This board's image problem is the result of complaining MTs.
Posted By: nm on 2007-05-10
In Reply to: Last word - Jen
 --should become the new logo.
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The MTs actually making $$$ don't have the time to sit on this board complaining. nm
Computer Generated Image or Computer graphic image
well, can't see your image, but...
if it is of someone pulling her hair out , thoroughly disgusted  and considering taking a job at Wal-Mart , yep that's me! 
Here's the image of myself
.
AOL allows you to see web cam image while in IM with person
dd
Can't image the manager cant see what a
x
I did exactly what you did and had the same sorry result
I came down with repetitive stress injury after typing for hours each day for years. Now after an hour of typing my fingers are sore and stiff. I went to DNS for the same reason, did the Know-brainer, got the excellent mike and trained the a** of the thing - after months, I still could not get any production out of it. I can type circles around the thing-- except I can't type! Furthermore, the thing is so touchy, requires frequent re-boots to get quality production, and I would have to redo my dictationary every three months because of a **known** glitch in the system. Then the thing has to hear the whole sentence and think to make sure it gets context right-- you are dictating the next sentence while it is posting the previous sentence and you're trying to do both at the same time. hated it.
VR done by other companies uses the Dragon platform but then changes the software so that edits are easy - not the bulky, slow, fingers off the keys editing that DNS has. Our hospital had the radiologists go to Dictaphone's Powerscribe and in 30 days they were doing all their own dictation without ANY editing by MTs. So depends on the platform. VR definitely works.
I'd like to see me trying that sober -- can't image I would have enough coordination to do it
any length of time!
It is like night and day having an expander. I cannot image...sm
anyone not using one. You can make expansions for almost every phrase imaginable and cut your Keystrokes by at least half. Even whole paragraphs can be expanded for the docs who say the same thing all the time. You will get your money back on your investment in a month I'll bet.
what is the result if you make the same
checking on a free AV?
I can image that once we train the VR reports by our expert
editing and corrections, the VR software will start producing more accurate reports. Unfortunately, when that time does arrive, there will not be a need for as many medical editors/transcriptionists as there are now. I suspect at that point we will be competing for MT jobs, and our rates will go even lower than they are now. I hate to paint a somber picture here, but this is what the hospitals have been striving to accomplish since the mid-1980s, when they decided to outsource the transcription to MTSOs to avoid paying hourly rates and benefits.
P.S. - Sharper Image also sells this same headphone for much more.sm
I should also mention that I recommended this headset to my team when I was supervising because the company-issued headsets were basically garbage. I had a lot of good reactions, but a few people didn't like "over-the-head" style because it smooshed their hair or it just wasn't the best one for them. Hearing is a very individual thing and what works for one might not work for another, but quite a few of my crew got these and most seemed to like them.
These Kensingtons fold for travel (a lot of people use them on airplanes), by the way, and you can use them with any other portable audio like a Walkman or iPod, so I think all my folks kept theirs even if they decided to use them for other things than transcribing due to the fact that it's so inexpensive.
As long as your end result is verbatim, it should be up to you how you get there! nm
..
Actually, the testing is a direct result of...SM
all of the schools and training programs out there that don't begin to teach a person what they need to know to be able to do this work. People come out of the training programs and think they are ready to go to work, but in reality they haven't got a clue. The only way to weed through these people is to require testing to be sure the person being hired can actually do the work. That's the long and the sort of it, in my opinion.
I agree I learned more as a result of the
I never worked on production back in the olden days, though. I was always paid hourly at my in-house positions. I never received production pay until I went home to work. It's a whole new mindset, and I believe wholeheartedly in using whatever tools are at my disposal to increase productivity. However, I'm very glad to have learned the old-fashioned way, too.
Anyone have success in using a website to project a more professional image?
.
