The plain and simple truth is
Posted By: sm on 2008-12-08
In Reply to: To the people who are against unions... - suzylyn
if we push, they will shove, and they will shove us right out of our jobs. Down the line sure it might help someone when they get tired of outsourcing, but we would all be out of jobs before then. I for one cannot afford that.
We can get mad, yell, scream, stomp our feet and demand better pay, then start looking for another job. We have no leverage and we are only one piece of the puzzle, not to mention the most dispensable piece.
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a beautiful man! plain and simple.
and a great actor.
I don't return....plain and simple....and if someone ask about their
When you do not return...that's where it hurts the business. They NEED our business in order to stay afloat!!
Plain and simple answer: No.
That is ridiculously low pay. Even if you are the fastest Transcriptionist in the world and you work 16 hours a day, you still would barely be able to make ends meet. Do you really want to live like that?
If you can do this job part-time so that you will have the experience to put on your resume, go for it. But constantly be on the lookout for something that pays better and when you find it, grab it.
Plain and simple burnout.
I used to carry two pagers for two hospitals all by myself, 24/7. They went off maybe a couple of times a month. The chore of being on-call is now shared with a few other people but now the after-hour pages come in nonstop and I don't know why. Me thinks some deal was made to keep an account or something but I really am just pulling that answer out of my tuckas. It's gotta be costing the hospitals a mint to have us at their beck and call like that....either that or they got a really sweet deal.
The other issue is it used to be a much more laid back environment. You logged on, did your work, and you were left alone. You kept an eye out for stats yourself and took care of them, because you are there because you are responsible.
Now you log on, strike up this thing called Instant Messenger, and sit there at your desk working your alloted shift but can't get up because you must be present if you get an IM for a stat...even though you are already on it because it's your job to be. Want to take a break? Yeah, sure, once you finish up this stat. Oh wait, I've got another one here that needs to be done super duper stat....you know what I'm talkin' about too, lurkers.
Ya know the movie, Office Space? I'm always referring to it with this company. You know the scene with the TPS reports, where the fella has 4 bosses telling him the same darned thing even though you already know your job? That's what I'm dealing with and, yeah, I've been reduced to the mumbling dude who worries about his stapler.
I don't blame my bosses at all, but the micromanaging thing is out of control and I have no idea why it has come to be, because it wasn't like this before. The days of a happier Hayseed with high line counts and company pride are long gone. I don't know who works there anymore as the folks I knew have all left, and that's made an impact as well. Ask for new scenery because of burnout, and all you get is a strokin', nothing more.
I agree, I too doubt it was PayPal, someone hacked your account , plain and simple - sm
It can be done, especially if you ever responded to any spam emails. I had my debit card hacked at BJs, someone broke into the main frame and stole thousands of credit cards #, etc. They spent about $800 at Wal-Mart, PetsMart and for gas, bounced stuff in our checking account, etc. Since it was a VISA debit card, I had the money back in 24 hours after I filled out the fraud forms at the back. --but no one every physically stole my card or even had my PIN #. I am sure savvy computer hackers can do it , OR someone there at PayPal hacked and sold off a list---but I highly doubt they deliberately withdrew funds. I would have found out from the company that did the charge ***PAYPAL - THE XYX Co." where the mystery item shipped....doubt it was to your address.....That happened to me with a credit card, tons of stuff that I supposedly bought $800 of stuff from Victoria's Secret made its way to NY, not PA where I was living--interesting. Again was refunded promptly. PayPal may have been lax at how they handled it granted, but I am sure with a bit more persistance and going through the right channels you would have had it resolved a bit more promptly and to your satisfaction.
so find a different profession where you'll make more money - plain and simple. nm
x
Simple truth, if blunt, from National MT. SM
Please note that the figures cited are averages--a lot of people do significantly better working 40 hours a week, or less. And that's the simple truth too.
As is the reality that the higher earners are pros who've been at it for some years--it makes a tremendous difference in line counts to not have to look terms up. They're typically very familiar with their accounts--busy knocking out reports instead of trying to figure out a physian's name. They're either killer typists or have built Expanders with tens of thousands of entries, doubling their typing speed, or both.
