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That is the norm from what I have experienced - sm

Posted By: XXX on 2006-06-12
In Reply to: Off the subject - wedding reception -sm - Wedding guest

this gives the bride and groom time for pictures, etc. between the wedding and the reception. Every wedding I have ever been too, it's been about 90 minutes between the 2 events. Unless the reception is at the same place as the wedding, I'd expect some sort of gap between the two.


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Not the norm
Well, you are not the norm. All you have to do is turn on the TV to see that. Jeeez, wake up.
But isn't that the norm everywhere now?
xx
is this the norm ?

I began p/t IC work for a local MT company and they're driving me crazy.  THey look at every single word I type and send me HARD COPIES in the mail of my corrections, format changes, etc. 


I have 15 years of MT experience - so this is crazy!  It's all illegible - and I'm starting to go crazy!  They pointed out "40mg"  instead of "40 mg" ... all little stuff like that.  Is this what I'll have to look forward to ?   Thanks, MT-NY


I'm sure that's far from the norm
Michael Moore has been pretty good at twisting facts in the past. Not saying it didn't happen, just saying I'm sure it's not the norm in our country. I'll still take the USA any day.
8 cpl is the norm?
So, can I assume 8 cpl is about average?  If I take a typical 48000 character file, there's about $3.80 difference.  That looks small, but mulitply that by at least 2 times a day, 5-6 days a week, and in the long run it would make a big difference for me.
You are right, it is not the norm at first, but including myself and many others that I know
personally, we do make around 100 or more per day working for a national. It is very possible! You just gottah look.
I still don't understand how someone can have so many years experience, be on the same system, and make less than 175 lines per hour. I don't understand.

Maybe they are not typing fast enough or know enough terms, is all I can think of.

I've switched jobs in the past few months and started off slow, but now up to approximately 200 lph - came from a job where I did 350 lph on WP5.1 and now on an internet platform. I don't kill myself everyday working either.


It is about the norm around here in my neck of the USA. nm
x
I would say it absolutely is the norm for
Rad to be paid by the report. I have only worked for 1 company by line and didn't stay long. The company I work for now I get $1.50 a report. The lowest I have been paid is $1.10 a report. Unless the account is heavy in MRIs, CTs, etc. there is no way I would work for line.

If you have been doing this for over 12 years then I would say you are cheating yourself out of some good money. I average 180-200 reports a day, or $2700 a pay period -- can you say the same?
Have no idea if this is the norm or not but -sm
it seems like a sensible thing to do. I had to fast starting 24-hours before the colonoscopy, but I could drink certain things and have certain colored ice-pops/water ice (up until midnight), then about 15 hours before the procedure had to take 4 Duculax, then 2 hours later start drinking a 1/2 gallon of NuLYTELY (yuck, totally gross). Needless to say I am very glad I don't have to do it again for 10 years! I'm only 40 so I am 10 years too early for it as it is....but unfortunately had to have it done.
this is not the norm, dump them
Really now... nobody checks my work.
98% is the norm for accuracy
and most companies have their own QA system of assigning point deductions per error divided by line count. If you have a way to review your reports after they go through QA you should be able to see what your percentage is. If not, ask QA.
I have worked for a lot (too many) of companies, and this is the norm. nm
nm
The norm is 3:1 or even 4:1. Personally, I transcribe 2:1. nm
x
No, it is NOT the norm. You shouldn't be docked for that! QA
s
If the account specifies that is different. If they don't specify isn't 2 then the norm? nm
nm
Anything more than a week for a norm delivery is too much, sm
C-section - I would say 2 weeks max. Anything more than this is "milking it."
I wish I was that fast!---the norm is 3 to 5 minutes - sm
per dictated minute. I only do the 2:1 ratio when I am doing edits.
Not the norm, organic baby greens
with tofu, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, organic corn pasta salad with tofu dill dressing
It does make one wonder how long this is going to go on or is this just the norm now? Terribly sad
I lost my QA job 3 weeks ago because a US company bought the offshore company my original company was using and now brought in their own QA people. Apparently they hope to get these MTs off QA here real soon.... I just gotta laugh... I've been QAing the work for over 2 years and it is the same mistakes day in and day out... they just don't get it and don't care to 'get it'... they get paid no matter what so what is the incentive to learn? These MTs actually argued with me about contractions, etc., like I had no idea what I was doing.... I know you are venting and I hear you and totally understand... it's a sad place MT has gotten to over the last 5-7 years or so in my mind
Timed test the norm for IC job hunting?
I had a response to a job that had a specified time frame for testing. It had to be done withing 2hrs of getting the passcoded from them via email.  I got the email 30 after they sent it and it took forever to do it becuase you couldn't use express scribe/foot pedal. I had to go between word and media player.....and in doing so went over the 2hr limit.  Is this normal for them to do this? 
What will happen to us when Electronic Medical Redords become the norm?

