To begin with, I would suggest
Posted By: Been there on 2006-04-11
In Reply to: Desperately need debt consolidation help. - Maureen
Paying for your rent/mtg, food and utilities without fail first.
I ended up in BK 13 so I can't help you with a company name but this is what I learned, food and shelter come first.
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Where to begin?
Brandy,
Where do you live, most importantly? I am a mom to 3, in Georgia, and am currently homeschooling my son in kindergarten. I can give you some tips, if you want, but there is a lot, too much to post here. IF you want more info, post back and I'll give you my e-mail address or e-mail you privately.
Oh, where shall I begin. sm
The *hoopla* about offshore not being secure is absolutely a valid threat. It may have nothing to do with transmission and everything to do with the value system of another group of people though. At least three VERIFIABLE instances of offshore MTs holding medical records for hostage and at least one where the MT threatened to publish the records on the internet if she was not paid, exist. Hardly *hoopla* my dear. I seriously doubt if the CMT will ever become a mandatory credential and I seriously doubt that for several reasons. After nearly 30 years, the AAMT has fewer members now than it ever had. People are leaving in large numbers. I also have it on good authority that the test the offshore MTs take is not the same one given to US MTs. Personally, I don't put someone down for having a CMT, I just have no great real respect for it or the association. I trust I am allowed my opinion. I worked at a local hospital where the transcription supervisor was a CMT and she could not answer one blank when asked! I actually know a lot of CMTs who are not all that.
Maybe it's your attitude to begin with.
Change your tune. Be sugary sweet when you think someone is being rude to you and see what happens. Pay it forward. Give someone a smile or a kind word. Let someone in line in front of you. Just do one little nice thing per day and it will multiply. People are never rude to me. Everywhere I go, they know me by name because I take the time to be kind to them. Gas station, grocery store, bank, school, doctor's office. You might have to fake it 'til you make it, but you can change your outlook and how you perceive the world treats you. If someone is "rude" to you, blow it off. Maybe they're having a bad day and it's nothing personal.
That's Why I Posted To Begin With
I didn't make the assumption that 'fast typing' was all it took. I still believe that you have to be able to type fast, but I also have 'top notch computer skills' and can learn well. I wanted to know more about training in this field because I assumed training was a necessary evil. One thing I didn't assume was that the folks on this forum were just downright rude!! Not saying you are, just most of the others that replied to my initial post. I am certainly not looking at MT as a way to pay my mortgage or put my daughter through college. Just a way to fill some free time.
Thanks for your post!
You should have a system to begin with. SM
I recommend mining the Productivity Talk forum for tips and a book such as Saving Keystrokes by Rolland. One high producer strongly recommends Easyscript Express by Levin, an old ABC-based ShortHand method that can be used with a keyboard.
When I first started with expanders, in the Ice Age seemingly, there were no forums like this to consult and I just started dropping definitions in without a good system. I've since had to redo everything a number of times as I wanted my Expander to do more and more for me.
As time goes on, you'll also want to abbreviate EVERYTHING for you, which requires system, both because you can't possibly remember thousands of abbreviations but remembering a few rules is easy AND because you need to have a way to enter various terms that seemingly need the same letters.
One tip just to jump you off: Some systems start two-word phrases with the first two letters of the first word and the first two or three of a second word. However, if you look up "lesions," say, in a medical dictionary, you'll see immediately that starting with three letters of the describing/adjective word and two of the noun (i.e., cocle for cochlear lesion and corle for cortical lesion) would serve you much better. Although if you gaze over just at the ones that start with intra- you'll realize more system than that is going to be needed for more complex terms. I personally start that prefix with "ia" to differentiate from ones that start with inter- "ie". Best wishes.
ADD vs. MT - Let the Battle Begin
Have you tried setting a timer for 20-30 minutes, then giving yourself permission to get up from the desk (setting the timer again for 10 minutes or so), wander around, surf the web a little (on a different computer if you can, it will help keep the surfing bug separate from the MT'ing bug), then when the timer goes off again, go back and set it again for 20-30 minutes and start typing again?
