We bought a boat, damn thing keeps breaking down and I have to work more now for repairs.
Posted By: mm on 2007-07-05
In Reply to: I bought a boat - gets me out of the house! Also commuted for a year...sm - Kim T.
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I bought a boat - gets me out of the house! Also commuted for a year...sm
After commuting 1.5 hours EACH WAY to medical practice in DC from home in Maryland last year and dealing with arrogant, temper-prone docs and back-stabbing staff, I welcomed a good paying home job back with open arms!!! I've worked several on-site, transcription-related jobs (typing or QA) and the commute, office politics and demand to produce! produce! (without paying me more money) always left me longing for the peace of working from home.
Even the Bible tells us to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I don't shop, get my hair or nails done - basically I was working to pay everybody else. I bought an inexpensive, economical boat and have a great out-of-the-house activity to enjoy. I've met people from all walks of life and it's like a vacation anytime I want! Yesterday (4th of July) I hung out on the dock at my marina socializing with other boaters, then took my friend and her boyfriend out on the Potomac to watch the fireworks display on the mall in DC. Ended up spending the night on the boat then heading back home this morning to work.
I started working from home again just in time for my daughter's making her school's basketball team. I was one of the rare parents who got to attend EVERY game. I remember how it felt to not have my mom be able to attend tennis matches, field hockey games, track meets because she worked downtown and we lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Things like that keep me motivated when I feel the pangs of monotony.
I keep the job interesting by challenging myself to be even more productive (of course without sacrificing quality). Making more money consistently takes the edge off boredom.
Dealing with the aches and pains of transcription can be a challenge, too. Making adjustments like split keyboard, going back to old monitor instead of flat, placing books under my heel to prevent pedal-induced ache - I just look at it as almost every job has its hazards.
Work is work and yes, this can get boring. It's about balance. Get out of the house. Join a group and get active. Take a different job for a while and see if you gain a different perspective or like the other career better. Whatever you choose, I wish you the best!! 
I am in the same boat, and the one thing
I have gained from my search of the archives here is don't quit the old job until you are up and running with the new job and even then you might want to try to swing both for a while, just in case.
Ever bought something that was supposed to do one thing, but did another?
Who would answer an ad for that? I bet that was not a part of the sales schpiel.
Some things in life do not look like they did "on the brochure."
I'm in the same boat. I like doing this type of work, -sm
and the solitude. Don't know what else would interest me at this point, and I'm close to 59. I DETEST school, too. So something would have to be really interesting and motivating for me to work a full day, then get in the car and drive at night in the rain to a campus somewhere to take classes. And what I REALLY hate about school is all the prerequisite classes. Like the time I wanted to brush up on my computer skills, and before I could take that class or the labs, I had to sit through an entire 20-week semester of "The History of Word Processing". Boring, boring, boring!
I don't want to be a nurse, and I'm leery of getting into something like coding, which will probably become much like MT, if it isn't already, in terms of low pay and offshoring.
I'm not a front-office 'people person'. I despise ringing telephones, and hate answering them even more. I'm lousy at math, and that cancels out things such as accounting, and things I've always found interesting, such as physics, astronomy and geology. I like where I live and don't want to move, yet there's no on-site MT work anywhere around here. The closest job available right now that I'd consider taking would mean a commute that would eat up all the extra money I'd make, not to mention 2 hours of my time in each direction. Nope, not gonna subject myself to that torture.
I'm good at embroidery, but it's a slow, tedious process, and although it would make a nice sideline, there aren't enough hours in the day to squeeze something like that in.
Cooking? Forget it. I can make grilled-cheese sandwiches, scrambled eggs and cookies - that's pretty much my full culinary repertoire!
If I wanted to go back to school for a LONG time, I could probably get into management, and I have the problem-solving skills, but then there's that people-thing again. I just don't have people-skills, or even the desire to learn them. So that pretty much rules out SALES, as well. Real estate interests me somewhat, but not dealing with the people looking to buy. Plus the market is in a nosedive right now, anyway.
So, although I carefully study every community college brochure that gets sent to me, I haven't yet found anything that would be worth the torture of sitting in a classroom again!
Depends on what you mean by repairs
I do all of my own maintenance in terms of virus protection (I keep my copy of Norton 360 up to date), defragging, cleaning up, etc. Major repairs have to go to a computer guy. By major I mean when the system crashes and gives me the blue screen of death which it did twice last month. That rarely happens, though.
I try to avoid spending money and I like tinkering, so I do most of my own stuff.
Me too, but not that damn Dog!
zz
How many of you that use computers know how to do updates, repairs, clean up viruses, etc?
