Smarter than the average bear :-)
Posted By: Can you say where you are going? on 2005-09-05
In Reply to: your point - not staying
xx
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What average line count do you type per pay period. what is considered above average and how long
how long, on average, average a knee replacement would one be on Oxycontin?(sm)
My DH recently had knee replacement surgery a month and a half ago. The doctor has been prescribing oxycontin 30 mg this entire time. Husband has been trying to wean off of it and is down to 10 mg. He asked the doctor if he could come off it completely and the doc said to "just keep taking it." His next visit is in two months. With all the discussion lately about pain medication addiction, is it normal to be on this medication for this long and for the doctor to say "just keep taking it?" How long should one be on this med?
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..
Do you feel smarter than everyone else now?
Just showing off, I guess. Apparently, no one is as smart as you and no one but you has the right answer. Here's your shiny star. *
because they are of the Gods and thus smarter than you, and
have no clue they are hit and run liabilities...
There should be a required medical/legal, in's and out's class on dictation....something more than 'push this button and talk.'
My dream is to have them transcribe each other, but only if I can watch.
But don't forget how much smarter she is than you - not. NM
/
technology smarter than you think
An advert for *TAKE THIS MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION COURSE AND START A NEW CAREER!* was sifted into my junk email box.
 
So what? 8 cpl is what the market will bear. If you don't want 8, don't take a job that pays
x
An IC working smarter, not harder, does not
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!
I am 60, stronger, smarter, and better work ethic than any 20 yo
The only *perk* to offshoring is the companies get to pay them even less than they do us, not to mention they can train them to be a lot more obedient and not actually demand to be treated like humans.
Anyone on this forum working Smarter and not Harder?
I have been in this profession 28 years now; turned 50 this December. Back in the day, I could sit down and type nonstop and be done with my work in 6 to 6.5 hours at 2000 lines. Now it is all I can do to get 1200 lines, and I am working from sun up to sun down. I work a full time employee position and part time IC position. Full time consistently running out of work, so first of year, I will be subcontracting full-time, but will also keep the part time IC position- just so I don't have all my eggs in one basket. What is the key to working less and making more?
had my expander on meant can not, and smarter not harder
I love this job.....
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.
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!
You're smarter than I was as a newbie! I've - sm
gotten myself into some terrible job situations in the past by jumping on board too hastily.
I think the person applying for the job in that original post probably wasn't that good at timing her questions. Even so, we do have every right to ask about them, just as they do to ask about us.
My tips (and I can't type tonight so bear with me) (sm)
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. :)
Apparently management is smarter than you - they're your boss!
x
Now! I work smarter - not harder. I learned through the years how to do this.
I have a pretty stress-free MT job and absolutely love it! Make good money and am enjoying life and my teenagers a bit more.
I realized that the job is not everything.
New giveaway! $50 Build A Bear Bucks, see sticky post above.
/
oh wow, so that makes you smarter than me because you corrected an error on a message board???
Congrats...how have I not been supportive? I never called you anything nasty or said anything negative...I merely stated sometimes you have to suck it up...ESLs are never going to get any easier...you just have to adapt...and the pay will get better once you prove yourself...I think you just don't like the reality of the situation...sorry for being honest...
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
the market will pay what the market will bear...sm
just the fact that jobs are posted for this pay means people are taking it. You have to remember - we are in a global marketplace now. We are competing against people from India, Thailand, Cambodia for these jobs. If the Mexicans could figure it out, we would be competing against them too. It's like washing dishes. Washing dishes isn't easy. Why does washing dishes only pay $5.50 an hour? Because they can find people to wash dishes for $5.50 an hour. Not only that, but MT work was getting cost prohibitive for a lot of people. That's why some other really, really smart people said, "let's find a way to make computers do this! Then we can sell the programs so docs can buy programs instead of paying MT's." Then some other really really smart people said, "let's not even have docs dictate. Let's have them point and click!" And so MT's are also competing against VR and EMR.
You may say ..."If a company offers me 7 to 9 cpl, I let them know that it is an insult to expect an experienced, highly skilled Transcriptionist to be offered such low pay and I refuse to work for them." But if your current job goes bye-bye, and you're scrambling out in the market and that's all that's out there....well, you get the picture. If you want the job, you take the job for that pay. Otherwise, yes, it's get a job at WallyWorld. Your choice.
average...
I never heard double - I've been doing this almost 30 years and even back when the dictators were educated and spoke intelligently, it was not possible to do 1 min of dictation in 2 minutes. I was always told the ratio was 3 or 4:1. With some of these inarticulate dictators, and not just the ESL, it is probably more like 5 o 6:1 on my primary account.
on average....
How many reports do you type per day, lets say average being 5 min. per report or acute care hospital, which is what I do, and how many average do you send to QA?
Per day I do on average about 35 reports, average 3 QA'd reports, rarely get one day without sending at least one, and on a really bad day I send around 6 to QA. This is usually the worst of the worst, bad phone lines, very hurried/slurring/mumbling dictators, or the thick ESLs, and even listening to twice. 
I would say above the average.
Would definitely depend on the accounts and hours worked each day. But 0.3 cpl would be a safe average.
I average around 300-325 lph.
