Most pay is on a production basis these days, so SM
Posted By: MissIndigo on 2009-01-22
In Reply to: what is a typical QA hourly wage for experienced QA - lisa
in looking for a typical wage, you really need to find out what group of "typical" MTs to compare oneself to. All experienced, of course. Slow, below-average speed, average speed, above average, fast, very fast, and wow-I-wish-I-could-do-that. Some very experienced MTs are slow for various reasons. A few probably have no real talent for the job but have always worked on salary. Others can be faster but again have always worked on salary, which didn't encourage developing one's maximum speed. Others prefer to work in a relaxed manner and choose not to focus on high production. The higher producers are either very talented or they've worked hard at harnessing the available technology to work for them, and all work steadily and fairly hard.
$20+ also strikes me as fairly typical for a sincere MT who applies herself reasonably consistently, and I agree that 30-35+ is still an achievable goal for most who commit to making money, though typical only for the fast classes.
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Most pay is on a production basis these days, so SM
in looking for a typical wage, you really need to find out what group of "typical" MTs to compare oneself to. All experienced, of course. Slow, below-average speed, average speed, above average, fast, very fast, and wow-I-wish-I-could-do-that. Some very experienced MTs are slow for various reasons. A few probably have no real talent for the job but have always worked on salary. Others can be faster but again have always worked on salary, which didn't encourage developing one's maximum speed. Others prefer to work in a relaxed manner and choose not to focus on high production. The higher producers are either very talented or they've worked hard at harnessing the available technology to work for them, and all work steadily and fairly hard.
$20+ also strikes me as fairly typical for a sincere MT who applies herself reasonably consistently, and I agree that 30-35+ is still an achievable goal for most who commit to making money, though typical only for the fast classes.
i would see if they would hire you on a part-time basis those 2 days you are off for a trial to see
;
Been there myself on a day to day basis.
and it just plain blows big time.
First name basis
IMHO, if the client wants you to call them Pipsqueak, you comply. It's their perogative - the customer is always right. 
30 hours divided by four days equals seven-hour days. Most of us have to work pretty much every day
.
It's on a per-account basis. nm
..
My husband does this on an every day basis
changing what I say to something else and I laugh each and every day we are together. He is so funny i start laughing before I ever get a sentence out of my mouth. He keeps me in stitches, my bestest friend in the whole wide world! I tell him I think he needs a hearing aid and he says WHAT?? I said is something wrong with your ears and he says.. I don’t have any tears. I have no dull days when he is here with me. The way he works is home most days and I can hardly wait for him to get out of bed so I can laugh more.
Regardless whether HIPPA is the basis or not....
there is a problem there that needs to be addressed here. Either you agree or don't! No need to critize an MT who is at least trying to make an effort to do something about it.
possible, but not on a consistent basis, I don't think
I have done it, but it is not possible to do that for 4 hours straight, and definitely not for 8. There are so many factors that affect your work.... how many times you stop to look up things, ESLs, wasted time with doctors who don't have their thoughts organized, etc. I have done 350-400 lines an hour rarely... usually it is 275-300 if I have a very familiar doctor, no terms to look up, and my fingers and mind are communicating that day. :o) So long answer short, it is 'doable', but doubtful that you could keep it up for 8 hours.
Working 6/hour days, 5 days/week I make
$42,000.00, but the work is there to make more if I want to. I'm in the southeast.
If you don't speak on a daily basis . . .
x
I work with SR on a daily basis, and I can tell you...sm
...it will NOT be replacing human intelligence, now or 10 years from now or 50 years from now. The files we work on come from a VERY expensive speech recognition system and the quality is very poor. SR cannot handle punctuation well at all, doesn't know when to stop and start sentences, has problems with capitalization, and ironically enough, when the doctor actually spells something out, that totally confuses SR!
But even if technology advances to the place where speech recognition can accurately reproduce every word and sound that comes out of a doctor's mouth, so what? That STILL will not replace human MTs, because doctors do not always say what they mean, or even when they DO say what they mean, what they mean is not right! We're the only ones who can clean up that mess.
Jay
What reference do you use the most on a daily basis? SM
I lost all my reference books in a fire and I can't afford to replace them all at once. I am buying a couple of books each pay check and I've been trying to decide what I need the most. So far I have gotten a Dorland's Medical Dictionary, Surgical Word Book, and Radiology Word Book because I do radiology a couple of times a week.
So to all you acute care MTs out there, what books do you find yourself using on a daily basis?
I have probably 30 dictators that I get on a regular basis, usually
the same work type, but depending on the workload I may get all different work types, and lots of dictators I've never had before, but that isn't the norm. My company has very high standards and I think they realize in order to retain the good MTs they have to make them productive and they try to do that as much as they can by keeping them on one account.
I've had accounts in the past where it was rare that I got the same dictator more than a couple of times and they were all very difficult ESL dictators, which makes it harder to learn them.
