My husband is in danger of losing his job so he is learning to transcribe.
Posted By: MTmom on 2008-04-17
In Reply to: let's get real here for a minute --- - anon
He is trying his hardest and since I work full-time at a local hospital and he is doing my part-time work at home, it helps me out tremendously. With the economy being the way it is we all are making sacrifices. I truly think some people are just venting their frustrations as we all need to do sometimes. I love my job but sometimes I curse my job. I don't give too much credit to those who are always badmouthing their professions as they are the ones that chose them and hey...if you were working more instead of posting messages, you would make more money.....there's a thought for ya.
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Yep, I agree. I think EMR really will probably more of a danger to us
nm
The danger of outsourcing
My brother recently put in an order with a well-known computer company for two laptops with all the bells and whistles. Something came up and he needed at least one of them ASAP. He called to see if he couldn't get at least one of them in a couple of days and got someone from God knows where who told him the order had been cancelled. When he inquired as to why, the person then proceeded to tell him that it was because he was trying to "commit a fraud" - direct quote from the customer support person. He went up to the next level, got the run around from another ESL person and finally got with an English-spearing person. When he applied for his credit application with this two-initial company, they approved him and then did a seconary check on his employment. He is a union electrician and works out of a union hall. Duhhhhhh. The first person said he was not employed by the union hall and accused him of attempted fraud and cancelled the application and the production of his computers. Of course, he is not employed by the union hall - he works OUT of the union hall and probably has enough pocket change to pay her yearly salary and that of the rest of her family for the next year. I know - because I happen to know he is a tightwad. After all, he's my brother. What I love best, is that his wife works for a mega law firm and he actually threatened them with a law suit for slander and had everyone wallowing and apologizing. I myself have now started telling ESLs I do not want to talk to them I can't understand them and want to speak to an English person after someone at Bellsouth called me to pay my phone bill 3 days before it was due and there was no past due balance involved. I've had it with these compaines and I will NOT put up with these people any longer. This is the US, get with it or stay in your country and learn English before you get over here or stay there and learn it or whatever just learn the darn language before you start telling me about what you want or expect. There, I feel better.
if the discrepancies are a danger sm
to patient care then I would put a note on it questioning and send it to QA. Let them take the responsibility for finding out what is going on. Personally I just couldn't let it go if it was something that is dangerous to a patient.
I realize that. I have read all about the danger
of Accutane, the side effects, the horror stories. I know all the warnings about it. That's why I'm asking personal experiences of people who have actually used it. I realize there's a big risk in taking it. I also know some people have been helped tremendously by it. I'm just asking about personal experience with it because I really don't know what to do at this point since nothing else has worked and we really have tried just about everything, other than a chemical peel. I think if I take him to another dermatologist they may suggest Accutane and I just wanted to hear experiences of people who have actually used it.
Is there any danger putting bank acct# and routing# on federal tax (sm)
tax form so as to get your refund by direct deposit? Can someone use this info to their advantage?
DH is dear husband or any number of colorful adjectives preceding husband. (no message)
;)
I totally understand but if your husband is like my husband... sm
When it comes to something like that, that I usually take care of but for whatever reason I can't, I will tell my husband exactly what to do, but when he comes back - to use your case as a "for instance" - I will ask him, "Did the doctor look at his foot?"
Him: "No."
Me: "Did you ask the doctor to look at his foot?"
Him: "No."
Me: "I told you to have the doctor look at his foot!"
Him: (shrug)
etc., etc., etc.
Your husband may not be like that - I sure hope he isn't. And yes, they should have checked his vitals and checked his foot without being asked. But sometimes you have to be assertive with people. And while my husband attained the rank of major in the Air Force and had no trouble ordering people around, there are times when he should be assertive but isn't. And he is not intimidated by doctors - he started his AF career as an x-ray tech (that's how we met). I dunno....(Rad MT wanders off, mumbling....)
