Thanks for sharing. I also travel A LOT..and the majority of the time things go smooth, but sometime
Posted By: TravelingMT on 2007-10-15
In Reply to: My experience - first time traveling and working - academia
Last time we went on vacation, I forgot to pack my keyboard that I had just bought for $50 and had to run to Radio Shack and get another cheapo for $30. Then, the hotel internet was AWFUL and kept cutting me off so production was sloooooow..Overall, I just check ahead to see what the hotel offers in terms of internet etc..and I do end up having to pay anywhere from $10-12 a night at hotels but it is worth it so I am not missing work or using all of my PTO time. We're heading to Mexico next year and the hotel has wireless so I think I'll give it a whirl. We have a condo in Hawaii and I have sat out on the lanai all day looking at the ocean and working. It was the highest production I have ever had. The only downfall I have found is trying to remember all fo the time changes so I am starting and stopping when I am scheduled. Hawaii is 5 hours different from home so I had to factor that in. In any event, thanks for sharing and I agree. Vacation can be fun AND productive.. LOL
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"These movements were smooth and painless"... VR "These movements were smooth in penis."
Majority of time, no MTs. Right now..sm
however, a lot of people are leaving one of the big nationals, some after many years of service. Many are very experienced in multispecialty/acute care transcription, so until that settles down, there are a lot of good MTs looking at the moment. That's probably why you are seeing conflicting reports. In my personal experience, the majority of the time, there IS a shortage of well-trained, experienced, and reliable MTs. The good ones often get snatched up quickly, net good-paying jobs, and stay at those jobs, so they aren't always looking. Timing is everything. ;)
Also, to answer your other question, if a company is offering only 5 cpl, they are likely going to get responses from 5-cpl MTs so that certainly can play a role. IOW, the very good MTs typically won't respond to an ad for a job paying only 5 cpl, as they realize they are worth far more than that.
Any time I travel and don't have room for my keyboard I use a pillow in my lap or prop
it on the edge of the desk. I find it also takes some of the stress off my wrists and I tend to sit straighter in my chair. Takes a bit getting used to, but if you travel with your own pillows you can use your own and it won't be so bad. You could also go to one of the office warehouse companies like Office Depot and look at their keyboard trays. They may have some that slides or clamps onto a desk that would work for you.
Do the majority of MTs reread or relisten to all the reports you do and how much time does this take
or I suppose rather which is more effective and takes less time. Do you do this for every report you do. Do the big nationals require this. I suppose it depends on your QA score if you need to do this.
One time I typed "Tp and his wife are retired and travel in their rectovaginal." Caught it tho
x
could be rasped smooth? need more
context
If you don't take the time to find to do things
that give you joy you'll become a bitter old woman and you'll always have regrets that you gave so much of yourself to your job.
My mother died of cancer, she fought it for 17 years, but she was just 50 when she got it and the chemo damaged her heart so that she had no quality of life and she wanted to go to the beach one more time.
My father worked hours and hours, OT and weekends, and neglected his family, not out of financial need - not sure why exactly. He developed Alzheimer's in his early 60s, was not able to enjoy retirement and it didn't matter that he had $100,000 in the bank because he didn't know who he was, didn't know who I was, was in diapers, couldn't feed himself, etc.
Make the time to do what you enjoy, if only for 15 minutes a day. If $$ is an issue, use coupoons, buy off brands, shop yard sales, etc.
You can work until you last breath and they'll still be calling you to help with the backlog. The company doesn't care about you, doesn't care if your children are sick, if your parents are dying, if you are puking your guts out, so why should you kill yourself for the company.
Fun things to do next time you are in an elevator...
 Wave hands wildly at invisible flies buzzing around your head.
Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask: "Got enough air in there?"
Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you "Admiral".
Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then announce: "I've got new socks on!"
Frown and mutter "gotta go, gotta go" then sigh and say "oops!"
Walk on with a cooler that says "human head" on the side.
Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce "You're one of THEM!" and move to the far corner of the elevator.
Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your personal space.
I just had to lighten up this board a bit today!!!!
