Is there a shortage of experienced MTs here in the USA? Am I blind and deaf? sm
Posted By: Need to vent here for a minute. on 2005-09-11
In Reply to:
I was talking to a prospective employer today. First off, it is a start-up company in US. They already have a base in the Philippines. Well, that turned right off; however, we continued the conversation. My question to this person was this.....so, if you were to get contracts for MT here in the US, are you willing to just hire US MTs? Answer...Well there is such a shortage of good quality MTs here in the US and we would like to have the work done in the Philippines. My next question, and if the contract specifically states all work is to stay in the USA, what then? Well, then we would hire only US based MTs.
Finally, I had to stop him in his tracks....I told him I emphatically disagree. There is not a shortage of US MTs. The problem is that you or any other Internationally based company is not willing to pay the US MTs what they are worth. You want cheap labor, and you won't get that in the US. Our MTs here in the USA produce such a high quality patient record and you have to be willing to compensate for that. If you are interested in USA contracts but want to use cheap labor with no concern for quality, than I am not the person for this position.
I am so furious right now as I mull over the conversation......am I just blind or is there really a shortage here in the US of quality-driven MTs.
I am an MT myself as well as QA Specialist and I just do not agree with this mentality. I think they use this excuse to justify their wanting to offshore. I see through the smoke screen; however, I guess I just need to hear it from my fellow MTs.
What are your thoughts on this issue of not enough trained and experienced MTs here in the USA? Personally, I don't agree.
This was an executive-type position with an awesome benefit package and salary; however, I turned down any opportunities with this company. I will not encourage or support giving our MT jobs to the Philippines, India or anywhere but the USA.
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I know some prefer to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear...
this is a very important issue that affects us all and I for one wanted to hear AHDI's response.
But I digress --- what would you like to talk about --> Rainbows, butterflies, and sunshine? Should all have a metaphorical group hug and not care about anything?
Sorry, but YOU give it a rest. I get so tired of those warm and fuzzy people who never want to talk about anything negative. Tell a person to "give it a rest" and tack a smiley face on the end and that makes is okay!
Ignoring all the issues hurting medical transcription and our paychecks won't make them go away.
Going deaf 2
I have to have things repeated, eh?, and I'm only 35....
Unfortunately, it will fall on deaf ears.
But give it a shot.
blind...
Well, I think you have too much negative emotion against this woman.
First of all, you are free to feel any way you want to about anyone.
Secondly, how do you know what has gone down in Aruba? Natalee's parents have been down there for several weeks. Have you ever even been to the island?
Thirdly, chances are the Aruban legal authorities would have let those guys go even if there was evidence. Not every place has American-style legal proceedings. Besides, chances are the Aruban authorities know these kids or even related to them in some way. It is a very small place.
Fourthly, I would be mad as hell if my child disappeared off the face of the earth and I would not rest nor would I let anyone else rest, until I had some answers.
I see said the blind man
THAT is why I couldn't get my adaptor wihout a game port switch from RS to work. I bought an adaptor at RS for about $43 but never could get it to work so I took it back. When I went to the RS web site to find one like I have now (with the switches on it), their site was temporarily shut down. I'll try again.
Blind MT -- yes
When I worked as a secretary for Social Work Dept at a Catholic Hospital, a nun was a social worker and she was blind. Prior to getting her MBA in social work she had worked at the hospital as an MT and that was when we were using typewriters and not computers. As a social worker she had someone read the charts to her and she typed as that person read and believe me she made way less mistakes than I did. I always forrgot that she was blind and when she needed to run an errand I almost offered my keys to her so she didn't have to walk. But she was an MT for 8 to 10 years while going through school -- so yes Dorothy there are blind MT's. She would come into the office and I would not say a word and she knew I was there and when my husband came for lunch she would know that he was there. Amazing -- but her typing skills were top notch and she typed on an old Royal typewriter that was not even electric.
Blind loyalty.
And third comment. ISSUES! Just because this person is American and lost her daughter does not give her the right to call everyone but herself incompetent. She CANNOT call these people criminal w/o EVIDENCE. I wish you would think that thru. If she is so SURE these people are criminals, let her step up to the plate with EVIDENCE and share that with the world she is urging not to take in the two brothers who were released for LACK OF EVIDENCE. So tell us what EVIDENCE she has to stand in judgement of everyone. Oh that's right. She is American and lost her daughter. We don't expect evidence just rambling emotions based on.....????
LOL The blindest leading the blind
LOL
Thanks.. just call me blind!!!! hahaha
Blind date 30 years ago, love at
first sight, still happy, happy, happy. Moved in together about 5 days later. Never looked back. Got married and living happily ever after.
i count blind everyday-it totally sucks!
i work for a local hospital and we have 2 systems, one system can view their lines in realtime and the other side of the department doesn't have any idea what our lines are. we have to wait til the following week for the report to be ran. you can always tell if you made the manager or lead mad that week because your lines will be really low. if you dare to question them then you have to face the rath! they screw with our lines on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. there are a few people that watch their lines by report and catch them doing it and have to fight, and i do mean fight, to get it corrected. 
