My tips (and I can't type tonight so bear with me) (sm)
Posted By: midwestMT on 2008-07-22
In Reply to: "Independent Medical Transciptionist" - Janie
Also if you're serious about starting out on your own, here are my recommendations (been there, did that last year).
1. Be patient ... realize that unless you hit the offices at just the right time when they're looking for a transcriptionist, you won't get a billion calls just because you "opened your doors" (I was sadly optimistic for quite a while).
2. Market yourself as a professional ... meaning no email addresses such as "ilovemykitties@catsrus.com". Have a business name or simply YOURNAME transcription service but have something to print on those business cards and flyers and brochures you're going to create!
3. Get business cards. If you go with vista print's free ones, pay the $3.99 to have a BLANK back side. I didn't at first and had to redo mine because they all said "free business cards at vista print" which looked like ca-ca.
4. Create a flyer or a brochure advertising what you have to offer. You can do this in MS Word (we all have it) and there are free templates you can down load or just use the column function.
5. Decide WHAT market you want to target and go for it. I didn't want acute care/hospital work so I only targetted clinics.
6. Send out introduction letters (do a search for client getting letter on the internet, there's one out there that I found but I didn't like it so created my own but it's some place to start) ... enclose a business card and a flyer or brochure advertising your services. Ask them to please keep your information handy in case they need transcription help.
7. Get a website (if you like that kind of thing ... I did). Also you can advertise on craigslist (all I got was spam from it though) or on freeyellow, kijiji, etc. I took advantage of all the free resources there were to get my name out there and I did get calls from people that had to have found me on the internet.
8. IF you live near a big town, it might be worth it to pound the pavement and go directly to offices to drop off your information. For me, I found it more economical to send out letters to every single doctor in the phone books in several nearby towns/cities.
9. Be patient and realize that once you get your own clients, you will feel amazing ... it will revitalize your career when you can say good bye to the middle man and know that every single line you type is YOUR money!!
Feel free to email me if you have any questions. :)
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Okay, now I am goign to type this verbatim so bear with me.....
If you have tried unplugging the back of the unit and it still won't let you re-program but you hear a dial tone OR after you press PROGRAM KEY and SEC# comes in the window instead of KEYS window THEN try to push calc/clear and hold down until window clears OR push pund key first and then calc/clear and hold down together until the window clears THEN press PROGRAM then KEYS, etc following instrcutions to re-program each work type number and bottom row.
Let me know it this works at all!
off topic, but bear with me here
would you be upset if your husband had been somewhat unfaithful in the past, but the two of you worked through your problems and sought counseling and now had a stronger marriage than ever? except you didn't know for certain about the somewhat unfaithful part until after you had reconciled and renewed your vows? but then you find out that your mother-in-law knew about the infidelity and preached to you about marriage and family without telling you the whole story? because it was her son's place to tell me, not hers. and now you find out that she is friends with this other woman and calls and emails her on a regular basis, which is more than she does with you? do I have the right to feel angry and betrayed here? or am I seriously just overreacting and freaking out about something that's in the past?
mama bear
it reminds me of the simpsons. Homer makes a good papa bear..
Smarter than the average bear :-)
xx
So what? 8 cpl is what the market will bear. If you don't want 8, don't take a job that pays
x
May have to grin and bear it. Another option . .
Keep documentation for a while. It's a good CYA move if/when they use it against you in QA audits.
As you noted, you are aware a lot of us have been there. Personally, I think commas are the most subjective points of punctuation. Maybe it depends on the QA's mood or the phase of the moon! ;)
You're right. I can't bear children! BWAHAHA!!! nm
Sucker!
you should be setting your rates according to what the market will bear...
not what you feel like getting. If you like the account, you're familiar with it and able to make good money off of it, you might want to stay at the rate you are at. As a service owner, I used to plan to hire at 7 but bring everyone eventually up to 10 cpl by 0.5 increases every six months. I also used to be able to raise the rates from the hospital, clinic or physician office every 2 years. Nowadays if I bid on a new account, I am regularly outbid at 11 cpl, with 24 TAT. I have discussed it with my IC MT's. If they want a raise, I can try to negotiate a raise from the hospital...but it jeopardizes our account. Every time you raise your rates, it's a signal for them to start shopping around. So I would say, based on what the market will bear, don't expect to be getting raises. Ever. 
New giveaway! $50 Build A Bear Bucks, see sticky post above.
