Wrong - if you had gone to college you wouldn't be having this conversation.
Posted By: Bad choices = no options. on 2006-06-16
In Reply to: As long as this country allows greedy companies (s/m) - Burned, 2
Ever consider that maybe your lack of ambition is the problem and that your own set of choices have put you in a position you're not happy with? Of course not. It's always someone else's fault.
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I wouldn't spell it wrong.
I would ask for verification of where he is getting Pegesis and note where you are getting your spelling. I constantly have doctors spell *Moh's* procedure and have had to argue with some of them when they insist I spell it wrong.
If you wouldn't do/say it in front of your spouse, it's wrong.
Just my opinion.
wrong, wrong, wrong. work is being outsourced because of $. period. not because of unqualified MTs
c
It wouldn't load with my Office. Somehow it wouldn't "read" my 2003 Basic, although sm
technical couldn't find anything wrong with my software. They really tried hard. I see so many people that like Escription, I'm sorry not to be able to use it. Hopefully I can get Office Pro on my next machine, and maybe use it then. I could upgrade, but I'm still not sure it would work.
I think the same conversation is going on at
company board, not too far from type. Look for the blonde comments, sadly. I still have no clue which one is better, but I think some posters get into more detail. I personally would always go with spaces, 65 character line including spaces, but that's just me!
This whole conversation seems to have gone off in - sm
the direction of whether or not QA is "needed" or not, or whether or not they are up to doing their jobs correctly.
I'm not saying either of those things, but what I DID say was that all too often, both inhouse and at home, I've been having to deal with QA-ers who make changes where they should NOT be making them. I even had one take out an entire sentence that was CORRECT, and VERBATIM, and insert something that the doctor never even said, and which didn't belong with that patient's diagnosis.
That is SO unethical!
I just had a nasty conversation with a
telephone rep from India who informed me that all Americans were uneducated, stupid, and "farmers" and that India was getting all the jobs because they were all educated. She shut her fat mouth when I asked if that is why India still practices putting female infants on the hillsides to be eaten by wolves, why so many of their people are starving to death, and why disease is so rampant. They are getting to be the most arrogant bunch of people I have ever seen.
I have to say I am unsettled by this conversation. sm
I wouldn't dream of drinking while I am working. I don't believe that is a "perk" of being at home and like several have said, I don't care who you are, alcohol impairs you. I can't imagine saying anyone saying this is okay. And, much as Endiqua said, using the everyone does it scenario is not only wrong, it's immature. I hope we are more professional than that!
don't join in the conversation if you sm
don't want to but don't censor others from doing so!
But that wasn't conversation....
that was criticizing the original poster for "assuming" that others celebrate Easter. I don't think she assumed that at all; she was just asking what others were serving. I think she would assume that those who don't celebrate wouldn't answer because the question wouldn't apply to them.
I had a telephone conversation come through once -
It may have been a walkie - I am pretty sure I saw the guy drive down the street in front of me talking on something - it was very brief, I think probably when he was in very direct range. It was wierd!
But I'd rather listen to a side conversation than
erase and retype nearly every line. Three times the effort for 1/3 the pay when he does that. Back up. Change that. After it's already been typed.
Bizarre conversation on dictation
This obstetrician was talking to patient and her mother on a dictation this morning. The doctor and the patient's mother were trying to convince her to bring her dog into the office through the back door to have the doc do an ultrasound. He said, "I know where the uterus is, I'll just take a look to see what's going on in there". The patient had just given birth herself. It was so very strange. After about five minutes, he began to dictate. 
WOW - I just read your link to a conversation with -sm
AHDI, and I KF's answers to your questions are so vague, so filled with upper management doublespeak, that they basically say nothing at all. Except there is one thing she has constantly sidestepped answering, and that is - What is AHDI doing for UNITED STATES MT's. Her non-answer says it all: NOTHING.
You should send a copy of that conversation, and copies of other posts on this board, to our California Congress & Senate representatives.
There is SO MUCH anger on this board, and if we could just consolidate all of that, and direct it towards our elected officials, who might be able to do something about it legislation-wise, it might go a long way towards helping American MTs.
