard in my lap has been a miracle for me.
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Soft-Flex gloves
Where does one find these wonderful gloves? I have tried everything and not much helps, certainly not splints. TIA
Soft-Flex and Handeze are 2 brfands of gloves
that MTs often use. I use SoftFlex. They are thin nylon with a bit of spandex. I got them for the little wrist cushions they have that protect the medial nerve when the heels of my hands started burning. They do protect the nerves and cured the burning, and I remember to wear them because they keep my hands warm. I love stuff that serves a dual purpose. :oD Oh, and I do have Raynaud's, so these gloves are good even for somebody with that problem.
Hand-Eze and/or Soft Flex...probably
Soft Flex forsure
I wear my SoftFlex gloves daily. I agree that after 15 minutes without them you can definitely tell a difference. I also have the Smart Glove- (had to dig them out of a drawer to make sure what the name was). To me they are just plain awkward. The bean-bag feeling is weird and feels like more of a strain on my wrists to type with, like my wrists are too elevated or something. Wore them once. My vote would be SoftFlex!
I actually wear gloves, regular knit, but thin gloves.
I get so used to typing with them on, when I take them off I have a hard time adjusting again.
Smart gloves vs. Softflex gloves - Advice
Anyone use these for typing? Do you still have enough range of motion? I am struggling and have tried to type with my braces on but of course I can't. Any advice would be great!! Thanks.
How soft is the touch, is it a muffled sound (microsoft used to make a very soft touch keyboard.
You can't buy it anymore and I hate the clacky ones. I think a really soft one sounds muffled when you hit the key. Thanks
Wish Escription would mention that when they recommend the adapters or just recommend the one. nm
I flex when I have to, which is often.
xx
I'm going to try that. I did the flex point sm
counting once and was always starved.
I lost 72 lb in 2 yrs on WW, mainly flex. sm
I had trouble with Core plan b/c, ahem, "eating until full" wasn't mentally do-able for me. I needed more strict limits. WW works wonderfully, either program, but I recommend joining Curves or another type of weight-training / cardio program, or even walking, to realy boost your loss.
WW is sensible (eat ALL foods in moderation) and long-term do-able. Good luck.
need flex hours MT-ing?
www.accentus.ca
Best company for flexible scheduling. They ask for a committed number of hours but don't care when you do those hours, as long as it is within a 2-week time frame.
Flex time
so this means instead of being told to flex our time and come back later or on our day off we should be paid for the time there is no work to transcribe?
flex hours
The company I work for used to be very lenient of when we typed just as long as we got in our hours for the week. This got out of hand and they wanted more of 8 hours a day, but still lenient of when we typed (some where putting them all in at the beginning of the week and having long weekends every week, making the workload really crazy on Monday and not good for patient care). Now they are making different hours they want covered and we have to work exactly the times assigned. Some of us are fine with this, others are not. Do you work scheduled hours or whenever you want. Just curious what is happening out there in the rest of MT world.
I can flex some, but I cannot make up an entire day of nearly no work!
:-( They do not want any excuses as to why people cannot work, but those of us who are here and WANT to work have nothing to do. Really makes me feel loyal to them, 'ya know????
my personal experience on a set schedule versus flex
I have worked for 2 companies now that want a set schedule and they DO watch to see when I will be on. There are several reasons for it, and I'll try to explain from their standpoint.
First I found that if they have a stat and I am scheduled to be working, they NEED me to be on to take that stat. Another issue is QA coverage. They need to hire QA personnel to pick up any blanks I left and still get the report to the client withing TAT. So if I work outside my assigned shift time, they may not meet TAT because they didn't have enough QA staff. On the flip side, if the QA staff has nothing to QA, then they transcribe and take the work I would normally get, leaving me without any work when I eventually DO log in.
I am a high producer and can get my required line count in 5 hours, not 8, and when I do work 8 I may find myself without work the next day.
It is a delicate balancing act for everyone. I decided to take the 9-5 employee job, but also have a back up account on those no work available days as an IC so I can always make sure my paycheck is reliable.
You have to go with what works for you.
Has anyone had good success with Weight Watchers flex point program? sm
I tried South Beach for about 10 days and have lost 10 lbs but I want something that is lifelong and to me SB is too strict....Thinking about switching over to Weight Watchers...Anyone have good long term success with it? If so, how much did you lose and how fast?
