The good days started unraveling when
Posted By: sm on 2005-08-04
In Reply to: What was it like? - kyradmt
The nationals started buying up the mom and pop MT businesses that started cropping up in most cities in the late-1980's and early 1990's. Most of these were small businesses with a few local doctor's office accounts and hospitals, had a guy who ran back and forth picking up and delivering tapes, and everyone got along fine for the most part aside from the expected competition between local companies. Then came Medquist, Transcend, etc. who swooped in and started scooping up these companies by the handful, and pretty soon we had what we have today. It happens. What started out as a good thing (computer networking) making us able to leave the offices and work from home, continued to evolve into what this business is today. Now it's taking off in another direction with voice rec and overseas MT's who work for peanuts. I've seen this business evolve from the IBM Selectric, a tape player, and a bottle of white-out to what it is today, and it's amazing what changes there have been in the last 27 years. Who would have known!
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
just started with MQ 45 days ago
if they cut my pay, I'll quit. If they do not give me a raise when I ask (which will be soon), I'll quit. This is back-breaking work and I am no one's slave - I'll live in my car first and that is just a heartbeat away from happening with what they are paying me NOW!
Just started with a company 4 days ago and having same issues!!
VERY frustrating. I am paid hourly while I work, no work=no hours, so I charged them for the hours anyway. I went from a job with too much to do to nothing to do BORING!! They promise it will pick up and I am just keeping my fingers crossed!!
Actually the good old days
were in the 70's and 80's when MT was first being outsourced. Then the companies who were pioneers in the field would kiss the back side of an MT or do anything else to get and keep them, provided, of course they produced quality and quantity. Editors and Q.A. hadn't been heard of, we were expected to edit and Q.A. ourselves. Many of the companies in the good old days provided full benefits and the pay was much, much better than working in house and much more than it is today.
This is from one who started MTing when it was a MINIMUM WAGE job in the clerical section of medical records located next door to the morgue in the hospital, rose to the peak in about the mid-80s just before the advent of computers and I guess everyone knows about the decline since. Guess it'll have made full circle in another 10 years or so.
Good old days
I worked for a mom-and-pop MT service who gave bonuses, Xmas parties and gifts, and were good people. We never worked holidays unless we asked to and a lot of us never worked weekends. There were no line count macros. DOS counted the lines. We were paid very good wages and were told we were appreciated. Hard to believe but true!!!!
Tell me about the good old days....
Hi all! I've only been doing the MT thing for about 9 months now......so I need to know: What were the good old days like for the MT business? Were you really able to make good money? Did companies really take care of their employees? Did you really have the feeling of family?
And, more importantly, how can we get things BACK to the good old days?
Good ole days?
Let me think back,,,,,back,,,,, back,,,,,,, I started about 6 years ago and have worked for 2 companies, a large national and a small national. My pay has gone down at each company, causing me to tell the large national that I didn't want to take a pay reduction at this stage of my career and I gave my two weeks notice. At the small one, couple of years ago I took a 50% pay cut because the company was just starting out and there was a chance it would have to close altogether. That pay has gone back up a little but certainly don't ever expect to be making what used to be made. Am figuring out ways to work smarter, since I can only edit and type efficiently and correctly at a certain speed, though I expect that to slowly get better. I am afraind we are at the tail end of the quickly vanishing "good ole days."
good old days
 Ah.... I remember them well. My first transcription job for a service was in 1983, owned by a local m.t. and had about 4 transcriptionists. She treated us well, the second year I was high producer and she took my husband and I to Las Vegas for 4 days (all expenses paid of course!). I worked for her for 5 years and then she moved away and quit the business. I think of her often. Wish there were more like her who knew us, we weren't just a #, and she didn't hesitate to tell us (and show us with extra $) how much she appreciated us. Those were the days!
good ole days
 Sadly enough, I do believe you are right! With very few exceptions, employers don't give a rip about their employees anymore (not just M.T.'s, but ALL employers). It's a shame. If we don't have integrity, there is not much incentive to do our best and do a great job. But we CAN and we DO!!! AND we can sleep at night!
These are the good old days....