/
Elaine Johnson of Boise, Idaho, you won the Build A Bear Bucks!
Email to admin@mtstars.com with your full mailing address and we will send you your gift.
Agreed -- Bear is pretty much THE authority on accreditation and distance learning (NM)
nm
don't type double spaces. Type single. Then no one will be cheated.
x
I can type with wine, can't type with coffee, though...too jittery.
x
That is, type the code above before and after what you want bolded in the text-to-type box. nm
nm
For me it isn't an account type but a dictator type ...
and that would be oriental. An oriental dictator (hahaha, that kind of sounds funny...hahaha) is the most challenging for me.
No, you don't type directly into ES. You type in Word -
or whatever their platform is, just like you did with your tapes.
Then you do your line count in Word or the platform.
You should type them. I usually type them in parentheses following the diagnosis.
x
remind me, type what they say, type what they say, type....
"He indicated that at the beginning of the year he complained of health problems recently but has gotten better." C'mon doc, which one is it?????
Thanks for the tips.
By the way, aren't little girls the best?
Thanks for the tips - you were right!
It was great. Cool air, all Ops reports, clear dictators. I realize now the other people on my accounts are getting started at 5:00 am and beating me to all the work. Little did I know!
I only worked for about 2 hours last night because it was a spur of the moment thing and I hadn't napped. I worry about the quality of my work when I'm tired, so I'm going to take a long snooze this afternoon and start work at about 9.
In the 2 hours I worked, I got 390 lines, which is excellent for me with no templates/normals. Woohoo! I'll be able to hit my line count for the day in about half the time it takes me during the day.
Thanks all!
My tips
From someone who goes twice a year. Definetely plan to go Super Bowel Weekend,you will have ZERO wait on rides and just run from ride to ride, it is great. Also the first two weeks in December are okay. The summer and spring break are disgusting, it will put you in such a bad mood after one day. Check out the website Mousesavers.com. They have so much information there about everything Disney. When we go for one night with two kids and Florida resident discount we spend at at $500 for hotel, food, etc, etc. We also get in the Disney mood and think that are made of money so do spend more than needed. I would say go to disney site Disneyworld.com and figure out your ticket prices and hotel and then add $60 for each person per day. That is $20 per meal with a little extra left over from each meal for drinks, snacks, etc. That will be the top amount you need, but it gives you somewhere to start. We try to eat breakfast in hotel, pop tarts, PB&J and then only have to pay for lunch and dinner. Or eat breakfast, skip lunch and eat early dinner. If you need any more tips let me know, I have learned a lot over the years of going.
btw thanks for the tips
You're right, sitting around waiting for the perfect job won't happen. Something about MT'ing made me feel so comfortable and cozy, now not so much. I'm in the beginning stages of stepping out and finding another career before the boat sails. I guess having a few ideas is a start.
Thanks everyone for your tips. I really appreciate all the help!!
Hopefully, I can become an ESL specialist:)
I used to cut the tips off
Where I used to work as they seemed to turn the heat waaaay down at night and on the weekends when there was no one else but me in the bldg. working! I had bought those cheap less than a buck stretchy kind and cut the finger tips off and that worked well for me.
thanks for all the tips !
tips
Do you have one of those old-fashioned grocery stores in your area that still take your groceries out to your car? Like a Piggly Wiggly for instance? Do you tip the baggers that take your groceries out? I seriously had never gave it a thought until a friend of mine went to one of those grocery stores with me and she said that she does. I've never noticed anyone doing that. I tip my beautician, at the car wash, and for a manicure/pedicure, but it had honestly never crossed my mind until she said that she did that. Now everytime I go I'm looking around to see if anyone else does and I still can't figure out if they are or not.
Tips sm
Wouldn't it be nice if we got a "tip" for every time we saved someone by taking extra time with their dictation? Just a dream, of course! I too give my hairdresser a $20 tip for full highlight, etc., but I find now for just a cut alone to give her $5 is enough as it doesn't take that long. Perhaps I'm cheap, but I think the prices are so riduculous unless you go to SuperCuts, etc., that it's figured into the price. A hairdresser once told me he paid $3.00 for a $45.00 perm solution, of course, no one gets "perms" anymore, but there's a big markup. I try to go according to how long the stylist spends on me, if she gives me extra time and attention, I go higher. Sometimes some of them put on an "act" for you if they're not busy. You have to know the circumstances. My "regular" hairdresser pays for her space, so she has to make her rent and pay a babysitter. I like her, so I'm willing to spend more.