Always looking and learning
What is a marker, is it product specific or would shorthand have it? Sounds great
learning op
Try this book: Stedman's Medical Transcription Skillbuilders: Creating Surgical Reports. (also comes with 2 cds)
Losing 500 lbs
Thanks for being so blunt.  You're right, I haven't been respecting myself by staying in this situation and I only have myself to blame. Every day I feel more and more drained, physically, mentally and emotionally. It is a very unhealthy situation. I was stupid and had those rose-colored glasses on when I made a hasty decision to marry him last year. I don't respect anyone who is content with just lounging around watching TV and the like, does not contribute to the responsibilities of the household or to society at large and sucks taxpayer's money dry by being on bogus disability.
Learning radiology.....sm
You should definitely give it a try, but "only" if you let them know up front that you haven't done radiology. You can say that you feel you have enough experience to adapt to it and hope they'll give you the chance. After all, the more specialties you have under your belt, the better your chances are of staying in this field. But I would not take the job without being honest. The transition is not all that difficult, but it will take some time. And besides, you always have your former skills to rely on if it doesn't work out. Good luck.
Yes, I'll be learning DQS...
I have wireless internet so I can't imagine why I would need a modem. I'm hoping that's something that's just in the manual for people that are still on dial up.
The lady I talked to made it sound like I had to rent the computer, although she quoted a fee of $25 a month. Is it not something I have to rent? Honestly, I don't mind it for right now just because my computer has been doing some crazy things, but when DH gets my computer upgraded I'd much prefer to just use my own computer. I'd rather not use all the other stuff if I don't have to.
Is DQS hard to learn? My training is Thursday and Friday so I assume I'll learn it then but I'm also not the best at remembering every single detail right away. I just want to get through this. I'm excited because they're letting me do acute-care work even though I tested for clinic work. I've been wanting acute-care experience and am thankful to be getting it. I just feel so overwhelmed with these three huge boxes sitting in my living room when I was only expecting one. The enormous DQS manual is also adding to the anxiety.
Thanks again.
Carole
Learning to read...
Yes, that problem brings you right back to the lack of early stimulation, schooling success, etc. You can offer the world, but just like the "horse to water", you can only do so much in getting people to accept education and work hard at it to be successful. It is NOT a solution to have people work at McDonalds, and unless they are literate, other options are just not going to work. I would guess that all states have vocational training in community colleges that provide tuition assistance, scholarships, and financial aid for those in need, but again, the ambition and dedication to finish something like that needs to come from the individual. Also, chasing down dead beat "fathers" is fine, but maybe young girls/women need to be smarter about taking reproductive chances. Nobody died not having sex. Perhaps more education in that arena is something the government could do. But again, you can only lead a horse to water, and people ultimately have to be responsible. We need to stop sugar coating the facts in our society in fear of offending somebody. The facts are that blacks are disproportionately more impoverished in America, but they also have babies at a 70% out-of-wedlock birth rate, and that is a problem.
Could not do without it. Small learning sm
curve, but worth it.
Looking to start learning soon
Hi all,
I found this board doing a Google on a company I hope to join soon. They will train me to work for them. I am excited to be able to finally get into this business.
I stared taking a course twice, but have been battling Diabetes. It was hard to find the motivation and keep the momentum going. Now my Diabetes (type 2) is better under control. I am also tired of working for someone else outside my home.
I have been looking at doing transcription work for 3-4 years now. I have researched positions I can take once I get some experience, and I don't mind trying to hustle up my own accounts.
I am posting here to keep my dream in front of me and keep me looking towards my own business. I plan to join AAMT and my local chapter once I get working. I am so excited!
Thanks for the information your board posted while I was researching the company to make sure it wasn't a scam. I am satisfied it is not and can't wait to start learning!javascript:editor_insertHTML('text',' '); Thank you all!
Thank GWB for that. It is all about the testing, not the learning.
x
Learning MSWord - need help
Finally have given in and am switching from WP to MSWord. I work from home. If anyone has any encouraging words about MSWord, I certainly would like to hear them. So far, I am going crazy, i.e., I have put in "gray boxes" but when I enter my autocorrect short cut for the "shell", my cursor goes to the bottom of the page and I have to page up 2-3 times. I am missing something?
