Smoking lines there! Wow!! I can't even
Posted By: dream of lines that high! Lucky you! :) nm Turtle on 2007-09-22
In Reply to: Fast forward, very little stopping, no - kathy
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Another day of not smoking
YES....
I am on day 9 of no smoking. I am
Birthday is next month and I have a goal to make it to my birthday and then will extend my goal from there. So far, so good. Hopefully continues.
Congratulations to you.
I would like some of what you both are smoking, please.
x
I would try smoking
z
Smoking...
That is good info. Thank you so much ... am disappointed because he does not really want to quit ... I will never understand how someone can claim to know how awful the health-related issues are to smoking, and yet somehow "justify" in their heads that the enjoyment they receive from smoking totally overrides any potential "risk" they may have "down the road" from their smoking ... for me, it just does not compute. Oh well. I will never, ever give up on giving him encouragement and pointing out all his precious cigarettes deleterious effects. Wouldn't be able to go to sleep at night, if I didn't. Thanks again.
Not offended...You just keep smoking that
x
Quitting Smoking
I have been smoke-free for 14 years and actually didn't want to quit but had to have major surgery and couldn't smoke in the hospital so I really had to quit before. I got the Habitrol (3 stage) patches which were Rx then and one other "trick". A stranger said what helped her was to chew on those Twizzlers black licorice sticks. She said that the residue left a residue not unlike the tar from cigarettes. I smoked 3 packs per day and even got up at night and smoked for over 20 years and no one was more surprised then me that I actually quit. My husband still smokes but not around me or in the house or my car.
I know it's tough. Good luck to you!
quit smoking tip
peppermints helped me a great deal...especially candy canes because I could hold them as a substitution....went back to the garbage during a nasy viscious divorce & now can't afford nor want to smoke anymore so I'll be joining you! don't want to look or smell like this anymore
Quitting Smoking...sm
Hello, I'm an exsmoker who smoked for 25+ years, and I've been a nonsmoker now for 12 years. The only way I could do it was cold turkey, but my hint was I kept an unopened pack of cigs in my purse, and when the cravings came (which they did, something awful for about 3-5 days), I would look at that pack and tell myself that I got this far (8 hours, or 12 hours, or 24 hours) without opening it, and I could go on. I threw the pack out after about 2 weeks, and never looked back. The smell now actually makes me sick. I must admit that I still have a craving after a meal once in a blue moon, but it soon passes. Please hang in there. You CAN do this!!! Good luck. I wish losing weight was even half as easy as quitting smoking was...and that wasn't easy at all. Take care of yourself.
do you not know the dangers of smoking?????
Just kidding, i too am a smoker. Hate it soooo much but at the same time i look so forward to that smoke on the drive home from class. I have smoked in my house, I try not to because of the smell, but if i'm stressed emotionally, i turned to my good friend 'the pack'...my new method of quitting this time...POPCORN!!! I will buy bags of it and when I get the urge to smoke, i will chow down. It could work because its hand to mouth motion, a bit self destructive and i also look forward to eating it. good luck to me!!! Target has the best popcorn too, very salty.
Well, I quit smoking but now I'm fat
It has been about two months since my last cig. But dang, I am porky now. At 47, this is NOT a good time to put on extra weight. I know i should go for walks, eat carrots and drink water. I guess the motivation isn't there.
It is hard to believe I gained 20 lb in two months but my oh my I have. You should see my face! Chipmunk cheeks. and my clothes, even the baggy ones, don't fit any longer. I bought a new outfit last month and it doesn't fit any more.
HELP!!!
I know what you mean, I quit smoking
joined a fitness center and was very diligent about going every day. But, the scale has went up anyway. I am pretty much at a loss as to what to do. I do not want to start smoking again, I feel much better since I quit.
Congratulations to you.
Can anyone explain smoking hx to me?
I just typed this:
"The patient has an approximate two to three history of smoking two to three cigars per week."
I also have never understood that, for example, "25 pack year history".
Anyone want to enlighten me??
Another fella smoking on O2.
 Duhhhhhhh! Nearly burned off his face. Ouch! Think he'll do it again? Ummm...yep!
I quit smoking
No point to this message; just thought of it and am congratulating myself.
