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Now, RG, you know we've got darned good reasons...

Posted By: Caught you! (hehe) on 2005-10-21
In Reply to: Stay away from MQ forum! LOL...nm - RadGuy

to be crying in our soup over there. 


                                              




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you've got good reasons to vent

Sounds like you and Patti are great people to work for and I'm sorry you both are having to deal with this.  You sound like you are giving it all you've got and are still getting stung.  I hear the same from the place I work for.  It just seems a lot more people are more irresponsible and unprofessional than they were when I was raised back in the 50/60s.  If you're anywhere near my age, I bet it seems like a different world to you too.  I don't think it's just an MT problem -- I think it is widespread through all fields but unfortunately, in our profession we are confronted with it on a daily basis and it has to be resolved. 


Although I am not a MTSO, I do overflow work from those who had other things to do and put the job second or hire on and then quit and I get their work and my own until they find someone else to hire and hope they stay.  I'm not that great myself by any means but I do get exasperated with the weak links who just don't care and do what you complain of in your first post.  It makes us all look bad.   


As an MTSO you are stuck between the doc and the MT.  Doesn't sound like a nice place to be these days.  You have my sympathies and hopes that the new year will bring you and Patti and everyone else in this predicatment better MTs. 


2 other reasons i've seen are
using the transcription area of the hospital for other things and not having to pay benefits.
I've had low line counts for about a month, but for other reasons
I've just been in a general "funk" after losing a close family member in November. I find my mind wandering while I work. But it's getting better. Occasionally, though, there are days when I'm going along really great, and then I just seem to get a gang of bad dictators, ESL and Non-ESL. That's very frustrating -- having a good day and then BAM! Mush mouths and speed talkers. Part of the job, tho.

I can't believe you thing those are good reasons.
I cannot believe you think these are valid reasons to do your dog a dis-service like that.  Yes, it is your laziness that doesn't want to go have to get up and let him outside.  As far as fleas, if you cannot afford to care for a dog properly, you shouldn't have one.  The cheapest part about owning a pet, is the initial cost. Your expensive flea med excuse is like saying, "Gee, I am short on cash. Get the dog doesn't get to eat this week."  There are expenses that go with owning a pet and that should be considered before you bring one into your home.  And the digging,,, just don't leave him out for hours at a time and the digging won't be an issue.  THis poor dog.  I unfortuneatly can see this dog's future.  Either he will end up put down like the other poster's dog or he will be placed with strangers.  If he is lucky, it will be with a responsible dog ower.  If he is unlucky, it will be with some one who won't take the time and he will either end up outside all the time or be passed to yet another stranger.  Poor pooch.
Those are all very good reasons why I left the office, - sm
but at least I could leave at the end of the day, and afford to buy things at the supermarket on the way home. Money worries have become the big glaring issue that is always there, and won't go away no matter how hard or how many hours I work. And then, all that gets sabotaged when you run out of work. (Which is happening to me as I write this. I intended to work all afternoon and evening today to make little extra, and now that's not gonna happen.)

So everything is a trade-off, I guess. And as much as I hate to think about having to have a "work wardrobe" again, or deal with all the issues you mentioned, I hate it even more that I haven't funded my 401K in about 3 years, nor my savings account, which has been dwindling because I keep siphoning funds out of it to get by each month. I'm hoping to land an onsite job before my savings are depleted.
Good reasons to get more things worked out -
and in writing before accepting the job offer. I would work one weekend a month for average pay, two if the weekend pay was better. But not every weekend. Same goes for Friday nights. I prefer at-home to in-house environment-wise, but at-home pay is the pits, unless you're willing to work 16-hour days, 7 days a week, which is even worse than what you're doing now. I can't retire, either, even under the best of circumstances. But right now I'm having trouble just eating. I don't get paid 'til Friday, and my fridge has nothing in it except ice cubes.
Give professional reasons why you deserve it, not personal reasons
x
Good for you. Good enough reasons for me, too!
nm
I stayed for many reasons and while those reasons have changed - sm

I loved MT because I was good at it and it came naturally to me.  Typing, language, etc.  The perks of working from home and being able to raise my family were a huge plus.  I stayed because in the hayday of MT you could make really good money really fast (2500 lpd @ $0.15 cpl). 


I stayed while my children were young and I could be available for them.  I stayed so I could return to school and have that flexible schedule to juggle everything once the kids grew  older.  I stayed full-time and cut school back to half time so I could take care of my ailing parents and inlaws when the time arose.   


I continue to stay because I still need to finish school (3 semesters to go) and unfortunately my DH is ill and needs someone to care for him now.  I stay because it is convenient, but I do not plan to stay forever. 