Any help would be so very much appreciated 
Thank you.... bw...
learning word
There is a really good web site called MTwerks. They also give really good tech support and have a news letter with helpful tips.
Learning the English would be
a big help! They come here to make money and should learn the language. Benny Hinn does a great job with the English language when he's asking for money! so apparently it is doable.
Yes, but I have to use the mouse. But....am learning (sm)
more shortcut keys as I type!! Thanks!
I switched but still learning,too
I used SH for a year. To me, it was like AutoCorrect, which I used to love, but IT does so much more. I've been using IT for about a year. There are so many things you can do with it that you can't do with SH.
As the other poster said, check out the productivity website and you will fiind zillions of ideas.
Some have a different learning curve than others
I had an in-house job for 3 years, hired in off the street, no experience. Three months later, another girl hired in, same situation. Paid hourly, no ESL, and we had the opportunity to talk to the doctors in person about any issue.
By the time I left, I was the highest producer in the office. She was still struggling with the simplest words and phrases, still asking the same questions she asked the week she hired in, still needing help from somebody else all day long. She would cry from frustration because she couldn't get her act together. Other people that hired in after her got the hang of it much faster and were soon helping her too. I asked management on many occasions why they just didn't show her the door, and they said I was being harsh and that some people just couldn't learn as fast as others. I wonder why she didn't just go find a different kind of job instead of hanging around driving herself and everyone else nuts.
learning another language
It isn't that I wouldn't like to learn another language if I had the time. I would. It would be neat to be able to speak another language, but I don't. And it makes me fustrated when immigrants come here and expect me to know their language when they are the ones who came here. They should know proper English. Or just decent English. If I moved to South America I would not expect them to understand me. I would take it upon myself that if I wanted to communicate I need to learn good Spanish. And if I had a job where I did something such as dictating, I would make sure I knew decent English and tried to make myself understandable. Some ESLs act like they don't care if you can understand them or not. There ARE some who try though.
learning steno, et al.
Hi mt,
I looked into closed captioning many years ago here in San Diego, but it was not as good as it sounded with many problems both internally and externly, hard to explain in this forum, but I didn't want to get involved in that mess.
I started court reporting school way back in 1988 when we still had saber tooth tigers running around. I started the program at San Diego's City College. The first semester was learning theory which taught the steno language and the keyboard. We used the old manual machines, which are still available for students. The second semester and thereafter was all about the dreaded speed-building classes. We finished the first semester at 60 words a minute. Speed-building is a very personal matter. It can take years and years or less time, depending on the person. It took me 2 more years to reach 225 words per minute which qualified me to take the California state board test for licensure. I passed the academic portion the first time but not the machine portion. So I took it another 6 times, never passed that damned thing! Nerves got the best of me each and every time, so I could not go into the court reporting field (something I don't regret in hindsight). Instead I opted to enter our wonderful field of MTing.
I'm using my machine to write this message. I really like using the machine a lot. Each stroke produces either one word several words or phrases or parts of words that have many syllables. It all depends on how you have your dictionary defined.
Today's steno machines are electronic and computerized allowing us to interface with any word processing program.
I hope more people learn this skill and start using it for medical reports so we can get rid of this rotten ASR chap which has reduced my income way more than I can live with. I need a firm that will appreciate my skill and recognize its value in this field.
BTW, it would only take about 10 months to a year to become proficient enough on the machine to start using it for MTing, maybe even less time depending on the person. I didn't work during 3 years of my early training as I had financial help at the time (which I had to pay back, of course, $30,000 - it's paid back now).
Dave
It's like learning MT all over again. It takes
nm
There's a learning curve
In time it all gets better. Usually. Some people aren't cut out to be MTs, for them it never gets better. I felt the way you do when I started out in-house (no former training). But I was stubborn, and I learned, and knew I was getting better. Then I started working at home - BIG learning curve, had no idea my hospital job was so easy! But I was stubborn, and I learned and improved. Next job - more learning. New accounts with constantly changing specifics - keep learning. In this job, you learn every day - a new phrase, a new production tip, the fact that you've been spelling something wrong, etc.