Yes I have used it to quit smoking!! sm
Five months now without a cigarette; however, the nausea was very bad for me. I only took the Chantix for 1 month and had to stop. I couldn't take the nausea any longer. I even tried Zantac with it and still nauseous most of the time.
Anyhow, I quit June 12, 2007 and still without a cigarette. It really does work. The nausea and weird dreams were my side effects. My sleep pattern was broken up for the month with the dreams. I smoked 1-1/2 packs a day for 20 years, started when I was 16. Now with the help of Chantix am smoke free.
I tried all the other forms such as the patch, gum, etc and nothing really worked like this did. I have no withdrawal symptoms or mood changes whatsoever. I did seem to laugh a lot and sometimes inappropriately while on Chantix; however, since I stopped taking it, I am back to normal.
Good luck with whatever you decide. I am now worried about gaining more weight and taking the weight off that I gained over the past few months since I quit. Being nauseous, I found myself eating pretzels all the time to try and settle my stomach, very fattening.
The only evil I find about smoking is. . .
How darn hard it is to quit. I have tried everything. Patches, gum, Wellbutrin, Zyban, cold turkey, etc.
Don't buy them by the pack anymore. We (my husband and I) roll our own. Buy a can of tobacco and have a little machine and thought that would deter us, but noooooooooo. $8 a week compared to over $8 a DAY.
We do keep trying so there is hope that someday, hopefully within the next 6 months, we can say see ya! Yeah right. 
risks uf using smoking marijuana
besides the social implications there are many researched medical reasons not to. Just a few:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidence99/marijuana/Health_1.html thats just one web site. There are plenty more
Furthermore, smoking pot dries up you mucous membranes promoting cavities and tooth decay, does cause respiratory ailments and I sure as hell don't want to meet someone driving whose judgement has been impaired with pot any more than I want to meet someone whose judgement has been impaired by alcohol. Please substantiate your claim that it is LESS harmful than alcohol
It won't take cancer to quit smoking. Try
ASTHMA, a common problem for smokers. When you can't breathe when there is a strange odor around such as perfume, you won't get near a cigarette because if you do, you won't be able to breathe. You will cough, and choke and gasp for air and feel air hunger when you sit down. It is not a fun way to live, and I absolutely LOVED my cigarettes, a real hard core addict to nicotine.
Husband and I both quit smoking on same day
We tried separately in the past alone and he quit for 6 months and then went back to smoking. I even smoked with the patch on and almost had a heart attack, not a good thing at all. We both want to quit and we hope that we will be able to do this. I think I have some patches left in a drawer around the house and they worked for my husband. I have been smoking for 40 years and he the same amount of time. I will go to the Stop Smoking Center. We figure we could save ourselves 70.00 a week or more but not smoking and that is one of the reasons to stop. Thanks for your encouraging words. You and your husband should be proud, my doctor told me it is like kicking a cocaine habit, which is sooo addictive and I agree. I smoke most believe it or not at my desk. My husband is going to repaint my office and put up wallpaper, one wall is yellow from the smoke, grosses me out and my kids. Thanks again.
Well, I quit smoking last year when I became pregnant
and it was relatively easy for me to quit because I had a good reason. I know what you mean about taking smoke breaks. What I do is after about an hour, I give a friend a call and talk for about 5 minutes. It is nice to catch up and also takes your mind off the cigarette.
Whatever happened to all of y'all who were quitting smoking?
How's that going?
Me, too. I quit smoking in October 2005.
Time to lose weight, although we had tons of food out yesterday.
he has been smoking on and off 1 pack of cigarettes for 5 years.
should be good for him.
Has anyone here (or anyone you know) had luck with Wellbutrin for smoking cessation? nm
x
Chantix - Anyone use it to quit smoking? I am most concerned sm
about the nausea. I have been hearing it is pretty bad for at least 1/3 of the people who have used it. I have a generally touchy stomach as it is. Please post your comments here or by email
I have a feeling that will be the exact same solution for me to quit smoking! I'm really sorry fo
what you're going through with this, and do admire your funny response and post today. At least you will get to enjoy the benefits of your uncluttered house, which is the same state mine is in and drives me crazy, but just have to look the other way most of the time.
I held both of my parents as they died from complications of smoking.
I told my children they were free to smoke after they did the same. There's not one smoker among my extensive circle of friends and associates, thank goodness.