I would love to hear everyones 2 cents about Electronic Medical Records....How soon will this be a problem for us? What will we do after they are in most doctors exam rooms?


Let me know what you guys think...Do MT's have a future? or did I just go thru schooling for nothing ...


Well, it seems the norm to me! I've tested with at least 4 co's in the past few years and

the tests were not dictations that I do on an everyday basis.  I know they pick and choose carefully what they will test you on because there are always kinks in there where the doc either stumbles, mumbles, or you know you would have to be a genius to figure out what they are saying.


 



Those credentials for teachers in public school are NOT the norm...
At my daughter's school when she was in 3rd grade she showed me her final spelling test.  The list contained the words:  You, me, and two, among other similar ones.  My daughter was in the gifted program, and those were her final spelling words in preparation for 4th grade!!  We do NOT have public school teachers with PhD degrees in anything.  They're lucky they have a Bachelor's.  I have a Bachelor's and consider myself quite capable of teaching.  Believe me - all schools are NOT created equal.
I wish you were the norm! Can't find 8.5 cpl for experience out here anymore. You're VERY luck
,
I think $.07, $.075, $.08, or $.085 are all way too low for experienced MTs.

I truly love interviewing with these companies, then trying not to spew coffee out my nose at the line rates offered.  Some of those rates were even for IC with no benefits or tax withholding.  I'm about ready to quit MT and let them offshore because rates have dropped so much since I started.  It's wonderful being offered the same rate to do ESLs and upper level work as what I made 10 years ago as a newbie.  It's getting to the point where you can't make a decent, honest living anywhere any more.


Well, that's what MQ does. If are not an experienced MT,
nm
If you are experienced and don't have to SM
look a lot of things up, then the answer is macroing the daylights out of you machine. Macro just not large words, but medium and small words, such as "n" for "and" and "w" for "was", and so on. Try not to type anything out, if you don't have to.
I have also experienced that.
Did tell her that she might not have realized it but I felt there it sounded condescending and as our goal was to put out as perfect a product as possible, it was not helpful. Also told her that I appreciated constructive criticism as that would help us both.

Things did change. Sometimes I don't think they realize the importance of the way they phrase a sentence.
new MTs vs. experienced MTs

Dear MT Pundit,


Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts about experienced vs. new MTs.  I think you're right-on.  I see myself in the set-in-my-ways attitude sometimes.  I'm not speaking for anyone else, of course.  I can only speak for myself.  Change isn't easy for me, but I've tried very hard to adapt and think I'm doing okay.  This industry is changing fast and furiously, and if I want to stay in it, then I need to be able to go with the flow.  Otherwise, my job may well end up in India. 


Too experienced? sm
Looking for a little advice. While applying for MT jobs recently I have been told I am too experienced to "just transcribe" because they see that I have held supervisory and other positions in the industry - along with many years of actual transcribing experience. I realize these days about 8 cpl is the going rate and although I wish it were higher, I wouldn't apply to these postings if I wasn't willing to work for that rate. Just looking to supplement my income. I would hate to leave all this experience off my resume, but maybe I should? Any ideas for a different way to spin this?


If you are experienced, you don't need to
look at the keys, whether characters are there or not.
Experienced ICs, please help.

I am an experienced Transcriptionist but I have always worked as an employee.  I now have the opportunity to pick up a side account as an IC. 


I really need some help and guidance on how to create a contract and what needs to be in that contract.  Can someone please give me some advice?


Thanks In Advance!!


