It isn't fruitless, but is difficult to learn.
Posted By: -sm on 2009-01-12
In Reply to: Anyone have any feedback - Lucy
MTs learned to listen ahead because dictators changed their mind and there were no backspace or delete keys on typewriters. If you can learn to do this, you will save time and Keystrokes in corrections. I wish I could do it better myself, but I am still working on it.
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Was very difficult to learn and there are
still some things I cannot get the hang of. But, it is the only Expander I am permitted to use so had to bite the bullet after resisting for a few months. Takes about three months go use it effectively. Try using it for a few hours every day. When you get frustrated, close it and type everything out. On short-fuse days, skip it altogether. Over a few months, with this method, you will begin to develop speed and each new problem will be solved one by one so your line count will not get suffer greatly. Using IT requires doing a massive amount of reading initially. But, I have to say, I love it now (and am still learning how to use it six months into using it).
Plus, the long, fruitless pauses (sm)
and their refusal to learn to use the pause button means a 10-minute dictation gives barely 1 1/2 pages. If computers think they are smart enough to help out with VOICE recognition, but aren't smart enough to be able to make logical choices, couldn't they at least learn how to identify dictationless pauses?? Now THAT would help me.
< thud >
What an incredibly fruitless effort. People, you need to realize
The chance to have done something has long since come and gone. Just give it up.
For me, it 's more difficult after 2 p.m.
doesn't matter what it is. But that's only because I've been doing it since 4:30.
It can be difficult...
to know the right thing to do. So many companies are unfair to their MT's, but is it right to dish it right back to them?
I would say it depends on how they treat you. If they are great to work for then be fair to them. If they are awful to work for then, well, use your best judgment.
If you do lower your rate just be sure that they understand this is your rate for THIS account of mostly macros. If they want you to do an account with straight typing they need to readjust.
Good for you for having high values in an industry that is getting more and more amoral every day :-)
Not difficult for you maybe
But obviously she wouldn't have posted if she didn't have feelings of uncertainty about it. I know when I have had to make a decision about something being right or wrong I find it difficult. You have a clear opinion on this, she didn't. I was just trying to be supportive. I WAS NOT making a blanket statement that it is difficult to treat a bad company badly, or playing the SAME GAME that your company is playing. Geez!!!!
Not only is it the most difficult sm
it is also extremely depressing, or at least it was for me. I used to work for M. D. Anderson years ago and did a lot of Peds. Also, the protocols change faster than you can keep up with them so expect to spend a lot of time searching but internet would probably make it easier. Good luck and I hope you like it...somebody has to do it but not this body anymore.
How difficult is it to set up?sm
Also, what equipment do I need? I have a Linksys wireless broadband router.
Yes but difficult! nm
x
I was LPN 30 yrs ago. It is more difficult now. SM
I would encourage you taking the course, but then try working in a doctor's office, clinic or private duty. Most definitely, not in a hospital.
I remember loving the course, but hating it when I got out into the real world.
So difficult
It is very difficult for me too sometimes. So many tragedies.
It seems life is often so tough. My views and understanding of where and why we came from have been changing over the last few years, and I am having a very rough time trying to make some sense of it.
I don't know if any particular field is more difficult
than the next, if all you do is type one speciality. I think ER and Psych are mentally hard because with ER a lot of the patients die and it is depressing and then psych is depressing because of the severe dysfunction of the patients and/or their families. Oncology can be depressing too cause outcomes are not always great and like the previous poster said frequent new meds.
I used to transcribe for a teaching hospital connected to a medical school and that dictation was very hard, much more technical than your normal hospital, lots more dictators too and a new crop every July.
It's difficult but necessary to be in control
Otherwise you are simply allowing little Hitlers to grow up and become *adults* - your job is not to be their friend, your job is to be their parent.
Why would you allow your kids to have friends that you wouldn't allow in your house if they were your friends?
Why would you allow filthy language, out-of-control behavior, and downright liars even on your property?
Are you afraid of your kids? if so, why?
Good luck
It is so difficult for MTs these days
With voice recognition, hospital cut backs, and companies overseas. I have been doing this 30+ years and have enjoyed it up until now. I can so relate with you. I have been looking at a company SilentType? Any input on them or any others who do not consider you an IC, I don't mind paying my own cable or DSL as I have that for home anyway.
It is difficult, I won't deny that.
I stretch quite often.
I take breaks, too, or I couldn't do it at all.
I won't be doing this more than about 2 years so I can hold out.
I'm not kidding though, I have to work hard and I'm not bouncing around like Tigger at the end of the day. I'm tired and sometimes sore. I can't make this kind of money from the comfort of my home anywhere else though!
Difficult to remember
I also have struggled with that. I have been trying to think of a creative way to remember, but I keep coming up empty. If you think of someway to keep it straight in your mind let me know.
