The benefit of personal experience
Posted By: IrreversibleDecisions on 2006-01-05
In Reply to: Not what I want to hear! - Dell
I was surgically menopaused at 35 after 4 major abdominal procedues starting at 18. Prior to the removal of my uterus and remaining ovary, I've hemorrhaged multiple times, been critically anemic, etc., etc. Early on I was deemed a high risk for gyn cancer, although the major scare came at 35 with a necrotic ovarian mass. I made a conscious, informed decision early on not to have my remaining ovary and uterus removed until the threat of cancer could not be ruled out with testing.
Within days of the final procedure, I became despondent and so hormonally challenged I was suicidal. HRT took months to help. I have never regained what was lost by having a cleanout done, despite the obvious need to have it done. It does impact every woman differently. Some sail through and others suffer. I can tell you that in retrospect, the only thing that would move me to have this procedure is a life threatening risk if I didn't. Think long and hard because there are more terrible things out there than the imposition of monthly cramps and excessive bleeding. The quality of your life may improve or it may decrease. Please do not misunderstand me - If you are under a cancer threat or require transfusions, I would not hesitate to do it. Good luck to you.
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Any personal experience with HRT?
Can weight gain be a side effect of hormone-replacement therapy? Has anyone tried anything else for symptoms of menopause? I need help! Gained 40 lbs in the 1-1/2 years on HRT and gotta do something about it!
Same here . . . no personal experience
My sister had it done a couple of years ago, and we are all (the whole family)truly amazed that she has 20/20 vision now. No problems with the surgery whatsoever.
Just asking you to consider that your experience is personal, as is theirs.
x
My personal experience...sm
Our pay for VR was dropped to 60% of our MT CPL rate. The theory that VR produces more lines for MTs is, IMHO, hogwash. The dictators I had were so bad, I usually blocked out paragraphs and retyped them. VR took my pay down to near minimum wage and I had to find another job. BUT, if you can, give it a try to see how it works out for YOU. I once received 2 long VR reports from an unfamiliar account and breezed through them with very little editing. That's where you make your $$, if you are lucky enough to get dictation like that. Good luck with whatever you decide.
anyone have personal experience with leasing a vehicle
I've never owned a car, end up upside down on the loan, owe old loan on top of new loan, and own it for so long it starts to tinker and I pay for repair on top of the loan. What is the downside of leasing? I heard you sometimes have to pay, but only if you drive over the limited mileage right? Working at home, that saves mileage on commute which makes up 70% of it I would suppose. Plus being new it won't nickle and dime me to death with repairs, low payment because you only pay for the amount of money it would depreciate for the time you own it. Any personal experience with this, and is there red tape or hidden small print? Going to start looking really soon, I only hear bad things but its from people who drive a lot. I think a new car is a necessity in this day and age, with all the swindling mechanics and the dependence to get from here to there. A new different car every three years doesnt sound so bad either.
my personal experience on a set schedule versus flex
I have worked for 2 companies now that want a set schedule and they DO watch to see when I will be on. There are several reasons for it, and I'll try to explain from their standpoint.
First I found that if they have a stat and I am scheduled to be working, they NEED me to be on to take that stat. Another issue is QA coverage. They need to hire QA personnel to pick up any blanks I left and still get the report to the client withing TAT. So if I work outside my assigned shift time, they may not meet TAT because they didn't have enough QA staff. On the flip side, if the QA staff has nothing to QA, then they transcribe and take the work I would normally get, leaving me without any work when I eventually DO log in.
I am a high producer and can get my required line count in 5 hours, not 8, and when I do work 8 I may find myself without work the next day.
It is a delicate balancing act for everyone. I decided to take the 9-5 employee job, but also have a back up account on those no work available days as an IC so I can always make sure my paycheck is reliable.
You have to go with what works for you.
I can see no benefit -
I have never had any problem getting or keeping an MT job. My work speaks for itself. A few companies offer a little more money if you are a CMT, but to me that does not offset the cost of keeping up those credentials. BTW, I used to QA several gals who had their CMT. One of them was a very marginal MT and the other was terrible and could not do anything other than simple clinic work. It has been my experience that the credentials really do not mean a whole lot. Some people may have a totally different experience.
LLC/INC - has no benefit to me
but, company wants that in place to do prn work. Does anyone see the benefit of this??? It will cost me several hundred dollars to set it up, plus the separate income tax filing, etc. Anyone with experience here? I am one person, not a company and I don't understand the reasoning.
The benefit of being an IC is that
you are your own boss meaning that you can choose to work when you want. Stay away from the companies hiring ICs with a set schedule as they are breaking the law and will abuse you. Those companies need to hire employees, but don't to save money.