A few other tips, sm
A local noon TV show gave similar tips that have appeared here, but here are a few more:
Keep your money with you, i.e. wear a fanny pack rather than having it in a box or something.
Sometimes people ask to use your bathroom. Don't let them in your house, let them know of a store or gas station nearby with restroom facilities.
If it is a hot day and you have access to a child who is old enough, have them sell ice-cold lemonade. People will buy. Or, just keep a pitcher of ice cold water and paper cups, just to help them cool off.
Set a time and cut prices in half the last couple of hours on the second day, if you really want to sell your stuff.
If you don't want to move the unsold stuff back into the house, consider donating it to Good Will, Salvation Army, etc. Just pack it in your car and drive it over.
Have fun!
Thanks for those tips. (sm)
Those are really some great ideas.
My youngest has 2 more years until he is off to Kindergarten. As much as I hate to wish away the years where my kids are concerned, I know that things will be much easier for me when I have a "full" day to be able to devote to work with no interruptions. Then I will just have to worry about family and friends interruptions, which should be easier to handle!
I did sit down with my daughter yesterday and told her that I was desperate for some help this summer, oferring a small raise in her weekly allowance if she would give me a hand with the boys. She has been spending her days running around way too much. She agreed, so we will see how that goes.
It definitely is not easy to work at home when you have children. I can't even count the number of times I have thought to myself that I need to start looking for an in-house job. Then I remind myself of the benefits of being home for my kids. I think they do outweight the disadvantages in the long run.
Thank you everyone for your tips!
x
Any tips
I am looking to get back into the field after a 12 year break to raise my kids. Any advice on how to get my foot in the door or who might hire me? I have over 10 years experience in out-patient radiology.
Thanks.
Thanks for the tips!
nm
My tips here...
"With my tapes, I could type the entire day's dictation for the day in one word document."
Why can't you do that now? I type all my files in one Word document, them chop them up into separate files when done proofreading.
"It takes much longer to download the file, create the new documents, save, and upload than it does to type it."
Well, how long did it take you to get in the car and drive to get your tapes and return them?
I'm not sure what your problem is. I can tell you how I do it....maybe that will help.
I download all my digital files at once, then start transcribing them all in one Word document.
If you can't download them all at once, download the first one and transcribe it while you're downloading the second one, etc.
Thanks for tips
Thank you for the tips.
I just recenty started to use the Expander more for the basic parts of the sentence. It seems as time goes on, more things occur to me. I will check out the links posted too (thanks!).
I need to come up with a good system for labs. I can see that is slowing me down ... and vitals. I am very slow on the number row.
Anyway, I appreciate the ideas posted and will welcome any others that you all might think of.
Here are a few tips (sm)
Have your own "word list" (I use Lil Red Notebook) so once you look up a word and verify it, it will be faster to find it next time.
Also get a good Expander and learn how to use it, not just for individual words but for whole phrases (and even paragraphs) depending on what kind of work you are doing.
Stedman's medical spellchecker.
Try to just work during work hours, and surf only when you are not supposed to be working. This is the hardest thing for me! Sometimes even when looking things up online I get distracted, following links and reading things I don't really need to read when I've already found my answer.
Good luck to you. I have heard nothing but good things about an M-Tec education!
Thank you for all your tips
I am going to look into everyone's suggestions. I take it IT means Instant Text? How do you separate your dictionaries with doctors?
VR tips
I work on Edit Script and the average pay for most companies seems to be .04 cpl. I get .0425. Your production really depends on the account you have, the dicator and you learining the shortcut keys. I still have a hard time not using the mouse! But on the other hand, I am not a stong typist, so I prefer VR over typing. If I had to do straight typing I probably would not make it in this business, so VR is the way for me. I had to switch companies because my first one had difficult dictators and I was not making much money. Things are better now, but still a work in progress. One suggestion I will make is that you use the Escription forum for productivity tips and also there is a link that will tell you of your progress if you log into it. The system can read your skills as you use it and give you a report on your progress. It will tell you if you are using the mouse too much, etc. It really is a great system with a lot of great tools for MTs.