Why would you find this so difficult to believe?
Especially considering that Brad PItt - famous movie star - had the world by the family jewels with a beautiful wife, Jennifer - multimillion dollar mansions and $$$$ coming out the ying yang, yet he up and left it all to be with a woman who's a lesbian, Angelina Jolie, PLUS he adopted her two orphan children to boot, as well as knocked her up.
Now .... who do you think has more power over Brad - his mother or Angelina? Think about it, not that it needs a lot of contemplation...Angelina can do things for Brad his mother never can, if ya' know what I mean, which is why I told the original poster to LET IT GO because she's FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE SHE CANNOT EVER WIN.
Radiology is not that difficult ...
it does take some extra study of anatomy, and a good radiology word book, and there are websites where you can learn a lot about radiology. I do both acute care and radiology, and I like both.
Almost always the first except if a difficult dictator. (sm)
Then I am constantly listening again to make sure I have it correct.
Difficult decision
Hi,
It sounds like, despite all the problems, that you love him and want to remain a family, particularly for the sake of your son.
Without disrespecting that, what I would suggest is that you tell your husband to either grow up already (and pull his weight around the house while he is at it) or please go ahead and divorce you and marry his mama.
In the meantime, make sure that your name is not on his credit card bills, etc. and that you DO expect him to provide child support while he is absent from the family, the home, the marriage. If he fails or refuses, take him to court--that should make him wake up and smell the coffee and grow up fast. Otherwise, let mama figure out how to manage his payee check with that new expense.
HTH.
It isn't that difficult to create your own...
Yes, it will take a bit of time, but you will then have a test that belongs to you. Any that you might find on the internet are most likely not meant for the use of others.
You have a very difficult situation
and I wish you the best. For many who work outside the home, they can stop and forget for a little while the problems they have at home. They are able to socialize, confide, and have outside relationships. You have made a hard and a valid choice for your priorities. Stick to it. Be proud of the choices you made. As for the family, pretend they are just background noise and turn down the volume.
difficult dictators
I'd advise to stick with it also, even the difficult ESL ones. That's how you get better. Just plan on not making much money initially but look at all the experience you are building. I made peanuts when I first started out and I'm sure a lot of us did. It'll pay off for you in the end when you are able to pick and choose your jobs because of all the experience you have under your belt.
another difficult thing for me...
...is the fact that relatives and friends just don't understand the obstacles we have to deal with as an MT. They think we have it made "getting to work at home" and that we are just typists. Do they realize the constant battle to stay focused and remind people that even though we are home, YES, we are working, and quite hard at that, I might add! No, we can't babysit, we're WORKING! No, I can't talk on the phone, again, I'm WORKING! We probably work harder than a lot of people since we are paid on production and live and work under that stress - we can't have a "bad day" where we just take it easier at work if we don't feel good or had a fight with our husband. We have to be on at all times or our income suffers. My husband doesn't get it when I get really stressed and in a bad mood and fed up when I get horrible dictator after horrible dictator and my line count suffers and I have to sit there for longer than expected; nobody does. Thankfully we have each other - we're the only ones who TRULY know what it's like.
Most difficult: Americans!
I absolutely cannot get the American accents in which the doc sounds like he/she is running an auction. At least with the ESLs I can get into the rhythm. Not with these guys. Although once I figure out what a grunt or a cough means I make a normal LOL.
I understand that they are difficult
and it's frustrating, but why are they low class? There are probably few MT jobs without ESL.. they are here to stay.
very difficult business
I think that is another reason why I am attracted to this profession. Since I am an IC, this is my business, and I have always wanted to be self-employed. It is very challenging, but that is what also motivates me to succeed.
It is still difficult to get assistance. SM
I would say give it a try to the OP, but don't be surprised if very little or no assistance comes. I may be reading more into this than is there, but OP probably needs assistance with house/rent payment, keeping up utilities, etc. and the public assistance people will look at it like he or she will be well in XX weeks, things will work out. Unfortunately, people who truly need short-term public assistance can't get the help they need to get them through trying times like this. OP may be able to get emergency food stamps fairly easily though.
I would also suggest, if OP is a member of a church, letting the church know what's going on and seeing if there is help there (they are usually quick to respond) or trying Catholic Charities or another faith-based organization set up to help. You don't have to be a member of that particular religion to get help. The key is to reach out NOW while the situation is unfolding and not wait until things get so bad you are getting forclosed on or evicted.
difficult personalities
I had a very difficult hospital manager to deal with at one point. She would rant about how Dr. so and so got so angry and is going to the staff office, and blah blah blah.....All of this was passed onto the company managers and QA who in turn passed it on to MTs in this very manner. It did not go over very well, we lost a lot of good people because of the constant threat of losing their jobs, and was a very hard lesson learned, get my point?
