It's our livelihood - our $$ depends on our production
Posted By: looftm on 2007-04-28
In Reply to: MTs put too much personal feelings and angst into job. MTSO - sees it as impersonal and a business. nm
If the managers' pay depended on how well they served us, or anyone else involved in the MT business, they might understand better.
The managers, supervisors, CEO, CFO, sales people, and tech people get paid the same everyday payday, even if they spend half their day playing games. Our paycheck depends on not only our skills but many factors that are out of our control - ISP connectivity, platform performance, QA competency, etc.
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Depends on whether you are paid hourly or on production.
If you are paid on production, then I wouldn't even spend five minutes researching a physicians name because it's the MTSOs responsibility to make sure have up to date physician lists available to you. Nothing irks me more than starting a new job with an MTSO who expects you to hit the ground running, but gives you very little to start with!
If you are paid hourly, then I would spend up to 10 minutes trying to figure something out.
Protecting your employability and livelihood (SM)
As I have read here and elsewhere several interesting pieces regarding the value and employability of new versus experienced MTs, I've had time to do quite a bit of thinking and review. This has produced some uncomfortable but profound changes in my perspective on this topic and this industry. I wanted to share these thoughs with everyone, hopefully to support and influence as many as possible to take stock.
This topic has been disguised and hidden and mislabeled for a while as a variety of names -- setbacks, progress, trends, offshoring, labor costs, etc. All of these words are only descriptive of the true topic: Change.
Change is the one state of being that we can all count on. Evolution is part of who we are as people, as a nation, as workers and it applies in every role of life. Everything changes at some point. Without that constant change, there would not be renewal and freshness that is necessary to continue. Change brings usefulness.
It also is uncomfortable for most and can be quite painful for some. Sometimes it produces unwanted results. More often, because we want to resist change, it produces results that we tried to avoid. Change does, however, continue on - with or without us.
The key to surviving and evolving with change is a characteristic we all are capable of: Adaptability. Making ourselves adaptable is what will keep us included in change. Exclusion means an end. Unless you want to change direction completely or embark on completely different pathway, exclusion will be the death of whatever process you are referencing.
I have opportunity to be involved with many new MTs as well as those with quite a broad spectrum of experience and backgrounds and from different countries. These are the observations I have made:
New MTs and those in the economically challenged countries are eager to learn. They are open to learning and have new sources of energy. They are willing to work harder, with more effort.
New MTs usually do have specific training on the AAMT's Book of Style (2nd edition). While not every company or client employs the use of this reference, many do and these newer MTs have already been trained in its use.
New MTs usually have a little more specific factual information regarding terminology, disease processes, etc., that experienced MTs may have missed in their on-the-job training along the way.
New MTs are accustomed to feedback because they have been educated by receiving it - quite a bit of it, in fact. They are seeking that feedback and they know what to do with it. It keeps them keely aware of what they are doing.
Experienced MTs that have had broad exposure to many types of dictation, especially large acute care facilities and teaching hospitals, have an incredible knowledge bank to draw from. They usually possess a living understanding of operations and procedures, actually envisioning what is occuring during the dictation, and can apply that knowledge to assist them in ensuring the transcription record is accurate and complete.
Unfortunately, the more experienced MTs have usually not worked in an environment that provides a great deal of feedback, if any at all. For many, this scenario of no news is good news equates to their being correct in all they do. With the push for quality these days, once feedback is being received, it becomes personal and defies what they have been practicing all of their years. It can easily make the most experienced MT defiant and bitter. Being argumentative, however, keeps one thought in the mind of the employer: You are unwilling to be taught.
Many experienced MTs have no experience with the AAMT's Book of Style (2nd edition) reference or may have obtained their copy but have no formal training in using it. Owning that reference is not enough. You must be able to use it appropriately.
Experienced MTs often feel they have paid their dues in the past and that they should have first choice at accounts, schedules, etc. Employers and accounts need experience dispersed throughout all of the days/hours they are providing and needing coverage for.
What I see are needed to protect your employability and livelihood in this industry:
1. Make yourself adaptable. Make it known to your employer and those you apply to. An employer hires you to do the job they want, the way they or the account wants it done. Do not be afraid - your experience WILL come into play but you need to be able to adapt to their needs. Remember that you are working FOR them.
2. Create a teachable spirit within yourself. Be open to feedback and ask for it. Perhaps you did transcribe it this way for 25 years...if this employer or account wants it differently, then they just do. If you've never used specific references and your employer/account wants you to, dive in and learn to use those references! Let your employer (and those you apply to) know you are teachable. Keep the argument out of the scenario.