I sure miss the big money days, but what money I make now is sufficient enough to pay my bills.  It is a means to an end so to speak and it has been a godsend along the way.  But I in no way plan to stay at it forever.  It served and continues to serve a purpose, but it is no longer what I "love" to do. 


Darned right, I'm angry.
Unless you're a billionaire, you should be too!!!!

HOUSEHOLD INCOME DOWN, POVERTY UP:
MORE THAN 1 MILLION FELL OF MIDDLE CLASS IN 2004

Before President Bush took office, under Democratic leadership, income was on the rise, jobs were expanding, and the economy was booming. Today, the Census Bureau announced that real household income has decreased in 2004, falling for the fourth consecutive year. Since the beginning of the Bush Administration, household income has declined nearly $1,700. Over 1.1 million people fell out of the middle class into poverty in 2004, an increase of 5.4 million people living in poverty since Bush took office. Despite this, Republicans still have no plan to help struggling middle class families. Democrats are fighting to create jobs and keep good paying jobs here at home.
HOUSEHOLD INCOME DROPPED SINCE BUSH TOOK OFFICE

Household Income Declined by Nearly $1,700 Under Bush. For the second consecutive year, median household income declined: income dropped last year by $93 -- down to $44,389. In real terms, median household income has declined by $1,669 since 2000. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table A-1]

African Americans And Latino Household Incomes Have Declined by More Than $2,000 Under Bush. Real median household income did not increase between 2003 and 2004 for African Americans and Latinos. African American households had the lowest median income, at $30,134--down by $2,273 since Bush took office. Median income for Hispanic households was $34,241 in 2004--down by $2,141 since Bush took office. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table A-1]

Average Earnings by Women Declined by About $330 in Real Dollars During the Past Year. The median earnings of women declined over the past year, from $31,550 to $31,223. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table A-2]
1.1 MILLION PEOPLE FELL OUT OF THE
MIDDLE CLASS AND INTO POVERTY IN 2004

Number of People Living in Poverty Increased by 1.1 Million in 2004. Approximately 1.1 million people fell out of the middle class into poverty in 2004, an increase of 5.4 million people living in poverty since Bush took office in 2001. The poverty rate has increased from 12.5 to 12.7 percent over the past year, increasing for the fourth consecutive year. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table B-1]

Nearly 1 in 5 American Children Lived in Poverty During 2004. 13 million children lived in poverty in 2004, an increase of about 1.4 million since the beginning of the Bush Administration. This comes on the heels of a 730,000 increase in the number of children living in poverty in 2003. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table B-2 ]

Disproportionately High Number of African Americans and Latinos Live in Poverty. Nearly 25 percent of all African Americans (9 million) lived in poverty in 2004, an increase of over 250,000 over the past two years. Nearly 22 percent (9.1 million) of Latinos lived in poverty, an increase of almost 500,000 over the past two years. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table 3]

1.9 Million More Americans Enrolled in Medicaid in 2004. As 1.1 million Americans dropped out of the middle class and into poverty in 2004, the enrollment rate in Medicaid increased from 12.4 percent of the population in 2003 to 12.9 percent in 2004. Without the safety net of Medicaid and SCHIP for people who dropped into poverty, the health insurance numbers would be even worse. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05, page 16 ]
NEARLY 46 MILLION AMERICANS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE: NUMBER OF UNINSURED INCREASED BY SIX MILLION SINCE 2001

Today, the Census Bureau announced that the number of people without health insurance nationwide increased to 45.8 million, the fourth consecutive annual increase. A total of 800,000 Americans became uninsured last year - many because fewer employers offer health insurance to their workers. As a consequence, American families are paying higher and higher health insurance premium - which are expected to double under Bush's tenure by 2006. Yet, Bush and Congressional Republicans lack a real plan to address the problem.
ONE IN 7 AMERICANS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE

Nearly 46 Million Americans Are Uninsured--Increasing for the Fourth Year in a Row. The number of Americans lacking health insurance increased by 800,000 last year--and by 6 million since Bush took office in 2001. Today, a total of 45.8 million people are uninsured--roughly one in seven Americans. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table HI-4]

Darned right - people are in la-la land

we're "refusing" to work? Rely on the kindness of strangers, or what? People really need to get a grip on reality here.



jealousy is so darned unattractive.....sm

and get over yourselves - you're too obvious and too too jealous -


Patti - sounds exquisite - I live near Houseboats in the Intracoastal and have always sort of wanted the same floating type of home but instead I bought a 1500+ square foot condo on the water and is now worth close to a half mill......exlusive area of Florida!  Now I have something to leave my child when I'm gone that appreciates rapidly in value (as probably yours does too).  Congratulations on keeping it all after the divorce too!!  WAY_2_GO_PATTI


darned, silly girl
t
I find it pretty darned disturbing.
.
Grandma would have just DARNED the patient back together!

