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This will vary depending on dictator style and speed, but the average to shoot for initially shoud b

Posted By: JLH on 2007-02-23
In Reply to: Time it takes to type... - justmetypinme

around 3 times the length of the dictation. So, if the dictation is 5 minutes long, you should be able to complete the transcription in roughly 15 minutes. Again, that can vary, but it's a good rule of thumb to go by.


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Yup - 3 to 4K, depending on the day and the dictator. NM.....

I have this & speed can vary sm
I also have the 727 with Sprint and also another card for my laptop so hubby can be on it while I'm working. I worked for a company where I had to log in to their VPN system, and there were times I would lose connection because my connection speed would dip down too low. However, I am about 1/3 of a mile outside the official coverage area and have to use an antenna to get a good signal, and this may or may not be the case with your connection. I have also used my USB card for the Bayscribe system and just started with Keystrokes using DocQScribe with absolutely no problems at all.
I avg. anywhere from 3-5 minutes depending on the dictator-nm
x
I average anywhere from 350-400 lph depending on the day! nm
x
How long on average should it take to get up to speed on a new accout
for an experienced MT? I started a new company this week, 50-70% ESL and I have yet to make my lines. Im falling short by 200-300 a day. I find the software to be really slow and I think this has a lot to do with it. Not sure if it is their server or my PC that is making it so slow.
Agree it's the dictator's report and the dictator's call. NM
nm
shoud be no excuses "needed." nm

Please ask style questions on the Style board.
/
My DH thought football shoud be postponed and all stadiums opened for evacuees.
x
Give a week's deadline, then threaten to bill client directly. That shoud do it. nm
nm
What average line count do you type per pay period. what is considered above average and how long

I did mine initially in MS Publisher, but I

switched over to MS Word with an Excel object pasted in the center of it that has formulas for multiplying rates out.  I have one guy that does a bunch of weird stuff, so I bill him by the project.  Sometimes it's a per page rate, sometimes it's hourly, and sometimes it's a flat fee.  MPCount didn't work for billing him either.


If you'd like to leave your email address, I'll delete my info so you can put yours into it.


Tried this initially per tech's suggestion. Thank you!
dd
Don't spend a lot of time initially trying to get

a blank.  After you complete the dictation go back and relisten to see if you can fill in the blanks.  When I get a new ESL dictator it sometimes takes me a while to get his accent so I don't spend a lot of time trying to fill in the blanks initially.  Usually by the end of the report I have gotten the accent and can fill in most blanks.   I also have the experience to know what the blank should be in most cases, and that also helps me fill in.   If you get QA files back make copies of them and start your a notebook.  If you have the ability to relisten to files after they have been signed off when you get QA back relisten to the dictation and see if you can hear the blanks then.   When I first started doing ESLs I was so stressed because they were hard and I left a lot of blanks and I just don't normally leave blanks.  After getting QA back and relistening it seemed so clear what they were saying and I couldn't believe I had struggled so much. 


 


how long, on average, average a knee replacement would one be on Oxycontin?(sm)
My DH recently had knee replacement surgery a month and a half ago.  The doctor has been prescribing oxycontin 30 mg this entire time.  Husband has been trying to wean off of it and is down to 10 mg.  He asked the doctor if he could come off it completely and the doc said to "just keep taking it."  His next visit is in two months.  With all the discussion lately about pain medication addiction, is it normal to be on this medication for this long and for the doctor to say "just keep taking it?"  How long should one be on this med?
I went that route initially and lost 60 days

and ended up listing my house with a regular real estate agent.  In my post below about the soft market, I also mentioned not to go with a for sale by owner agent.  Help-U-Sell and Assist-2-Sell are what I'm talking about.  Yeah, the list on the MLS and yeah they give you a lock box but that's about it.  With a bulldog real estate agent and company they will go the extra mile for you.  That's what my agent did for me and my house is sold.  We close on October 9th. 


Regarding the lock box, your better agencies have them now that will email your agent when someone comes in a shows your house. It's a good way for your agent to followup.  For sale by owner agents don't do that. 


Be careful about these flat fee agents, because you get what you pay for.


Good luck!


Gentle stretching and ibuprofen initially,
then as it gets bearable, take up walking AT LEAST twice a week. Walk at a good speed with good posture, about 2 miles/45 minutes. The most logical way to keep a back working right when you sit in a chair all day is to walk regularly.

I'm 44, and thankfully all I get are muscle aches. At times there will be actual point tenderness in one of those (2) little dimples on your sacrum, you know, right in that area where a lot of tattoos are put? If you get that, you can massage that spot. It indicates a muscular problem, which is good, and it means you are too tight and need more exercise and especially stretching. The most important direction to stretch (since we are curled up in a C position so much of the day) is exercises that arch the back, so learn safe and effective stretches for that direction. What trainers are saying about stretching lately is stretch after exercise, not so much before, and hold each stretch longer. There are some muscles that don't even engage in the stretch until you've held it 30 seconds. I think piriformis is an important stretch.

