MRC, wow. I loved that place. I started in 1992 and like you was a "newbie" at that time. SM
Posted By: jazzMT on 2009-04-20
In Reply to: An Open Plea To All The "Oldies" In Transcription - NightOwl
I had only worked at one large hospital before doing mostly radiology. I loved MRC until it merged with TL then became MQ. Things only went downhill after that.
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Well, I started getting the screw in-house in 1992 (sm)
So can you honestly say you are seeing the same jobs and the same pay you saw then?
I always check these boards now when looking for a new account. If other MTs say it is a bad company, I don't apply.
I started on a mag card in 1975 (loved it!)... and (s/m)
then in subsequent jobs used a Selectric & correction paper, or correction tape.
When Liquid Paper dame along, it made doing reports with 4 carbons behind the original a lot easier, though not necessarily less messy! I also found out I was slightly allergic to carbon paper! It makes me itch & sneeze. When I arrived at my current job in '80, my office-mate had been at it since the late 40's/early 50's. Back then, she said she actually took her notes LIVE, sitting in front of the doctor while he talked. (We all had alot more time back then!) She took her notes in shorthand (remember shorthand?), and then went back to her desk and transcribed them. So that was even 'way before ANY kind of recorded dictation!
Then we got Correcting Selectrics. Nice, but not NEARLY as much memory as the Mag-Card, where you could just keep on shoving those cards in for an unlimited amount of memory.
At one service I worked for, we had state-of-the-art "Lexitrons". I loved those, too. The memory was on cassettes - like the kind you play music on. Each cassette had 15 empty pages on it. We had some for "normals", others for entirely transcribed reports. The printers were pretty primitive... they typed with keys, just like a typewriter. And they only went ONE direction, then the carriage would return! You also couldn't type while it was printing. Finally they got an upgrade where it printed both forward & backward, and we could type while that was going on. We thought we had joined the Space-Age at that point!
Eventually we got an IBM computer for my office. It had a tiny screen, so you could only see 1/2 the page or less at a time. At that time Wang was the most popular computer/software, but they still wanted an IBM because they were familiar with the name.
Then I changed offices within the SAME organization, and it was back to a Selectric again!
Many years, computer and software changes later, we now have Dells and a powerful word processing system. And oh, yes: Now we have strained necks, carpal tunnel syndrome, thumb & neck splints, ergonomic work stations, sore backs, fat butts, etc., etc., etc.! Something we never worried about back in school, when we used the old manual typewriters with manual carriage returns!
I'd have loved tapes when I started...we used belts! nm
x
I totally loved Instant Text from the moment I started using it.
I imported my Expanders from my PRD that I used in WP5.1 so that I didn't have a great learning curve. You can import a lot of different programs expansions so that you can use what you're used to. The other part of the program I truly like is the ability to make compilations from files of reports that I've already type. IT makes the lists for me of phrases that are often used in the reports. IT is less profitable to use if you're just expanding words. Why exactly are you expanding entries that you don't intend? Guess I don't understand.
Tell you what the place I work for started
I work for a national doing a hospital here in my town. The hospital told the dictators no more cell phone calls just because of what you are talking about. I remember when they were allowed to use and all the cutting out so big gaps left. It will work if someone in charge puts that in force.
I am in the same place you are - I started school last week... nm
x
I loved my account with Spheris, but had a hard time
punching in and out. I worked originally for Healthscribe and then they merged with Spheris. Things didn't change for quite a while and then all of a sudden things took a crappy turn for the worse. I ended up with at least 5 accounts that I was in daily. I went from having to punch in and out and being required to work full time hours to stay a full time employee even though I could get my work done in part time hours. I didn't stick around and after 2 years with Healthscribe I left shortly after the merge was starting to take shape. Like I said, the biggest problem was punching in and out. Good luck.
hate daylight savings time, LOVED living in AZ for 2 years!
used to whatever time you are on, some government says, "EVERYBODY CHANGE AGAIN!"
There's a time and a place for everything, and
I prefer to spend mine editing the work I get paid for, not every note I post on web forums.
All the time, I love this place!
I think the man is prejudiced regardless of another time and place.
son or not, he shouldn't have said what he did. I have family in the deep south that refer to black people as "niggers" and I think it's disgusting. I've voiced my opinion about it and whenever I'm around them, which really isn't that often, they are very careful about how they refer to black people.
Some of it's just "timing"...right place at right time. sm
This is an extensive thread and I haven't read every entry, so I might be repeating someone else, but one thing you can do is to make yourself available for work during "unpopular" shifts and days (meaning nights and weekends). A person who would be available on BOTH weekend days would certainly stand out, for instance. Even if it's very hard to accommodate such a schedule for awhile, you'd probably have a chance to move to better hours at some point.