Even the most experienced MTs can
have trouble with new accounts. As long as your company has not said anything to you, don't sweat it.
experienced MT
Companies tend to want to hire newbies with the mindset that they can pay out cheaper. We all have to start somewhere, of course. Experience needs to continue to be worth something, including a deserved pay to go with it, and this notion seems to be whittling away...

In this profession, we all learn something new continuously.
I have experienced this...
before.  There are many clients who operate in a similar fashion.  If that's what they want, give it to them.  After all, they are paying for our services, right?
yes, dnh.... I am experienced

I have been doing this for 15 years.  Did my time in the office before going home and still learning every day. 


I feel that I am above average at what I do, in the past 11 years on my current job, not one QA audit below 98%.  I also have a 2nd job to make ends meet and in the past year, my monthly QA audits have been above 99%, twice at 100%.  The 2nd job is OPs only and paid less than the 1st job. 


I work a schedule at both!  I do not complain and take pride in what I do.  Of course I look things up.  I do not abuse QA.


Thanks for you advice about trying to find a job like yours that never posts ads because no one leaves.  That should help a fellow MT find a home. 


I am an experienced transcriptionist, and have no more need sm
to proof every word of every report that the doctors have a need to actually listen over to their own dictation.  Speed and quality go hand in hand in making a good MT.  If you don't have both, then you will never make any more and never have any confidence in your skills.  I think I already told you, above, that I have a QA score of 99.4.  Good enough for me. 
Everyone must pay their dues....we experienced MTs sm
worked in the office in the beginning of our career. I am not as old as one might think, 38 years old, but I started MT while still in high school in the 10th grade on a typewriter. I paid my dues many times over before I could have a career at home. I have to tell you, the experience and knowledge gained in that time is priceless. Yes, we learn something new every day, but in the office you have the doctors, nurses, OMs, and other MTs to offer their assistance. If you don't know a word or can't understand it, you go right to the doc himself. So, the next time you hear it, you know what the heck he/she was talking about. That is how you learn. Sorry to say it, but an office job or MT job in one specialty is where you should start. These schools tell you that you can work at home after you finish their course. That just is an outright untruth!

Just had to give my 10 cents worth.
Experienced MTs Needed
AccuStat Carolinas is seeking experienced MTs to work on many multispeciality accounts.  All MTs must have high speed internet acess to apply.  All MTs must reside within the US.  NO OFFSHORE NEED APPLY!!!  Each MT will need to have a 9-pin (serial port) foot pedal.  The client will provide all software needed to perform work.  All work must be 98% or above in accuracy to remain with our company.  AccuStat offers statutory employee or IC status with no restrictions on scheduling for either status.  Pay is sent via mail or direct deposit twice a month.  Pay is 7.5 cpl per line for all transcribed work and 2.5 cpl for all edited work.  The program that you will work with is a VR program so you will have both transcribed and editing work.  Please cut and paste resume into email.  Only eligible MTs will receive response. 
unbelievable... 6.5 to 8 cpl for EXPERIENCED ONLY

that was an ad in the job seeker's board.  UN-freakin' believable.


Experienced MTs, please see New MT/Student
.
It may be pitiful but consider how much experienced MTs are
making. Not much more. 8 to 9 cents per line, maybe 10 if you agree to transcribe heavy ESL. Yeah, it's sickening, but then service owners have to edit newbies reports and still show a profit margin without losing their shirt. It's a quandry.
And they always saddle the experienced with these. sm
And then wonder why few really experienced MTs apply for the jobs.
Anyone experienced with ExText? (sm)

This is a new account and we're still on dial-up, and don't have the help function.  I have 2 questions:  1) How can you bring a normal you have made for yourself into the document without having to go through the entire list?  2) How can you stop an expansion from expanding on a 1-time basis.  Let's say you have PT as prothrombin time, but you need just "PT" -- how could you get it to stop at PT?  Many thanks! 