RE: Addition
Just added onto my house (my office) and did some remodeling throughout the whole house. Just hired construction company and told them what I wanted. I live in a small town though, may be different than where you are. Not so many codes and all.
Yes, I have even seen it q1h prn in addition
to qid for rescue relief.
d~
In addition,
As far as costs, you would have the initial cost of the C-phone if the company does not provide it (check Ebay, also sometimes used ones on the classified board here) and the monthly cost of the unlimited long distance.
If you only have one phone line at home, this will tie up your line as busy while you are working, so depending on your situation you might want to add additional phone line (although if you have a cell phone, this wouldn't be necessary)
Can't help much regarding the unlimited long distance, but I believe it runs from $25-50 per month. Be careful though on choosing your plan and make sure it is truly unlimited (some have limits even though they are called unlimited). I have seen some horror stories on this board about people getting huge bills for hundreds of dollars when the companies found out they were using the plan for working. If you post a question specifically regarding unlimited long distance, maybe some others can give some input as to what companies are good for this, ones to avoid, etc.
In addition
You should be able to toggle between windows (the one you are working in and Goolgle) by using alt-tab. If you have several open, just hold alt down and keep clicking tab until you get to the window you want. :)
in process of new addition
VINYL/congolium (spelling?) all the way. We had ceramic tile and it was a light color, stains, slippy but most of all COLD. We love the congolium flooring (nice vinyl) we put in and are doing it on our new addition.
In addition to posts below,
read the Word Board here. You can learn what MTs hear and what the actual words are. There are other word boards but am not allowed to post the sites. Google to find others. And keep applying to anywhere and everywhere that will let you test. 
in addition to prev ?
what if they dictate one med as per day and the next one daily? What is the correct way to do this?
Speaking of remodeling, has anyone ever done an addition?
We'll be adding 350 square feet to our home and moving some interior walls around. I was looking at some of the home design computer software on eBay because I can't figure out what I want to do with the kitchen and entryway. Anybody have experience with doing this kind of project yourself? We do have pros to do estimates, give advice and finish the hard stuff, but I don't want to mess this up. Any thoughts?
MT in addition to other health care job?
I know that there are MTs out there that are MTs along with another HC job, but have never heard anything specific.
I am about to start MT school but in about 2-3 years the opportunity for me to go to school to become an RRT will present itself (it might not again for another 5 yrs past that point). It (being an RRT) is something I have wanted to do for a while, but only as PRN or part time work because of the shifts, the ages of my kids and my dh's work schedule (out of town a lot and weird hours). Because of that, I figure I could work as an IC (obviously 20hrs/wk or less) during RRT school and nights and weekends when I am not at my RRT job. We move every couple of years and IC work (for a national at home) could also serve as a steady income source while I find another RRT position (which could conceivably take a while considering my limitations regarding work hours outside my home).
Since I obviously do neither job right now, I don't know how realistic my expectations of this are. Does anyone juggle these two jobs? I know its most likely nurses that do this, but I welcome anyone's comments.
I definitely plan on going to MT school, because its available now, the work will be there, and being an MT is an excellent fit for me. Just trying to plan ahead - I know dh will want to know if I am giving up plans to go to RRT school because of this.
Thanks.
They should definitely ask. I have a lap top in addition to my work computer and it is for the..sm
kids and anyone else who wants to use my computer. I'm not saying I'd never let anyone use my computer, but I'd have to trust them because this is my livelihood.
In addition, we have queued the ad to be removed
but it usually takes a few days for it to remove.
ADDITION TO PREV. POST
I forgot to mention that the company does not pay footers and headers so I was told to use the number 24" instead of 26 and multiply that by the number of reports i do in a day; 24 is the number they use because they say 24 lines is the number of average lines for the reports I do, which is Urgent Care. We use Dictaphone ExText and we used to be able to look at our "statistics" for the day now when I try to access that feature it says " You do not have access to this feature." Any comments or opinions would be appreciated. I smell something fishy here.
trying to run scandisk on ME addition. It keeps restarting. sm
A message pops up that says "ScanDisk has restarted 10 times because Windows or another program has been writing to this drive. Quitting some program may enable Scandisk to finish sooner." I do not have any other windows opened. I vaguely remember before having to go in and turn stuff off that is running in the background (this is an older computer I have not used in awhile) in order to get the scandisk run without it restarting. I cannot remember how to do this. Any ideas?
