Thanks for this post, SB. I have to say these comments kinda

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

Where I feel crazy, I set a goal of around 300 lines an hour (ha! not with these dictators but 250 is still good), every two hours make a snack to get me moving.  I love juicing veggies and making fruit smoothies in the blender, coffee makes me nuts.  I also do calisthenics (sp?) every couple of hours for about three minutes to keep my blood flowing and keep toned.  I walk the dog two times a day for about 10 minutes to get energized from the sun and keep a good color.  I take an hour break to watch good ol Judge Judy, and fix myself something nice n yummy, and after Judy I crank out my last hour called the 'power hour' where I take no prisoners and smoke comes off my keyboard!  Like a race to the finish line.

I can't see how you could do the 20 and the 10 minute clean break, that would slow me down!  Maybe I should take cleaning breaks, because I never want to clean when I have a block of time off and the dirt just collects.

Shortcut to: http://www.njagyouth.org/Liberty_.htm

My son planned a trip to New Orleans for the 4th of July. We tried and tried to find a room through travelocity.com, hotels.com, expedia.com, etc. without success. I'm not sure exactly what the site was, but I finally found a hotel room (I think I searched New Orleans.com or something similar) at the Cotton Exchange Hotel which seemed to be a very good hotel by all sites description. It was booked on all these other sites. So I grabbed the room for the guys. However, when they got to New Orleans and showed their confirmation, the hotel sent them next door to the Holiday Inn. What was up with that?  Of course, they didn't care one way or the other, but I just wondered why the hotel did that. Thought maybe they were affiliated, but by the description of the hotels, I would rather have stayed in the Cotton Exchange and would have been somewhat disappointed had the reservation been for me.  Just curious

Besides, my friend has the "collar" for her yorkie and the dang thing yaps right over it. The way I did it with my dog when he was a pup didn't make him "afraid" of barking (knowing he'd get zapped). He just learned that we did not like it when he barked.  He also doesn't jump up on people unless I give him the okay and he does NOT lick people. EEEEW.

I didn't rely on gadgets with my dog.  I trained him with patience and rewards.  Works every time and makes a heck of a better dog.

If you're going to zap a dog when he barks, why not just kick him?  The "correction devices" are only made for people that don't want to bother to spend the time.

I work for a national but do acute care stuff, which means I have to be glued to my desk in case I get an "instant message" telling me to type up a stat report.  I have the kind of personality where I NEED a schedule, otherwise I'll just frig around and wind up typing up a days work at the last minute.  I tried it before and it didn't work out so well for me. 

I'm not forced to punch in and out for breaks though.  I do take short breaks here and there to rest and get up and walk, but then I'm right back here at the keys.  Some days I even eat while typing, but that's the nature of the beast where I am.  Yeah, sometimes it wears thin like on days when everything aches and no matter how fast I type, there's always a stack of stuff waiting that needed to be done yesterday.  It also sucks when I get asked to type up stuff because some other typist has gone "MIA."  I just get bent because I figure I have to be here during my schedule, why can't they?  

Oh well, at least there's an overflowing amount of work, unlike some other companies I read where the people are sitting twiddling their thumbs waiting for stuff to come in.

I bought the preferred version because I switched computers and my new laptop came with Word 2003 which SmartType does NOT work with.  I was able to teach it the medical words for the most part.  Some stuff was tricky like x3 and I could not get that to work.  Unfortunately it seemed awfully slow to me and you have to get a really get microphone.  FOr me though a lot of my work is VR except for new doctors so I just don't bother with it.  But if you're typing all day it might be useful after you spend the time training it.  I spent about 100 on it so it's MUCH less expensive than the medical version.

I work in-house in Washington State and I'm sure I don't make as much as someone working in-house in California, but my fingers and wrists are saved by working in-house.  I do have a minimum minute count to get, but I can pace myself throughout the day and it is very easily achievable.  If I were working at home I would be pushing myself to the absolute maximum by trying to get as many lines as I can in a day (did that for several years...hated it).  However, there is only so much you can make in a day getting paid by the hour instead of the line.  If you make a decent rate per line and you have a high line count per day I'm sure you could make more than someone working in-house who only gets so much per hour for an 8-hour day no matter how much they type.  So, it kinda goes both ways.  

First of all, everything you say may be true of the mother regarding her suspicion, but as I always try to do before I criticize and pass judgment on others, first try to mentally "walk a mile in her shoes."  You might be thinking the same thing under similar circumstances.

