Keeping up cert costs too
Posted By: Malki Reed on 2007-11-28
In Reply to: Actually - mtme2
I was a CMT for 20 years before I finally let it go. Only one company I worked for in all that time paid extra for the CMT; then they were bought by Medquist who didn't care. If you ever change companies - voluntarily or otherwise - the CMT may no longer bring you extra cash. Remember, too, that you'll have to pay to keep up the cert. I went to the conventions every year. They ran me at least $1000 then with registration, airfare, hotel, food, ground transportion, etc. Worked in-house then, and my employers didn't reimburse. I was *lucky* I could get my vacation then. It would probably be more now; everything else is. If you don't have PTO where you work, then it will cost you what you would have made for those days as well. Perhaps you're lucky and have a strong local chapter that will provide you CEs for much less cost and aggravation. If you use the articles in the Journal, it will still cost. Plus, it's not just any credit-worthy activity, it's one from column A, two from column B, etc. It makes it much harder to get what you need (which may or may not have anything to do with what you REALLY need to improve your skills). I didn't regret it while I was doing it, but I wouldn't do it again unless forced. I hoped for 20 years that it would mean more than *personal satisfaction*, but it never did.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
Beware of ink replacement costs. The more inexpensive the printer, the more the ink costs.
s
CMT re-cert observation
Am I missing something? It's cheaper for me to redo the test from scratch than to buy the recertification/educational materials.
if you look - the cert letter is dated 2008
click on the tabs there, they are not in good standing for state taxes up to 2008
CONGRATULATIONS! Laura F. of NY on winning a $10.00 gift cert. to TVPS!
/
CONGRATS to WINNER Elizabeth S. on winning the $10. TVPS Gift Cert.
/
CONGRATS to WINNER Elizabeth S. on winning the $10. TVPS Gift Cert.
/
ENTER NOW - Pulling from Santa's Bag $10.00 Gift Cert. courtesy of TVPS!
$10.00 Gift Certificate courtesy of TVPS
Click on the Santa's House Banner at the top of the Main board to enter!
Congrats to Donetta from Virginia on winning a $20.00 TVPS gift cert!
/
CONGRATS to WINNER Sharon A. of Lewisburg, PA on winning the $50. AmEx Gift Cert.
/
ENTER NOW - Pulling from Santa's Bag $50.00 Amazon Gift Cert. courtesy of Transcription
above to enter. Choose Transcription MatchMaker from the drop down menu.
Please do not email you entries as they will be discarded.
Good Luck!
ENTER NOW - Pulling from Santa's Bag $20.00 Avon Gift Cert. courtesy of Crystal King!
Please do not send an email to enter. To enter, click on the Santa's House banner or click on the link below
A tip for keeping up..lol
I have MSN and it has "news" stories on there and I can customize it to how I like it. I believe other ISPs have it as well. I typically do not watch news because I have depressive disorder and there is never GOOD news (or at least very rarely) so better to just do it this way. LOL.
Log keeping
Sorry for the delay in responding, when I get typing I "get in the zone." LOL! Here is my code for keeping a log of my job IDs. It may be different depending on which platform you are typing on. I type on Enterprise (Webmedx).
{@KEY Alt+Z}{@PAUSE 2}{@KEY Alt+J}{@KEY Ctrl+C}{@KEY Alt+Z}{@PAUSE 2}{@KEY LWin}{@PAUSE 2}{@KEY N}{@PAUSE 2}{@KEY Alt+F}{@PAUSE 2}{@KEY O}{@PAUSE 2}{@KEY Tab}{@KEY Tab}{@KEY Tab}{@KEY Tab}{@KEY Tab}{@KEY Tab}{@KEY Tab}{@KEY Tab}{@KEY Enter}{@KEY Alt+N}joblog.txt{@KEY Alt+O}{@KEY Ctrl+End}{@KEY Enter}{@PAUSE 2}{@KEY Ctrl+V}{@KEY Ctrl+S}{@KEY Alt+F}{@KEY X}
SH will do very complex tasks, you just have to tell it exactly what to do! There are some downloads available on their wesite also. I did not think any of them helped me, but you never know! Hope this helped.
costs
I also agree that the cost of vet care has gone way up in the last 10 years, having animal companions is expensive. I think as more and more people are coming to realize their companions are senient beings they are willing to do whatever is necessary for optimum care just as you would do for a human. That being said, it is extremely expensive and where I used to have 5 cats and 2 dogs, I now have 3 cats and 1 dog due to losing some to old age and illness. Although I would love to have more, I know I cannot afford it if one of them gets sick.
Can you tell us how much this costs?
Have the Martel catalogue but oddly it does not give price. Am hoping it is under $50.