3. Learn to use the resources you have available. You do NOT have to be a supporter of the available professional organizations to take advantage of some of their pros. If it is important to you or your employer, think about certification or registration. If it is not for you, don't worry about it but do not mark yourself by detracting from those who do value this. Many facilities do want the use of the AAMT's Book of Style (2nd edition) so obtain a copy and learn to use it. Courses are often offered to help you understand trends in the industry or how to improve your skills, go into business for yourself, etc. Take advantage of those offers. You do not have to be a member of most organizations to do so.
4. Be responsible for your own skill set and improve on it each year. Purchase self-educational materials and work to improve your own knowledge bank. This is an investment in your ability to earn your living!
5. Dedicate yourself to becoming an expert in the trends that are changing the MT industry right now: Speech recognition and ESLs/foreign dictators. I realize those are 2 hot topics but they are not going away! Learn to make speech recognition your friend - learn to be the best at it! Make employers WANT you because you excel with it and want to! It does take dedicated commitment and patience to learn ESLs but the more you do, the better you can become. You will never be 100% successful with ESLs but you will become comfortable and be able to increase your ability to understand them. It will never detract from your skill set to make friends with the ESL scenario!
I hope these summations can provide some insight and support for you. Having been in this business for many, many years and participated in the changes that have occured and continue on, I know if you employ these suggestions, you will be proactively preserving your career and income!
Please do feel free to e-mail if I can assist anyone with these suggestions.
Cut back on what you give her - this is your business/your livelihood and she is treating like a cas
//
Just enough to cut into my production. nm
:+
production
Don't "P" off your coordinator! lol
production
I have been transcribing for over a year now and I STILL cannot produce 1200 lines a day. Sometimes I have to work 8 hours to do 900. What is my problem? My account manager says most transcriptionists can do 1200 lines in 6 hours. Please tell me how you do it!!! I have developed a good Expander vocabulary...
production
There are a lot of variables in this issue. I know when I have op notes or certain ESL dictators and lots of discharge summaries, my line count drops tremendously. If I have ER notes which I love, I can do a lot more. What are your report types?
production
I have two accts that i can type at least 500 lines per hour!
Production QA
I was looking into a QA/editor position being paid per line. (5 cpl) Does anyone have any suggestions on whether to look into this more? I've been a Transcriptionist for 10 years and I am interested in a different position than typing now. Any advice would be very helpful. From what I understand (??) it is US-based MTs with 100% read throughs on average ESL accounts.
production pay
I'm sure with your 15+ years of experience and your speed you will do very well pay-wise. Be sure your internet research skills are honed and this will make you even more successful. You may want to try and find an account that is all cardiology or all operative notes if you really want to hit the ground running. Good luck to you!
Please try doing more ops. Your production SM
will increase because the doctors dictate faster and some will say the same thing over and over. You can make samples of their standard reports.
Speaking of samples, can your supervisor send you some? Ask to be sent specific op reports such as ob and ortho. Those are the ones the doctors say the same stuff all the time. Try mastering one specialty at a time.
You will be doing yourself a favor by learning to do more report types.
I know this isn't answering your original question, but I would really like to encourage you to try them. I know you can do it! :)
I am on production too s/m
does anyone ever think of that? Everyone keeps saying we are paid to fill in their work, but does anyone ever consider that I get paid by how many jobs I do in a day? Filling in 20 blanks on 1 report versus filling in 1 blank on 20 reports makes a difference to me. Nobody ever thinks a lot of us get paid just like you do, by how much work we produce.
Production
How long does it take to get up to 1200 lines? I've been reading the posts on cafemt.com and I can't believe some of those people get 2000 lines. How do they do that? Any suggestions would be great. thanks.
production...
i average 12-1400 L/day but that is on a 6-7 hr workday. I do acute care, lots of chunk-type expanders, very few 'normals', mostly decent dictators. On days with more diffi dictators, too many short reports, etc, its good if i average 170/lph. i'm not that fast but i get up to 260 lph at times, yet average 200/lph. i've been at this several decades, but take more time than many (probably) to research something or verify accuracy too. i take lots of breaks too, so it stretches my day out. On the other hand, i have, in my years, seen some extremely fast typists, and people who can stay put in the chair a long time. if you have the knowledge, stay put and build momentum and are naturally fast, i can see being able to do 2000-2500 a day with quality. but maybe you burn out or stress your arm nerves too much in a shorter time.
Production/Pay
Okay, you might have some good points but how come the majority of us, who loved our jobs and made great $$ on any and all of our accts are having the exact same problems, the exact same worries at the same time?
Production
500 lines an hour are 12.5 pages! A page has usually 40 lines.
There are people who cannot even read so fast.
I bet all is Expanders and mormals.