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm still making darn good money. The trick is you have to know how to sell yourself and then make sure you deliver consistently good work. Now I'm talking IC, of course. Working for another company, I don't know. But MT is like all other jobs when you work for someone else. You get what THEY decide to pay YOU! And the sense of family? I think that probably all went out years ago, not just in MT but most fields, wouldn't you think?
GOOD OLE DAYS
yes - i had told the first doctor i worked for that i should have been a painter - i used so much white-out i would go home with my hands covered - used a selectric typewriter, and dictabelts. I swear I got hired for the sundress i was wearing - ahhh to be 18 again.......been doing this 30 years!!
the good old days
Oh Boy! Do I every identify with you! A selectric typewriter, 24 hour turn around, doing this in my garage! My then husband getting up at 4:00 a.m. to deliver and pick up work. One doc wanting me to transcribe his daughter's thesis! Two little boys, still asleep, three hours sleep for me. Eighteen docs! Fun, fun, fun! Bless your sweet heart, I was there too! Still doing it, but for a hospital, fantastic salary, boys raised, one a Gsgt. in the USMC, the other a Lt. in the USN! Divorced, thank almighty God. During those days I was working to pay his child support and alimony! I got skunked in the divorce, but nearly 70 and still going strong! The Lt. is getting married next month...the Marine is married to a stellar you woman and I have one adorable grandchild. My moto is, never stop, never give up, I have "mountains to climb and promises to keep", and believe me, I will!
GOOD OLE DAYS
A dictabelt is what came before the standard size cassettes.
Ahh yes...good ole days!
I began typing clinic notes on Avery sticky paper using a reel-to-reel machine and an Olivetti typewriter!! I used to get up at 4 a.m. and drive to LA to pick up and deliver tapes, too (I was 18 back then)!! I remember when I purchased my first Lanier word processor with great, big floppy disks to save and make normals on!! That thing was huge, 'bout 3 feet wide by 2 feet deep!! Now, I use a laptop and can transcribe anywhere, anytime and have my docs using a digital call-in system on a website! Thanks for the Internet..what would we do without it? 
the good ole days
I used to have a provider that every day he would start his tapes with a joke, usually pretty corny, and at the end of the tape would always say "i hope this wasn't as boring for you to type as it was for me to say, have a great night"....made me feel very appreciated :)
Good ole days.
Hear you! Been there and done that and times have certainly changed. The hospital I worked at didn't outsource too much but they let go the long-time manager of 30 years and hired a CEO right out of college, no experience and tripled his income. Then they became real picky as to whom they wanted on their payroll.It was great for the chosen few but not for some of us who had been there 25+ years. Sadly, it was the final curtain but most of us were ready to move on after the change in management.
the good ole days
I remember at MRC when we were going to have clients or upper crust visiting, a sign would go up on the bulletin board to please wear a bra and shoes to work when we had visitors.
Those were the days!
starting out that is really good , I started out at 5.5 c
You really cant go by the line count. Is this company going to give you a set amount of minutes to transcribe or are you able to pull what you want whenver you need it. That has a big part to play in how many lines you get.
Also is this clinic or acute. Clinic normally has shorter reports (but not always) and acute can be pages and pages or very short.
I think I was getting anywhere from 600 to 1000 a day first starting out, but it has been so long ago it is hard to tell.
My version of the Good Old Days
My "old days" started in 1985 working for the first HMO I'd ever heard of. Yes, electric typewriters... hard copies, white-out...learning other aspects of medical records when MT work slowed down...knowing and seeing and being appreciated by and sometimes teased by the docs I transcribed for. Then on to a mom and pop company, highly appreciated for my work (the first computer/word processing for me). Then onto the first transcription service I'd ever heard of - I loved it. I worked in-house, was paid well, was regularly appreciated, got reviews AND raises. Line counts and pay all made sense.
The next larger service I worked for was even better, started working at home for them in 1991, same company since (well, bought out by a MQ).. back then, felt like so much of a team player, like what I did really mattered and counted. These were years of annual picnics, Christmas parties, review and raises, knowing who I worked with and for by name and face, meeting with other local MTs (this was encouraged!), getting cards or flowers from the owner for helping out on a brand new account. I too felt I could count on my job, my skills, no matter what.