Not difficult at all. You dont want to do ESL,
x
Interesting. Was it difficult
to adjust to that type of keyboard? Do you use your mouse at all?
I can't seem to get totally away from using the mouse, but that would be a big help too.
No, not difficult at all. I do still use mouse but
use keyboard for cut and paste for inputting into my Expander and also use keyboard for bolding and unbolding. My next thing is going to be programming a key on the left side for my comma. I edit a lot and find I have to put in commas and want to be able to navigate with the mouse while I backspace to delete and then insert comma with the left hand. I also use the arrow keys alot to navigate, I have taught myself to do a lot of this by feel, so I dont have to look at the keyboard. I am thinking of getting a one hand keyboard to I can keep one hand on mouse while I type with the other hand,lol. That should be interesting.
It should not be difficult to determine
your line rate if you are currently charging by the page. If you like the page rate you are charging, then take a typical line count for one page and divide the charge per page by that many lines. For example, if you charge $5.00 a page and 30 lines is an average line count for one page, then $5.00 divided by 30 equals 16.66 cpl. So if you want to still receive $5.00 per page or thereabout, you would need to charge between 16 and 17 cpl. This is based on a gross line count. Ask if any editing is necessary. Charge a fee for editing based on an hourly rate.
Not difficult if you are prepared sm
but also you have to be prepared to stick it out until your income picks up. You're not going to come out of the box making huge bucks right away. I find that MT is something you either love or you hate, no inbetween. Read the boards and look at the comments. Check out the new MT/student board and see what they're saying. Quite honestly, anyone that has asked me about going into MT recently I've suggested they find another career as MT ain't what it used to be. Good luck to you though.
It's difficult but can be done with a lot of sacrifice...SM
I did this for a couple of years and it was exhausting but do-able. I had a primary on-site transcription job from 6 a.m.-2:30 p.m. When I got off of that job, I would go to one of the IC docs to pick up any work he had ready. His work was due back on Tuesday and Thursday. I would then stop by my other IC account (three ESL geriatric docs) and pick up their work for the week. Their work was due by Friday afternoon as most patients were seen weekly.
When getting back home on Monday, I would sort thru and organize the transcription that needed to be done. I'd then make the STRONGEST pot of coffee possible, and dive into the sports medicine dictation. This would literally take me until 4 a.m. Having to be at my primary position by 6 a.m., this meant no sleeping on Monday nights. I'd take a shower, have yet more coffee, and go off to the hospital for my shift.
After my shift there, I would then drive over with the completed work to the sports medicine clinic and drop off the completed jobs and pick up everything else they had for me that needed to be turned in on Thursday.
Tuesday was a good day. I actually got to sleep on Tuesday nights.
The next day (Wednesday), I would work my shift at the hospital, then go home and brew one of those wicked strong pots of coffee. I'd start working on the sports medicine tapes at about 4 p.m., and again work until 4 a.m. No sleeping on Wednesday nights allowed, so drill was the same as for a Monday night.
Thursday, I would do my shift at the hospital, then drive over to the Sports Medicine facility and drop off the completed work from the night before and pick up the next batch which wouldn't be due until the following Tuesday.
Once I got home, I would spend all night typing my other IC reports, which were the 3 ESL geriatric physicians.
Sleeping not allowed on Thursday night...See Monday night's drill.
On Friday, I would work my shift at the hospital, then head over to the geriatrics clinic and drop my work off and pick up what he had completed that he would need for the following Friday.
Friday night was my time to spend an afternoon and evening with my daughter, and also trying to catch up on my lost sleep during the week by sleeping as late as I could on Saturday.
Saturday afternoon I again spent with my daughter and also had "date night" on Saturday night with my boyfriend (who was very patient during all of this workaholic activity).
Sunday I would again sleep late, preparing for the drill to begin on Monday.
I lost a lot of sleep. I also lost a lot of weight. I ran on pure adrenaline at least two days a week. People would just shake their heads when they heard the schedule I was keeping.
The upside was that I was living in a terribly expensive part of the country and these three jobs afforded me the opportunity to afford a few things about life's necessities, such as a really nice dinner out once a week for my daughter and I, school clothes for her on a more regular basis, and, sadly, the one treat for me was a housekeeper to come in once a week to take care of the deep cleaning I no longer had time for.
Sorry this was so long, but I really did want you to understand that it CAN be done, but there are a lot of sacrifices and schedule-juggling that go along with it. I never complained about doing it because I actually found on some perverse level I enjoyed it.
Good luck to you whichever direction you decide to take.
difficult dictators
I think the difficult dictators - the ones who speed through stuff and you can't understand them - have an arrogance about them. That's the way I interpret it, anyway. My guess is they are the ones with the STATs because they are much too busy and/or important (at least in their own minds) to actually dictate when they should. Then when they get hammered about it and are under the gun they run through it so they can get it over with quickly and it's a stat because it's so late.