Just because I work every day using a computer, my husband has said tonight he thinks I should go to a computer class because I spent out $150 today for a person to come and get rid of several viruses on my computer. I asked my husband if he were so interested in this, why didnt he go to computer class and learn himself. I said I was coming on MTstars and just see how many of us transcriptionists also do our own repairs. Ok, MTers, now is your time to speak up!
He's a damn fool. That's what I say. nm
m
I give a damn but I don't have any blanks or
any "questionable" parts. So I proof as I go. If I didn't hear it right the second time, I rewind right then and there. If I don't get it then, I'll dig in and rewind, rewind, rewind until it pops in my head. But no, I proof as I go. No reason to go through it again for me.
...should be new meds, colleagues not in the database, etc. Damn! nm
s
If u give a damn you'll proof....
PERIOD. About 90% of my proofing is done as I type, but when I've finished i've made it a habit to check for my blanks cuz sometimes u can catch the stuff u couldn't before, it just suddenly becomes clear to you, and also I skim through any sections that were questionable, not blank-worthy, just want to make sure its an easy read. I'm pretty confident in my abilities after all this time but mistakes do happen and you're in denial if you think u don't make them. Sometimes the fingers and mind aren't in sync. Its easy to only think of the $$$ and be nonchalant about the reports but what if this were Your loved one. So yeah, put me down as a Proofer :)
Company I work for was recently bought
The MTs weren't notified about this. I just got my check and noticed it was from a different company, signed by a different person. I looked up the company and saw they were Indian and wasn't sure what was going on but suspected. Then today I saw the post on the company board with the link to the article about the purchase. I've been with this company quite a while, but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't just put in my notice. For one, I don't like the way this happens and nothing is communicated to us. Also, it seems to me it's just a matter of time before the US MTs are phased out and replaced by their Indian workforce. And for me, even if that doesn't happen, I don't think I want to work for an Indian company responsible for US MTs losing their jobs. This is just really upsetting.
I deduct all expenses that relate to my home office-% of utilities, taxes, repairs to that room, --s
mortgage (we do not plan to sell our house so this deduction will not affect us)as my office is used only for that purpose, internet, phone, I print out a daily schedule so paper/ink, computer repairs, pens, pencils, tape, staples, file cabinets, storge bins for tax recepts/tax returns,file folders. Anything/everything I use to do my job.
I was using mileage for another account where I pick up tapes every day, but found for me the time it took to keep track of the mileage, write it down, add it up was not worth the effort so I quit doing it this year.
Same thing with nationals. You work all the time to keep the account caught up when others dont work
and then when they decide to put a whole lot of extra people on your accounts and run you out they could care less about how much you worked.
That's strange I bought the adapter but couldnt get it to work right. Maybe cuz it was a laptop..
I'll have to try it again. I just could not get it to work right. I would get sound but then it would freeze up.
Breaking into Radiology
Is this easy to do? I have about 10 years acute care experience - all types, but have never done radiology. Thinking about trying that for a change since some say it's better money. I'm wondering if I should get some practice tapes or is it something that I would easily be able to pick up?
Thanks for your help!
They just did a breaking news bit on it..
they started saying 8yr old..now claiming it's a 15yr old that was shot and taken to the hospital. I imagine alot of details will be sketchy until they have more time. Again...God bless to all of you
We all have our breaking point...
I reached mine after only 14 months - you are much stronger than I. Good luck to you - I hope your new work will sustain you and bring you happiness.
tapes breaking sm
I would like to know how to repair a tape without sending it to someone to do it professionally. I have had this happen in the past and the owner of the dictation had it fixed. However, should I need to do it myself one day, I would not know how. Can you really splice a tape with scotch tape? I would really like to know. I know tapes are gone the way of the dinosaur but you never know! Thanks!
They seemingly are breaking the contract they
have with you if you are an IC. I'd make sure I document everything and go to the labor board or perhaps sue them. I doubt you could get very far and the other idea sounds much better, looking for employment elsewhere.
Breaking into acute care
I've done clinic work for a few years but want to do acute care now. How does one break into it when all the ads say you must have X amount of acute care experience? I'm unemployed now, so I can't ask a current company to start me off on acute care work.
Is it as simple as testing well for the companies that require you to have acute care experience, even if you don't have it?
BREAKING NEWS- I JUST CALLED PA DMV
I did not believe and glad I did not. For a license I was told a child needs birth certificate, with the raised mark, SS, consent from parent and a physical form. I specifically said this is a female- does it involve breast or GYN exam and they said NO- it is only saying the child does not suffer from something like seizures, then I asked a second time- if it involved breast exam or gyn and they said NO for the second time, NOTHING INVASIVE. This was a crock, saw right thru from the start.