Not really hate..but not enough time for the things that bug me (nm)
Any 62 year old should know by this time how to figure things out
I am older but I do not have to ask others how to get around money out of my husband's money to cover my expenses. Give me a f…ing break! All the time I have read these posts have never seen 1 person trying to be so underhanded. They are not glad to be able to make around $900- they were trying to do something against a company, IRS and anyone else she could. After all that time she comes back to rant some more and call us vipers. I am independent. Last year I sold property for $150,000. I did not pay all my independent taxes like I should but.... I had major expenses such as new computer, property upkeep on the one sold plus those taxes, my property taxes where I live and I made arrangements last year (hey, I was thinking ahead) and set up at least $46,000 in the bank JUST IN CASE I needed for the taxes this year. With all my expenses paid out, did my taxes and got back a little over $600. I did not retire, I did not flame others for what I should do, I used my head before time, not just running out and spending all and had a cushion in case I needed. I am woman, I am strong, I use my head for what it was intended. This is the way things should work, not retiring first, not having enough money, not trying to be sneaky about working and having others taking the credit and pay then paying me under the table, then trying to pull the wool over other's eyes!
Good things take time. (this is addressed to OP, BTW) My first 15 years or sm
so of MT was without the benefit of using an expander. When Expanders became the norm, I was reluctant to try, thinking that it would be more cumbersome than by not using it at all. Was I surprised and pleased I had ventured into the Expander world.
Since you're at home you can add entries on your free time, even if you do 5 or 10 at a time, when there is no pressure on you. Start out with expanders for "the patient," "-year-old," the names of your doctors, anything that is repetitious. You will be surprised how much time this will save you. My initial expander, PRD, actually calculated saved Keystrokes and productivity. Back then I was saving 30%!
The expander is especially helpful for those crazy terms that are hyphenated or have camel caps, those that I always had to look up to check myself. Create your brief form by just using straight lowercase, for instance, duoneb for Duo-Neb (or d-n).
Speed will come, don't worry. Good luck to you!
(Posted in the wrong place--I always do that!) This is in response to OP.
Half the time they spell things wrong anyway! NM
!
Bummer. I know those things aren't cheap. Better luck next time!
nm
Or discpline time! My kids would be very sorry if they threw things at me or in the house. Two hours
is not too long for them to give you some space. That's really sad for you, but maybe try to rein them in. Can't hurt, right?
You can travel while
There are no restrictions on that. Of course, you are expected to maintain the confidentiality of the records you work on while you are away. As far as a bare bones summer cottage, you would have to make arrangements as you see fit and necessary in order to make it comfortable for you to work in.
I do when I travel.....sm
I dock my laptop when I'm working from somewhere else (i.e. my elderly grandmother's house) and use my own keyboard and mouse. If I'm just going to work a couple of hours I don't do all of that - only if I'm working all day.
Where did you travel to? sm
I guess my main concern is going overseas to England and for some reason not being able to work there. The internet in the house I would be living in is high speed internet but I just want to make sure that my computer would work there and everything goes smoothly.
astral travel
Always thought it was hogwash until it happened to me too. I was working in a bank as a teller. On my fourth day as a teller a guy came to my window with a gun, couldn't believe it. It was like a rose above my body and watched this poor girl being robbed. To this day, 30 years later, I can still see the dress I was wearing, hairstyle etc. Back then they called it "out of body experience."
Anyone here travel and work (sm)
I am thinking I could work while I travel if I had a laptop computer and am wondering if anyone here does this and what is involved. I know many motels offer free wireless internet now. Is that all I need to be able to do this? Thanks for any help!
Does anyone travel with their laptop
and use a Sprint broadband card for internet access, or one of the other company broadband cards. Just wondered how it worked for you for traveling and if you can use it on the road? I've been trying to research this but not really finding the answers. From what I read, if there is good cell phone signal you should be able to get service, but the guy from Sprint told me that his parents tried it down the road in Nebraska and did not work, and I asked why since it said on the site that you would get service if the cell coverage is there, maybe just not as fast as in a city such as Lincoln or Omaha, and he didn't know why but said I could try it out for 30 days. Thought maybe some of you road warriors would have some suggestions. I would like to stay with my mom and use something like this since she doesn't have internet. Thanks for any suggestions if anyone has used this particular method for working.
Laptop travel
I take my laptop with me every weekend. If we go someplace besides our place in the mountains, I get my internet service to get me a dial up number of where I am going so I can connect with the internet service through dial-up. It is much slower than my DSL, but works like a charm. So contact your Internet Service Provider about numbers in the place you are are planning ongoing and so far I have had not a single problem. I have worked in Florida, in New York, in Oklahoma, in New Mexico, using the local numbers that my internet service provider gave me. I have SBC/Yahoo, now called AT&T. They even helped me set it up the first time as I could not figure out how to do it.