These days, I'm working in bed from a laptop due to back and wrist issues that don't play well with conventional desks, but in some ways that actually helps keep me focused, because it's such a pain in the neck to get up and walk away... I still struggle with wanting to surf while typing though - a problem I never dreamed of having back when my shiny new computer was an IBM PS2 or something like that - where the floppy drive held less information than my cell phone does today!
Good luck!
Does it have 3 letters, begin with an M?
If so, I'm there too...Ain't life grand???
The one time I asked for one, they said no. Ask and if they say no, begin looking elsewhere.
dd
The rules for Op notes are a little different. You may begin a....sm
sentence with a numeral; so, you would never spell out cc for blood loss, IV fluids, urine output etc. In the indications section, if a sentence starts with a number e.g. "Three days ago the patient" or "One day prior to surgery, I spell out the number. Otherwise, in the body of the report or in the headings, I use the number.
Don't get excited. You should have provided it to begin with. nm
x
The head set worked to begin with so
if it was in the wrong hole would it have worked in the beginning? Because it worked until I downloaded the pedal software.
How do you begin to come up with a line rate..
to pitch to a new account? Been working for others as an IC, now contemplating approaching an account on my own. No clue how to not hang myself and selling out at too low of a rate vs giving a quote that's too high and will make them back off quick. Would it be a good "rule of thumb" to take what you make as an IC on someone else's accounts and add .05cpl? From what little I've gathered over time, that's about the ballpark of what the MTSO gets paid per line for the account vs what the IC gets paid to do the typing. Does this sound about right to those of you who have experience with this? Tks
I promise you - I begin work at 7:00 p.m. - I'm only PT, and my day always begins with
stat, H&Ps, consults, etc! I love it!
When they have me working mornings I am getting special procedures, ops, caths, and don't like it one bit! Maybe 2nd shift would work for those who just can't see themselves working from 11 to 7. Good luck!
Nope. It was a small account to begin with.
The work never went anywhere. The company has not lost contracts. I'm not being "phased out" either. The workload simply doesn't suit my needs any longer. I can do it in my sleep, so I'd like more work that's more challenging.
I would never begin a sentence with an abbreviation, for one thing. nm
x
I begin my day, every day, with a nice 2 to 3 mile walk with
This gives me time to think, alone time, fresh air and of course exercise. I love to walk and it seems that since I began doing this I am less stressed out. Have you had your thyroid checked??? Just wondering if that could possibly cause hair loss. I wish you the best.
Was taught in my program that all those eye words begin with
s
That is assuming they could even understand the dictation to begin with.
I would love to see the doctors having to listen to dictation.
Utilize the speed typing engines and begin
storing in their favorite phrases so that a few letters will bring them up. I am working for several physicians. Took me a few months to get all the words into speed typing mode but now that I have, the time I spend typing is cut in half.
Never type a word larger than 4 letters.
chest pain - cp
pneumonia - pnea
atelectasis or infiltrate - aoi
so on and so on - whatever works for you. This is how to make money these days, high production. And the speed typing engines lessen change of typos and other erros.
Okay. Where do I begin? I need some advice! My husband is in real estate. sm
He owns 5 houses (rents 4), and just closed on a house on Friday that he needs to "flip" really quick! Basically, it's a 30,000 profit IF he sells it quick! We've never bought a house to flip before, but have purchased them for rental property and to gain the equity. Okay. I'm spoiled. Very spoiled. Or you could call it blessed! We are both Christians with good jobs. I only work part-time and then we live off of his salary and the 700 we make in rent that is extra after paying ALL the mortgages. But we are in a real bind now. We have renters who owe us 2 months of rent, well now 3 months of rent! They won't take our calls, you know the rest of the story! This house that my husband bought on Friday cost us ALL of our cash because we had to put some down and then pay closing costs (close to 4,000!). So now, for the first time, we are broke (NO cash flow whatsoever now). And I'm struggling over here! I mean, we can't even go and get ice cream tonight. I'm really questioning our decision to purchase this house.
See, we had no idea UNTIL closing (honest to God), just how much it was going to cost! So, we couldn't back out of it. We were thinking 2000 on the high end. I completely flipped out when the attorney told us how much we needed to write a check for!!!!
We've gotten a couple of calls on the house, but obviously no takers. My husband went straight from the attorney's office to the house to put up for sale signs in the yard! It's a cute house. We just need someone to buy it ASAP!