The other benefit to being an IC or self-employed (one in the same) is that you can write off tons of business expenses, i.e., tissues, paperclips, the area in which you work, utilities, staples, paper, ink for your printer, paper, computers, printers, hole punchers, scotch tape, mileage.... the list goes on and on; get a good tax person and not a fly-by-night. You will get charged a penalty if you owe taxes at the end of the year unless you pay quarterly or have enough from an employee job withheld to cover your taxes. If not, then I would suggest taking a portion of your income to pay quarterly taxes.
There are a lot of MTs who are ICs but will bend over backwards for their company they contact with because they need the money, but I, for one, will not. As an IC, I am my own boss and I decide what work I will do and when. The only requirement I have with the online MTSO I contract with is that I have what work I take from the pool back within 24 hours. No line quota, no set schedule.. that's how it should be. Also, as an IC, I have my own accounts; this is what an IC is about; not having all of your eggs in one basket. There is no such thing as full-time part-time as an IC - it's just IC. Full-time and part-time is for employees. Check the site IRS.gov and you'll find examples of ICs and employees.
benefit ideas
This may be a little late as it takes some planning, but my great niece was in an "American Girl" (the popular dolls) Fashion show which raised close to 40,000 for a child who passed 2 years ago from brain cancer and this benefit went to the fund the parents kept up for research.
The American Girl company coordinates it, has a whole package thing and the girls modeling are dressed just like the American Girl doll they carry...it was the cutest thing and well worth the money for the ticket.
you're right, but it is a tax benefit...sm
It may very well be a tax benefit for me because I bought my place in 2005 and I think home improvements can be deducted to some extent - I find out tomorrow when I go bring in my taxes to the CPA!!!
Before then, I couldn't do any home improvements. The floor $ came from a life insurance policy someone left me in 2005, unexpected to say the very least. Now, every time I look at the floors, I think about that person! There IS no extra $$ in this life ever is the way I see it, unfortunately, and I'm very humble(d).
Benefit question
I have worked only in-house for years and am now beginning an at-home position. For those who work for nationals who have benefits how do you work under the stress of having to keep your line counts at a certain amount or have your insurance dropped? What if you do not make your required line count?
Is there any benefit to getting clients anymore? sm
Most clients where I live (Virginia Beach) want me to pick up tapes. They will call if the MT quit, and then they want to pay only 10 CPL. I can’t hire MTs at less than 8 CPL. Then, behind my back, they look for in-house personnel. Once they find it, I’m out of a job again. Dishonest OMs that just use me. Don’t know which way to go. Don’t need a lot of work, just trying not to work for nationals (f that’s possible anymore).
I’m thinking of getting work outside my state. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I would think a split shift would benefit them!
I know where I work they swoon over people who can pull a split shift...say early in the morning and then again late afternoon into evening. I think it really helps get places out of TAT jams. I once did 7am-11am and then 3pm-7pm for a while and it worked out great for me at the time and was equally beneficial to them. Have you tried pointing out the potential benefits for them, to them? Might be worth a shot if you haven't already. Good luck!
AlphaGrip mousing benefit
When I first began using the AlphaGrip my right forearm, wrist, hand, and shoulder were already in pretty bad shape from typing. I noticed a new pain on the side of my hand, but I think this was due to trying to get used to using the AG, as I no longer have this pain now that typing flows more easily. All of the other pains mentioned are much improved now, and it seems that the more I use the AG versus using the keyboard, the greater the reduction in pain has become. I much prefer the AG and unless I am scrambling to meet a deadline I do not use the keyboard at all. I cannot wait until the day that I feel I can throw it in the garbage can.
You are right about the mouse. I think that the pains I was having had a great deal to do with mousing, and that was the number one feature that sold me on the AG. As I mentioned, I was looking for about two years, but purchased the AG in under a week after first seeing it. This is exactly what I was looking for in a new keyboard . . . a way to mouse right there readily available, and the traditional mouse was the first thing to go when the AG arrived. I haven’t looked back!
It actually was not strange to hold at all and fingers fall into place naturally, and a lot of the keys are struck with the same finger as one would use on a conventional keyboard, though not all, and it is a matter of getting used to the new positioning, which is the same reason that some of the ergo keyboards that have a normal key layout are awkward to learn to use and will slow one’s typing speed down.
There is a lot of information available on their web site for learning to use and customizing the AlphaGrip. While I’m sure it’s not for everyone, I am very happy with mine and glad I found it.
MQ letter/comprehensive benefit package
I really did not make much of it. It would be GREAT,especially if they can offer something for the part timers, but I'm not holding my breath to hear the news. It's been promised/talked about for forever, sure would be nice to finally hear.