In 1990, when I started as a MR clerk, SMOKING was allowed in Med Records...
can you imagine, and with all the charts laying around...it is so comical now to think of it...
That lasted until about 1992 I think...
That is not all that long ago really, to go from electric typewriters to smoking being practically outlawed...
they say MT will change more in the next few years, than it has in the last 100>>>>!
Friends tried hypnosis for smoking. It lasted for about 2 weeks then wore off. nm
m
Aaahhhh, now I get it. Gross lines vs. Character lines. I guess I've just been conditioned to
think in terms of character lines. One of the perils of working as an IC for somebody who defines what a line is versus owning your own company and defining it yourself. After working for someone else for 15 years, maybe it's time to bust out on my own.
That is a lot of work/lines for 2 people. I do 3000 lines per day sm
if you times that by 30 days that only comes to 90K lines a month, that is working 7 days a week including weekends. I don't think 2 people can handle that.
900 lines is below 1100 lines, where the bonus starts.
x
Gross lines include all lines containing
printable characters, so a full line and a line with one word on it are charged equally. Straight lines are basically the same as gross lines, but with this method of counting the blank lines are counted as well (again, equally). I have only had one company pay this way, and they are a middle man. I would think the charge would be about the same as for gross lines, and that not too many offices will want their lines counted this way (the one I worked on was probably inherited from someone who had counted the lines that way, so just continued).
The norm is 1 minute = 10 lines; 10 min = 100 lines - sm
granted this varies per dictator. More lines if a fast talker, less if a slow talker.
I went from 2400 lines to 1800 lines
a day when I switched from clinic (through an MTSO) to hospital work. Not only was the clinic work easier with more macros (and less providers to learn, 12 vs 300+), but I was typing in straight Word (as opposed to Softmed/Chart Script). So you see, it really varies depending upon the type of work as well as the platform used. That said, I am so much happier typing the 1800 lines per day (I make over $15 per hour plus an incentive for any lines in excess of 1200 per day) plus a great health package/benefits, AND approximately 5 weeks of paid time off per year. In my opinion, hospitals really are the best employers WHEN they appreciate the work we do.
My advice for you is not to judge a job by any one criterion but rather the entire picture. The 'extra's can really add up.
Good luck in your job!
Which is the one where they are sc*&ing us the standard lines or the qualified lines? SM
Mine show up as STD when I pull up my transcription log. But I see now there is STD/QT.... So which is the one where they are ripping us off, standard or qualified? Need to know. I am about to switch companies and I will not do if they are actually taking lines from me. Thanks guys.
Pack years = packs smoked per day x years of smoking - sm
25 pack-years = 25 years of 1 pack a day, or 12-1/2 years of 2 packs a day.
I don't think pack-years applies to someone who smokes only cigars. But I don't know for sure.
Question versus gross lines versus 65-character lines....
I have always charged or been paid by 65 or 60 character lines or per letter or space typed, but have never been paid or charged per gross line.
What is the advantage of this? If I were to charge 11 cents per 65-character line including spaces, what does this figure out to for an average line rate and how do you do this calculation?
I'm wondering if it is financially beneficial for me to bill by gross line or to keep it the way I have it. I do know some accounts will only pay per 65-character line, as this was the deal my first own account I recently acquired. They were adamant on a 65-character line, but didn't specify with or without spaces and I personally would never not charge for spaces.
Thanks for explaining this. I appreciate it and hope everyone has a speedy day.
Word count: 824 lines. DocuCount count: 897 lines.
I just counted the same file in Word and then in DocuCount, and DocuCount was higher than Word.
Just as an aside.
lines
I always say a good average is around 250-300 lines an hour.
Lines
I have been flamed many times about my production, rate and how much I make. I think it is great for you. But there are those 10 hour days sometimes but I like the fact that I have my own business, and get paid for the hard work. One account that I have is surgeons and with their consults have hit close to 600 lines per hour but with my IM's, and their chart notes can only get up to 350 to 400 or so. It is hard when I switch to my clinic account where I sometimes go in and get paid hourly as I feel like I am not working fast enough on their electronic charts. Again, I have said it many times, it may take a while but if you want to work hard the money is there to be made in this field.
How many lines??