Rx costs
I get 2 of my meds from Canada. Can you get yours that way and save $? Just do a search for cheap drugs or Canadian drugs.
MT Costs
I have been a working MT for 2+ years and I am still buying things. I have a full library of books but there are only a few I use all the time. Still there are days when I find I need the others. I believe I have around 16 total. The Book Of Style is an important one. I would recommend that for sure along with any other specialty books for the type of account you plan on typing. I had my computer prior to training but with books, the MT course, pedals, software (spell checker, expander) I spent over $2,500. This doesn't include a desk, chair or the other things you'll need. I would suggest you buy some 3-ring binders to keep samples in for each account you type. I have a binder for every doctor/client. Every doctor you come to learn to type will have his/her own rules. The binders are my Bibles. At first I went through a ton of legal pads. I always keep one at my desk to jot things down. Now I only need one on occasion. It will be a learning experience and slow going at first, but hang in there. Like some other MTs mentioned, it is not as easy as it sounds, but I do enjoy it. Welcome to the club! 
It costs more than $10 believe me.
They take a percentage of what is sent to you - it's not a flat rate fee. The more you make the more they take.
My costs have actually gone down
This year my property taxes will go from over $2,300 to $800 a year, that is because I have turned that magical number of 65. That is good and yet if I were to die, then the taxes would go right back up for hubby as he is 10 years younger and has not gotten there yet. He better treat me right!
keeping mail
There is an option in the Imail to have all mail forwarded, all you have to do is put in your personal email address and all Imail is automatically forwarded to you, easy as pie!!!
No pity from me, you are keeping yourself down.
So this company is hiring when there is no work, so they are misrepresenting themselves. You know that, so get out. How is whining on this board dealing with the situation? Any new hires will find it out soon enough and hopefully have the sense to leave. All the "discussing" in the world isnt going to pay your bills. And besides, no one said you couldn't discuss, just go do it on a blog where someone is going to care. We are getting sick of whiners who refuse to help themselves by taking action.
Keeping any child
I disagree. I would much rather home school a child than send them into what passes for education today. I support the mothers who home school!
Keeping faith
When I am facing adversity (everyday), I often think about all of the times in the past that I felt like giving up for one reason or another. No matter how bad the situation was...SOMETHING worked out. When I say worked out, I don't necessarily mean it worked out the way I wanted it to.
Example: I was in a situation where I was behind on my car payments and tried every avenue available to try to come up with the money. I prayed some serious prayers hoping for a miracle. Well, my car was repossessed. I now had terrible credit and didn't know what I was going to do. At this time, I was working outside of the home and had a 6 year old who had to be taken to and picked up from school. My car was repossed on a Wednesday and on Friday I found a guy in the newspaper classifieds who was selling an 8 year old toyota for $3000. I did not have this kind of money. I called him and asked if he would consider taking payments on the car and I explained my situation to him. He told me he did not know me and could not take payments. I went to bed that night in tears. At about 11pm that night my phone rang and it was the guy asking for my address. He had had a change of heart and wanted to bring me the car. Not only did he reduce the price of the car, but after I had made 3 payments on the car he called me and told me he wanted to come by and do a bill of sale so I could have the car (no more payments).
Another.. I also had lots of trouble with my young son in school. He has been suspended 3 times for excessive talking, getting out of his seat and being disrespectful. He is now in the third grade. I took him to the doctor one day and saw four disabled kids in the waiting room. Two of them were much older than my son, wearing diapers and in special wheelchairs. It may sound foolish, but, I was thankful that my son is healthy and able to run around to get into trouble. Some of us think we are going through a lot, but we really aren't when you compare your situation to someone else's. Life isn't easy for most people. Be thankful that things are as well as they are.
I have several other examples, but I'll spare you. My point is...we are still living and breathing and whether we realize it or not, things always "work out". I still have that car which is still very reliable and has gotten me where I needed to go. It's not nearly as nice as the car I lost but I was and am still very thankful to you know who for that situation. Hang in there guys.
And you keeping watching, don't you?
Why anyone would watch that show is beyond me, but to each his own. All 3 of those judges are nutty in their own way. If Simon had a Brookly accent instead of a British accent, no one would find him charming. Paula has always been a little looney - remember when she was married to Emilio Estevez?
All this friction between Simon and Paula is just a publicity stunt.
keeping track
Maybe that is a personal thing if you keep track of who the doc dictates and who he doesn't dictate for. All I know is that they can take it for granted and you can spend lots of time if you're not careful. Could it be a doc in Ravenna?
Keeping files
In the process of cleaning my office, I found at least 600 floppy discs with work that I have done over the years - some as long ago as 10 years ago. Would like to "dump" all of these and more, but am not sure how long one needs to keep files especially for accounts they no longer do. Is there a good "rule of thumb"?