It depends on the account, the dictator, and the skill of the transcriptionist. I'm sure you are emphasizing quality over quantity at first. I can go fast because I almost never have to look anything up anymore. When I first started, I was much slower because I had to stop and verify what I was hearing. When I get a new doc for the first time, my production does go down to around 250 lph for awhile until I'm familiar with his/her style, preferred vocabulary, cadence, peculiarities, etc. I don't think students should be concerned about line count at first. Speed and productivity come with time, knowledge, and practice.
I average...
$45,000/year. MQ does offer fairly decent benefits, I think.
Above average MTs ....
should all consider editing, in my opinion. That seems to be where the more secure positions are. Larger MTSOs who outsource overseas need editors. (I don't agree with offshoring, but let's face it--it's not going to change either). MTSOs who are using VR need editors. That's not to say we, as editors, will not be replaced at some point, but it seems that our security will last a little longer than production-based MTs. We also must be willing to adapt with technology changes. Just a few short years ago we all went kicking and screaming fighting every step of the way when WP51 was replaced with MS Word. None of us likes change. All of us wish it could be the way it used to be. The sad fact is, it will never be the same. If we want to stay employed, we must learn to adapt with the changes.
What is the average IQ, if any one knows?
X
I would say about 300 lph is about average to
what I have done and what most QA folks tell me they do. That's why I would never work per line pay. You just cannot do everything and expect to earn money. As QA, you HAVE to do what is necessary to get that report right and feedback the MT. My conscience will not allow me to let something go by without checking it out if I see it looks wrong. I am paid $16.50 an hour. Our co goes by reports per hour BUT that is just a statistic and we all know that these things vary. Some days you will have more, some less. Your company sounds like most--that they are trying to get you to do more and you will be able to do it--it is my guess. I think about 300 is about right. You will get there. If you have just started QAing then it is my guess that it will take you a little longer to get over the "newness" of it, but you sound like you are doing things the right way. That speed will come though I have talked to some editors who say they can do 500 or 600 lph and I just do not see how when you have to do all we have to do. I question the integrity of those reports.
That's about average...
the MTSO's can't even bid a job at 12 anymore - get undercut. So IC prices tend to run about 7 to 8.5...of course, some lucky folks will post exceptions, but I still find that's about average
is it really? 800% above nat'l average?..sm
I hung out there in 1973, and while the *street* was always *the street* - where one has to be careful, like in any bigger city, I don't think it was that bad then.
800% above, wow...
well, poverty WILL GET to people......sad.....
sad that we are one of the richest countries around and have so many in poverty, homeless (not by choice as ALL homeless don't necessarily choose to be homeless - rather catastrophic events lead some to that situation), and all the other BAD things we have got going on now in the 21st century here.
I'm terribly afraid we are becoming a third-world country and this is not a racist statement and I love all people of all colors, and to me it's all one people/one God no matter how ya pray or color of skin, but I think over-population yields all this stuff......and while there is open land in the country of the USA - the cities are OVER-BOGGED down, stretched beyond their limits....
I don't have the answers - I just ponder it all my entire life - all of these kinds of issues....
Stay safe....
MY average is about 265 lph. nm
.
for me, 140 min would be average
on acute care, with some not so-familiar accounts, for 7-1/2 hours. However, when i worked in the hospitals, with more cumbersome equipment/program, and interruptions, i only averaged about 60 min/day.
I don't believe this is average at all.
Here is a calculator formula
225 hr equal 1800 lines/day
9000 lines based on 5 days
6.42 pages/hour (35 lines/pg)
3.75 lines each minute
1.87 lines each 30 seconds.
This is NOT a typical aveage MT. There are too many variables like dictators who dictate attending live football games and WHISPERS.
This is a terrible way to make a living at 98% accuracy and dictator who take in one deep breath and see if they can do the whole report speaking as fast as they can before breath ends.
So you 6000 per week would be (5 days)
1200 lines a day
150 lines an hour
about 4.29 pg (based on 35 lintes per page.
2.5 lines per minute
1.25 lines each second
There is the BIG picture
on average, 17 here. nm
nm
I average about the same; sometimes more, but never less than 600 lph. nm
x
I average
over 3000 per day VR and straight combined.
Everyone is different, but average would be
d
I average about 178. nm
x
Average cpl?
What is the average cpl that you charge? A doc has contacted me wanting me to do some work but I have never had my own accounts and do not know how much is fair to charge. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
The Average Seems to be
Four hours for 60 minutes of tape, so 8-10 hours for 2 tapes is not bad at all. If you feel you're slow, convert it to lph and see how many lph you come up with . You may be surprised!
What is the average CPL for
I hear lows and highs, but am wondering what the average or most common rate is for an experienced MT, say with 7+ years of experience and proficient in the basic 4.
Average it out
Figure up what you would be making for an average report by doing a line count on it. This should give you an idea if $2.00 per report would be fair to you or not (I'll bet not).
I personally would do it for a couple of days on each report, then compare to what I would earn with the current arrangement versus what I would earn with a per line charge. It will probably be a jaw-dropping difference.
I average about
1900 - 2000
Tons of shortcuts and I don't move.
average 150-200 lph
nm
re: Average pay
Good inheritance, the way things are now, 12 cpl is very good. Hang on to it.
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