Blind boys are being taught MT now in Indonesia or someplace like that. Was
s
I'm already legally blind and I think all this staring at a screen is making them worse! sm
I'll look into these computer glasses you speak of. Wearing glasses rather than contacts really did help.. I don't know how or why, but it did. Maybe the combination of antiglare screen and antiglare lenses?
My monitor's screen is supposed to be antiglare, but I still am thinking one of the antiglare hook-ons might be helpful. Only problem with that is I have an 'old fashioned' monitors (the kind that are huge and weigh a ton) and not one of the flat screens so not sure if I'll find one to fit.
Bud of mine is an almost-blind MT. She uses devices, huge print, magnifcation
s
No, just a shortage of US MTs who will
s
No shortage out by Akron, OH
s
lol they eat dog too, i think they were just having a shortage of dog at the restaurant so....
they had to do a roundup. Next, they will report the feline virus is out of control and do a roundup on them as well and that's all I have to comment on this post. Take care all!
Finish the course. I think there will be a shortage sm
in the future of all medical personnel from MT to MD. Looking at the whole picture, those of us from the baby boomer age are pushing 50 and as families, many of us had 3 or fewer children or none at all. So, in my opinion, that leaves a much smaller volume medical personnel to care for the aging in the future. So, finish that course so you can type my reports when I need them.
There is supposed to be a shortage
of American MTs I am reading in a large national information management magazine, and also according to our own gov. and our national association. So why are wages falling if we are so desperately needed? After 20 years, I am also seeking to get out. I am at the height of my career in MT and find this is a losing profession. They took a survey and were surprised in the article that wages have gone down. They said a reason might because so many MTs work at home and so are part-time. What a bunch of "you-know-what.!" Wages are dropping because we do not get paid what we used to be paid. I am making less now than 10 years ago. I was recently offered an IC job for 7 CPL! That was starting wages 15 years ago for FT. Now they want to pay that for experienced and IC to boot, so you have higher percentage of taxes. I have even seen 6 CPL. These companies are trying to outbid each other by charging less and less, so they pay their MTs less and less. They also must cover those big salaries and bonuses for the CEOs.
is there a shortage of American MTs?
nm
There is not a shortage. A lot of work
is being sent out of the country.
And the MTSOs say there's a shortage of
But yet they can't understand why. Go figure. 
I live in the NE and let me tell you, there is NO shortage of trees.
cc
gas shortage/leaving for ohio in the am
Here in Brunswick stations closed at 6 pm and not open until Friday and can get only 5 gallons then. Trucker said Atlanta was getting $5 a gal and now Atlanta is completely out of gas. I am leaving for Ohio in the am and concerned if this shortage is just here or all the way up. Any info would be appreciated.
There's a shortage of US MT's because the skill is becoming obsolete
Schools don't even encourage anyone to get into this field anymore because they don't want to have someone take a course and then be out of work in a few years when this skill goes the same direction that shorthand did several decades back.
Like someone said on the Company board, education is the key. Don't allow yourself to be a one-trick pony and learn how to do something else while you can.
What a shortage of medical transcriptionists
Whoever says that needs to take a look at the job board and the posting that has over 1,000 views.
There are no transcriptionists looking for jobs either.
Nursing has created their own shortage
by severely restricting the availability of classes for students and refusing to make the class time available in the evenings, weekends, etc.
They also created their own shortage by making so many of the jobs papershuffling jobs rather than hands on care, and many of those jobs could easily be filled by a trained technician rather than an RN.
I do not feel sorry for nurses.
What holiday shortage? None this year
nm
About "US qualified MT shortage" and s/m
claiming that MTs won't work nights and weekends, I don't know about you, but at my job, God forbid I have a technical issue that's not between 8 AM and 5 PM. It's the office staff that won't work nights and weekends, not the MTs.
Unfortunately, this company has no shortage of workers.
I know they hired a few new grads after I turned down their offer. As long as someone will work for that, they have no incentive to raise rates. Companies now don't seem to care about experience and quality, only concerned with the $$$. They didn't care that I can transcribe 2000 lines a day with 99% accuracy. They would rather stick to their cpl and hire new grads. Well, good luck to them.
The real shortage is good MTSOs
First of all, congratulations to you for having the guts to stick up for your convictions. I am really proud of you for telling them like it is. There is no shortage of good MTs, there is, however, a shortage of good MTSOs and national MT companies. Fortunately, we have boards like this one to tell us who those are, the ones who pay peanuts, the ones with inferior equipment/platforms, and the ones who outsource their work overseas and think the foreign MTs are "far superior" to the American MTs. Most of us experienced MTs who have been in this business for any length of time, would not work for them. The ones who cry that "there are no more good American MTs" are the ones who are outsourcing overseas or otherwise abusing their employees - that is why they have such a hard time attracting "Good MTs." They need to look in the mirror to see the reasons why!