Ok, doubting Thomas, breaking down what we pay
No health insurance (husband is union- nada, nothing, zilch), I paid 1500 in taxes last year and husband paid out more on his job and when we did out taxes, itemizing got back 3500 on that, 900+ month for house pmt and he has paid that, we have 2 new vehicles and he pays for both, the house and vehicle insurance both run a little over 1000 each- both came due in May and we each pay half of those - he 500 and I pay 500. The small house bills I pay, 184 for cable, television, internet combined, 75 budget billing for gas, about 200 for electric. We eat very reasonably as he cooks and the other night he did stir fry. He had used 1 chicken breast, package of mixed vegetables and with the rice I counted that meal to be less than $5.00 for dinner. He and I both have plenty left over. We both like to do shopping on QVC and HSN and do frequently. I do not see how so many unbelievers out here. We do it and have left overs.
I bought a wedge at Michael's for about 59 cents. Bought one for my SM
Lanier station so I could see the display and one for my keyboard.
Admin -breaking news says see new nursing forums - how do I get there? nm
x
For what reason would someone take a chance of breaking into someone's house to kill their 6-year
It was an inside job - Patsy did it.
No spaces IMO looks terrible and is wrong. If you want it to wrap together use non-breaking space
Using non-breaking spaces and non-breaking hyphens negates the issue of the measurement ending up on the next line in a document; which might be imposssible to tell anyway if your work is imported into a format other than what you are typing it in anyway.
The perfect desk! No more chasing the keyboard tray or breaking it...
After years of going through desks at an unbelievable rate due to flimsy keyboard trays, I have found the perfect desk with adding a slight modification. I purchased a glass and aluminum desk (RTA Home and Office Products CT-009 from Willey Goat). The keyboard tray is actually a glass shelf. However, it did not come out far enough, and I contacted a local glass company to cut a longer piece of glass and RTA for extra parts to support an extended the shelf. Now I have a keyboard tray nice and big that I do not have to chase all day that will not break. I am in love! This desk was so easy to put together, unlike others that come in a million pieces. For anybody tired of those flimsy, ugly desks and extra support to rest your wrists/arms on, this is great!
It seems it does not pay to work and to the right thing...
Sometimes I want to just sit back and kick and scream. Work my ____ off and still can't keep up with the stacks of bills or calls calling about the bills. When my son was born with an illness I could have taken the easy way out like so many do. He has a life long illness that qualifies him for benefits but my DH and I make too much money. LOL. He's a teacher and I'm scraping by with transcribing. Sometimes I think why should I bust my butt when I can sit back and collect "benefits" and be there for my child when so many people do this. Taxes and the increase of cost of living expenses are about to do us in.
So sad how I work so much harder now doing the same thing...
x
Good thing you work at home
Hopefully one day when you need to vent, you at not treated the way you treat others but what goes around does come around.
I work for co who levels accounts, only thing is MTs within those
aa
I do the same thing now and then, have a glass near the end of my work, usually takes me an
I find it relaxes me a little and I type a little faster, but I certainly don't do it on a daily basis, maybe Friday or Saturday night when I am winding down. As for the open bottle, get a vacuum system for it--rubber "cork", then pump the air out of the bottle, it will keep for a LONG time, no more tossing of flat wine. Works great!
There is such thing as taking pride in your work. nm
This is ironic. We are going through the same thing at the company I work for. sm
They want to set the standard at 15 dictated minutes per hour for clinic, 150 lines per hour for HIM and 15 reports an hour for radiology and cardiology. Can anyone tell me if we are in the ballpark? Are these realistic? I am a lead and do not want to scare off my team, but I think we do not get the dedication that we could.
Can anyone else share their quotas with companies (no names necessary) or hospitals?
Are we getting lazy or are expectations too high?
Everyday thing for me. I work till sleepy, then set my SM
phone not my clock to ring. I get about 5 hours every night, have for years.
I had the same thing with a client in Indiana - did their work for 5 years
Then someone from Connecticut stole the account - underbid me, and the work just kept getting slower and slower, and I asked questions of what was going on, and no answer. Finally the girl that USED to send the work to me called me and told me they were going with Mary's service, and I should be looking for something else, and that they had no intention of telling me because they were using me for stats, etc. (I didn't charge extra for stats, and she did).
So Mary, I know who you are, and I hope RP's dictation is driving you NUTS!
There I feel better.
Breaking news. Bush directs H. Rita to Texas in order to curb illegal Mexicans from entering border.