LOT more to MT than just production. sm
Maybe you worked at one of those very rare places where they compensated a MT for her knowledge and expertise and not just her production.
Also regarding production
None of us can compare ourselves anyway because there are so many factors involved in determining how many lines get done. Within my own accounts, mine vary up to 70 lph, and I swear I am working harder on the slow days!!
VR Production
Does anyone consistently edit 450 lines per hour on EXT VR? That is what I need to do to keep my salary the same and so far I am not even up to 300 lines per hour. Any suggestions to improve my line count would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Much better for me on production
I worked in house for about four months last year and went back home. Hated the office politics crap, but I made significantly more per hour at home than I did in the office. I was considered a newbie and so wasn't paid as much hourly as the women who had been doing it for years. Because I'm MUCH faster than they are, though, I make more than they do working from my home.
It all depends on your line rate and your speed, and what you think good money is.
Oh, is that so? We get production bonuses, but none for
xx
ASR production increase?!?!
Anyone want to know how MQ came up with the figures to say we have a PRODUCTION increase because of ASR? It will surprise you!
p.s. ASR production up.............. I forgot
to mention that even though my production is up a bit with ASR, it only makes up for being down on production with DQS in general, finally back to getting my lines in an eight hour day instead of 10 hours.
DNS and line production
>>>I have wondered if Dragon Naturally Speaking for Medical Transcription is a way to increase overall line count.
1. It takes several months to reach a good production level.
2. You need to listen to the dictator *AND* dictate at the exact same time. However, if the dictator is one what requires a lot of mental editing, you're better off using the keyboard.
>>>I seriously want to know how is it that some MTs can type up to 2000 lines a day! That is phenomenal! Is there a secret? Please share!
I used to transcribe 250 lph (gross lines) back in the days of using a typewriter (no Expanders and time spent erasing carbons), plus I was only typing around 90 wpm, which isn't all that wonderful. So, my suggestions are:
1. Stay focused.
2. Make the best use of your Expander as you can.
3. Don't treat the BOS like a bible.
Oh foeey on production
Well, you are hearing right then honey.
I do run a great company and I am overwhelmed with some of my girls' abilities. They never cease to amaze me. There are only a handful that really mean something to me and to be honest with you they are not big producers (of lines that is) but that is okay with me.
Our turn-around-time still beats any competitor. Go ahead Spheris, SoftScript, or anyone and try to beat a 3 minutes turn-around-time. Sorry, but it won't happen. My girls are trained to know what happens when they make me happy, and for that reason, and that reason only, I run the best business.
My production went in the toilet....
x
None - pay is on production - per line. nm
x
Has anyone increased their production with
traffic/production mgr
and an awesome hubby! 
QA pointers in regards to production
I am trying so hard to stay above the 98.5 QA requirement but I find my production has lowered to practically 1000 lines in a 9-10 hour period. My problem is not misspelling terms so much as missing words such as "an, a, the," etc, and then of course I am re-reading every report, which slows me considerably. I am on a heavily accented teaching hospital account, and sometimes the sound quality is bad, but I am losing money big time. Also if I fall below 98.5, my line rate goes down also. Help! Any and all appreciated!
Production e-mails
Sounds like we work for the same company! I wonder if the whole company is doing that or just particular team managers? I really don't mind it that much, it kind of keeps me on my toes - but I can understand your frustration. 
Hourly/Production
If an MT is paid hourly, then the law states that OT is mandatory. But, "certain computer related occupations" per the Department of Labor, are considered exempt. I tried to find the right web page for it, but I couldn't find it. I know that even my husband, who works by production, does not get paid OT. Most times they will offer an incentive when they want the work to get done faster, but no OT. If anyone finds the link, let us know!
production & baby
My suggestion is that you to hire a sitter. Breastfed babies, generally speaking, do not sleep as long as bottle fed ones; they have to feed more often and are used to being closer to mom. I would get a sitter, because your current method is not working. Right now, you can't give your full attention to your baby or to your work. Believe me, the baby knows this too.
per my accountant - and being on production
being on production, you don't know what you're going to make - so it doesn't apply to us. In the beginning, I used to pay quarterly. I now pay annually and the IRS just returned $3700 in overpayment to me for this year. Yep, I just recently received a check back for overpaying my 2005 taxes!!! As long as you pay and on time, the IRS lets us do this. Been doing it this way for years now and I have no IRS problems *thank goodness*
Better get a better CPA/accountant if they don't tell you these things......or maybe different strokes for different states, but I don't think so.
work production
In my experience it's any work that has repetitive information, normals/macros etc that you can insert into the reports over and over again. A lot of my docs have pretty much the same physical exam for example, so I'm not retyping it over and over again.