CMT 1992-2006. sm
Don't worry about the test. Like Iowan said, just register and take it. I had to drop mine when I retired, but I enjoyed having it when I was working. :)
give it time, dust is settling, they just have no place else to gripe yet. nm
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Agree and disagree -- there is a time and place for discretion -- but it should be with the approval
I used to do shift assignments many years ago ... first off, there are times when you have a newbie (or not so newbie) who will literally take hours to do a few OP reports, when what you need is TURNOVER, VOLUME, SPEED .. in those cases, it may make sense for the overall picture to assign someone new (or ailing) some "easy" work to clear out a worktype ... Ditto, I don't have any problem with requesting (and having request granted) to do certain report types or this-not-that when there is a request for extra hours. If you've already put in your shifts doing luck-of-the-draw, spending extra hours doing the dregs feels like punishment ... and if you're doing an unfamiliar worktype on overtime or extra, your reports will likely be a burden to QA ... net gain lessened.
There are all kinds of cherrypicking possible depending on the configuration of your job -- switching worktypes, switching accounts, taking a "break" are all ways to pass the exhausting and frustrating on to somebody else ... Oh, and no, I make myself NOT do that ... easy though it appears to be for most people to get away with it.
I once had a coworker (whom I liked) who explained that she HAD to cherrypick because otherwise she couldn't reach her line count within her 8 hour workday ...
I started using it when I worked for Rodeer. They had used PRD at one time
I like the simplicity of it, and the fact that's it's fast compared to others I've used. I'm not sure why that is.
It doesn't have any prompt that reminds you of your expansion, so you have to have a system of remembering, which is another thing I prefer. The reminders only get in my way and slow down my production.
That's about the time my hospital started treating its -nm
..
When my sister-in-law was in a car accident in 1992
my husband said they had an ESL in the ER. He tried several times to explain to the family what had happened. When they continually couldn't understand him, he blurted out, "She's dead!" My husband has never forgotten that.
I have started many jobs with the undertanding that I already have time off scheduled. sm
Most companies who need MTs need them on a chronic basis. If they find a "good hire" they will usually work with your upcoming time off or let you start after your time off. I would be looking. More people look at the first of the year because of benefits, so you might get a jump on them.
I started part-time in a doc's office while still in high school. sm
That was in 1984. My career just bloomed from there......
In So. Cal? Where our cracker box 1000 sq ft house we bought for 130,00 in 1992
c
"Newbie" or Not,
You should NEVER accept 4 cpl!! Wages are going down because new MTs (and offshore MTs) are working for embarrassingly low wages! I've only been working for a little over a year, but I started out at 8 cpl right out of school. Part-time or not, you're worth more than that.
You wouldn't take a job at McDonald's for $1/hour would you?
Good luck! I really hope you either find a new company or tell the sorry excuse of a company you have now that you won't work for less than at least 7.5 cpl.
This has nothing to do with being a "newbie." It has to do with not bothering...
to look a word up when you're not sure. You just said that you still have to look things up - good for you, at least you're looking things up. I'm talking about MTs who don't bother to look anything up, just blank, blank, blank, blank because they know that the QA safety net is there to catch them.
I know, I know, with line rates as low at they are, MTs don't want to spend a lot of time on blanks - time is money, yada yada. I hate to break this to all you MTs out there that think that way, but quality AND quantity is the name of this game. Like it or not, you are expected to be both productive and accurate. This is the profession you chose. I know you just wanted to work from home, but just because you can look like a slob while you work doesn't mean you can produce sloppy work. You still have to be a professional.
I agree with whomever it was below that said we are paid to QA NOT to train. If you're new and unsure, then for a fee I will mentor you, but if you've landed a job as an MT with the same company I work for, then my job is to fill in your blanks or randomly evaluate your work. I have to trust that you know what you're doing, why else would you have been offered the job? Although I would swear sometimes that some of the MTs I QA had someone else take the test for them!
I get paid hourly for doing QA, so I'm not complaining about my job. Actually, MT incompetence is job security for me, but every day I have more of an understanding as to why the line rates being offered are so low.
No, you don't get "Newbie" reports..
They come to QA. Another MT is not expected to straighten out another MT's work.
Then DON'T work for "newbie" wages
If you were better, you'd be making more. Bottom line.
Slow people do not make money.
Bad attitude people get less work/jobs.
Good MTSOs do not hire poor MTs.
Why are you griping. It's your own doing. Life is what you make of it. If you deserved more, you'd be making more.
Type faster, make more.
Start your own business, make more.
Qualify for a good MTSO, make more.
If you're not earning it, the reason lies with YOU.
She will tire of this soon. It's just "newbie syndrome". nm
:)
7 years is not a "newbie". I think the above post
*
I know this will sound like a dumb "newbie" question, but
I have a question for those of you that work for national companies and have a set schedule. How important is it that you stick with your schedule? If you can get all the work done before the deadline, is it okay to take an hour or two off for something like cooking dinner or something like that, as long as your get all your work done by the deadline? Just wonderfing!! Thanks!!!
Julia
I am such a "newbie" when it comes to computers and you guys rock!