I've heard all of that, in addition
to being sworn at and called every name in the book. An egotistical neurosurgeon who was famous for throwing his instruments all over the op room and abusing the nurses/techs, decided to spew his venom on the MTs one day. I gathered everyone around and we all listened and laughed and said what a jack@ss. Then my boss called the HIM director. About 2 weeks later Dr. Wonderful was not working there any longer. I don't think it was just our complaint, but cummulative transgressions by this jerkwad. 
I agree. And in addition to not making much
who has the TIME to pursue all that studying, class-and test-taking, and meeting-attending? I sure don't! As it is, I spend way too much time at this job, scrambling to make enough lines at low pay to pay my bills.
And I've never been much of a 'studier', either. (I'm more of a 'doer'). Which is why learning from books has never been that beneficial to me - it's too much information all at once, most of which I won't use within a short enough period of time that I'll remember what I learned. (AKA: 'use it or lose it'). However, I learn every day on the job, and that knowledge is more likely to stick, because I'm actively using that piece of information on the report or account I'm working on at the time.
You're right about AHDI not being for American MTs. It's all about making the big bucks.... for THEMSELVES! And when has their 'success' in business ever trickled down to the MT? How about NEVER?
If nothing else, the CMT requirement that some MTSO's have, or their affiliation with AHDI, are good reasons to avoid working for those companies. If an employer is in bed with AHDI, chances are their MT's are never going to see anything but higher workloads and ever-declining pay, not to mention speech recognition editing, and bottom-of-the-barrel ESL trancription jobs. Think of the large, more successful MTSO's we all know and work for. How many of them have passed rewards down to their MT's after having a successful business year? No, instead they hire MORE management, or give current management more money, or go out and buy themselves a small MT company. The workers never come out ahead.
'Back in the day', I once worked on-site for a couple of great small MT companies who gave cash bonuses to top producers each month, and when they had a good business year (which was usually always, back then), the MTs got such unheard-of things as BONUSES, and even RAISES! Imagine that!
In addition to your credit card receipt you should
get a printout of your payment and if they don't offer it, ask for it. Be sure to check right away that they are showing you paid and if you have a receipt your payment was put in the system, which should eliminate this issue in the future.
Billing an insurance company will give the insurance company a good laugh and will probably create further problems.
Well that stinks, my vet just built an addition onto the "house" she was using - sm
It is now basically 2 houses connected with a wide hallway. She has 1 partner, who she has had for the last few years, and has not changed her services/prices at all. She now does have a $25 visit fee but you only have to pay it once a year, if you are regular customer she won't charge you for it everytime you come in. She does not charge for putting an pet to sleep either, as long as you are a regular (She knows us pretty well, I was there a lot with my old dog). She is very helpful to me, recently boarded our 16-y/o schipperke though she has not had her shots this year (my normal kennel would not take her since she was not current on her shots -- was due in 9/05) but as she is on her last legs I see no point in getting her vaccines. The dog is deaf and blind, having kidney failure very slowly but seems happy and my DH can't bring himself to put her to sleep yet. Our vet agrees with us on this point too.
I would like to know the answer to that question also, in addition to attempting to
comprehend the madness behind the motives of some posters who feel it is more therapeutic to mock than become masters of medical transcription. The latter is the purposes........Isn' it??!!!
the Valium in addition to lowering the Oxycontin as I stated
in my prior email. The Oxy is what you want to wean slowly 1/2 tab a day until the last few days do it 2 days in a row, then 1 day in a row, then every other day, then every 3rd day, then off. That is a little clearer and it does work and you won't have any side effects at all with the 2.5 mg or 5 mg of Valium once or twice a day. Then get yourself off the Valium the same way but you would not have been on it too long to just go off, but always best to wean.
In addition to "port" settings, also try different ports or USB connections sm
on your computer. Mine would not work in the USB plugs in the front of my PC. Mine also would not work on laptop if I was going through a USB adapter to allow more USB outlets. I had to plug it directly into a USB port on the laptop. Mess around with it, updating your settings and doing the wizard each time. Also, reboot and see if it works. If not, try another port/setting.
In addition to maintaining a certain level of production, my service - sm
also requires that we stay below a certain percentage of reports that are sent to QA, and if we go above that percentage we lose our benefits eligibility.