Thank you.
Log keeping glitches
Sorry, I forgot to mention that notepad has to be used, not word pad. Also, note pad has to be the only program on your start menu that starts with the letter N.
More info on log keeping
I guess I got up too early this morning, my brain is not firing on all cyliders today. (Been up since 3 a.m.)
Okay here goes:
Requirements:
- The Notepad program needs to be listed in the Start Menu (it must be the only thing listed in the Start menu that begins with the letter “N”, please rename anything else beginning with “N”).
- A file needs to be created from within Notepad named joblog.txt and saved to the desktop – one time only
- Save the file at the end of your shift – by a different name –clear out the joblog.txt file to be used for your next shift
If you experience trouble with this entry working, you may need to increase the pauses within the entry.
I'm keeping a watch
on the MT Reference style guide. I think it will be better when it's done than the printed BOS.
Keeping the following post going...
Okay...here goes...
So, currently I work in-house at my local hospital. (Probably shouldn't mention this cuz it's rude, but just trying to give accurate information)..I make 16.47 an hour, plus benefits. I love my job and it is supporting me and my husband (who is in college at the time...graduating in JUNE!!!)...So, it's worth it. However, I have to deal with a LOT of crap from the other MTs in-house. Lots of bitterness, competitiveness, bi*chiness, etc. I am dealing with it because I know I am not going to do this forever. Which brings me to my next point:
Don't stay in this job for a long time!!! You won't go anywhere with it, if anything you will probably get laid off due to outsourcing. I, myself, am starting school for medical coding. I will be done with school ($2000) in June and then get started in my new career. If have been a medical Transcriptionist for 6 years and have done everything from psychiatric to internal medicine to sleep studies as an IC (and it's not worth being and IC in my opinion because of all the taxes you have to pay...big bucks) and my best job yet has been working in-house at my current job. However, like I said, MTing is not going to get you anywhere fast. If you want a job that takes you to the next level, go into coding. There are a lot more career opportunities out there and you can eventually work from home being a coder as well.
If I had to do it over I would have gone straight into coding (except for the fact that I got a lot of medical experience working as an MT). Good luck to all of you who decide to stick with MTing, but I don't think it will reward you in the future. I believe it is a dying profession and we all need to move on while the opportunity is here.
I pray for all of us to be able to support ourselves and our family! I know it's tough out there and we all are struggling to make end's meat. Just keep on keepin on and we'll all make it through some how.
Keeping work in US
Because I always believed Americans respected law and they paid on time. I never visited this site MTStars even, but when I did because of all the circumstances that this lady led me into, I found out it happens regularly to other US MTs too and that Americans are no different.
Keeping reports...
There was a thread this week about someone saying they kept reports as a sample of their ability. Everyone claimed this was against the HIPPA rules.
Well here we have an ad, and I hope I don't get in trouble, for posting this, but see below:
Let me know if you have experience in the field of neurosurgery and if you can, please provide work samples. If I get the information and qualifications quickly, we may have a chance to win this contract, and work for you.
Thanks!
Now, to me that sounds like you would need to send sample reports. Am I wrong here? I guess this proves that it is okay to save reports as long as the demographic information is deleted and it becomes basically a "sample report."
Just my 2 cents...
Right-it has nothing to do with keeping up with technology... sm
if it means compatibility with a company platform.
Yes, and that same jug of water costs how much after it's
been paid for with tax dollars, hauled in on trucks, and handed out by National Guardsmen and FEMA workers who are being paid and are away from their own families? That little jug of water costs more to the taxpayers than Perrier.
My son did too. It costs a lot and unless you're
a real people person who can SELL, you won't make any money and you'll spend a bundle. TURN AND RUN, don't walk away unless you're ready to LIVE IT! IT has to be all you think, talk, eat, use, buy, etc....and you won't make a bunch if you don't get people to sign up.
I cut my costs a year ago...
I have noticed very little difference. I get the same speed and the only things that inhibit that are the usual things such as when the ISP is doing an update etc. Everyone I know with different DSL companies have said the same. You can always go back up to the higher speed if it doesn't work well in your case. To me it was worth saving the extra $20/month
AT&T business costs
I pay 230 a month for three lines, unlimited long distance, and DSL on a business plan. The biggest difference is the DSL cost is higher, and they charge per jack on installation. As opposed to 20 per line, i pay a flat rate of 50 for the LD for all three lines.
hidden costs by being an IC
The taxes are more as an independent contractor. period.
you pay the matching that the employer would pay.