/


LOL! Well, good! I've done ONE good thing today, then. NM
x
Good for you...I've been there!
I was an IC for over 20 years. I was fortunate in one way, I lived in a small rural town with quite a scarcity of qualified MTs. Anyway, the third account I took on was a solo FP who told me upon receipt of his first bill (and having signed a contract agreeing to the rates) that he really couldn't justify paying that to someone "who isn't a professional." This is the same guy who sent me a ticked-off note because he didn't like the font I was using. Needless to say, I wished him the best of luck finding a replacement and I shut the door on that one quickly. Glad I did. I had to decide what my bottom line was and stick to it, and over the years it has only paid off to do that. Though I will admit it can feel scary to pull the plug on a paycheck!

Best of luck to you!
Thanks! I think I've now got a good idea how it all
ended. I thought it was one of the best episodes of this show that I've seen.
I've been in it 23 yr and not good prospects...

As is my personal experience, my pay is going down every year... harder to find good smaller services, they have gotten gobbled up by the biggies, and the biggies just view us as number to crank out reports that they want to make more and more money as in profits for the company, and will resort to cheating, as in MQ et al. That is my view, I say get out while you still have use of your fingers and wrists :)


Good for you. You've got class.
That is a lesson you're passing on to your kids. I don't blame you for being upset, but you should be pround of yourself for not asking for a handout.
You are right. I've always said I'm just in a good spot. sm
I hope I have never acted like anybody wasn't good enough. I sure didn't mean to.
Just realized how good I've got it.
The company I work for pays for headers and footers, which total 13 lines per report. Given my line rate, I make the "per report" rate before I ever start typing! So everything I transcribe is gravy above and beyond. Sweeeeet.

I love my job.
I've been to several pig roast, very good! - sm
As for how to do it, that is if you go the pig route, make sure it is a pig roaster (huge) and have some one who knows what they are doing cook it. It takes quite a long time to cook 12+ hours or more, cannot remember if they started it the night before or not (our old neighborhood had one every year). Or if you don't want the trouble just say you are having a big cookout, go with corn on the cob, hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, potato salad, etc. Obvious have everyone bring a dish if possible. If you know any with Sirius or the other satelite radio you can get some great music. We did both records/CDs and a live band at our pig roast and the annual crab feast. Yum! Had a lot of fun when we lived there.
We've had good luck with
Compaq notebooks. The one we have really has been tortured, but still works, although we've not had good luck with their desktops.

The other laptop we've had was a Toshiba satellite. Loved the keyboard and the screen, but nothing but trouble from the start. It had a severe overheating issue, and I've talked to a couple other people who had the same problem. That was a couple years ago, though, so they might have resolved that by now.

Good lord, obviously you've never
spent hours and hours correcting the same mistakes over and over again or you wouldn't even ask. I thought her post was right on the money.
Good job! I'd've never figured that out.
probably be easier to put a password on the computer so he (or anyone else) can't even turn it on.  Actually, I have no idea if it would be easier since I've never done this myself (my husband gets that my computer = $$$, so he is well controlled in that regard).
It's good enough to do the job. I've got a Celeron and have no problems.
If you want to see benchmark test results, Google for benchmark Centrino Pentium Celeron. Honestly, the naked human eye can't detect much of a difference. It's not like we're comparing 386SX/33 processors to Pentium 4/3.06 GHz. Nothing like a little processor snobbery to justify spending more money.

http://www.cpuscorecard.com/all_cpus.htm
Very good question! I've always wondered that myself. nm
s
I've been using it a few years now. It's pretty good. You'll get used to it. -nm
x
It's great you've got a good system; I'm happy for you! nm
nm
There's MDI in Maryland and Florida. I've heard good about both.
x
Good point. I've never done the Cobra because it was outrageous. I also did what you call a "b
overlapsed. I liked a cheap individual policy up ($7500 deducticle) before I lost my coverage..and kept the cheap policy until the new kicked in..
Dang Lucy's got a good idea. Now why didn't I think of that because I've been experiencing





I use EXText with my current job and I've used at a couple of other jobs I've had. I've ne

used DocQscribe, but I have used Meditech, Cerner, Vianeta, the Precyse platform (I can't remember the name), Dolbey, and  Lanier platform I think was called Cequence (?). 