Everyone just wondering how many lines did you do a day when you first started MT? And, how many hours a day?
SS lines, pay,
They are a total rip off. E-mails are plain rude. Cherrypickers like one could not believe. Management does not exist. QA a total joke. Roaming payday. Anyone else who states other is not an MT with the company.
lines...whatever it was.
Well you see, you stated right in your post that you can't possibly cherry pick...so what do you know about what is going on with the rest of us out here who DO have to deal with cherry pickers.
Ma'am, I have 25 years in this business, 15 of it in a nest of the worst cherrypickers you have ever seen, at the largest hospital in my state. I was the supervisor for 5 years and I would have fired somebody on the spot if they'd done that, but they all knew it. Had no problems.
Don't know what you make per line but getting about 666 lines per hour is quite astounding. I'm sure you must be quite happy where you are and with no cherry pickers!
I work for 3 hospitals, doing operative notes. They are assigned to me by someone 6 states away. I go down the list. There's no way to get anything other than what I get. And yes, I am completely happy where I am.
Good for you. I've been an acute care MT for over 30 years and am rated as one of the best as far as QA and quantity and have NEVER, EVER in my life been able to come close to your line count. Maybe you are from another planet and have powers beyond us or maybe you have some special secret you could share. Or maybe, we should just ignore your statement of getting that kind of line count, especially when you are not dealing with cherry pickers. 
I don't deal with cherrypickers because I won't work where there are any. I get that kind of line count every single day, because that is what is assigned to me and I have to do it and turn it in on a deadline.
It is all in where you work and what you are able to put up with. I happen to have the freedom to work where I please and working there pleases me.
It's unfortunate that you have 30 years' experience and you are stuck where you are.
lines
Well it took me a little longer 5 typing and 1.0 delivering but I did 2295 at 0.12 cents a line. So guess I will quit until later this evening. Two surgeons and two IM' and 1 plastic surgeon. Lots of consults, auto corrects but pays off. 13 consults at 3 to 4 pages each.
LINES
I have gotten 500 lines but I should not count as I do clinical notes for two surgeons that do the same consults for most breast CA, hernias, cysts, etc. I just whipped out between the two almost 700 lines in about 75 minutes but I have been doing them for so long and have so much saved that I type perhaps on a general inguinal hernia consult and letter, 30% of the actual consult. Sometimes more. On regular chart notes, I average around 300 to 350 but again have had the same docs for 5 and 7 years. And when you read closely, you will see that is how we do it. But if you are with a national and new docs all the time, I would be luck to get 200 lines an hour. So it is sometimes like comparing oranges to apples as they say.
lines
Working 2-1/2 hours, all ops, mainly ESL, 308 lines which comes out to about $10 an hour. Am I crazy or what?
lines/pay
I've been transcribing 25 years, only 4 months being production paid with a large national, no incentives, no bonuses, no extras for working holidays. I find it terribly depressing when the check comes and you see your gross lines, divide the number of hours you worked--it has been improving each pay, but still not near what I was making previously. I now have been offered a position (not transcription) at a local hospital (where I lost my transcribing job to outsourcing) at $16/hr. An easy job that I'm seriously considering. No holidays, no logging on all hours to find work, great benefits. But I've been working at home 5 years now..... I never realized how the big companies are underpaying good transcriptionists. Thank heavens I have extra accounts that I've been doing on the side for years or I couldn't survive on what I'm bringing in now. Thanks for listening!
lines/pay
If that is true, many not making $10/hr., then yes, I guess I should consider myself lucky. I had no idea others were being paid such a minimal amount - and I never considered that I was "in the dark" about things!
lines
My max after 4 months with the national came out to $13.42/hr. I have extra accounts that I've been doing for years and make $25-$30 an hour on those - letters by specialists which I breeze though, 15-20 extra hours a week, so when I went to the national, pay by the line, what a shocker. Never been paid by the line, even though I was told not to worry with my experience, etc., I would have no trouble with getting good line counts, doesn't seem to be happening. At least it doesn't seem good to me and at this point the in-house hospital job (not transcription) seems more inviting at $16/hr Mon-Fri, no weekends, no holidays, great bennies...Even though my love is transcription my feeling is I'll still have my fingers in it with the extra accounts I have but will feel more stable. Single parent, need the bennies.
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