I prefer the CD. I can travel with my
job and used a laptop. I am able to have all my references available because I have them on the computer. Stedman's only allows 2 downloads though, so if you are one who may have lots of computer issues where you will need to reload your computer a coupld of times a year or if you might want to resell then CDs wouldn't be the way to go. The books you can find used on the classified board.
You can use www.drugs.com as a drug reference.
There aren't a separate set of books for clinic work, but I would recommend a book called Sloane's Medical Word Book by Ellen Drake. It is a large book with all the specialities and while obviously not as thorough as the Stedman's books, the terminology used in clinic work isn't as technical as acute care and will probably be good enough for you. I haven't looked at Stedman's lately but they may have a similar book.
Travel and work
As my parents are getting older I would like to visit with them more often. I live in the south and they live on the West Coast. I would like to work from their house, but they don't have an internet connection. I have thought about wi-fi but this presents privacy issues and the inconvenience of having to drive to Starbucks every day. My parents are not receptive to getting an internet connection as they do not have a computer. Anyone have any ideas how I can get some work done and yet still travel to see them several times a year?
My dream job would be to just travel, (sm)
see the world, play, ski, go on mountain bike & hiking trips, and do all sorts of unusual outdoor activities, and indoor activities (drawing) that I enjoy, and then get paid to write about them.
working while you travel
May I ask what company you work for, that lets you take your work overseas? I think this is a great idea, to travel while you work (or work while you travel) :)
I travel quite a bit. I used to have satellite, but no longer
do. Wireless is only good if you are in a place that has wireless service or you can get WiFi. Most of the chain hotels now have free WiFi and there are lots of other places that have free WiFi if you are on the road. It's always good to have a plan B too, just in case.
I read it... does it mean US patients would have to travel - nm
.
they require your uncle to travel; thus, pay him to
nm
question for those who travel and work
Does anyone have to use a C-phone for their work and use a long distance plan that they can use while away from home? I looked at Vonage, but I looked over previous posts and it sounded like the voice quality was not that great, which for obvious reasons I cannot have. Thanks for all input/suggestions!
What? I am a low income MT, can't afford to travel anywhere.
 I can't even afford to drive out of the state...gotta fix my motorcycle.
I am not taking all this too seriously but I think your post is a little inflammatory.
Nobody expects tourists to speak whatever the native language is. I think it is reasonable for local medical professionals living and working here to be able to speak easily recognizable English since the accuracy and quality of the medical record depends on it, not to mention turnaround time. My time is valuable too. Forcing me to relisten over and over just to decipher simple phrases is not fair. And that applies to the native speakers too (who tend to rattle everything off too stinking fast and IMO just as bad or worse than ESL).
help me understand laptop travel
I'm a hard-wired girl but I got a good deal on a laptop and would like to know exactly how you travel and work. I remember mention of air cards - where do you get these and is there a 1 time charge or do you have to sign up and pay monthly fees? Now - I still have to figure out how to connect it to router at home - TIA.
Travel to Florida/Disney - experiences?
We are planning a trip to Florida for the Daytona 500 in February - we are having problems lining up a hotel in the Orlando area that includes suites with kitchenettes and also has shuttle service to the major parks in the area. We want something in the mid range, maybe 3 star or 4 star, and will only have 2 tweenagers traveling with us - the rest will be adults. Can anyone recommend a place to stay with some atmosphere, pool area, restaurant, etc.?
We've been there before when our kids were young and stayed in very basic motels which was fine. We hardly spent any time at the motel anyway. This time, with some going to the NASCAR race, there will be down time for others, so a nice pool/outdoor area would be a plus.
Why not just ask a local travel agent? You don't have to commit thru them. nm
s
I guess I should say who work for a company that has you travel
to different on-site facilities and work for a few weeks providing all travel expenses and then on to a different facility?
I travel frequently and I have not found this to be a problem.
You can either search on-line or go to store like Office Depot and look at keyboard trays. They have them that will clip on. You can clip one to a table. Many times I've propped a pillow against a table and put the keyboard tray on the pillow. I've worked at a picnic table with a folded towel on the edge of the table. The height isn't the best and the towel kept the hard edge from pressing into my wrists. I've used a bed tray and put my laptop on top of that and placed the keyboard underneath.
I'd try a few things now before you go. I found that if I had to work I found a way to get the job done. I've even typed on the laptop keyboard with the laptop on my lap as we are going down the road.