Out of all the different platforms I have typed on, I have liked EXText the best.  In my opinion, it's very user friendly, easy to learn, and I really like ESP which is the built in abbreviation expander.  Plus it is very easy to create your own normals which I love.  My fingers literally never leave the keyboard because there are macro keys for everything.  You can use your mouse if you prefer or learn the function macros.  I love it.  I think I'm more productive on EXText than with any other platform.


just try to help him be sure its for the right reasons
You have to let kids this age make some decisions, even wrong ones, and live with the consequences. But i would just try to get the dialog going, find out why it isn't 'fun'...personally, i feel if the desire is gone -- he won't play well anyway. Ultimately, his is one decision i'd let him have.
Many many many reasons
Too many to type...just believe me...
My 2 reasons...

I love my husband because:


1.  He's thougtful...calls or emails me several times a day.


2.  After almost 20 years together, he still gives me chills when he walks in the door after work.


There are so many more reasons why, but you said 2...


 


my reasons
1. He knows me better than anyone else on the planet after knowing me for 27 years and being married for 23 and SILL loves and accepts me! :-)

2. I always feel that "everything will work out" if he tells me so.
there are many reasons - sm
I know of two hospitals that had decided to completely outsource their transcription to a well known large national service. Their reason was that they could not find transcriptionists in their area. Two years later, both hospitals let the service go and decided to go back with in house transcription. There were many reasons behind that decision.

I have a friend that works at a hospital in the midwest and says that the outsource service is costing the hospital more than if they had kept their staff. She had said that her hospital is in the process of hiring people to come back to work either at the hospital or, hopefully, at home.

The hospital I worked at could not find transcriptionists in the area, so they decided to outsource as well. Our boss didn't make it a secret that the service was charging them $45,000 MONTH. That was more than if our whole staff was working 10 hours of overtime a week/per transcriptionist. So our boss is looking into hiring transcriptionists that live within a 2 hour driving radius to work from home after a week of training in our hospital and paying for them to stay in a hotel.

Sometimes it is not cost effective to outsource. Sometimes the service is really bad and the hospital does not want to continue to pay for the errors. There could be other reasons, but those are ones that I can think of off the top of my head.
Which, among other reasons, is why I would -
;)
My reasons...
Well, Pattie, I have been doing this for 25 years. I am 50 years old. I am good at it. I want to work at home. I am reluctant to leave my chosen field at this stage in my life.

I could not have predicted, when I obtained my MT training, that this field would take such a nosedive in pay. Obviously I would have chosen another field had I known.

As you get older, you are more reluctant to train in a new field.
My reasons...

for stick with MT and even coming back after a couple of absences:


1. I love the work. It satisfies my need to be in the medical field (quit nursing school way back when - bonehead move on my part!) without having to go back to school or actually deal with people too much.
2. My husband is disabled and my boys are teenagers. If I worked outside the home in another field, I'd be spending everything I made on paying someone to take care of things at home.
3. I really like the company I'm with. Been with 'em now for about 4 years and have loved nearly every minute of it.
4. I'm too old (44) and set in my ways to retrain in a new field and get used to dealing with office politics again.
5. The money that maybe I'm NOT making, I'm also not spending on gas, clothes, lunches, etc. that are part of working outside the home.
6. Did I already say I love the field?


Well, 2 reasons. 3 really.

1)  That seemed to be what everyone was hiring for.


2)  I hoped to make more money that way.


3)  After being an MT for 14+ years, I had a lot of confidence in my abilities as a transcriptionist.  Honestly, I didn't realize how much I didn't know.  I feel like a dang newb again


Several reasons ... sm
1) May be checking to see if you have previous employment history with them under different name.

2) May be doing some type of credit/background check.

reasons
You know I will definitely pass these along. Some people just think you are being racist because you state the obvious and because you show such bitterness towards these people. Look at what they cost our country. Do you know how much crime these people bring here? The diseases? Do some research. They don't have proper vaccines over there. I mean think about it these are poor 3rd word people from an uncililized culture apparently. How can 3rd world culture merge into 1st world culture smoothly. It can't and it won't. They will never smoothly transition to the American culture because they do not want to.
And people can say well what about all the European immigrants many years ago? Well guess what? They wanted to be American so bad that they learned the English language and worked hard. They wanted to be AMERICAN. They did not expect Americans to transition for them they were willing to transition to our culture. These uncivilized vultures basically come here and they come here for one reason only: money and all they can get for nothing. They come here to work but they also abuse our social services to the utmost degree. I have seen on news programs where they will come over here and fly their Mexican flags. And you know how they fly the American flag? Upside down. Oh yes I have seen it on TV. I have seen them trying to burn the American flag. I don't care if it cost a trillion dollars this country needs to send every one of these people back to Mexico. Our country would be a whole lot better for it. We don't need this filth and crime in our nation. We are better than that. I am sorry if this offends some poeple but it is so true and sometimes the truth just hurts. That is what is wrong with our country today. Poeple tiptoe around the truth. Lets dont offend anyone! Well hey I say state the obvious. Tell it like it is.
Reasons