Just take a deep breath and realize they are trying to help you. Thank them for every correction, because its what they need you to do. Make a lot of notes. And you can and will improve, if you're stubborn enough to make your investment pay.
coding learning
Both Andrews and M-Tec have coding courses. I had a discussion with Redpen about the possibilities and she thinks it will be at home eventually.
MT, are you just now learning about her needing a
Xanax?
I have been an MT for 10 years and am still learning...
you really do learn something new every day...just hang in there and you will do fine...
I think learning the language
and losing the accent are not quite the same thing... many of the ESL doctors speak English quite well, and may have been studying English for years in school. After a certain age, the accent is very difficult to lose. Some people have more of a talent for this than others. I know, makes it hard for the MTs.. but part of the job. Not saying they shouldn't try to improve... I study another language, but I am always going to have an American accent.
I think learning the language
and losing the accent are not quite the same thing... many of the ESL doctors speak English quite well, and may have been studying English for years in school. After a certain age, the accent is very difficult to lose. Some people have more of a talent for this than others. I know, makes it hard for the MTs.. but part of the job. Not saying they shouldn't try to improve... I study another language, but I am always going to have an American accent.
Losing Mind
I guess about now after five weeks, I would be losing my mind too, seeing that the father was let go, even though he told those boys, no body, no crime, and the other two boys are let go. What lawyer father would tell his son no body, no crime and then not wonder what is going on? Of course, he knows what went down. Any law abiding father, when he sees that a girl is missing and his son, who was with her the night before asked about no body, no crime would go to the police. You think Natalees mother is acting like she lost her mind, I would be much worse. I would be protesting in front of the rich kids house, I would be speaking out every chance I got, shame the police into doing their job, which they obviously are not doing too well.
Losing battle, Huh?
By the way, I have never even had my ears pierced, and now I'm too old to care.
Losing hearing
Does anybody else feel that over time their hearing has deteriorated due to the constant noise from wearing headphones?
Might be growth not losing MTs. xx
xx
losing lines
I work for a company, shall remain nameless but has been on this board, and is now, tons. They STEAL our lines and think we are so dumb and do not realize it. Do not even ask where your lines go, line count different from day to day as to what one has typed the previous day, and you will get no response. The money goes to the CEOs. There was an article today that stated CEOs average pay is 350,000 a year, while their employee salary is 28,000. That BITES big time. We slave, they gain. That is where the money goes.
Losing lines
Soon the only jobs that will not be outsourced will be manual labor jobs. We are losing our jobs constantly to cheaper labor. Imagine how much money these CEOs save by sending our work? That is what sickens me to death. My friend's husband is in manual labor and has to work out of time due to lack of work in his own state. This is a sad, sad world we live in.
Are they losing accts? Do
The work has dried up. Again I won't make a full paycheck. Others are saying the same thing. I think you may be right. Especially if you are an employee. But wasn't that their plan from the start?
I can't imagine what this package is they are sending out.
Unless they are going to offer to provide equipment, sufficient work/or a plan to give me lines (like on-call pay) for sitting with nothing to do IN WRITING, and a raise of 5 cents a line, the package will probably go in the round file right here beside me.
That is so sad. I hate to think about losing our pup
He's 4, but he's still our pup. Just a mutt, but he's a sweetie.
Tell your mom that a bunch of Mainers are sorry for her loss.
Losing faith...
Well every year I think things can't be any worse than the last. This year dealing with disturbing financial woes, working too much and a rebellious daughter. How do people some people go through all this and still keep their faith in God and life in general. Sometimes I just want to throw my hands up in the air and just forget it.
Sorry, just got more bad news and here alone working and needed to vent.
losing weight sm
I lost 105.5 pounds total and have kept it off for a year (gained 10 pounds back with this pregnancy, but I am 32 weeks along). I had to follow a more structured plan to actually lose weight. I used the Weight Watchers calculator and books to lose weight, but I did not go to meetings. I went from 235.5 to 130 on a 5 foot 5 frame. I don't follow the program now, but I have learned how to eat. I used to eat because I was bored, tired, etc. Not anymore!