I take ibuprofen usually on a daily basis
although really should not. I have this in the bilateral wrists so it cannot be just the mouse use alone. A certain movement with the wrists elicits such excruciating pain, you probably know though. Am glad not doing anything real serious, like brain surgery or the like, when this pain hits.
Google is not good basis, IMO. sm
Look up the definition of "hire." It can apply. You can certainly hire an IC, just as you can hire a service, plumber, electrician, babysitter, etc. Even if Google does show it's being used often to refer to employees, that doesn't mean that every single person saying it is implying or in any way establishing an employee-employer relationship. That's not to say the person you are referring to didn't mean it that way, just that I don't think it's fair to paint every MTSO that might say it with that broad brush. I don't think the IRS would consider it a valid cause as establishment of employee vs. IC relationship, either. It's a stretch to say that someone can't even say they "hired" an IC. I just think that's reading way too much into it. JMO, FWIW.
From dictionary.com:
Hire is a general word, most commonly applied to paying money for labor or services...
Ask your PS to see if you can try it on a trial basis, say for a month or so...sm
You won't really know if it'll be better for you unless you give it a trial run. 5-1/2 hours each day should go by quick even with breaks.
Good luck.
I fax all my reports on a daily basis
I have a fax machine right in my computer. As soon as I'm doing typing a report, I print it directly to the fax. It has the capability to schedule faxes. Where I work we have to hold the reports for 5 days in case there are any corrections so I just schedule my faxes five days in advance and it automatically faxes everything out. I can keep tract of whether or not a fax has gone out just by clicking on the fax icon on my computer. It's really very handy.
Not to mention doing it on a regular basis
I could maybe, maybe, if the stars were aligned properly and all the factors MTinNC mentioned were in place, type 3000 lines in a 12-15 hour day. But it would be one day. I couldn't do that everyday, and it probably would take so much out of me that I'd end up slowing down in subsequent days, making it all balance out. Of course, I'm no longer in my 20s, but I think it would still take a quick toll.
I type oncology on a daily basis.
It's tough, especially when it's a young person. At least with older people, I think they lived long and happy lives. The doctors are taking good care of them, and their family members are usually there with them. Then there are times when the doctors describe the person's presenting symptoms and I sit there wondering if my aches and pains could be cancer. Maybe that's why so many MTSOs are looking for people to type oncology. Nobody wants to do it. I should probably find something else to do.
We are paid on a tier basis, based on
your production during the entire pay period. For example:
12,000 - xx
12,001 - 14,000 - an additional 0.05.
14,000 - 16,000 - an additional 0.05.
16,001 and above - an additional 0.05
So, lines between 12,000 and 14,000 we are paid xx + 0.05;
14001 - 16000 - xx + 0.05 + 0.05;
16,001 - above xx + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05.
2000 low days, 4000 busy days
Did 43,000 lines last month. 6 doctors.
You can "make a living" if you work 16-hr days, 7 days
and if you rarely buy anything but food and the barest essentials in clothing. My balancing act is so precarious that all it'll take is one of life's little disasters (rent increase, sick pet, major car repair) to pull the rug out from under me. Not a good feeling at all.
I need something on a trial basis for now...if it works out, I will invest later...Can't afford..
to invest in software unless it is a sure thing. Thanks
People die and lose everything on a daily basis, not just hurricane
victims. I wish people would stop insinuating that everyone in the country who is getting on with their own lives is selfish or uncaring.
Once I got over needing/wanting to talk whoever on a daily basis, I liked not to - sm
For years (my 20s) I felt I had to talk to my SO every day for 5 years....finally broke up for good...took 3 times to work. Next SO was much more laid back, talked to him 3-4 times a week maybe, saw each other maybe 3 x a week. Helped me a lot in getting over the previous jerk/SO. That lasted about 20 months....then met DH. We did not talk every day at first even though we lived 100 miles apart....later on we did. I moved in with him though 6 months after meeting him so it became a mute point then. But even today he calls me usually 1-4 x a day which at times gets to be a bit annoying actually. Though when he does not call I do worry and wonder if he is okay....he did not call yesterday and the roads were icy so it gets you worried when your DH/SO does not stick to form. The only way to get over being annoyed is to call him and ask him if he called and hung up and to next time please leave a message. Or be stubborn and wait and get angrier if that makes you happy.
very few responses on the State Boards on a daily basis
So I thought I would try the main board. If I don't get a response in a couple of hours, I guess it could be taken off.
Thanks
Per diem is on an as needed basis - not a stable job. May work 1 day a month. nm
x
Any hospitals/clinics hiring home-based employees on an hourly basis? TIA
/
550-650 lph on average. Some days more, some days less. It all depends. nm
x
How? By working 12-hr days 7 days/week?
;LKJ
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.
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