I answered your question above where you posted it as well.  I must have misunderstood your post, as it seemed that you were challenging me.  But, I was just trying to say that I don't want to debate the fact as to whether or not the queue is shuffled, cause I see it happen.  I don't know their reasons, but this new shuffling maneuver only happens on one account that I work on there, and it just began about 5 weeks ago.  It is really difficult for me to get a decent line count now, as all of the reports that I get are laborious since the reports that I find to be easiest are always being shuffled to the bottom of the pool.  I understand that it is not a prison and that my only option is to get out the kitchen if I can't stand the heat.


I would think that those reasons
are given as opposed to unexplained weight loss, disease process, etc. 
Three reasons...
1. It's good for a company to provide upward pathways for their people.

2. Some accounts can be very complex and require the QA to have prior experience with different special worktypes and/or exposure to certain dictators, etc.

3. There are many things you learn about an MT over the course of their employment that you will never learn from interviewing and even testing a new applicant, however experienced they may be. Unfortunately, our litigious society has rendered reference-checking practically useless, and you will never be able to test any applicant across the full range of dictation that you see coming in from your MT's every day.
There could be several reasons.

1.  A lot of companies are hiring and do overhire to get their backlog down.  Once their backlog is caught up, they weed out. They don't have to let people go, they can manipulate their queue until they quit.   And please don't say this isn't true because one of my ex-friends who was a production manager actually told me this.


2.  Benefits are based on production.  If management can hire a lot of people, they can produce a lot for their clients, they still get the same bottom dollar.  Yet, if the queues or servers are controlled, they can avoid overhead on benefits if production quotas are not met. 


3.  Why pay domestic employees 7 or 8 cpl when they can pay offshore MTs 3 or 4 cpl?  They still have the same amount of production and still make the bottom dollar, yet they can control where the reports are going and who is getting them. 


It all comes down to bottom dollar to management and owners.  They can control whatever and whomever to achieve their goals.  Not all companies are like this, but it is becoming more and more common.


Not working out for a lot of reasons...
The platform they have me on is not user-friendly at all.

It seems simple enough. You have to enter the job # and date, and then press enter to get the template to download with the patient's name, etc.

But if the doc hasn't entered the patient ID correctly, you'll have to look it up.

This can take a minute or several minutes, depending on if the patient exists in the system, among other things.

You'll come out ok if the note is long, but they average about 30 seconds.

Also, the doc may not have entered the correct clinic note ID, or the correct dictator ID, so that's another story.

If all goes well, you'll download a template. If there's something typed in the template, you don't get paid for it...but, if the doc makes changes (which of course they do), you have to delete.

I know what I'm capable of doing, but for some reason, I just can't make any lines working for Spheris.

I gave it a shot, but I'm ready to move on...maybe even change careers.
First, be very sure of the reasons that you want to homeschool.

It is tougher beginning at such a late grade, but it can be done.  I started my son in 9th grade 9 years ago, so obviously I know a little bit about it.  I also had a great friend who homeschooled her high school kids, so she could get me started with a lot of support and encouragement.  Be sure you're ready to be with this child 24/7, because that's pretty much how it will feel.  We did have problems with the school but tried every avenue to solve them before saying, "We don't need to put up with this, we do have a choice," when the school counselor said that we didn't have a choice.  They thought they ruled my son's world;  they were WRONG.  I AM HIS PARENT, I believe I do have his best interests in mind when making choices for him.  We are a Christian family, so it was easy to start by investigating Abeka Books for materials;  bear in mind you'll have to buy all your own materials, nobody helps with that.  My son now has his degree and is IT manager at a bank, looking to make VP. 


You'll need to check out the homeschooling laws for your state, they vary.  Just do an internet search for homeschooling laws for your state.  Check around for homeschool groups, there are several out there.  But, the biggest thing is just to make sure that you and your child are committed to working together to do this.  It does take a lot of commitment and communication to do this and do it right.  BEST of luck to you whatever your choice.


So, PFFFT to the person who says kids need to be in school.  I know better and obvious hundreds or thousands of others do too.