I have experienced all of the postings
below and they are my pet peeves too, but I have one doc that sometimes will not use the call in system, but uses his tape recorder to dictate and he does it while he is in a train station waiting for train, riding on the train, and leaving the train with his wife and kids talking right beside him, not to mention the noise from the train station, whistles and all. I get two 30 minute tapes a week of this guy and I seriously have a headache when I am done listening to it. Wish he would STAY HOME!! lol
I have experienced similar.
When I was working in a physicians office using a tape transcriber, if someone drove by the office using a CB radio, it came in loud and clear. I have never heard a regular radio through mine. I just assumed the ear phones were a type of receiver.
I think for me and what I am reading, these are mainly experienced MTs and ....
I have been doing this for 17 years and what causes the burnout is the stress, not from the job but all the changes in the last 5-6 years, with major companies having people just to figure out how they can make more profit and the constant changes with line counts, different platforms to the company's advantage, dictation maneuvering, on and on and on. I worked for one company that gave me a secondary I fell in love with, told them I wanted it for my primary, it reminded me of the hospital dictation I was used to, it wasn't a week later that I was doing almost 95% ESLs, that was bull - then to be making less than I was 5 years ago and working more hours to make less, VR that is not trained and takes longer to change than to type and make half per line, all these things contribute to burnout - sometimes I work sporadically all through the day to get my lines in because I am so discouraged of such a skilled profession making less than minimum wage with some companies. Yes, I agree it is great to be good with ESLs but it does slow you down and if you want to work 2 more hours a day or more because you are on an accout that is mainly ESLs, then you are doing it because you are lowering your standards, again, and again and again. That is the nature of this profession anymore.

In bowling good bowlers have a handicap for less experienced bowlers but that is a game, this is not a game. I do not like being handicapped in this profession bacause companies have to handicap the more experienced transcriptionists to be able to have less experienced transcriptionists do the work. Too many experienced transcriptionists are getting out of the profession because of that stress, not the stress of transcription, that is not the stress. The cherry pickers are the team leaders having to get their lines in and doing the easier dictation, they can do that, I don't think they have favorites they give it too, most are faces they don't see or know - they give the more experienced MTs the hard dictation, take the cream for themselves, and maneuver other dictation for the more inexperienced transcriptionists, and probably for not much different pay.
Is it hard for an MT experienced in - sm
general surgery or radiology or to transcribe neurosurgery/neurology?  The EEG studies seem okay.  What are the nuances of neurosurg?  Any info you have would be great.
i have experienced the same thing you are. sm
some will "get it" in the MT world and some just won't because they lack the dedictation and care it takes to produce quality work. i had it happen not too long ago to me. i gave a month to get the act together after a year of working for me. it didn't happen. same mistakes over and over again even though i did compare documents and sent it back to them and then long expanded emails with every mistake. i am talking DOBs wrong, pt spelling wrong (when given pt lists), just complete nonesense typed. i had to let them go. why pay someone to do the work when basically you are doing it all anyway so you are giving them "free money". don't put up with it. move on to someone else until you find someone who takes pride in their work. there is a difference in not knowing and researching to figure it out just like there is the pride in work and wanting to do it right. some just don't have that. they want easy, work from home, money, but not putting in the effort to do it accurately. i think you should have done something long before you let them slid by for five years!! has it happened for five years with quality or just gone downhill recently?
Experienced versus New
I have to admit that even though I have 19+ years of experience, this article is strikingly true.  I am not saying that a new MT has the experience in that they can make a decision in an instant as some of us with many years, but they are trained now to follow AAMT, which I had never heard of until I set out on my own and came online to find work.  I also have seen posts on this board of people that have worked in a clinic setting for 10+ years and have no idea about what else is available to them online or how to set that up for themselves.  How many times have we seen posts that someone has worked on one platform and never anything else.  I don't think that article is a plug for that school.  I think that article speaks for what is going on today in the MT industry.  I think someone who has just finished school has been shown a lot more than what we all have had to learn on the job.  I could probably type faster and know more about terminology than any new MT, but a new MT should know BOS and be more computer savvy than I was starting out. 
Agree with Experienced MT
This is great advice and probably the same I would give. This is definitely a career where the skills and knowledge it takes to perform the job well are not commensurate with the wage scale in most instances. Being in the field myself for more years than I can to mention, there is never totally smooth sailing. Rough waters ensue almost on a daily basis. Eventually with a lot of hard work, you can pretty much do the gamut the industry has to offer but I don't ever think you ever get to the point where you call it "easy."