Give them the benefit of the doubt the first time.
x
I'd give them the benefit of the doubt....especially since it has never been a problem - sm
It could have gotten lost in the mail, it does happen, or mislaid by the P.O. (that happens to). My checks had been a big late recently myself but it was the fault of the mailer, she was not too responsible in getting them to the mailbox....the office has since corrected the problem since 15+ MTs kept wondering why their checks were 5-7 days later than usual. --If you don't have it by the time you invoice for your next check, ask them to cancel the missing one and either cut you another and mail with the current check due or just combine them into one check.
by hour definitely $15-- I am not super fast so this would benefit
x
Yep, see what our work looks like without the benefit of an American MT making 3 cpl
to edit! All you MTs out there working for peanuts just so you can say you're an editor, realize you are making the Indians look good and taking away OUR paychecks!
That is a wonderful benefit...and I am sure your daughter appreciated you being there...
nm
MTSO usually also repeats benefit of padding
x
What did you make of the comprehensive benefit package they talked about
For decades, a company benefit has been health insurance
along with retirement plans, paid holidays, PTO, etc. Only in the world of MT (and maybe Wal-Mart) are many companies not paying for these benefits.
some people benefit from making a list, all the plusses and minuses, and
Sheila, saving one from "Micky Mouth" mistakes is actually a big benefit. SM
I make few typos as I go along these days, compared to without an expander. Although some peculiar things can get inserted into a report when the typo turns into an unintended expansion.
But as Shipaddict says, there's just no comparison.
Experience on top, current experience first. Education second. Leave out ALL fluff.
Recruiters don't need your life story. They need to know if you can do the job. If you want, put your current employer, then state "I have 20 years in the profession doing....." Keep it simple; keep it clean. If you want to go into more detail, do it during the interview. A HUGE red flag is to see that you've worked for 10 different companies, for months at a time. I know that someone who has worked for the same company for 2 years or more is going to have some degree of loyalty and will work through issues rather than cut and run.
This is not personal for me.
This afternoon I watched coverage of the mother and I am embarrassed for her as an American. She has gone far beyond the first time I saw her and really felt sorry for her. I believe her criticism is harsh assuming she knows no more about what happened to her daughter than we do or the judges in Aruba do.
Isn't that personal?
The best interest of the patient has to be examined here. Why, in order to prove something that is said about other occupations, do you compromise the patient's privacy in order to prove yourself?
Not sure if you mean as MT or for personal (sm)
If for MT, here you go:
http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/Home
my personal ob/gyn uses (sm)
EMR. I must say that as a patient I do not like to sit there while he types into his system, looking up at me occasionally to ask a question. It is very impersonal and, as I think you ORS is going to find, quite time consuming on his part!
I have no idea how he'd get his IMEs done, either. The one EMR report that I've seen (had to take one from my ob/gyn to a neurologist for my migraines) looked very "computer generated" and not "personal to me" at all. What a turn-off for a $150 doctor visit.
If your client is very busy, hopefully you will be hearing back from him once he finds out how time consuming it is entering all that data!!
Bonnie, new to the board
personal?
Dear SM, given your abject anonymimity, how can the question be personal?
Try not to take it too personal...sm
sometimes some people just struggle with being nice or trying to help. Everyone needs a break some time...even her. good luck to you!
My own personal take on that....
My daughter was in the process of being preopped for back surgery for scoliosis in her thoracic spine. She had had before playing basketball, but she got injured during a game, which really exacerbated it when a girl fell on her neck/upper back.
Anyway, the PA in one of the many consultants offices we went to actually asked, "Who fell on you? A teammate or someone from the other team?" My DH and I looked at each other and could hardly keep from laughing, but God love my daughter who answered her with a completely straight face, but asked later, "What difference does it make who fell on me?" That question still makes me scratch my head.
Same here, but it was my personal PC, and...
I ended up pulling off just the bare necessities (critical documents and e-mails), and I had to take it down to the dirt...partitioned the hard drive and reformatted, reinstalled the operating system and all my programs. I have degrees in programming and information systems, and it still took me 20 hours to do. If you can't do that yourself, you need to get it to someone who can, but plan on a pretty big bill, I'm afraid. It may be as much as a couple hundred bucks, maybe a little more.
I am so sorry for what you are going through! I think virus programmers need to be stuck in front of a firing squad.
I'm with ya on that one! ALL of our personal
personal thanks
Sue:
Thanks so much for being so cordial. I just read a nasty gram telling me that basically I have been complacent for 18 years and now need to join the 21st century. I have done work on-line over the years, but have never had to take a test. I have tons of reference materials and just have nearly always used WP. I do know how to do Word, but don't use it every day.
Can you tell me who you are working for now? Any advice for me?
Again, thanks for being so helpful. I am going to go on E-Bay today and order that.
Write back with any advice, please.