On the surface, that seems reasonable. However, our service has a no-blank policy, for one, which means that ANY blank in any report is automatically routed to QA, no matter the reason. They also come up with all sorts of other reasons that we should route things through QA, the majority of which are out of the control of a competent MT, and those are counted against us, too.
So, essentially, we're penalized for errors and omissions made by others.
Isn't that special?
She probably cares because as long as she is on 100% QA, she is receiving a lower wage, in addition
to holding up her eligibility for benefits (if she is entitled to them).
Soft
Some of the type that fit into your ears are really soft and squishy and pretty comfortable. I use some of those with good success. They had a bigger end that would rest outside the ear, but I got rid of that by cutting them in half (horizontally). Only about 1/3 of an inch is left.
Even amongst that type of plugs, some are squishier than others. You might have to try a couple to find ones you like.
They can get kind of grubby looking, but I just wash them with soap and water and give them a day or so to dry. Usually at least a few pair come in a package.
P.S. You could resort to the ole broomstick on the ceiling message. : )
welcome; i printed it out and have it hanging beside my desk. current AAMT BOS, electronic addition
:
Keep busy out of the house in addition to your job. Volunteer. Take a class. Walk a dog. Be open
s
Soft Script
You know I have only been with Soft Script for about a month and I am really beginning to wonder why they will not explain line counts and how they come up with them one day their website shows 138 lines for me and my line counter program shows 245 what is up with this? Anyone else out there feel the same? Or you ask a question and the The BIG HEAD WOMAN rips your face off.
Soft Script
When I first started 4 months ago with SS I thought it was great but now I am seeing the light shed on some of what people are talking about on this message board. I wish I had been a little more patient and research this company before accepting their offer, I may have missed out on a good job opportunity as I turned down another offer and went with SoftScript but I guess I will never know. If nothing else my experience with them has been a lessen well learned. PLEASE, look at the numbers, compare the number of people on this board that oppose to those that agree with SoftScript and it will tell you the real truth, the numbers do not lie and as far as the line counts go let me add this....I work for two companies. A small company I have been employed with for the past 7 years and SoftScript I have been employed with for the past 4 months. On the same day with the small company for approximately 4 hours work I transcribed 61 reports with 1200 lines very easily with minimal effort, with SoftScript (now remember this is on the same day) for approximately 8 hours, working as hard as I could I transcribed over 100 reports with under 900 lines. This tells me something is definitely wrong with the line counting. Needless to say I am turning in my notice to SoftScript and seeking new employment.
Soft belly (sm)
What I'm saying is the doc feels around for position sometimes and that's probably why he said soft. Contractions make it hard, oh, and also huge babies, like mine. Ouch!!
Soft abdomen
On abd. exam, they're checking the actual abdomen, not the uterus and whether it's contracting or not.
As in a non-gravid exam, the abdomen can be soft, rigid, with guarding, rebound, etc. They're looking for the abdominal signs, not the uterine signs.
So - your abdomen can be soft, and you could be in the middle of a whopper contraction!
Soft Script
Could you folks talk about Soft Script, good or not so good, as best you can. Thanks in advance.
soft talkers
Not meaning to be sexist, but the soft talkers are usually women, sometimes almost whispering like they are trying to be extra confidential or something. I can max out my volume but still strain to hear them.
Stay away from Soft Script...sm
I won't go into details, but if you do a search on this forum, you will find plenty of reasons and they are all true.
Soft Script and Accustat
I am busting my hump trying to learn SS (I am a newbie with some experience but under a year) and I also am an IC for Accustat, now I have to really work for hours on end to try to get a line count for SS and on my Accustat its a nice account where I can have a line count with normal speed and hardly any ESL's
So basically here is my problem should I keep working for SS ( i have had no problems with pay, of course I don't make much of a line count) or should I just do my Accustat account and quit SS
Did I forget to mention I also have a day job....lol (My hope is to just MT and make some money someday)
SS takes out taxes and IC does not so I going to just go with SS but reading all of these posts makes me think just do my IC job for awhile and stop working three jobs busting my but
Get a soft neck collar and try
Roll up a towel and put it under your neck when you sleep for support. If you don't get a collar you can also use a rolled towel and pin it while you're working.
Neck pain is horrible. Good luck
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