And they're disciplined workers who put in a real 30-40 hours a week of production time--not fooling themselves that they're working when they're not, whatever the reason, including slow periods in work. If an employer can't keep them working most of the time, they find a new job. Their high line counts earn incentive pay bonuses--consistently--that bump their base pay a whole cent or two per line. Or they're just paid more per line because they're good and they and their employer know it.
These are uncertain times, and incomes are going down for some, including some pros. And the shift to production pay is very hard for many who are accustomed to being paid based on the hours they show up; 8 hours a day of genuine typing, pushing, pushing to knock quality work out quickly, is much harder. But it's still possible for a skilled MT to make decent and even good money 40 hours a week.
The truth will set you free and the truth is more low level income people w/o education or proper
skills to keep up their home or train their children live in trailer homes and low income housing. If that sets you off, maybe you should not visit these threads or read the posts regarding others viewpoints on trailer parks. They have zoning laws against them in many communities because they draw undesirable people are not particularly pleasing to the community as a whole, bringing property values down. If you have issues with this, seek out the government in various communities and have them change the laws. Fact is fact and you cannot dispute these facts.
The truth stings sometimes and I congratulate MTStars for having the kahoonas to post truth.
Tired of being lied to. I'm a big girl and can handle the truth. Why can't you?
Opened a can of worms, eh? Truth hurts, but it is TRUTH!
8 cpl is about the top out in the US MT industry. If you're making more consider yourself lucky because it just might be snatched away from you at any moment. For the 14 cent per liner, good for you! You went out and got your own accounts. Others should follow your example. As far as the "stupid" MT comment, keep in mind that she was not consistent and **often** had one excuse after another not to work, yet I could see her online and when I would ask her why she was online she would give VERY lame excuses. Also, keep in mind that I also was the one who helped this gal out monetarily to begin with and she took advantage of my generosity. Don't make me out to be the bad gal here just because I own a service. The shoe could easily be on your foot.
So, NEWS FLASH, if you have an MT position that is paying more than 8 cpl, consider it a real blessing and pray that your job isn't outsourced offshore.
You don't have to believe, the truth is the truth. I, too, have seen with my own two eyes and ha
years experience as an MT. I say misfortune because MTs with this much experience usually have gigantic egos and feel like they've "seen it all and done it all." They simply don't make mistakes. Not possible, no way. This particular MT became irate with me. She actually threw her 20+ years experience in my face and said "I've been doing this for over 20 years, I think I know what I'm doing!" It was painfully obvious, she did not have a clue. She'd been doing it wrong for 20 years and no one ever told her, so she thought she was right.
I had another MT with 10 years experience call me to scream at me and hung up on me when I tried to explain her errors to her.
The plain truth is, some people can't take criticism whether it be constructive or destructive. They don't like to be wrong or be told their wrong. Egos get in the way. We are all guilty of letting our egos get in the way from time to time, but in this field, you need to be willing to admit you're wrong and you need to be able to accept criticism gracefully and give criticism diplomatically.
As an editor, I encourage MTs to let me know if they disagree with any corrections I've made. I am happy to provide MTs with my reference materials and resources. I am happy to admit when I am wrong and I am happy to say that I make mistakes too. Just don't try to tell me that an MT with 16 years experience can't possibly be making terminology mistakes - she can and probably has in the past and will again in the future.
Now THAT'S just plain scary!!!!
Yes, but sometimes they are just plain lazy sm
I have a couple of MT friends. I make about twice what they do, but I "work" roughly the same hours they do. They do a lot of whining about wishing they made what I made. When the work is there to be done, they tell me about the work piled up, but how they don't feel motivated. By the time they get motivated, the work is gone. Then it is whining about finding a new job, but when contacted, they can't get motivated to test and one is always wanting me to look over her tests to see if I think she will pass (I saw that her work was very poor indeed) and I have only done it once, which was enough.
Working at home is not for everyone. It takes a lot to park your buns in front of the computer when the dishes are in the sink and the laundry is piled up, or the kids, DH or whomever wants your time. It is SO EASY to not work. I get distracted by the housework, especially today because my daughter was home from college this weekend and every single coffee cup and bowl are dirty! I did her laundry, not mine over the weekend...so I feel distracted.