I travel with a laptop, printer, and keyboard - sm
My printer is small enough to fit into a backpack - about the size of a portable DVD player. So the printer, along with the laptop go on the plane with me. The keyboard and mouse go in my suitcase that gets carried under the plane. Now, if i have to take a transcriber with me, depending on where I'm going, I will either ship that ahead or TRY to take it with me on the plane, but it depends on where I'm going and how long I'll be gone. I have had to replace a transcriber because of security deciding to take it apart when it was packed in my suitcase. Lesson learned on my part.
oops... travel program should be LogMeIn.
oh yuck, I have to travel to NY next week for a hospital job - now I'm going to be cold!!
x
A majority of . . .
one. How interesting. I will certainly believe one person over the countless others. Uh huh. 
The majority of us do far, far less than that, unfortunately. Definitely
s
Bad things? what bad things? people's being petty and small?
x
I think the majority of mistakes are
merely typographical or expander errors. If MTs weren't paid such rotten line rates on production, maybe they could afford to relisten to and reproof every single report. However, the people responding to the original post have evidently never made a single mistake in their entire lives. Ah, yes, condescending, snotty superiority complexes on the rampage. I'd be interested in seeing the MT profiles on those quoted reports, how many lines per day they produce, how many years of experience, and so forth. For that matter, we could all sit here and rip on the mistakes we've found on completed reports, but personally, I don't feel better about myself by trashing other people. My self esteem isn't measured by how stupid I think everyone else is like some people on this board.
By the page if the majority
of your work types are diagnostic plain films, such as chest and bone x-rays but if you have a lot of MRI's, CT's and special procedures such as catheter placement and removal, PET scans, angiograms and stent placements then by the line is more profitable.
The vast majority...
of kids do not get wrapped up in the things you did. My DH is a public school administrator and sees this stuff playing out first hand. He sees all the trouble makers and generally it's the "apple doesn't fall far from the tree" syndrome. Once he meets the parents, he can usually tell why the kids act the way they do. I tell my kids that peer pressure is bunk. The ultimately responsibility for making bad choices lies with the individual. You can only be pressured into what you want to be pressure into. You can't blame the schools totally, which by the way are not any worse than they ever were. I was a teen in the 70s and there's nothing much new going on. Ever generation thinks it's worse now than the good old days. In the 1920s they were aghast at girls showing their ankles.
The majority of mine do not even...
bother saying that, they just continue on as though nothing happened... !!!
The majority of normals are seen
Normals can also be a repetitive statement that the dictator makes, which you then turn into a normal so you do not have to keep typing the same thing over and over again. Some use shortcut keys or Expander program. I am not an expert on any of these as I do not use them. Some who work in MS Word use autocorrect to expand terms or phrases that are said time and time again by a specific dictator. I use autocorrect in Word and like it. Hope this helps. 
So the majority would feel ?
If the remote MTs are employees and are scheduled for 8 hours for coverage, the company can require them to work a complete 8 hours ? This means that the ones who can produce more lines in those 8 hours will be paid more, while the ones who produce only their line count will get compensated accordingly. The schedule is for a reason and needs to be followed for coverage. Some of the MTs are only thinking of the "required" line count, not thinking in hours. Maybe the wording should be changed to "minimum daily line count". Just want to be sure it is not a far-reaching thought to think if you are an employee and are scheduled for 8 hours, that you should work 8 hours. I know situations vary, but do most of you work a complete 8 hours, or just until you reach your minimum line count ? Thanks.
Can't stand the majority of them...
I have several on my account that just make me cringe. One ESL tries to talk so fast she stumbles over nearly every word and says, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, repeatedly. Another ESL ends every sentence like its a question, like a teenage girl. I have one American woman who adds an extra ah-syllable at the ah-beginning of some of her ah-words. Took me forever to figure that one out! I had one at my first job who practically whispered huge operative reports. Nuts!
I had another American this week that had me pulling my hair out. She had someone else reading the PE and lab results to her in the background and then she was repeating them. Drove me crazy!
If there are a majority of MTs making
the same mistake, send it to everyone. However, if 1 or 2 are making the mistake consistently they need to be notified, becuase no one believes it is them making the mistake a lot of the time.
majority are for at-home then?
I take it then the majority are for at-home positions?
Here you go, the majority of posters
are on your side.
Nobody can make you and your daughter to agree to take the vaccination.
And...I see no typos...!
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