Thanks for your excellent post, and for taking the time to pull off part of KF's sheep-suit, so we can all see what's underneath.
This conversation was on the company board, but I think
about line counts and how we might be suspicious. Don't know, but checking your lines anytime and knowing exactly how they are calculated are apples and oranges. I for one would like to know exactly the formula, and I would like to know when it changes. If the calculation changes so should my original offer letter. That is IMHO.
good choice. mr. ed provides transportation and conversation.
but isn't he dead? 
Has anyone had a conversation with the people at Amherst about this situation. I am not sure where
to go after them to get any results. I would appreciate any recommendations you may have on this because it needs to be addressed.
Listening to a cell phone conversation
My doc left his recorder on again. LOL
Had this exact same conversation here in 2005 - see message
Here is the original posting. I'm still doing MT but now on my terms. I don't make as much money as I did even 10 years ago but I get to pick and choose what I want to do. I still don't feel appreciated. And, once again, I blame the AAMT as well as the changes in business ethics that I see EVERYWHERE today. Let's not even get into the subject of the CEO's and their insane remuneration packages! Anyway, my only recommendation is to find something you love (MT or billing, or something else) and do it to the best of your ability and on YOUR OWN TERMS. That helps to mitigate the frustration, somewhat!
20 years as an MT - now I am on strike...sm
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Posted By: on strike on 2005-09-12
After 20+ years as an IC I have seen my salary go down, down, down! Not because my speed has decreased, no, it has in fact increased dramatically due to the availability of ShortHand programs. No, my salary has gone since the inception of AAMT and their "standards" and practices. The organization that was going to help MT's become more respected has done the opposite. Yes, there were doctors out there who initially thought of me as a "typist" but I quickly showed them the difference between a typist and a "medical transcriptionist" (medical language specialist). Some of them were unwilling to pay for the difference, but most were pleased to pay a bit more for someone who knew when he was making a mistake and was willing to call and get it right. Today, however, the large MT companies have driven the IC out of business. They offer 4-hour turn around at ridiculously low rates. Many of these companies outsource to India, Pakistan, the Philippines, etc. Some of the outsourced work is done perfectly. Most is not. I am hearing this from office managers who cannot convince the business owners that it is "cheaper" to have the transcription done correctly the first time rather than have more time (money) spent doing QA.
Most of my work has been for large radiology clinics. Conglomerates that own upwards of 100 to 200 radiology clinics across the country own these clinics. The bottom line with management is the "bottom line". Their bonuses and hefty salaries are dependent on keeping costs down...therefore cheap transcription is a "must".
Finally, the reason for the steady decrease in salaries for MT's is the availability of cheap foreign and (yes!) American labor. MT's in this country are becoming more desperate and accepting the lower line rates. Yes, of course you need to in order to pay for food, etc. However, if ever there was a time for us to organize a "strike" this is the time. It will never happen, however, because we are too busy just getting by. And where has the AAMT been during this time (in particular the last ten years when salaries have been eroding the fastest)? They have been telling us the "proper" way to do transcription. In the "good old days" if we did not transcribe correctly we were fired. If we used poor grammar, we were fired. That simple! Meanwhile this group (AAMT) purporting to be working to benefit MT's has instead been working to benefit themselves. They benefit themselves by touting their CE courses and the need for us all to become CMT's, that we can only do through their courses and their tests. None of which are free.
No, I am not an AAMT hater. I hate the hypocrisy of the AAMT. I hate the fact that experience counts for naught in this field. I hate the fact that the moment corporate America realized that medical transcription was an income producing product mostly male executives realized that they could take over with large companies, offer work at a much lower price than an individual could, and force the medical Transcriptionist to work at the prices they foist on us. That is what I have seen over the past twenty years.
Don't bother flaming me for telling you what I have seen. Most of the flamers will be from large corporations or IC's who have accepted their fate. Yes, you are making good money typing thousands of lines a day at a few pennies each line. Yes, you pay your bills doing so. I am not putting you down for doing so. What I am saying is that over the past 20 years the medical transcription field has changed (been hijacked by large corporations) and as such the bottom line is "how cheap can we get the transcription done". Such is corporate America. Get it done cheap or someone else will get the contract.