Katie - spitting image of the Joker on Batman! LOL!
x
And the result is like a Catch-22. Clients/MTSOs
so they turn to alternatives like offshore or VR. But they don't look far enough to see that the root cause of not enough experienced MTs is because the experienced don't want to stay in a sinking ship. I think they feel that using the excuse that lack of experienced MTs validates them turning to cheaper alternatives, which in turn, makes the ship sink even further.
Think it's a result of that darn "vote-for-the-worst" sm
group that is skewing all the results. Wish that site could be abolished.
Sharper image has top of the line with massage control. It might be worth it
It's a great chair and I didn't want to get out of it.
Sage advice. Consequences would result in being out of the loop
But I can live with that.
The result of MTs' efforts to make a living wage are (sm)
And of COURSE we don't want less - we DO want more. That goes without saying. But you see - the type of verbal attack that you and other "Debbie Downers" like you launch every time an MT says, "Wait a minute... maybe there IS something we can do is so typical of the type of thinking that holds not just MTs, but women in general back. I have already checked and made sure my doc's MTSO doesn't offshore. If that changes, my ins. (which is just your average, run-of-the-mill HMO) STILL allows me to go to other providers. If you "don't have many options", have you ever wondered WHY? Could it be that you keep SETTLING for less and less? And could it be that other MTs, when they read the gloom and doom in your post, will think THEY have to settle, too?
As for pulling other endeavors out of other nations, hey - there are quite a few that I think others would LOVE to see pulled out. Such as tech help for just about everything from your PC to your cellphone being sent to places where they can't understand what you're trying to tell them, and vice versa. I have a friend with a Masters degree in software engineering who is working menial jobs right now in order to pay the rent, while he looks for a job in his field that is a full-time, benefitted position, rather than as a part-time IC with no benefits. He says even the part-time jobs are getting hard to find because so many employers are sending EVERYTHING out, including part time.
The old, "Go ahead and try! Why don't you quit MT? Oh, boy - more work for ME!" song and dance may fly for a while, but why sit back and seemingly enjoy watching your profession go extinct, when eventually it WILL affect you, too? Do you really want to sit there all day as an "editor" and stare at work typed by other entities? How boring is that? Where is any ounce of creatitivity? At least when you transcribe, you are producing something of value, and can take pride in it. And at a lousy 3-to-6 cents a line, where is the pride in speech-rec or editing work?
Anyone had a positive result of posting a resume through this site?sm
Once again, I am on the lookout for another service because work load is starting to slow down. Quite frankly, I'm a bit scared! We had no work for many days starting about this time last year, and it looks as if that cycle is starting again. I was just wondering if anyone would suggest I post my resume here.
Once had an ESL cardiologist who dictated every lab result done during hospital stay
and even the normal ranges for each test!!! 45 minutes long and of course it was a PRIORITY/STAT.. yeah right
No, Priscilla Presley after face work, is the spitting image of the Joker.
:+
If you google the phrase "Letterman sign" it is the fifth result listed ... sm
It seems to be the same thing as the Terry-Thomas sign. It was new to me, too.
Offshoring to India is the direct result of declining quality
being produced by American MTs. The declining quality being produced is the direct result of inexperienced, under-educated MTs being churned out by these online MT schools.
How common are server issues and other technical problems that result in downtime? (sm)
Do you get compensated for your downtime? I'm thinking of going to work for a national, but I've heard there are a lot of technical issues at these bigger companies. True?
If Joint Commission audits and finds "patient care" errors it can result in very...
...serious fines and repercussions.
My job IS to do exactly what it is you are complaining about. DO YOUR JOB!!
Quit making mistakes that make us have to holler at you. You are about a dumb one aren't you?
What is all the complaining for?!?!?!?!
Not sure what all the complaints are about regarding the refund checks from Medquist - My check was for $1.18, that's right $1.18, but ya know what, I have no complaints about them. I have worked for them just about 7 years and am happy. For all those complainers out there that cannot stand them, then fricken quit and stop your whining. Nothing more frustrating than to hear how much you hate it, blah, blah, blah - QUIT! Go to MTJobs.com and find yourself a new job.