The changes, the "good old days" becoming just that (old and no longer current!) have been coming on for a while now. I guess I'm finally taking my head out of the sand and, though I wish it wasn't this way, take some small comfort in finding I'm not alone.
I will always take pride in my work though, that won't change. Twenty years 20 years of MT work is hard to just throw away! Wish I could be more encouraging to those entering the field, as the "guts" of this career still fascinates me.
Hey, thanks for letting me have my say.
oh i remember the good ol days
I could never stand working with people a straight eight hours a day, i'm not an "on" type of person and not gossipy either. Just not my thing. A lot of backbiting went on and you could just feel the negativity in the air. At home I don't have that. My dog/cat never talk behind my back nor are they fake. They really and truly like me. Just kidding. But I remember those days well, couldnt get out fast enough.
My good old days were great..SM
worked full time for a local hospital from home, making 14 cpl, 1 month off a year to start, full health insurance, short-term, long-term disability, all equipment and phone lines supplied. Those 2 years I made more $ than ever and haven't been able to reach that level since. They outsourced.
I am in #5. I started the poll. Just curious what others think is good.
no message
1200 to 1600 on good days (nm)
x
Just started podiatry, need good reference book.
.
I think that's pretty darn good! I just started VR on Dictaphone
and I'm having trouble breaking 2000. It seems like it would be faster just to transcribe.
Good grief, you started this all. You should have just waited. Xanax to the rescue. nm
f
3rd giveaway for Scavenger hunt started. Good luck!
/
Do you guys ever feel like just a number? Remember the good old days...
When if you had a problem, you could go straight to the manager and they'd take care of it right away, making you feel secure in your position and important? When I talk to my supervisor, I feel like her main focus is to get off the phone with me asap, being very short with me, and quick to say she will get right on something when in fact she never does. I just feel so remote and always worry about how long i'm going to have a job in the MT field because of how uncaring the supervisors are, not knowing us personally, not having a face to go along with the person, being able to yank us off an account we're comfortable with onto some ungodly thing where our line count goes down to zilch, and having NO control over it. I was never one to work around people because of all the backstabbing that goes on with women in the office, but I would love to have a home office to report to periodically throughout the year, and maybe work in-house a couple times a month, just to put a face with people and not feel like a number that would be easy to dispose of.
The good old days were not so good for me. sm
Transcribing from tapes on a Selectric typewriter with 3 or 4 carbons and white out, no spellcheck, no expansion program, no internet for research.
30 hours divided by four days equals seven-hour days. Most of us have to work pretty much every day
.
Working 6/hour days, 5 days/week I make
$42,000.00, but the work is there to make more if I want to. I'm in the southeast.
2000 low days, 4000 busy days
Did 43,000 lines last month. 6 doctors.
You can "make a living" if you work 16-hr days, 7 days
and if you rarely buy anything but food and the barest essentials in clothing. My balancing act is so precarious that all it'll take is one of life's little disasters (rent increase, sick pet, major car repair) to pull the rug out from under me. Not a good feeling at all.
550-650 lph on average. Some days more, some days less. It all depends. nm
x
How? By working 12-hr days 7 days/week?
;LKJ
That is a good offer. Pay is not that good at UIMC. Good luck! nm
x
getting started
If you live in southern CA, on the job seeker board Chronicle Transcripts is hiring newbies. I used to be a lead transcriptionist for them when they were located in my town. Nice people and you will get very good training from them. What I have found is the smaller trans companies usually are willing to take in trainees or medical trans school graduates. Also, the federal govt and state govt have medical transcriptionists..You can check about testing with the govt. Good luck!
I have a BSN and started doing
MT due to the world's most complicated pregnancies - just couldn't be on my feet. At first, the $$ wasn't so great - impossible to transcribe much with a baby in the house. Every year tho I have made more than the year before. My boys are now 8 and 12 - summers are difficult but not impossible. I periodically look into going back into nursing, but the hassles it would entail just aren't worth the $$. I work about 5 hours a day and will end up making around $28 K this year.
I am 33 now and started at age
/
It's already started here.