Normally your benefits pkg from the hospital or employer of sick days, holidays, insurance, etc is worth about $10,000. Somehow you have to absorb that with what you charge. In addition to losing the matching the employer is paying. Otherwise the company you are contracting with is making out like a bandit -- and you truly are coming out on the short end of the stick -- they know this -- and they are laughing up their sleeve until we wake up out here and start charging so they won't be coming out the winner in this all the time. The very reason they OUTSOURCE is to get rid of those hidden costs and we now have taken on.
And then of course the hidden days down for work on computer, waiting for storms to pass, and the various and asundry responsibilities you take on and absorb that the company you are contracting with gets to turn loose of.
p.s. and oh please don't pop up with ITS WORTH A LOT TO TYPE IN MY JAMMIES. No, we are expected to be professional whether in Gucci or WalMart specials. And we should be paid accordingly. That argument doesn't fly. and being home with the kids doesn't either. Only one thing can be done at one time, and you can watch the kids or you can transcribe but you can't do both simultaneously. The guilt factor may be less when one needs to do errands in the day -- but guess what -- while people are sleeping guess who is up into the night beating the keys. No, this should not be a trade off. It's a business like any other business who does a contract with another company.
phone costs
Hi,
Cell phone runs 89 per month,, that is the whole package, unlimited internet access, free text, nights and weekends, etc,,,,and I was able to do away with home internet altogether. No longer have a land line or DSL at home so the savings there made up the difference
Actually, VR actually costs the client....sm
less money,which is why some are changing to it...to pay less for transcription, which is why WE get paid less. That is how it is with my company. So in essence, the company is taking a cut in pay as well....why else would anyone use it, including the MTSOs??? I'm just sayin'.
It was a matter of keeping the accounts
Didnt they say they had to because the work was out of TAT?
I am keeping a list of all the rotten
dictators I have typed over the last 10 years or more. Not the ones who try but have problems, but mostly the non-ESLs who are just sloppy and inconsiderate pigs. When I retire, I am calling each of them and telling them exactly what I think of them and how it really reflects on what kind of inconsiderate person they are. I can't wait for 2 months to pass!!!!!!!!!!!!!
td = 10/13/2005. in IT I just keeping adding them as td.
dd
More important to me is keeping my financial
info within the US. HIPAA allows many uses of unidentiable medical records to be distributed in many ways even within the US, not to mention overseas. There is no law that keeps my financial information confidential and within the boundaries of the US. Very little truly identifible information to connect medicall record A with a particular person other than by name is sent anywhere, even to MTSOs within the US.
Who wants my medical information? The College of Surgeons to help them identify ethnicities and trends in cancers, the AARP to help target demographic groups for products they sponsor and to "represent" when they pay their professional lobbying group in DC, the auto industry to decide my premiums, and on and on.
I got a Walmart credit card, was 7 days late in sending in my $10 minimum payment and got a call from India for collections. ???? Mailed in the account balance and closed the account. Then called all my credit companies to find out where their call centers were located. I now have only financial business with companies who keep my records in the US. That is my choice. There ARE 2 cases of people who sold US financial records being proscecuted by the Indian government and a total of 5 people are in jail for this.
To the OP, share with us your thoughts.
Michael: You've been missing a lot of work. Peter: I wouldn't really say I've been missing it.
are you not interested in keeping up to date
If not, then the Stedman's Work At Home is not for you. If on the other hand, you are interested in staying abreast of new technology and updates to words, then it is worth the money. For example, you may not be aware than LLW updated it's Stedman Spellcheck and the words in it are spelled more accurately than the words in the word books published before mid 2004. You may find errors in Stedman books that you will not find in the Work At Home package. You also get to ask about words you cannot document. I have used this feature and gotten an answer within an hour.
Very useful resource for the low price.
Keeping good thoughts for u nm
.
It sounds like your frustration is keeping you with
Companies do not seek out single people to put on the worst accounts, nor 2-income families for their best accounts.
We all have good and bad dictators.
Sounds like you need a good break. Hope you can arrange that soon.
Getting CMT may be least of it, keeping up with credits and renewel
zzzz
Keeping with the movie theme........
share with me the good movies you have seen in the past year (I like to get PayPerView and have picked some STRANGE stuff lately!!!)
Thanks!!!!
I think keeping animals caged
or "boxed in" and this includes, birds, snakes, turtles, and yes, keeping cats inside a house for their entire life cheats them of being able to live in their natural environment and doing what comes naturally to their species. Their exercise is greatly reduced and so is their instinctive behavior to feed, hunt or whatever it is they do. How would you like to live inside a box for your entire life? Just my opinion, you are entitled to yours.
I have been on since 3 a.m. without a problem, so perhaps maybe the ISP is having problems keeping t
more help, but I truly have not had a problem. Hey, try this.....take down your modem and router for 30 seconds and restart and see if that fixes the connection. Who knows what happens with the "gremlins" but sometimes it just works better when we start fresh.
|