I am the orginal poster asking the question about the shortage. I am under 40.
I started MT while in high school in a VoTech program and have been doing it ever since! I am 35. Not every MT out there is "old".
Shortage on multiple accounts through a national. nm
x, nope, none, zip, all EMPTY
my point is -- not like there's a shortage of people to talk to.
dfkus
Question to ponder...If there is such a huge shortage of MTs, why is everybody always
nursing shortage includes nurses for instructors...sm
you can't teach nursing classes without nurses to teach the classes - that's part of the shortage and part of the reason why the shortage continues. Also more nurses are going for the bachelor's degree (4 years vs. 2 years) and that is extending the time before they are out in the work force.
I live right off I-75 in Richmond, Ky and we haven't had any shortage yet, but price is definitel
up at $2.99 a gallon. Good luck to you!
I saw HOWIE last night on a late night episode of Blind Date. too funny.
I'm thinking if they are smart they'll boot Rachel. I think she's really smart and a good player. I don't think Howie is all that smart or able to be a winner. I think this could force Howie to hook up with James to go for the final 2.
I think $.07, $.075, $.08, or $.085 are all way too low for experienced MTs.
I truly love interviewing with these companies, then trying not to spew coffee out my nose at the line rates offered. Some of those rates were even for IC with no benefits or tax withholding. I'm about ready to quit MT and let them offshore because rates have dropped so much since I started. It's wonderful being offered the same rate to do ESLs and upper level work as what I made 10 years ago as a newbie. It's getting to the point where you can't make a decent, honest living anywhere any more.
Well, that's what MQ does. If are not an experienced MT,
nm
If you are experienced and don't have to SM
look a lot of things up, then the answer is macroing the daylights out of you machine. Macro just not large words, but medium and small words, such as "n" for "and" and "w" for "was", and so on. Try not to type anything out, if you don't have to.
I have also experienced that.
Did tell her that she might not have realized it but I felt there it sounded condescending and as our goal was to put out as perfect a product as possible, it was not helpful. Also told her that I appreciated constructive criticism as that would help us both.
Things did change. Sometimes I don't think they realize the importance of the way they phrase a sentence.
new MTs vs. experienced MTs
Dear MT Pundit,
Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts about experienced vs. new MTs. I think you're right-on. I see myself in the set-in-my-ways attitude sometimes. I'm not speaking for anyone else, of course. I can only speak for myself. Change isn't easy for me, but I've tried very hard to adapt and think I'm doing okay. This industry is changing fast and furiously, and if I want to stay in it, then I need to be able to go with the flow. Otherwise, my job may well end up in India. 
Too experienced? sm
Looking for a little advice. While applying for MT jobs recently I have been told I am too experienced to "just transcribe" because they see that I have held supervisory and other positions in the industry - along with many years of actual transcribing experience. I realize these days about 8 cpl is the going rate and although I wish it were higher, I wouldn't apply to these postings if I wasn't willing to work for that rate. Just looking to supplement my income. I would hate to leave all this experience off my resume, but maybe I should? Any ideas for a different way to spin this?
If you are experienced, you don't need to
look at the keys, whether characters are there or not.
Experienced ICs, please help.
I am an experienced Transcriptionist but I have always worked as an employee. I now have the opportunity to pick up a side account as an IC.
I really need some help and guidance on how to create a contract and what needs to be in that contract. Can someone please give me some advice?
Thanks In Advance!!
Even the most experienced MTs can
have trouble with new accounts. As long as your company has not said anything to you, don't sweat it.
experienced MT
Companies tend to want to hire newbies with the mindset that they can pay out cheaper. We all have to start somewhere, of course. Experience needs to continue to be worth something, including a deserved pay to go with it, and this notion seems to be whittling away...
In this profession, we all learn something new continuously.
I have experienced this...
before. There are many clients who operate in a similar fashion. If that's what they want, give it to them. After all, they are paying for our services, right?
yes, dnh.... I am experienced
I have been doing this for 15 years. Did my time in the office before going home and still learning every day.
I feel that I am above average at what I do, in the past 11 years on my current job, not one QA audit below 98%. I also have a 2nd job to make ends meet and in the past year, my monthly QA audits have been above 99%, twice at 100%. The 2nd job is OPs only and paid less than the 1st job.
I work a schedule at both! I do not complain and take pride in what I do. Of course I look things up. I do not abuse QA.
Thanks for you advice about trying to find a job like yours that never posts ads because no one leaves. That should help a fellow MT find a home.
I am an experienced transcriptionist, and have no more need sm
to proof every word of every report that the doctors have a need to actually listen over to their own dictation. Speed and quality go hand in hand in making a good MT. If you don't have both, then you will never make any more and never have any confidence in your skills. I think I already told you, above, that I have a QA score of 99.4. Good enough for me.
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