LOL
If we are in the same boat so are all the other MTs so I think we should really do something about
this because us coming on here wont solve the problem although it is nice to know the game they are playing. What is the old saying, you name the game and I can play it too. Nice to know the game is being played on everyone so they dont said it is ONLY YOU. Please if anyone knows what to do let me know or come on here and let us know.
I'm in the same boat as you are.
I'm the same age, in the same field, and most likely looking forward to the same prospect. I guess the only difference is that I prefer to have a positive outlook. I'm not dead, not without education, and not without skills. Although I don't want to have to find another job before I retire, I will IF I have to, and I'm confident that I will be able to. I wasn't trying to blame anybody. I was just trying to insert a little humor in an otherwise depressing post about an issue over which we have little control. I understand the need to talk about it, but sometimes there is just as much need to just realize we can't do anything about it and then move on, laugh about the absurd, and notice the things we DO have. The joke just seemed to fit under the other post where someone else was kidding about Bush having it out for everyone. Maybe had I signed it "Kanye West" it wouldn't have gone over your head.
I'm in the same boat
Just curious is this person located in California?
in the same boat, except for
Around 15K in debt, gross 40k a year, rent going up in a couple months, all this buzz around me about houses, tired of being stuck in an apartment, living check to check. BUT...I have been payng off debt to a tune of 5k or so a year, or under, and am looking into the prospect of getting a roommate. To me, I must be absolutely out of debt and in a secure job (MT not too secure right now) before I take on a mortgage. You said you have a renter? Why dont you go for the house and have your bro sign something, for financial reasons, so he sticks around and pays you monthly, cut back anywhere if you can, and continue to pay off debt while you're in your new house?
same boat here
I have 25+ years experience, do mostly OPs and always get the ESL accounts. What are these companies going to do in a few years when the seasoned pros are out of the business and none of the newbies can transcribe these accounts because they never had to learn them? I get paid the same as the other people but get the crap account because I can produce and understand the worst, I have seriously thought of leaving the MT profession just for this reason.
I am in the same boat, but (sm)
I am still using Verizon. When I signed up, they told me it was okay to use for transcription, not a problem, but nonetheless, I am very worried right now. I think I need to look for a new job. As it is now, I hate to even dial in to get work. How long did you use it before you got nailed?
In the same boat.
I bought Medispell, but is not quite as good as the Stedman's. Guess I will make do for awhile. Could not find Stedman's on E-bay at the time. I would also love to be able to load it on two computers.
I am in the same boat...
Hello
I am currently in the process of getting my 2 local physicians up and running with digital. I bought them each an Olympus DSS 330 hand-held recorder (do an internet search for cheapest price, like with Nex-Tag). The software is very easy to use, and it's easy to transfer the files onto the computer. I then bought space on CryptoHeaven, which encrypts the files and enables me to transfer files to and from the physicians. I only need the smallest amount of space, which costs 2.49/month. This way the office can upload the files or email them to me through the email accounts that CryptoHeaven provides. This is the cheapest way I have found. The only down side for me is that I have dialup. If your physicians have dialup, then this will be a big draw back, as it took me about 30 minutes to email or upload one of the audio files. This is just one of many ways to go. I also looked into DocShuttle, but it is way more than I need and too expensive, as I do this just on the side. If you find a cheaper, easier way, please let me know. Good luck. Email me with any further questions. Lynn
I was in the same boat --
I worked on site at a hospital and new management was horrible. We were to "exhaust all avenues" before leaving a blank. That included calling the doctor's office which was absolutately ridiculous. You can be on hold for 10 minutes or more before they pick up the line to see what you want. When trying to explain why certain ESLs took so long to type ---- they didn't want to hear it. They were getting rid of MTs that had been doing this at the same location for 10+ years. I finally got fed up and told them .... "talk to the butt." The bennies aren't great at home and the pay isn't either, but I certainly feel better about my job and myself! Good Luck.
was in same boat sm
You can deduct health insurance premiums, equipment, depreciation of same, cell phone, internet, etc. I ended up having to pay over $3000 and am now an employee. I don't know how they do it either.
Same boat
But I tried doing MT on the side and at 10 cpl typing I am making less. You see, when you are QA, for me anyway, it often means you do the same with typing as you do with QA and try to make it perfect and you can't make any money that way. When someone consistently types 300 lph that's usually where you see all the mistakes. JMO.
same boat here
curious what posts you get.
I am in the same boat
as you. Feels good to hear an honest opinion about rates, I likewise have over 20 years experience and am still making per hour as I am per line as I did 10 years ago...but I stay with it as going back to school for a rewarding career at almost 50 does not exactly excite me.
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