You were the one complaining, not me. I was just
trying to offer some consolation but like I wrote previously, you don't want a change you want to complain.
Good luck.
Maybe the MTs were complaining
experience than you and were resentful. I dont' mean to sound mean and I am certainly not flaming you, but if I had a supervisor with less experience than myself, they would not be much help. They sup should have more experience and be able to help the MTs to do a better job. If those under you know more and have more experience, you are not an asset.
I was not complaining (sm)
Not in the least. My post was simply about wanting to know how I was averaging compared to other MTs with busy families. When I started MT'ing, I worked for a service away from home, so I just happen to know that there is a big difference between transcribing at home and transcribing away from home. I love my job and what I do, and wouldn't have it any other way.
If you are complaining of low pay, why??
do you stay in this business?? I have just read loads of posts below and I lady talking about just paying the bills and housing and to me that is sad because sounds like basically just surviving. Tell me, if so many are fed up with the low pay (and I would like to make more myself) but what are the reasons you continue to work at MTing? I would probably be truthful in saying most of your fast food places and maybe some of your box stores now pay what a Transcriptionist makes. Why complain if you continue to work for these wages- I really would like to know.
She's been complaining all day.
Some of the posts were moved, others are down below.
Complaining
It has nothing to do with complaining it has to do with warning people who deal with agencies like this!!! I work for two other companies. I have nothing to complain about. Life is good and God is good.
All I have to say for you is... Ignorance is bliss.
NOT complaining
I am ABSOLUTELY not complaining about my job. I love my job. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, even if it means that I have to do these extra jobs on the side. I was just asking what people thought about me asking for compensation and how to go about it. Believe me...if I don't get compensated for the work that I've done I will smile and say thanks anyway and continue working like I have been. I DO NOT want to lose this job and I DO NOT take it for granted. I know how lucky I am.
There is complaining and then...
there is COMPLAINING. I'm not referring to those who vent about frustrations with this industry. I do it to. I'm talking about the people who are just really bitter, negative, hateful, and plain miserable in EVERY post and want to share that misery every time they get on this board.
There are several and it just makes me feel like these people need to find another career or a hobby...or $ex or something!
not complaining here
What's enough money for one person isn't for another. I need $1800 a month just to cover rent, food for me and a 14-year-old (good appetite), electric, internet/cable/phone, and another monthly bill I have) - so naturally I need more than $1800 because there is always something else to pay for - clothes, school expenses, transportation, etc. So, I have 2 jobs. (about 8.5 cpl/4 to 5 something for VR). I was one of the learn on the job people, and I have always worked at home. . I like being an MT too, which is a good thing since I spend so much time doing it. My situation right now is that I need to work 60 plus hours a week to make enough. I hope it won't always be that way but for now I am just glad that I don't usually run out of work, and one of my jobs I do my favorite speciality almost exclusively - doesn't even feel like work to me. If I don't want to do this job anymore, I will learn something else.. have a bachelor's and can go from there - as I have more than 20 years until retirement. Overall, MT's been good to me.
Why I'm not complaining s/m
If this job suits you it just tickles me to death I'm not looking for a job thank you.
some suggestions after some complaining!
I have been transcribing about 20 years all told, and the distractions I deal with these days are not much different than in years past. We moved into a new one-story house in November and I have been working upstairs with everyone else. I start working at 5 AM, but when the sun comes up, my birds start making racket and one of them talks A LOT, which can be absolutely maddening...then the dogs start up, and then the kids - 12 and 11 - with the TV on, or arguing, or horsing around ...ever since school has been out, I feel like all I do is yell 'can you please turn that down?' or 'please be quiet.' I know I have been driving my family crazy as much as they drive me crazy, but because of the efforts of my husband building an office for me in the basement (and also because he's tired of listening to me complain), thank God, I am moving my office down to the basement TODAY. My new office is not finished yet (it still needs a drop ceiling and carpet) but I can't take all this noise and distraction upstairs anymore.