The OP is right. Use the answering machine or voicemail, don't answer the door (I never do) and get down to it. If you are like me and the housework drives you nuts, you can do what I do. I type 3 reports and go do a short, under 5-minute task, and sit back down. I find I can get the kitchen 90% clean in a day by doing this and I catch up my laundry this way too. Then I can focus because I like a really clean house to support me when I am working. It is a support because I don't think about it when it is clean.
My last rant is about those $tupid TV ads about working at home as an MT. Gimme a break! It is NOT like that.
I am against a union. It is plain what they have done sm
On the upside, they are great for looking out for the interests of the worker. They are responsible for helping to pull this country out of poverty post WWII, and for helping to implement laws which protect the health and safety of the worker.
In more recent times, they are pushed companies offshore. Automobile workers...they build so many of them out of the country. The plants and companies that don't employee union workers are prospering! They are cars they make are more affordable and they are SELLING THEM while the Big Three are asking for our money in the form of a bale out!
Closer to home, the Kroger outlets in Colorado, where I lived for many years, is union. Safeway is about half and half and the rest are nonunion. The end result has been job cuts at Kroger in every single department and cutting of hours for everyone. They have closed stores too. Their largest competitors are those who are nonunion and Walmart where workers are paid less than a living wage. The union has helped to push Walmart into the grocery equation.
Because we don't have leverage, we have no way to unionize and I am not in favor of it. If you want to make a difference in this industry, let us mount a campaign with our representatives to make it illegal to shift the transcription of medical offshore, or at very least to tax the beejeebers out the practice. THAT would protect our jobs. Because, quite frankly, there are not enough qualified MTs in the US to the work available...wages will have to go up, as will benefits, as companies vie for the best MTs.
Plain rude
It seems to be a matter of manners and training. It's just as inconsiderate and rude for this doctor to change his/her mind halfway through a dictation as it is to change your order at McD's halfway through the line. IMHO, customer service has gotten out of hand in both industries, expecting smiles in return for just plain rudeness. Maybe if MTs and the order processors at McD's were allowed to be more honest with the poorly-trained customers, there would be some changes. Otherwise, these customers think its okay to act this way.
A lot of those Guru projects seem just plain
xx
That is PLAIN OLD WRONG. Other MTs can write their own, just like you did. SM
Why the h*ll would you want to give your own "inventions" away? Let them DO THEIR OWN.
I like plain ol' Dell or Logitech.
I need a keyboard with a light touch, but I also like one that is clicky, if you know what I mean by that.
TiredMT and just plain tired -
more pay - so it doesn't take so many hours. You may be a bit late - nice try to the both of you. YKW (you know who)
No excuses need. He's an alcoholic, plain and
simple. Don't like it now. Never have. Don't have to stay, can make it on my own. I've done it before and could do it again. However, I choose to stay. I'm not giving up on him. He's an alcoholic and I'm a teetotaler. Don't like drinking, never have, never will. Love him, always have, always will.
and just plain out right dealing with folks!
x
Actually, they just changed it recently to plain
x
You people are just plain E-less! hahahahaha!
You can make it as plain or fancy as you like
From "Mary Smith, Inc." to "Transcription International" or whatever....
Just plain sick and tired
All I can say is I am just plain sick and tired of MT work with no chance of leaving for many years. Sick of burping, farting, snuffling, mush mouthed ignorant jerks who pass for doctors. Honestly, as stupid as they sound, I have no clue how they got through high school, let alone medical school. Working for peanuts and getting nowhere. The good days at this job are fewer and fewer anymore! The companies are making it harder and harder to make a living at this.
that was just plain ugly, sorry I read that post (NM)
xx
I just speak plain ole Texas vernacular....sm
And I don't wanna hear one mean word about it. When I was transcribing, I typed in classical, perfectly grammatical American English, but now I post (and talk) just like I please. :D :D
when to put a comma before 'which', in plain English... ...
Some nonessential clauses begin with who, whom, which or that and include a verb.
Put a comma before those.
Example: The house, which is a very old house, is situated on 45-92 Grand Street.