I worked inhouse for a large oncology clinic for a while. The transcription manager was asking one of the radiology oncologists to at least give us a birth date and medical record number when he dictated. Their stuff wasn't always on the regular schedule that we saw so we had to hunt for it. His response to her was classic. He said something along the lines of it wasn't his job to have to put that information in, she and her staff were just going to have to look for it. Her response was even better. She told him we didn't do research - that was another department.
it's just that it is a difficult question
to answer, because every company has its own rule about what to do in these situations. Even within a company, it varies by account. One account may want 5 underscores for a blank, another 8. For some accounts you can leave a s/l, and some you can't. I had one account that had a section on the bottom that you leave a note for the dictator about a discrepancy, or you could not verify a medication, etc (it was not to be used if we just didn't know the medical term). Some accounts use ?, others not.
So I could tell you what I do (I can leave up to 3 blanks, otherwise it goes to QA,. On another job I can't leave any blanks. It has to go to QA for even 1. Neither has a flagging tool.) But how can this help you? If you are working for a company they would tell you what they want.
Some accounts have what you would call a marker or flagging tool (versus a blank) and others do not.
what is the most difficult field to transcribe?
you pose a difficult question. sm
Remarry? I wouldn't even want to think about getting to the point of losing my husband, let alone wondering whether or not I would get married again.
And the answer is a big NO. NEVER.
I was married before, but that was different. I wanted to get remarried then because the man was an abusive anal retentive redneck idiot that I finally was smart enough to get the hell away from.
If my kind, loving, wonderful husband that has been the father to my children of the ever neglectful biodad redneck since they were small were to pass on, I wouldn't want money and I would never want another. You only find one soul mate.
I guess I got lucky.
If I croak first and he moves on, I'll never know, but I would never dream of asking him if he would do that. And if he asked me, I'd just have to smack him upside his head. 
Which specialty have you found the most difficult and why?
I find cardiology to be most challenging.
Any good cardiology links or websites?
It depends. If you have a very difficult account
an hourly rate would be great, but being paid by the line I make $20+/hour and I don't think companies would be willing to pay that hourly, so I guess I would have to say I'd rather be paid by the line, unless it is editing and that is a whole different story. I also think being paid hourly would make me maybe not work so hard to get lines and perhaps slack off occasionally. Depending on what shift I'm working I'm up and down every hour or so, putting a load in the washer, feeding animals, loading the dishwasher, etc. If I was getting paid hourly I should not be doing that stuff. I am not very disciplined and find it hard to sit still for more than 2 hours, so I would have to have a change in my routine. I enjoy the flexibility of being able to get up, even go outside and sit on the deck and watch the sunrise, etc. Another pro for the hourly wage though is at least you'd know what your paychecks were doing to be every payday and could maybe budget better.
Difficult dictators given with only 3 wks job experience in anything and everything!
 Killing some time, had to put last job back into the work pool, because it was a difficult dictator. This is crazy, I am only making about $10. to $18 a day!!!
I thought the test was quite difficult
How long does a certification last? I know of a few MTs that got their's years and years ago. Things have changed quite a bit since then and I don't see how their certification could be worth anything anymore, even if you have to do a few hours here and there of continuing education.
7 w/spaces- also depends on how difficult (sm)
I also have about 10 years, but what makes the most difference to me is the level of difficulty. If you can use lots of macros, don't have ESL and are doing the same doctors often, a little less per line is okay :-)
It is very difficult to manage this program.
It has a lot of flaws, locks up frequently, some issues with voice quality, etc. I would put it at the bottom of the list of considerations.
It's just business. It's the more difficult part of
Works that way with companies, too.
No one owes you an explanation, especially if that language was not demonstrated in your contract.
Would it have been nice to let you know? lol Yeah but, again, this is business and I think you need to toughen up a bit.
anyone else think British accents are sometimes difficult?
There are few doctors with British or Australian accents compared to Indian, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, East Asian etc....but perhaps because I don't hear them as often I am sometimes really thrown off by them.. not ESL! But I find myself relistening before I get some of the words. Also difficult are some of the other European dictators...do not get as many of those either. Used to get a guy - I looked him up on the hospital web site - it said he spoke about 6 different European languages - he had a very unusual accent.
Not dumb. It is true. What is so difficult to
x
I don't think internal med is any more difficult than oncology. n/m
n/m
I am having the same problem. Had a difficult time
yesterday and today getting onto the site. Now that I am on, very, very slow going back and forth from board to board and reading posts. I thought it was my internet connection, slow maybe,but I can get onto other sites licky split.
May be they are upgrading? Hopefully the Moderator will be able to answer this for us.
Weighed lines are the difficult
dictators.
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