Duh to me, I did find the disc to install XP. Thanks and thanks again. I also printed off the instructions about Radio Shack and that is my next stop. You guys are fabulous!
It's the only place I have ever lived.. Great place to retire or raise a family. Low crime rate e
living is pretty easy here. Low stress..
The position varies from place to place..
Sometimes you end up doing VR, which can be really easy or a real pain. Sometimes you end up simply editing files and all is good. Other times, you end up with more job responsibilities and hours than you ever wanted. All in all better than typing LOL.
I LOVED IT. . . .
And had to forward it to all my "crabby" friends.
I loved my cat too and still do
I had to put my 18-plus year old cat to sleep 2 months ago. She was with me since she was born. She had end-stage renal failure and for a year I had to give her three times weekly infusions of Ringer's. She was actually really healthy right up until the end though and used to boss the other 2 youngsters around. I miss her every day. She went with me back and forth across the country. I know exactgly how you feel.
I did and loved it - sm
She came every other week and charged $15 and hour. She would spend 4 hours and she was a white tornado in those 4 hours let me tell you. I loved, loved, loved having her.
Unfortunately, i had to let her go when i moved into rehabbers paradise. No sense in paying someone to fight a losing battle until rehabbing is over say in about 10 years :(
We did that too, my 2 loved it too! - nm
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My mom loved them and had many of them -nm
throughout the years, so I grew up with them. They are nice, though I put my hair in a pony tail so I can see. Started out with an old Plymouth in the 60s and ended with a 2003 BMW Z4 (very nice). They only time it was a drag was in an unexpected rain storm, though now you just push a button and the top goes back on....until her corvette (1 car before the BMW) we had to do it manually, so stop the car, pull up the top, lock, etc. Also in the summer, very hot seats...carry towels so you don't scald off the skin on the back of your thighs, butt and back, though cloth seats would help with that problem, and obviously don't leave anything in the car you wouldn't mind losing (i.e. stolen or blown away). They are fun though, I hope to get one myself one day but content myself with driving with all the windows down now. Have fun shopping.
TFS! Loved it
I need that laugh!!
Loved pet...
I had to put down my Andi (poodle mix dog) today. Last night I came home from church and found her on the door step apparently hurt. Brought her to the vet who kept her over night. I went in this morning but she had multiple fractures and had to be put to sleep. I don't think I will get another pet. It's too hard when you lose them.
yes, i saw and loved the
was wondering if the walking tour is only a group tour or is there a map and written directions so that one could walk the tour alone (or with a friend, etc.).
the MT info is good but i am much more interested in NY and seeing it from an *insider's* point of view. i know that is not the purpose of the blog but maybe you could do something on that line regarding NY??
I used to do these too! Loved them! sm
They were long and kind of boring in my opinion, but I made a LOT of $$ and had a GREAT dictator. he was so great, in fact, that he transitioned into doing his work by voice recognition without a hitch. I truly miss that account . . . :(
Loved this. (nm)
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Yes, loved it.....sm
Yes, I used it for several years and loved it. It does not have its own expander, but I used InstantText with it quite successfully. I hardly ever hear of it any more. Do you mind sharing what company still uses it?
Loved it
Who still uses this program???? It was great. Does not have its own Expander but I used Instant Text and it worked great!!
Loved it.
Where did you find it? I am thinking to change mine.
LOVED the job!!!!
I worked for this company a while back & loved the job. I say to anyone out there reading the same rubbish I did, use your own judgement about a person/job and don't let bitter faceless people influence you otherwise - and THEY talked about being rude?!!! If I wasn't forced to give up the vet op work (family reasons), I would never have left! New clinics kept opening every year, and the owner always did her best to keep me informed and made my job as easy as possible! Some people prefer to work for large transcription companies, but I prefer to work for smaller companies, where you are recognized as being an indvidual that is an IMPORTANT member of the team. 
Loved it!
I enjoyed reading this post. I guess it was that punch line that really got to me LOL....
Your real-life doc kinda reminds me of Dr. House on TV, though Dr. House seems to have become more contrite during the last 10 minutes of the season finale.
I've always thought that there could not possibly be real life docs out there like House, at least not ones who would be allowed to see patients, but now I am not so sure.
Have you ever thought of a second career in which you take real-life experiences and fictionalize them, send the scripts to the people who make movies and TV shows? I think you would be very good at that.
LOL! Loved your response...
 the guy would probably burn the whole neighborhood down just to be sure he got the one who did it! I really wished there was something I could do, though. I loved your graphics.. That's exactly what I feel like doing!
I loved it. Very moving.
zz
I had one when I was inhouse and loved it! sm
I just wish I could afford to get my own right now. It takes a little getting used to, but not too bad and it's soooooo comfortable.
When I used to use Medrite I loved it.
I'm not sure what that person does not like about it. It was extremely easy to use.
Awww I loved her...
she was a great actress and she made me laugh. RIP Shelly.
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