So, if you've ever wanted to meet the people on the Carlton Sheets infomercial - here we are!!! yes, we've made a lot of money in real estate, but there are huge, gigantic RISKS! You could go for the gutso (like we did and buy all these houses) and you could lot a lot if it doesn't work out. The loan we got on this new house is a type of loan I've never heard of before. It's just a "quick" loan where you need to pay it back pretty quick in the hopes that you will make the 30,000 in equity that the house did appraise for.
What do you do on a budget? What do you do when you are so broke you can't even buy ice cream for the kids? I want to cry now, even though I know some of you out there have zero sympathy for crazy folks like us...Well, I need some ideas on food. What's cheap to make and cook? I put 30.00 in my SUV last night and that will have to last me until the 15th!
To all of you who struggle every week like this, my heart goes out to you. It truly does. Now I know what it feels like to live in desperate need every day.....
They're not thrown to the dogs when they had no work to begin with!
nm
I would suggest
giving them a call. I would imagine they would hire PT whether they're advertising for PT or not. I work PT but do as many or more lines than is required for FT. I know they bend over backwards for me in every respect and I doubt I'm treated any differently than their other MTs. I think you'll find them to be incredibly nice folks even AFTER you're hired!  And, believe it or not, they do know how to coordinate hiring and work flow so it's unlikely you'd ever run out of work, might be ASKED to work extra but that with more than adequate compensation IMHO.
I can suggest one
AT&T CallVantage. - You can make all LD calls (including with your dictation system) directly through your DSL line. I've never been billed more than $35/month (I think that includes taxes), and I'm on close to 10,000 minutes a month.
So how to you suggest they do it then?
Unfortunately they have to keep track of who is getting these cards and they have to make sure there is no fraud going on, so they have to make some stipulations.
I think it's a great effort regardless!
Can I suggest something?
Two lines of thinking, actually:
1) Please consult a behavior specialist. There is an underlying reason or reasons for his behavior. It's much healthier for him to find out the causes for his behavior and design a treatment plan and work for changes rather than to just cover them up by changing the environment.
2) Please consider going against what seems to be the attitude today: Everything made-to-order. What I mean is that children learn quickly what is acceptable and what isn't. If we constantly are taking our children out of normal social situations and putting them in "specialized", "personalized", "made-to-order" situations they will never learn how to cope and get along with others. They will also be robbed of the joy of learning community-mindedness. Not teaching them how to get along in life is hateful. Not easy skills to learn as a teen, as an adult.
Just my opinion. I faced behavioral problems with mine when they were young. I know how it feels. My best wishes for you.
I would suggest..
going to a psychiatrist. I also suffer from anxiety and depresson. I take a combination of Wellbutrin and Neurontin, and this seems to work very well. I have had a hard time finding any medicine that works for me. I still have episodes sometimes, but they could prescribe you Xanax for those in between momements. I don't take Xanax though, just the Neurontin for the anxiety.
What do you suggest
How much do you guys charge for a late fee when invoices aren't paid in time?
My terms are invoicing the first of each month and payment due within ten days.
I've decided to impose a late fee since I'm having a horrible time getting paid. What do you recommend? Thanks.
Thanks! What do you suggest then?
I would suggest
investing in the Stedman's Medical Terms and Phrases book. It is kind of spendy, but it sure is a nice comprehensive reference book. Definately worth it..
oh, i was going to suggest
carboplatin and Paclitaxel...?
May I suggest
Shortkeys2? That's the program I have at my office (I do transcription for a major medical institution) and at home (home transcription on the side). It works with most programs and platforms. I've only had one or two programs so far that it wasn't compatible (AOL and GMAIL).
I would suggest
If at all possible, I would suggest you get a job working in-house, so that you can get paid by the hour. I don't know about the rest of you, but when I first started out, I don't know how many lines I typed per hour, but I worked 8 to 2, and I only transcribed about 18 to 25 reports a day. My speed and comprehension built up slowly and it helped greatly having co-workers to help me. I feel that the MTSO will take advantage of you in several ways and believe you will probably not make a decent living in the beginning. You have to learn the system you are working on, the physician's style of dictaton, etc.