Thanks, Jeanie
not sure about your personal accout, but
in my office they say just spell it as best you can and let the MR people worry about it unless it is completely unintelligble, then put Unknown and leave a note and forget about it. hope that helps you :)
It's a personal decision.
I prefer IC as well. When you're an employee, they pay you less per line than as an IC. You still pay taxes, federal, state, Medicare, Social Security as an employee. However, the employer pays for Worker's Comp and matches the social security and Medicare only portion of your taxes, which I believe is only 7.65%. That social security percentage is quite small when you consider the fact that self-employment taxes are only 15.6%. I don't remember the exact percentages because it's been a while since I had to manually figure it all, but you can look it up on Google.
As an IC, I get to deduct every little thing I can think of. I can deduct my home office, a portion of my utilities, a portion of my Internet and phone, any mileage, office supplies (and I love office supplies!), furniture, software, computers and other equipment, paper, reference materials, everything.
The issue is that when you are an employee, those taxes get taken right off the top so you don't even miss that money. Most people don't set aside a percentage of their pay that should have gone to those taxes, so they grumble when they owe at tax time. You actually get to see how much you're paying out in taxes. However, they got to use their money all year instead of loaning it to the government interest free. That's a perk.
Just my personal opinion
but I think the Herman Miller chairs are as overrated as they are overpriced. I bought one of the Aeron chairs and ended up sending it back. It would have been great for lounging, but it was all wrong for proper support for typing all day at a computer. I have no experience of the Mirra chair; it might be better. I ended up test sitting several chairs at Office Depot and Staples and found a very comfortable, very supportive chair on sale for about $100 that has worked very well for me. I'd recommend, before you spend all that money on a Herman Miller chair, try out the chairs at office-supply stores. You might find one that works for you at a much lower price.
Must just be personal preference then..
because I absolutely love it. Been using it for over 3yrs. Very easy to query the fields to change to correct DOS or patient if need be, upload statuses to use if info is not available. I am so sorry you detest this platform...I absolutely love it. As far as the ESP expander, adore it too. Sure, I had to add everything from scratch but once you get through the major bulk of it, adding ones here and there over time is a piece of cake. I even have complete reports including headers set up in my ESP files. Some Expander programs will not allow that. In answer to your question, no I have never used SmartType (sp?)...but I have no complaints with what I have now. Guess it's all what you're used to and what you like your expander to be able to do.
PERSONAL ATTACKS (SM)
Cut it out with the personal attacks. If you don't like the subject matter, skip it. Banning is the next step. I'm tired of deleting unnecessary, ugly posts.
Goldbird
Nah, I don't have a tatoo. It's personal art. To each his/her own. sm
Some men find tatooes on women very sexy.
Don't be so judgmental. It's art and very personal for some.
Personal opinion here.... but
I would wait until my test results come back; however, I would be researching into which companies hire fresh out of school and also check with your school to see if they have any contacts with companies for their new graduates.
This is very personal information.
dd
Eww, I think that is very personal and I wouldn't
!
Personal preference
I am a former nurse as well and I promise you that the CMT exam is not a speck compared to boards .. something I think I may still be traumatized by and it was way too long for me to feel that way!! You are going to get a lot of negative feedback here and I can only tell you that as a nurse with really good experience and an MSN there was no real reason for me to take the CMT exam save for personal validation. I think that if you work in a field and there is a credential then it is a personal choice whether or not you take the exam. Many companies do pay for your CMT and will pay as well for you to do the continuing education to maintain it. Additionally, promotions and the like are often given to CMTs first and I'd say mainly because it shows an employer you cared enough personally to validate yourself. I don't need someone to force me .. it was driven by my own personal goals in this business. I'd like to see people stop bashing AAMT because of issues that were not put into play because of AAMT but because of politics and big business squeezing for the buck. I'd like to see people give each other encouragement and support, but women seem not to be able to do that easily. I'd like to see this business shake itself off and start to live up to principles that make some sense too .. but I fear that my bubble has burst and still life goes on and we need to make a paycheck. If you think you will benefit from taking the exam (if only personally) then just do it.
I pay $320/mo with ATT, ATT says no autodialing for personal use, sm
which is what they call when you dial into a phone number for transcription. There must be a real person on the other end, is what they told me. Therefore, I haven't tried vonage, as it says no autodialing. I wish I could find out if anyone else uses vonage and makes long distance calls for MT.
Just a personal preference
I am not the original poster but some people just prefer to do certain types of transcription and it has nothing to do w/ being scared. For me, I prefer clinic notes b/c they are a lot more repetetive and so I find I get more lines with them.
The only certain way that your personal information
will fall into another's hand is to totally remove the hard drive and either replace it with a new one, or sell as is. Every old computer that I have discarded, I made sure to remove the hard-drive before putting it out to pasture.
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