When I am bummed out on MT ...
Posted By: hm on 2005-09-30
In Reply to: Housekeeping as an alternative ... - Molly
which is most of the time these days, I consider working for Starbuck's Coffee. The benefits are good there and I think working around yummy smelling coffee and pastries all day would be oh so nice! 
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bummed out
I know I've had so many ESL docs who change the gender of the patient with every sentence that if I don't pay close attention to them, I can screw it up big time. Could that have happened here?
Bummed out.....
Been there, done that. And, it's usually my signal to get up from here and get outside for a while.
Don't give yourself too much grief here. We all do it!!
Don't be bummed out
I've been there too. We're all human, we all make mistakes......even doctors. Don't beat yourself up.
Hope today is a better day.
I'm so bummed...sm
First of all, thank you for your very kind and inspiring post. (lol, I remember living in 1 bedroom apartments during my single days. Always had a beagle and a cat; one cat was with me for 16 years!.
The reason I am so bummed is because I haven't heard anything from any of the organizations about being a foster parent. I had even decided we could take more than one dog, and SD11 would like a kitten or an older female (already have a male).
Here's the biggest reason why I'm bummed - yesterday, several organizations for animal rescues had volunteer sign-up sheets on their websites. These organizations were also calling for volunteers at makeshift animal shelters; Best Friends included. Well, last night, somehow, definitely with God's guidance and grace, I talked DH into going down near the hurricane area and, ya know, feed, walk, love and help with whatever is needed. DH is a framer and can build anything (crates maybe?). I didn't know if I would be able to convince DH that we needed to go down there to help, but I did! I was so excited to get to those websites this morning to sign up as a volunteer. Best Friends, as well as others took the volunteer portion out! I read that they only want rescue-trained people. Today, most all animal rescue websites are requesting only monetary donations.
I can give time and even recruit my husband, but money is the one thing I have very little of. DH has had full custody of SD11 and SS7 for 2 years now, and it's been quite a struggle getting bills paid, making sure needs are met, and sometimes do something fun together, at least once a month. We were going to put off paying a bill so we could use some of that money on gas for the van and pay that bill with my next paycheck.
So, my desperation to help on a "basic" not a "rescue" level is not needed. I guess the animals are being taken care of after their rescues. They must have a lot of volunteers, because the number of animal rescues being reported are astounding. They had better not be dishonest when it comes to the care of these already-traumatized animals. After all, they are essentially turning away extra pairs of hands, not to mention a lot of compassion and love.
May God Keep ya'll Safe!
Bummed out
I have searched the help-wanted ads now for weeks. Endless weeks of testing and testing and testing (I could probably do the mttest blindfolded now). Here are the results: 1) One MTSO told me that the average salary now for 20+ years is 7 cpl and that's including shift differential. 2) Another offered 2 cpl for editing. 3) Went with one FT and had ONE report per day the entire first week (and they insisted on FT, no part timers accepted. 4) Tried another (still there to have at least some income) and on the date of hire, had a 5 minute training session on the program they use, given no account specifics, no instructions whatsoever, no samples. If you send something to QA, you don't get a copy back. I had one foreign doctor and I missed the same word in all of his reports and will never know what that word is, thus the report must go to QA and each one counts against you. They have no night or weekend tech support and I was down a full week waiting for the one guy to work me in. I have searched every website I can find for job postings. I did find one for Indian-based companies and there were hundreds of jobs on there. Guess it's time to either change professions to move to India. I've watched the salaries drop every year. I make less now than I did 10 years ago. It's more like assembly line work now, push push push, quality be damned!! What happened to going in there and taking your time to put out a quality report instead of everybody wanting 200 lines per hour? If you have a perfect account, sure, but not on ESLs and such. I have lots of personal friends in the business who are not too happy as well. The AAMT guidelines change daily and then only apply if the particular account wants them to. What happened to knowing your employees? My manager knows nothing about me or my experience, neither does the person who hired me. Didn't ask anything. It's like they throw you in there, sink or swim, and if you don't stay for whatever reason, there's always somebody else out there who might put out some work for a week or two. I find a company on the net, look it up here and find it's crap. I spent 3 hours taking a very long test overnight, finished it, and THEN found out none of the contact emails on the company website were valid!!! If anybody out there can tell me of a company who hires you, gives you what you need to work (reference materials), and pays more than 7-8 cpl, let me know! Hospital desk clerks make more than most of us now!! What happened to our profession? We aren't unskilled workers by any means and it's a slap in the face to make less than a clerk who only has a requirement of an 8th grade education!
Bummed Out - My heart goes out to you.
I picture myself in this situation daily as job security as a SE is nil & I keep wondering what I think I'm going to do when I'm all of sudden "let go", since our so called "Profession" has sunken to the status comparable to that of a worker at McDonald's.
First of all, our profession since the 1960's has never evolved nor been recognized as a "Profession" - it is a "job" that any "typist" can do - period end!! That being said - around the late 1980s, early 1990's, those savvy in business became aware of the "need" in this job market & saw it as an opportunity for "big bucks" with no knowledge nor regard or concern of the medical knowledge required of those required to produce quality medical records. That's the key - quality has been replaced with quantity.
Only when us "Oldie" transcriptionists leave our beloved field & the physicians eventually become aware of the poor quality of work & the fact that patient care is truly jeopordized & sadly ends up suffering from the consequences of such - will medical transcription ever hope of being recognized as a "Profession."
The sad fact is that as long as us "oldies" stick around & correct the mistakes of the newbies, transcribe the worst of the worst undecipherable dictation & correct the ASR - we are sadly contributing to our own demise. Without us & our medical knowledge - being paid a pittance - the worst of the worst wouldn't be transcribed nor would ASR be edited!! I'd love for the work I now get to be sent overseas & see the end product. Out of thousands of doctors on a teaching hospital roster - I get very few. I get no normals (but did when initially started on this account. I get garbled, faint, cell phone dictation cutting in & out, & the same undecipherable dictators with whom no rhythm can be established - having to listen word by word & typing as such daily. My production keeps decreasing as well as my pay - but I'll bet my "employer" is tickled pink. I'm supposedly at "top pay", therefore, the less I'm capable of doing equals more money in their pocket, i.e. have to pay me less - hire more overseas.
Physicians are our lifeline & need to be made aware of the difference between a "medical transcriptionist" doing their dictation versus a "typist." Albeit most are intrigued by "Voice Recognition" now on the market, I'll bet 95% at hositals are unaware their dictation is being recorded in the background to Automated Speech Recognition - only to try to be deciphered & corrected by a medical transcriptionist. Without our medical knowledge & expertise - whether transcribing or editing - the medical record is worthless & patients are going to suffer. That being said - our expertise is worth more than 7-8 cpl or 2 cpl for editing. Somehow - we need to make physicians aware of the price that is being paid for their savings on their dictation, who is typing their reports & whether HIPAA regulations are being adhered to.
Unskilled workers - that is exactly what we're considered & being paid as such. Unless & until we can collectively convince physicians that quality is more important than the almighty dollar - we're resigned to the designation of "typists" & paid as such -period end !!
I don't know who you've endlessly tested with, nor if you're seeking employee status, full or part-time, or IC or SE status, & will probably get flamed - but have you tried applying at Medquist? Really hesitant to suggest it as I have no clue as to what is happening with their new so-called "Rewards Program" that is supposed to be going into effect - but from the sounds of your past experiences, I wouldn't think it could be any worse -who knows at this point!!
I'm very bummed out. He's the anchor I always looked for during any major news story. nm
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