Hang in there---Sue
Tips for you ... sm
I travel quite a bit with this work. Here's my suggestions:
1. Great laptop
2. AT&T Wireless Internet card
3. AVG security package
4. Bank account with a large national bank .. NO DEBIT CARDS. Use credit card for everything then pay as soon as it appears on your online statement. NO interest is paid. If you pay with a debit card, you have no consumer protection plus your funds could be wiped out. With a credit card, you have a barrier, can dispute the payment, recover lost/stolen funds, get warranties on purchases, etc.
Enjoy.
Tips
Will you please share some tips on what you do to maintain your income level, i.e., the type of Expander you use, how you stay focused, whatever it is that keeps you at the top? I would very much appreciate it. Thank you.
Tips
I definitely would not say I'm at the top. I get distracted like many with surfing, chatting, etc during my work time. Honestly, if my work ethic was more strict, I could make another 20-30,000 a year.
I use IT as my expander. I am not an Expander queen. I use them and add all the time but I'm not obsessed with it - but it definitely saves me time and worth every penny 10 fold. I use my Stedman's Elec Dictionary - another total must have for this job.
You're going to make more money if you know your specialty and your doctors. I try to get work where I can do the same doctors regularly. I would not take a position where there is a huge pool of doctors. I make the money on my single doctor accounts where I can get regulars and build up speed the fastest. Even accounts with 4 to 5 doctors you can easily build up speed on.
Don't settle for cr*p jobs. As I said earlier, there are better paying companies out there. Makes me extremely irritated to see companies posting for slave wages wanting so much experience and basically offering nothing in return but the chance to make $5 an hour. I won't even test until I know what the rate will be. And honestly, the best companies have the shortest or no test.
Keystrokes and MDI may look good compared to most bigger companies, but I personally wouldn't work for them. There are better places, but you have to be willing to do some research and go beyond what everyone else does.
tips
I am looking for tips to make my typing faster. For example, auto corrects, quick cut and pastes, etc. Any ideas?
VR Tips
Okay, since so many of us are being transitioned into VR, I thought it might be helpful to start a thread discussing helpful tips on how to be more productive with VR.
For some dictators (the ones that have the "good" VR come through), I have found that reading through the report and changing it to go more with accounts specifics gets me through it faster than trying to change while listening.
I also like to use ctrl + lft arrow key to skip by words instead of by letters.
Other than that . . . I really suck at VR, which is why I am hoping to see if anyone has tips or suggestions on how to help make all MTs more productive on VR.
TIA.
No, just trying it tonight. sm
Hope it goes okay, I have never tried it. It was on a special about Elvis' favorite foods. I read the reviews and they said the cake was very rich.
I think Ace is gone tonight
Taylor was WONDERFUL last night! I really enjoyed his performance. I was not thrilled with Katherine or Paris. I thought Bucky, Kelly, and Elliot did really well. I did not like Chris' song last night, but not sure if it was just the song I didn't like or the way he did it. So, all in all I would have to say that the bottom three will be Ace, Paris, and Katherine. Ace will be the one leaving in my opinion.
Some thoughts and tips...SM
Your question: If we have
the same tools available to us, why is there such a disparity among earnings?
There is no "secret" or "magic" trick. Everyone is different and has their own skills. There are "great," "good," and "adequate" people in every profession. Some people are "naturals."
Here are some of the things that helped me:
I read VERY quickly and can also proofread as I go.
I rarely have to look up a grammar/punctuation question because it's just natural to me. I can't explain it; I just do it.
I can research and find things very quickly because I simply see/find the information faster.
I worked hard to refine my research skills, learning how to create effective searches and how to find the best information. I find 90% of my information on Google in 1 or 2 searches. I don't go around to site after site after site.
I developed a system for my expander that's very natural for me, so I don't have to stop and find what abbreviation I used.
I add everything I can think of into my Shorthand so I almost NEVER have to look things up twice. I add phrases, names, addresses, etc. I add drugs so I don't have to check how it's capped.
I created Word macros to handle many tasks for me, from removing prefilled headers to format changes.
I spend long periods of time at the computer so I can focus and hit a rhythm instead of doing bits here and there.
I keep my mind on my work. I think about what I'm hearing and how it all fits together. That way, I have a good "fund of knowledge" when the dictation is less than clear.
Hints and tips ...
First, please do NOT even use the term FAILURE to identify yourself in anyway. NO ONE doing this job is a failure, period.
You state you do not use any normals or standards because everything MUST be typed from scratch. Is that "must" coming from your employer or because you don't see a way to do it with the changes you have to make?