Gas prices are up, groceries are up, other supplies are up. My brother is in construction and said that materials and wood prices have doubled in the past week. Our income is maybe half what it was just over a year ago because we've both changed jobs or had contracts end on us. We've had a lot of unexpected expenses recently that cleaned out all of our savings. Christmas is coming. School just started so we had to buy clothes and supplies there. I'm half-panicked here trying to find a better paying job than what I have now. I just really can't take a lot of time off for testing or post my resume because my current employer will know I'm looking for another job. Then again, I don't even know if it's possible for me to make more money at MT than I am now. I still don't see how people can do 250+ lph or make $30+ per hour. What do they have that I don't? Length at employment? More word Expander entries? A better account and platform?
when i started doing ASR
mgmt told me that 'down the road' there would be 'adjustments' in the pay for ASR, after people were well-trained and productive on it. I later opted out -- didn't like it at all. HOWEVER, if it is in fact so much quicker (as it was said to be) for the MT to do those reports, then it stands to reason that you would not be paid the same at the same rate as someone transcribing a report from scratch. I don't see what the problem is about the purported pay reduction. Just consider what you've been getting as 'gravy' and what you will be getting as fair. Then again, if you don't want to do ASR, then opt out.
Also just started with them...
:)
You started it now !!
nm
I just started a new job.
I was hoping this would be THE job. I told myself that this is the very last MT company I will try to work for. Unfortunately, I'm experiencing the same things at this company that I quit other nationals for. I don't know what to do. I'm tired of job hunting, learning new platforms, and trying to adjust to multiple account specs. I'm tired of being told that "we're different" or "we are the best" only to find that it's no different or better. I don't know if I should stick this one out in the hopes that it will get better or go get a job as a waitress. This really stinks with Christmas coming and bills to pay. I really wanted this to work. What else is there for me, though? I don't want to go back to the fulltime, nose to the grindstone, kids in daycare garbage. I really enjoy MT, too.
Started at 4:00 a.m.
Delivered newspapers, did MT for 4 hours, went out for a few last minute things, went grocery shopping, finished wrapping presents, finished crocheting my new grandson's baby blanket, cleaned the kitchen did the dishes and looked after my 2-year-old terror twin granddaughters for 2 hours before I finally called my daughter at 6:00 p.m. and said, "COME AND GET THEM."
I love them dearly, but they are 175% wired with the whole Christmas thing and I am just getting over the flu.
I know, I know. . . .I'm TYPE A all the way.
I can't believe I've made it this late. I'm going night night. 
Started out....
I started out with MT on a selectric II. We used carbon paper for copies and no more than 2 corrections were allowed per page (original was corrected with white out, the rest had to be erased with that special little typewriter eraser). I learned very quickly to be accurate and proofread as I transcribed.
We also had no Stedman's word books in those days - just Dorlands, a little red book called Surgical Secretary or something like that, Tessier's, and a couple of others - about 5 or 6 books in total.
We used to call pharmacies to ask for spelling of new drugs, called Surgery and Central Supply for spelling of new equipment, new dressings, etc.
I worked in a large teaching hospital. We had access to the doctors and more than 1 time I had an MD standing behind me looking over my shoulder while I typed his report!
STARTED OUT THE OLD WAY
I also took typing on a manual and one of my first jobs was transcribing in pathology with 5 carbon copies - yikes. I like my computer and so does my wrists.
To get started...
$450 bucks will get you everything you need to get started. Here is the item:
Transcription Kit.
That transcription kit comes with the digital recorder you can give to your client, and for you-all the software, foot pedal and the headset. That will be enough to get you on your feet on your own.
My dog started doing this (sm)
and I took him in for a UA. Two days into the script he stopped!
Sure, it's possible. We all started somewhere. sm
Get hold of some practice dictations, and then dive in! If you have the proper references and good skills to begin with, you'll do fine. Go for it!
Re: Getting started
I am a 12-year claims examiner veteran. I am wanting to cross-over into the home Medical transcriptionists field. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get started; what test to take to be recognized; and how long will it take? please let me know. thank you in advance for your input.
RE: Getting started
Do you have the website address for MT? Thanks
|