I'd suggest...(sm)
...using "AA (Photography)" or "AA (Media Arts)" in order to show the relevance of the degree.
May I suggest --sm
Shorthand V10 as an expander? It works just like autotext, which is exactly what I was looking for when I wanted an expander. It works with almost all platforms, and has a free 30 day trial. There is also an option for paying at the end of the 30 days. To receive all upgrades, I chose to pay once a year, at 29.99! It is the best Expander I have ever used and for the price, it's a steal! good luck.
and i would suggest
Your response does not surprise me. I would suggest you read between the lines in the entire thread that I wrote. I did not CALL FOR anything. I was simply making an observation and throwing some thought out there. As far as my spelling of HIPAA...... I am not an MT, nor a typist, nor grammar specialist. I am, however, a very very successful consultant in many areas. My expertise has afforded me very nice wealth. How about you?????
I would suggest only if you need benefits.
a
I'd suggest it if you want a job when you come back. nm
You need to be upfront with them. What you suggest isn't right.
I would suggest getting a 9 pin pedal
With the new systems, the problem is within the wiring that causese the incompatability. I've tried a total of 5 different coverters/adapters (including Radio Shacks) that did not work with the 9 pin pedal to my new Dell. I found one converter than even the inventer is unsure would work and costs about $30. I have a 9 pin foot pedal that I would sell to you for about that same amount if you want it.
The only adapter that I found that does work is with converting a 15 serial port to USB with a product by Radio Shack with a game switch on it. That is not a shelf item and has be to purchased through their web site.
I would suggest an inpatient
detox program if you are feeling really badly. Your pain management physician or your primary care physican would be the best source for information. Please call their office and let them know how you are feeling, they should be able to help get authorization for you to be admitted for inpatient detox. Do not feel badly about this - OxyContin is a highly addictive medicaiton which should have been explained to you when it was first prescribed. Good Luck.
It's not rude to suggest a job. (nt)
I suggest going to some place like Best Buy
that has lots of keyboards on display and try them out. I have a keyboard that came with another computer that has a light touch, but you can't buy the keyboard separately. I also have carpal tunnel and have had surgery twice. What works for me is to use a pillow under the keyboard. You can push your chair back a little, put your pillow on the edge of the desk or the edge of the keyboard try and then put your keyboard on top of the pillow. It supports your wrists and arms and it makes you sit back in the chair, thus relieving back/shoulder strain. My orthopod also recommended soaks, 15 minute cold, 15 minute hot, and then 15 cold again. I also recommend wearing splint(s) at night because you may bend your wrists while sleeping and wearing a splint will prevent that, which will help the discomfort during the day.
i can suggest a book that might help - sm
I started reading Melodie Beatty's "The Language of Letting Go" - helped me tremendously. Congratulations for finding the strength to leave that mess. I wish you lots of happiness.
I would also love to suggest the following:
Insert a picture of a happy MT transcribing from her beach towel as the kids and hubby splash in the surf! LOL!
She is obviously OCD, cannot let it go. I suggest we move on.
x
suggest after that post that you do not.....sm
Here's a thought - don't move to Tampa, especially if you think it lacks culture, try SE Florida.....can't tell me SE Florida lacks culture; there are so many cultures, it feels like NYC! If you could pay $2200 rent in NYC, you could find a 2 BR, 2 BTH in SE Florida for same or a tad less, $1500-$2000 1500 sq. ft.
Sorry, but to suggest that she use the questions...
from another company's test or website is just downright dishonest and is a violation of copyright laws as well.
Good grief. It just isn't that difficult to come up with a batch of test questions.
This is what I will suggest so we can all speak up.
On one day, say May 1, every MT that reads this sends a letter to the Editor of their local newspaper calling attention to the fact that protected medical information may be going overseas, complete with SSNs. If people don't start becoming involved in protecting their own information, then they don't know or maybe even don't care, but I think many will start to ask questions. But I could be wrong.
Worked as MT for 15 yrs; I'm 60. Can you suggest another
xx
You suggest being less offensive ... yet
you are obnoxious!!!
I would suggest you give it a try and see if you like it. nm
I used to work use Express Scribe and out of all the employees (there probably was 10 or 15) only one that I knew of used the function keys. It felt awkward to me.
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