Secondly, she signed a waiver for her daughter to go on that trip with full knowledge that these "adult children" were not going to be supervised by these chaperones in any fashion other than just being "available" if they needed them and to help out if anyone lose their passport or suitcase, stuff like that.  The mother knew full well why she was letting her daughter got to Aruba... TO DRINK AND PARTY!   If she didn't know that, then she's a dense as they come.  I wouldn't give my daughter 2 cents towards a trip to Aruba at age 18.  There's only one reason to go to an island like that, to drink.  If the beach is what you want, we've been known to have a few beaches here in the USA, but they don't want that, they want to be free to party it up.  So you can't blame the chaperones, at least not in my opinion.

Thank you for your posting; I find it very useful.  However, I want to comment on the fact that, during training, I never heard of the BOS and received absolutely no feedback.  So, to think that newly trained MTs are ahead of the others, is not necessarily correct.

As a matter of fact, the very first time that I ever heard of the AAMT Book of Style was upon receiving the graded and corrected FINAL EXAM for my course (Career Step) which made reference to my use of a dangerous abbreviation.  I then inquired as to WHAT IS A DANGEROUS ABBREVIATION, at which time someone did RESEARCH and, after a few days of research, reported to me that she had to ask someone else and discovered that a dangerous abbreviation was defined by AAMT, as mentioned in the BOOK OF STYLE.  I immediately purchased a copy of the book and studied it on my own.

I think that none of us fits into any one category.  I hate it when I am stereotyped, especially with regards to what a potential employer may think I know or do not know, or may be capable of doing, as determined by the exact number of years that I have been working.  There are plenty of exceptionally good companies out there who have totally rejected me due solely to the fact that I have less than the number of years of experience that they require, while my current employer constantly gives me the most difficult jobs because I am, in his mind, "one of the best."    Of course, I can't wait until I have those required number of years of experience so that I can reject those very companies that rejected me back in the days when I only had 2 years of experience!!

I appreciate this thread.  It has been very educational. BTW, not only can it be a difficult situation when you work for a "family" business with the wife being the office manager, but I have had negative experiences as a patient when the wife was the doctor's manager.  It just doesn't work out.

While I agree that "other duties as assigned" can be interpreted in many ways, there must be a limit to this.

What I have learned from this thread.

1.  If you have two professions such as Nurse AND MT, write a separate resume for each.  Whether or not you reveal your transcription skills to an employer who is employing you as a nurse is your decision, but should not be required.
2.  As an IC MT, write your own contract.  Stipulate that your MT "business" includes certain duties only pertaining to medical transcription and performed at your location during the hours that you decide.
3.  Stipulate that because MT is your private business entity, due to conflict of interest (or whatever terminology you decide), you do not conduct your private business functions during the same hours as the employee job unless you want to and it is clearly understood that there will be separate charges.
4.  Once you have an established business and income for that business you may need some kind of business license or need to be registered.  The laws vary determined by your state and/or city, county, etc.  However, usually you do not need to register your business until it is actually making a profit.  In the meantime, the existence of your business on paper would offer you some kind of protection against an employer who has employed you as a nurse and is attempting to take advantage of your transcription skills. 
5.  If an employer attempts to have you do transcription on the side, out comes the contract.
6.  Do not offer discounts to anyone simply because they are a friend or employer.  Treat them all the same, require them to pay extra for extra services.  Spell it all out in the contract.  In other words, protect yourself and set them up in the beginning so that they know they will not be able to take advantage of you.

Last I looked, the nurse practice ACT, at least for RNs, is rather specific and does not include such tasks as mopping floors or transcribing dictation.  You sound like a very nice person who has attracted someone who seeks to take advantage of your kind nature.  Don't let them do it.

She's way too young to have had all that work done.  My guess is it was a mistake when it said Kat's family and friends... apparently she doesn't have anyone except her parents and grandma!

 TAYLOR! TAYLOR! TAYLOR

When asked what I do for a living, I tell them, the response I get the most is this "oh, i've heard of that.  Been wanting to get into it as a side job."  Gee thanks. 

Or "Did you have to go to school for that?"  And actual disbelief when I tell them I did. 

Or "Don't you get sick of not being around people?"  Again...gee thanks.  What am I a shut in?  I still at least go out and check my mail a couple times a week!

Or "Whats that"  Blank look on face or extreme disinterest or disappointment.  Gee, thanks again. 

And here's the meanest one that I received from a guy I was dating for awhile "Are you just afraid of being successful?"  Hmmm.....can I get a gee thanks?

and asking for any more money if I had not checked into the situation thoroughly first.  UPS even said that they hire extra drivers over the holidays that do not use UPS vehicles, so anything could have happened.  I'm not pleased about this situation, but I am trying to at least provide a Christmas for the kids.

Sheri