Production is my paycheck
I work in 1 of my bedrooms with a big window facing the driveway. I have done this work for 30+ years. The office also has my husband's computer in it. I have absolutely no problem in keeping my mind on my work, the pay alone is the answer, no work, no pay and the more lines the better I feel when I get that check. I never see things I should do around the house because I have a housekeeper that comes every other week and takes care of things like that for me. Housework is about the last thing I want to do!!
production and time
I am so frustrated with how long it is taking me to get my quota every day. Today is going to be rough because all the kids are home from school, but on most days, it is just myself and my 4-year-old son. I do about 1000 lines per day and it takes at least 7 hours. Is this normal or should I producing way more in this time frame? I have been in this field for 16+ years now. I work for a great company and most of the accounts I have are terrific with excellent dictators. I am up and down a lot, but it just seems like forever!
Oh - and I do not spend a lot of time on this board during my working day. In fact, I haven't posted here in a long time!!
I'm just curious how long it takes other experienced MTs with normal work-day interruptions to complete about 1000 lines of transcription each day?
I went from production MT to QA and back to
I, personally, found that the QA cons outweighed the pros, and I was making about $20 per hour as QA. Went back to production MT and have not regretted it at all. I have had offers to QA, for $18 to $20 per hour but politely refused. If there were a specific reason I could not transcribe (carpal tunnel, arthritis, etc.) then I would go back to QA or possibly VR.
MT production incentives
I'm doing an MT class project and need to know this: when a Transcriptionist is paid and hourly wage plus production incentive, HOW MUCH is the incentive (generally)? I've had trouble getting this info so far. BTW, the project concerns an in-house transcription department. I appreciate any help - even educated guesses! :)
Production incentive
The last hospital I worked at paid an hourly wage, no incentive, and had a minimum line requirement per day of 1200.
The problem with this scenario is that there is no incentive to produce more - thus the term * incentive *. If work became backed up, we were offered overtime.
When I worked in-house for a service, we had a line per day requirement of 1200 and anything over 1200 lines per day was paid at 6 cents per line.
I have not worked on production before, only
converting my typing speed into an idea on how many lines per hour I could expect of myself. I've done acute care MT for over 15 years and am considering going to work at home on production pay.
I type a very solid 127-130 words per minute. So, how does that relate to lines per hour that everyone talks about?
Thanks.
Doing some figuring on your production
If you do 3000 lines per day as you say you do and for example it's all VR at 0.03 cents per line that's $90 for a day's work. So you would make a little over $11.00 an hour. It would be $15.00 an hour paid at 0.04 cents a line.
Not so hot. I predict VR will cause MT wages to decline at current pay. I've been doing VR for over 2 years and it is not over twice as fast as typing in general.
Wow, I would too for that kind of production! - nm
ss
Rethinking production pay...
I used to be paid like that years ago at an in-house job. I made $10 an hour and was required to do 1200 lines a day. Anything over that, I made 3 or 4 cpl a line. It was typing 1800 to 2200 lines a day. So I made good money.
Chartscript production
Are you able to get a good line count with Chartscript. How long would the learning curve be when first starting on CS. Thanks.
Question re production
Have you been able to get lines required or above yet? Do you work for Lee Perfect? Curious because I was offered a position with them, but not sure if I will accept because of Emdat platform and the fact they start you out at 7 cpl while on QA, then move you to 8 when you're off. Thanks for your post.
Increasing VR production?
I have been working on this account for 3 weeks now and I am playing the audio as fast as I can understand it, but I still cannot get 2500+ lines a day. I am trying to use all of the eScription's shortcut keys and keep my hand off that mouse too. What else can I do? I need to be making at $100 a day to survive. Any tips would be really really appreciated. Thanks
Motivated Production
When I first started working by the line, as I got closer to where I wanted to quit for the day, I would tell myself "I can do 5 more reports." Don't think about the lines, only the reports, let the dictation flow through your mind. You can use this technique per time period (every 2 hours, 4 hours, whatever works for you). If you can't face the prospect of 5 reports, make it 3. Once you have been doing this for a few days you WILL see a big increase. Those reports are the BONUS you are giving yourself. Don't think about who is paying you at this point, think about what you are paying yourself. I know you can do it. You can e-mail me if you want some encouragement, I have been at this full time since 1976.
If you are not paid on production, does
it really matter??? You are not losing money by doing these other things and if that is part of your job description, then you have to do it.
best platform for production? NM
Those production bonuses
have always seemed pie in the sky, to me. They're offered so you bust your butt trying to get there, but why would a company want you to earn that consistently? Stands to reason it would be cheaper for a company to pay two part-time, no-benefit people for 175 lines per hour each than one person for 350 lines per hour plus bonus. Or am I just way too suspicious?
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