Consider the commas as 'hooks.' The clause 'which is a very old house' could be 'unhooked' and dropped out of the sentence because it is not necessary to identify where the house is situated. It is merely extra information and not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence.
In all other cases do NOT put a comma.
Acc to my experience there are more cases that do NOT require a comma before 'which.' Also, the trend nowadays is to minimize the usage of commas and hyphens.
when to put a comma before 'which', in plain English... ...
Some nonessential clauses begin with who, whom, which or that and include a verb.
Put a comma before those.
Example: The house, which is a very old house, is situated on 45-92 Grand Street.
Consider the commas as 'hooks.' The clause 'which is a very old house' could be 'unhooked' and dropped out of the sentence because it is not necessary to identify where the house is situated. It is merely extra information and not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence.
In all other cases do NOT put a comma.
Acc to my experience there are more cases that do NOT require a comma before 'which.' Also, the trend nowadays is to minimize the usage of commas and hyphens.
Are you PT, 3rd shift, negligent to your children, or just plain dillusional? SM
I worked FT with a newborn and had a hospital surgical account. My top priority was to see that all of the preoperative H&Ps were transcribed by 7:00 a.m. I never knew if I would be waking up to 14 or 40, so I would start my day already sleep deprived at 4:00 a.m.
One of my all time worst work at home memories was when I was on my last stat report around 6:50 a.m. and I could hear my little angle crying because was hungry and of course wanted her bottle. I just sat there for a few seconds and tried to determine which of the two top priorities in my life I should take care of. Could I run to the baby and put my job in jeopardy or sit there and pretend not to hear her. I was a new mom by the way. So what I did was try to stay focused, riddled with guilt, then proceeded to transcribe the rest of the report through so many tears, I could hardly see my monitor. THAT was THE worst day of my at-home transcription career.
I don't care what anyone says, without the structured setting of an office environment, working at home is very hard. Just ask yourself how many people, family, friends, or otherwise have called you during your workday that wouldn't dare call you in an office OUTSIDE the home.
My goofy sister called me from her job when I was employee status and had the nerve to ask me to round up her horse that had gotten out and put it up. I told her I would have to clock out just the same as she would. Needless to say, the horse enjoyed a day of freedom.
My daughter is 11 now so my life as an MT is 1000 easier. However, when she was ages 1 to 4, in order to keep her home with me working FT, would have been cruel, negligent, and not to mention dangerous. So I found a wonderful private setter to keep her for 3 to 4 hours a day and she actually loved the interaction with the other two children. In fact, they are all still close friends to this day.
Point is...you cannot be structured in a nonstructured environment. This is why flexibility is SO important.
Should I chalk your post up to just plain old ignorance, the fact that you can't read or SM
are you just plain stupid!
Samtel does this all the time. Pretty sure she/he is foreign because of the plain stupidity in it a
x
on a diet...hamburger plain, unsweetened applesauce, tomato juice...yum NOT!
but it's working....yippee! So much for the tastebuds!
Belly button rings just look plain nasty on older woman, trying to act young.
s
Totally up to your client as to a plain underline, a bracketed space, blank w/the time on the
s
Simple as this!
 Then you absolutely must stay where USA has jurisdiction and that is absolutely not in a foreign country. Those are the rules and laws and everyone knows that up front. The troops, the FBI, the CIA, the US police do not help you when you get drunk and/or lost in a foreign country. But you know that don't you?
It is really quite simple. sm
If you are a good MT, which most of us are, and all of a sudden you start getting a bunch of crap. I was very happy to be with a company that afforded you the luxury of being an MT, but yet a "hospital employee". This was a very innovative thing and I jumped on the band wagon. All the money is in ops, surgeons, they are predictable, macro-friendly, organized, don't flip through the charts and make me the most money. After being with this company for over 3 months, at my skill level, and only to get cued 10 ops, most of which were rejected and cherry picked, that is a HUGE sign. I did not tell "them" that is why I quit, they need to figure it out for themselves. I personally liked the team leader, but she is obviously pooling work out to her favorites, and not giving new MTs a chance - hence they will still "be with the original team", not realizing that people unfortunately get sick, die, move on, and the "original team" will not last forever. I am so glad to be out of there. Don't know if new company is going to be any better, have to wait and see.