I don't often have to use a long "normal" or "standard" such as an entire exam or review of systems, etc. I use word expanders, autocorrect, shorthand, etc., for individual words and phrases more than anything. Nest them. Examples of individual words: Use "ow" for "otherwise"; use "ht" for hematocrit; use "hps" for hepatosplenomegaly. When making your shortcuts, make sure you use what comes naturally. Then do phrases: "hpm" for "0.5% Marcaine" while "hpmx" is "half-percent Marcaine"; use "mzb" for "Metzenbaum scissors", etc.
My most productive times are when I am NOT using a large cut of canned text but literally 'skipping along' shortcutting phrases as they are dictated.
Operative note example: For the phrase "The patient was taken to the operating room and placed on the operating room table in the supine position." -- I have this in 3 separate shortcuts and type:
tptor and poort isup
The only "word" I typed was 'and'...the rest of that sentence was in shortcuts.
Don't jump in there and do them all at once. Try to do 5 to 10 (I would not recommend doing more than 10 a day) shortcuts a day. Write them down in a list and keep by your monitor until you can use them without referring to your list. Then do another 5 to 10 shortcuts.
I'm not boosting my line count in any fashion whatsoever. My accounts are verbatim accounts. If I had long spills of canned text, I'd spend all day editing that to fit verbatim. Instead, I use individual word and phrase shortcuts. The key is to name them so it comes naturally to you.
I do all my medications by starting the shortcut with a "k" because it is so unused and I can easily look at all the med shortcuts in the list. The meds I use most are vancomycin, gentamicin, Tylenol, and ibuprofen. For me, those are listed as kv, kgg, kt, and ki.
Use your autocorrect to capitalize acronyms. I type copd in lower case and have that entered into autocorrect so it automatically capitalizes it for me as COPD -- saves me the "struggle" of having to capitalize it. Then I add an "x" to the end to expand it out, so copdx is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Sometimes, if it is more natural, I double the last letter of the shortcut name for expanding it such as gbb for gallbladder.
Shortcut some of your punctuation, too: Using "ft," is "Following this," for the beginning of some sentences.
Design macros to carry out functions for yourself. I hate it when doctors number the first of a list and then there is never a 2nd item. Therefore, I NEVER number the first item even if it is dictated. Instead, I built a macro so that IF he goes on with "#2..." then I hit my macro and it goes back to the beginning of that line, numbers it, and returns to the end of the line, returns, and numbers for the 2nd item. I have a macro that goes back and changes the capitalized heading of "DIAGNOSIS" to "DIAGNOSES" for when there are more than 1 diagnoses listed.
Learn to use your search/replace features, etc.
???? Will any of this help ????
hints and tips
can you email me with how to make the macro for the numbers? That sounds wonderful (and helpful.... I hate it when they give a diagnosis, med, what ever, and THEN say 'next number"!!!!!) If you can I will give you my address, don't want to post it unless sure :)
Great tips!
Thanxxxx...
Thanks for your tips, they helped! NM
x
A few more tips for those interested
I use the number 8 key for my ectomy words.
For examply. Appendectomy is programmed as a8
Cholecystectomy c8
Hysterectomy h8
Tonsillectomy t8
You get the idea. In the rare instance that this interferes with another word (i.e. T8 on a spine exam. I type t8n which means (NOT) so it will expand to simply T8.
instead of using the semicolon, I do pretty much the same thing but with the slash / on the right side of the keyboard. I use this pretty much when i can divide words such as t/a therafter. u/w underwent u/g undergone l/h lightheaded.
for family members I use the number 9. For example,
b9 is brother s9 is sister sil9 is sister in law d9 is daughter gm9 grandmother gd9 grandaughter.
I use the letter z quite a bit to just to phonetically shorten words. For example.
dz disease anz aneurysm rz resolve rzd resolved rzg resolving bz because czd caused czg causing etc. If i here a "z" sound in a word I take advantage of it.
My psych words take the prefix nut. nuts is psychosis nutc is psychotic lol. Cute, I know, but I never forget these.
For really common words that I type a zillion times: AR anterior pr posterior ll lateral ml medial I try to make these as short as possible.
KEEP THE TIPS COMING. This is great to share.
Longtime MT's tips
Has anyone heard anything from this person since the post. I sent her my e-mail but have not heard a thing so I was wondering if I just hadn't received the e-mail or if she hadn't gotten in out yet. Anyone who can clear this up is appreciated.
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