Losing a client
You have my empathy.
This happens with the big companies too. The MT is the last to know that client whose account they have worked on will not renew a contract. I worked 60 days in a row on an account to help catch it up not knowing the Co. was losing the account. I felt betrayed because during that time I could have been trained for something else. I was on a C-phone at the time, and others had already been trained on newer systems. Things really can be quite thoughtless/heartless when regarding the MTs feelings. Makes one feel like just a number. Or as they say a "Human Resource" I that that word..... it sounds like an entity that uses-up, wads-up, and then discards. What ever happened to personnel? Once again, you have my empathy.
MTs losing jobs
I'm sorry to hear about you losing your job. One comment said that MTs are losing jobs all over the place. Could someone tell me more about this ... the loss of MT jobs. I'm new and I'm trying to decide whether to train as an MT or not. Thanks for all your help. I am soooooo undecided.
amelia
losing business
Obviously, you have secure accounts. I recently have lost 1/3 of my income due to VR, and I am sitting out in the middle of no where where we cannot get DSL. Wireless may be a possibility, but have been working on this for over a year. So, yes modern technology is great, but when the rest of your income has been limited with no overtime, and you count on that side job, modern technology hurts.
losing MT jobs
Transcription jobs are becoming very slim in Central Minnesota. One hospital outsourced to India, and two hospitals send to a service company. Our hospital may end up going VR which will most likely put half of us out of work too. Either way you look at it, it is a dying profession. Like someone said, you have to work twice as many hours to make enough money to live on - so don't talk about those poor poverty stricken people overseas. Without jobs here, we are going to be all poverty striken as well. How do we make a house payment and pay our taxes so they can send the money to these countries!
Possibly losing my job due to VR...
I was told that the clinic I MT for is considering an expensive VR program. The person that told me works for them too and said that it is about 98% accurate. She also said it might be something I should consider in order for my IC business to grow. Hello? Why would I invest in something I know the medical field would pay for in substitution for hiring an MT? She told me that this VR program costs about $4,000 but she did not know the product make. Is there really a VR product that accurate for that amount of money? If so, then I think it is time for me to get out before I am no longer needed.
Topic is now losing by 2%
Please go vote so others in this country might be made a little more aware of the problems outsourcing is causing this country!
losing acct
Hello Patty,
I lost an acct about two yrs ago and it hurt, but I wasn't backing down. The OM of one clinic knew the OM of another clinic I typed for and they mentioned to each other how much they were paying me per line. The OM from the higher paying clinic called me and asked why I was charging her clinic more. I told her first of all it wasn't really any of her business, but the other acct I had had for 10 yrs and I billed them 50,000 lines/mth, plus I picked up tapes every day. Her particular clinic I only had about 6 mth., billed about 3000 - 5000 lines/mth, and didn't get tapes every day. Needless to say, I never picked up another tape from that clinic, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
Losing account--please help
Hi...I am an IC who has been doing several doctors from a hospital account by way of picking up tapes. I just found out yesterday that the hospital account I have been doing has decided to have the doctor dictate into their system and have a MT service do those accounts. Is there any way I can propose to keep those accounts as what would I need to access their system so that I can still ....I need help fast......and just need to know what to do. Thank you anyone that can share some insight into this.......
Losing account
I am so sorry about your situation. I just recently lost my hospital job on Monday. What a way to start a Monday. They laid me off due to shortage of work. I have only been there for 5 months. I do not know what is happening with this industry. They are always thinking they are going to find it for a cheaper rate and sacrifice quality. It seems like the Docs do not care anymore and it is a shame because these are people's important documents and it should not be compromised. I am calling all the Docs that I did at the hospital and see if they are in need of a transcriptionist. I probably will run into your situation also.
Good Luck. When God closes a door, he opens a window and I believe everything is for a reason. You may not see it but we will down the road.
losing account
I wish you didn't have to back through the interviewing again....but you'll be just fine! Who knows, maybe you'll work for the service that the hospital hires! On a side note, how did you find that picture of my boyfriend, Dr. Christian whats-his-name on NipTuck?
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