I think both, but not as simple as that.
We do all make choices, but in some instances there are very few choices. Yes, we should first avail ourselves of education. Basic education is available to everyone in this country. After high school, education becomes harder to obtain, but it is available to everyone. You do have to have either transportation or a computer, and you have to have time to participate, but if you want it bad enough you can find a way. All that being said, if the company you work for suddenly closes, and there are few jobs available where you live, you can find yourself in a bad situation that you did not create. I think government assistance is important for people that find themselves in a temporary bad situation, but should not be allowed to be a way of life, except in the case of disability.
Very simple....
You tell them you're going digital, and they can either join you in the 21st century or be left behind.
well that seems simple enough! thanks
xx
Might try Simple FTP....sm
They have an option where you can log on as a guest and try out.
So simple, when you know what to do!
Thanks, that worked by just turning off and back on. I am so techology challenged!
simple
It is not your chair, keyboard, et cetera causing you to be so uncomfortable...getting up at least every 2 hours and walking the floors for 5 minutes works wonders in rejuvenating the body back to comfort level. It works for me and I didn't have to spend any more on equipment, hmmmm, not sure about the carpet yet though...LOL
Hi - I wish it were that simple. sm
I'm not able to use Express Scribe due to company policy against outside players. The player is the one that is built in to InScribe. The sound quality is excellent, but there's no way to access the player that I can see, except as mentioned above, and those options have been turned off.
Thanks for your input. :)
Also may be something as simple as
if an injection is needed into the arm, for influenza, tetanus, whatever, that could cause soreness, they might look to see which is dominant and inject into the opposite.
Seems simple. Look for co. that will allow U to
x
Simple as that then.
If you can't make enough money to even survive as a speech rec editor, then you should choose option C. That is the point.
But, the big nationals, or should I say big globals, are not the only game in town, and if you choose option A and learn how to edit efficiently and improve your production then good for you. Editing and straight transcription require different skill sets some folks just simply cannot make the transition.
Simple explanation
The industry is in tremendous flux, and with so many unstable companies job hopping by transcriptionists is normal. Nobody is nearly organized enough to keep a blacklist. More simple explanation is that every ad generates 1000s of resumes. I once got a reply two months after the fact. Not rude, nor anything to be paranoid about, though certainly not a pleasant experience.
Simple answer:
Coast---------------------------------->
Find someone you can just "unload on" - a sounding board - we can do it if you want.
Hunker down.
Your first goal should be to GET HIM OUT. You don't move. You GET HIM OUT. You may be able to get legal advice on how to do that from counselors at any abused wife shelters or community police officer. (of course do that on the sly)
Find out where you stand legally on getting him out with the least amount of hassle and start getting legitimate CHILD SUPPORT from him. That means $$ to pay for day care. None of this 50/50 stuff. You are giving him an easy way out and you are still going to be in a bind. DON'T DO IT.
Forget about buying the house.
More AND cheaper ones are on the horizon, trust me.
This way you will still have your "downpayment" that will be growing interest - and it will be tucked away and you will still have your IRA for emergencies.
One thing that bothers me - you said YOU WORK NIGHTS and HE WORKS DAYS. So he gets to sleep/while the kids are sleeping- at night, right? But you have to take care of the toddlers all day and try to grab naps, right? Do you get this uneven picture here?
That's what "working from home" turns out to be - you get to work all night and odd times during the day, but never get to sleep. Between doing housework, tending babies, dealing with angry men, there is no life. And MTing is stressful.
Forget the house.
Get him out.
Get childsupport started. You don't need him there to babysit - he's sleeping while he is "babysitting"! 
Save your money.
There, is that a plan? 
All things will fall into place after that. Who knows, maybe you can be director of medical records instead of MTing at the hospital with your schooling. 
Just a simple question
Don't get yourself all worked up here, or you might just find yourself hitting the bottle soon! LOL!
simple MD error
They forgot to turn off the microphone before they said the words, OR they forgot to use the proper commands to direct you up to the location they wanted.
Had they done either, the words never would have appeared in the first place.
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