It's very relaxing and restorative to stretch the right way.

Hope you are feeling better soon.
I thought initially "how hard can it be?"
It's not that I didn't respect the field, I just didn't anything about it. I had done legal transcription and figured since my mother was a nurse, I was pretty familiar with medical terminology (ahem).

By some miracle I got a transcription job in a small clinic and started to be trained. After the first week my thought was "Well, I guess I found something I CANNOT do!" =80 But my trainer was great, I picked it up quickly because even though it was hard I loved it from day 1.

That was 23 years ago and I've come a long way. I laugh at myself then. I was so clueless!
Shoot
Well, good luck!
Don't shoot her down
As with any business idea, some work out and some don't. She may do very well. In fact, she may run across a local clinic/provider who is dissatified with the quality of the current work he or she is gettng and will want to give her a chance.

I wonder how many people told Bill Gates to forget it when he was working on computer stuff in his garage?
Were documents signed initially that focused on such an event?
dd
At least you "twiddle." Initially, I develop laryngitis from begging
.
CAN'T SHOOT 'EM....LOL.....NM
x
well, tell me cuz I wont shoot you down
I believe everyone that says they make that much.  I can type over 2000 lines a day but find that it is hard to do that everyday for myself.  how many lines do you type daily and then how many hours do you work.  my pay tier is this 7 cpl to 3000 lines, 9 cpl to 6000 lines and then after 6000, 10 cpl. 
I usually do 1250+, I shoot for 250 lph
x
Shoot yeah! If they need someone else, let me know!
nm
Shoot I forgot
You can order it here cheapest for a 1 year license. At the end of the year, you can renew through Kaspersky or buy another from these guys. Shipping is fast.
http://www.royaldiscount.com/kaspersky.html
increase speed 3, decrease speed 2...sm
increase backspace 9, decrease backspace 8. At least that's what mine does.
Shoot, my animals are all cute.

My dog will jump on her hind legs and "box" with you by smacking your hands with her front paws.


My cat likes to go berserk inside cardboard boxes.  He also perches on my desk and dips his paws in my betta bowl.  Then he climbs all the way up the screen door and yowls if I'm outside.  Typical cat behavior, I guess, but this is my first kitty so it's funny.  He's a loverboy, too.  He crawls up on me, sticks his head under my hair, chews my hair, bites my neck, purrs and goes to sleep.


RE: Drop shoot software

Can anyone explain what Drop shoot software is and where to get it? Thanks


Yes at PHNS-- this was a few years ago....was paid initially on how many lines you averaged an hour
the highest you could get was .085 which is what I averaged, however they restructured and it plummetted to .07.....you could get .085 again but you had to really work your butt off (something like +1500 a day).  I was PT so I was only doing 500 lines or so a day, at most 1000, so it basically sucked after that.  Plus the company totally changed, they started to outsource to the Phillappines, work dried up big time and we fought over the lousy crumbs.  Many of us left and moved onto to better things though!
I consider job searching in the MT field a crap shoot
You can never tell which would be better than another until you try it. Too many bait and switchers out there.
Hey Lynn, Shoot me an e-mail. I'd love to know
what Webmedx offered you!!! If you wouldn't mind sharing.
I resisted it initially. Much to my surpise, line count has improved. Lots of backspacing being do
dd
yes it can vary
Some don't pay for underlining or bold and you really don't notice these things because they are out of sight and out of mind.  We assume that a rate per line means everything in the entire line, but it doesn't.  I recently used Abacus and counted by gross and two other ways and it sure can vary.
...may vary (was cut off) (nm)
x
Shoot - just apply at different companies stating your background
& your desire to learn OPs or orthopedics. My only experience was in radiology (10 yrs) & ENT (4 yrs)when I applied at a company to work at home(many,many years ago). I was hired - with no experience other than the above. They started me on DS, then HP & Consults - then "asked" me to try OPs. From then on, after more time spent looking things up than transcribing,with many tears shed, they kept me on OPs solely.

I'm now with another company after 12 yrs,& OPs are my speciality & all that I do.

Just keep applying to any & all companies that meet your criteria with your wishes known. Hopefully, you'll find a company that will let you expand your expertise beyond radiology & give you the opportunity to try such.

I wish you the best. Don't give up. If I could find such a company - so can you. Just keep on trying !!!
Well, shoot. quit! A recession's a great time to SM
go back to school anyway, like Amanda. I've forgotten some of the exact quotes I've read, but various economists have predicted that, because of the ongoing technology revolutions, people these days should plan on having to retrain for new jobs approximately 5 times during their lives. And they weren't talking about a little brush-up now and then either, but throwing in the towel and moving on. So how about having some fun figuring out what you should have done if you could go back and do it all over again, and then going for some version of it?