I would suggest making your work area as isolated and quiet as possible. During your work time do not answer the phone at all no matter who it is, and screen all calls with an answering machine. Get rid of all distractions, whether they be noise or otherwise. Make the best use of productivity tools (expanders). Be consistent in your work habits, i.e., work straight through two hours and then take a 15-minute break. Hope this is helpful.
they weren't asking for help, just complaining
x
A lot of folks are complaining about MT pay
and not being able to make enough money. I personally don't think the problem lies so much with how many cpl we get, but the fact that we have to transcribe dictators who obviously have no regard for the person doing the transcription. They seem to think it quite proper to eat, chew gum, have a conversation with someone in the background, lay the mic down and dictate or speaker phone, dictate on a cell phone, in a crowded room, and a host of other things that make transcription very, very difficult. When you throw in a whole slew of ESLs, there goes your money. 
These same people complaining
are probably the ones stating "I work from home, so I have flexibility". If you don't want intruders then don't tell them you work at home. I have never had a problem with others thinking I sit around and do nothing. I also have respect from the offices I work for because they say things like "sorry to bother you"!!! Whoever out there thinks at MT work is easy, they should try it some time. I really get just the opposite. Wow, you type really fast, or wow that's great you can work at home! I haven't had anyone yet try to shove their kids on me even though I have my own. Yes, I have kids. So, I tend to think that people having these types of intruder or disturbance problems during their work day are inviting it!!!! 
Not complaining, inquiring. sm
Not complaining, but inquiring. The OM said they are new to dictation, so it may take a while for them to get used to it. No dictation in a month is not good, though, and they will be backlogged.
One time I had a doctor who didn't dictate for a month. She was trying VR, which did not work. Then she did it again for a month, and was trying another service that was cheaper. Want to check to see if they're not fishing around, but never can be sure.
I gave them handheld units with the intent on their dictating, which they dont. Can't stop them from using my equipment with another service, but want some consistency. If I don't type, I don't make money. Thank goodness he's not my only client.
Next time will make them pay for them or find a way to prorate them. In that sense, I feel I've lost money.
Then stop complaining...
If you are happy, then stop complaining. If you are not happy, then move on. Why is it so difficult for you to figure out?
She has been encouraging MTs who are complaining..
such as yourself, to look in the mirror and take some accountability for ourselves...nothing negative about that...
You've been complaining about this sm
for months now. Obviously for whatever reason you are not going to get more work from the people you work for. The answer is to get another job.
Stop complaining??
Now, now, everyone has a right to their free speech and their opinions, so let's not go telling folks to shut up. I am one of the few MTs who has done this work since before computerization. I supervised in several teaching hospitals as well. I can tell you that we were a special breed. It was difficult to get really good, consciencious transcriptionists. They kept giving up. Most had husbands and regarding themselves lucky to be paid for work (as did and still do many women. No wonder there is no equal pay for equal work). Medical terminology had to be good in the days of old. There weren't a hundred proofers checking notes. Anyhow, there isn't enough space for me to tell all. But, what I do know is that MTs are gradually getting phased out, now ASRs are on the scene. I wonder if anyone has even realized that we are actually phasing ourselves out. And out of pocket too. What you will be paid for ASRs is much less than transcription, yet you are teaching the "listening machines" to do that very thing...takeover. Obviously, the first writer here has never worked in a Medical Records dept. doing work the way it was before the gold-diggers got a sniff there was money to make. No one really cares about confidentiality any more, although there is a lot of hype about it. Enjoy your home job. Unlike those days of old, when having someone "breathing down your neck" meant you had to do the job right all the way, and qualified you to keep your job, I would suggest a Plan B for the future.
The doctors had been complaining about...sm
very poor quality but then someone enlightened them who worked there at Spheris. And they called to see for themselves and they said yes it was going to India.
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