Since your family won't miss your income, if needed, you could spend your very last months in this field piling up tuition money to move on to something better.
Does it vary by state? usually something like 23.
x
It probably does vary between accounts.

Problem in MTSO's don't want MTs to know exactly what they are charging.  So MTs get a flat rate.  It's not fair.


opinions vary,
but i don't think so. but in this day and age, i think you are wise to have more than 1 skill up your sleeve. i think the pendulum will swing and we will realize that a thinking person is better than a machine, tho some adapting may be necessary and that shipping work overseas isn't the smartest solution either. i suspect you'll esp find ample work in the big city.
What a perfect analogy! Shoot, I switched offices in my own home and it took a good 2 wks
x
YMMV (your mileage may vary)

>>>Who are making more money with VR than you did with straight transcribing? 

Depends upon the day.

>>>If so, how many LPH did you average when doing straight transcribing? 

About 250 lph.

>>>If not, how would you rate the difference, approximately in % of income lost

When VR is "kicking booty," I can get close to 400 lph with around 99% accuracy. And that's just straight dictation. If I knew how to do macros and templates, I could probably get close to 500 lph. --- But it didn't happen overnight. I started using the product again in November 2002 when I busted my finger. When it's a matter of spending the time training the product correctly or not working at all, you find a lot of patience.


LOL! Accounts vary, I guess. SM
I have typed on one where they don't want them capped, and it bugs me every time. :)
It can vary widely so I'm not sure there is a baseline.
Some companies pay per line, some pay per hour.  Hourly is the best way to go.  The per line rate can go from 2 to 5 cpl, hourly $10 to $15.   Figure out what your hourly rate is doing transcription and you'll know what to ask for.  Generally QA  people make less than MTs, but you wouldn't want to take a cut I don't think. 
goes to show how much our experiences out here vary... Everyone comes from a different POV

What you can do per hour can vary WILDLY
I have some accounts I can crank out lines on and hit 1000 in 5 hours easily. I have another that can take me nearly 8 hours because of being 90% ESL (really bad ones to boot!) and really tedious account specifics. I have been on this platform for 6 years and have expanded to the max. It can just depend on the accounts you do! :-)
Yes it can vary, that is up to the MTSO how they want to pay/bill - sm
I used to work for one that billed out as a line being 60 characters; she also had another account that was 50 characters (which gives the Dr. the impression they are paying less as the rate is .10; which is actually .13/65 char). This was a smaller MTSO though, all the larger companies I have worked for have all been 65 char/line.
Seems to vary by company. Mine seem to
s
Reports vary so much it's hard to say
It really depends on what type of reports they are, as well as your platform. I just started doing radiology and man when I think I am really rocking, my report numbers are up and my line count is down. Like you, sometimes when I'm really strugling with those long complicated MR reports and feel like I'm stopping every five seconds, despite myself I'm typing more lines. I feel it's because the reports are so long.

Basically, I live by the axiom that anytime you have to take your hands off the keyboard, it costs you money. Period. That's why people talk about the "good old days" of WP51 and straight Word (not Word-based platforms) where you could keep your hands where they belonged and not fiddle with the mouse all the time or wait on the platform to catch up to you.

Sorry I don't have more answers; perhaps someone who keeps better records than me will be more help! :)
As you can see, experiences vary very widely SM
But--It's the future, so leap in! Figure out every way technology can do the work for you much, much faster. Start programming your corrections into your Expander from day 1. All of them. Not just a few main phrases, but virtually every word within them and every possible variable. Program in all your punctuation corrections. Like changing ". He " to ", he" and vice versa within at most 3 keystrokes. You'll do it all day long.

It's true people are making less in general these days, but any time I hear of people still being able to support themselves fairly acceptably I pretty much know they're still typing out most stuff out the looong way. Alllllllllll of it alllllll day looooong...... That's really sort of analogous to people who refused to learn word processing, insisting on staying with Selectrics and Liquid Paper. Back then, like now, we upgraded our skills or went broke.

And if you don't already, practice reading fast until you get that skill up there. There's a lot of reading to this.

Don't bother fussing about what a mess VR can make of some dictation. All that counts is what income you can make from cleaning it up. (Tho skimming through reports that just need a slight buffing IS a pleasure.)

My last thought is that this business is in flux, and it's true some companies are not paying equitably for this work. Yes, a greatly increased pool of skilled workers for each good job does mean pay has gone down for MT overall, but if you feel you're producing fairly well compared to others in your position and your income still has dropped signficantly over what you earned doing transcription, you need a better company. OTOH, if you've worked hard at developing these new skills and can't seem to do decently, it may no longer be the field for you. Either way, plan on being ready to move on if necessary. Don't wait many months to figure it out. Best wishes!