So, what am I suggesting? I don't know for sure. Perhaps there is no answer for most transcriptionists other than to accept their fate. As for me, I am lucky enough to have an income so that I can go on "strike" until I find a job that pays me what I am worth. Or, until I go back to school to find another career! Which is the most likely course of action a lot of us will be taking no matter how much we love what we were doing.
If you have any useful insights I would love to hear them. Flamers will be ignored.
Conversation insinuating that RadGuy may be gay is NOT tolerated on this site.
Anyone who continues to post in this manner will have their posting ability immediately removed.
WHATEVER. I can't handle ignorant people, which means this conversation is over.
SEE YA!
My conversation with you is over. You sound worse than a pack of 6th grade girls.
x
Wouldn't that mean that you simply wouldn't have to print out everything?
YOU, Busy MT'ing, are one of those that fail to reach mature conversation when you mockingly add
x
Could this entire conversation BE any more high school? Grow up, you guys, honestly.
I typed a report on the wrong patient as the doc keyed in the wrong info, SM
He later said the correct patient's name and I SWEAR to this day I made the changes but somehow the report when through without the correct patient and changes made. I still remember that incident.
Fantasia wrong??? Haven't seen the OP's CD, couldn't have been too wrong.
x
It's about morality - not censorship! Right is right and wrong is wrong!
nm
I'm in college myself ...
Do you have an undergraduate bulletin from the U? If not, GET ONE TODAY. Look at the degree programs. He must pick out a major and register and be assigned an Academic Advisor first.
Make sure he fills out his FASFA anyway and has it sent to the university. Just because you make $40K does not mean he should not qualify for grants or scholarships whatsoever. I don't know who told you that or if you just are assuming that, but it is not true.
A university has many, MANY avenues for financial aid. He will be assigned a financial aid counselor and you need to call up there right now, TODAY (if he is planning on attending this fall semester in about 5 weeks) and go talk to the immediately. Do you know the FASFA website? Have you filled it out? You MUST fill it out, it will be processed and sent to the university, then they will send him an award letter and you can go from there.
Now, student loans are not bad debt at all. It is an investment in your future. Just make sure you are borrowing responsibly an amount that can be paid back easily. As well, it will not hurt him one bit to pay his own student loans back and/or you pay just part of them. He should have to be payint and investing in his OWN future.
He probably needs to find a part-time job, period. Nothing wrong with that. It will teach him discipline and show you whether he is serious about an education or not. If he has registered already (and he should have if he is attending this fall ... if he hasn't and wants to go, REGISTER TODAY)...you know when his classes are and he can hit the pavement today on finding a part-time job.
You've have a bad experience as far as academic counseling at the junior college -- at least from your description, I would call that near idiocy. At the U, he will have to claim a major and it should have a sports program so that should not be a problem. Do NOT---NOT---NOT---NOT just "put him in a major". This is his education. It must be what HE wants.
There's not a lot you can do until you:
1) Fill out that FASFA and process it
2) Call the U, physically go in with your son and see a Financial Aid Advisor
3) Register, see your Academic Advisor and get your classes
If I can help you in anyway, let me know.
I had it in college
I went for PT - they did u/s and massage and heat application. Also, I received medication via (I am going to get this wrong I think) iontophoresis.
I had to change the way I held my food trays (I was a waitress) and do some exercises with a one pound weight.
It resolved with cessation of what was causing the problem in the first place. Every so often it comes close to flaring back up if I am not careful. Now my big problem is mild tendinitis in my thumb .
I never needed surgery though I have heard some people do if it gets really bad.
Did they do the Finklestein test (is that what its called?) on you to dx it? Its where they have you make a fist and then they flex your wrist down. I yelped and almost kicked the dr!
Good luck.
What did you go to college for? nM
x
I was in college before
I attended college off and on from 1989 - 1997. It will only take me a year to complete what I started.
college or not (I did) - what you do....sm
What a person does for their entire lifetime is a career, a profession. Some of us went to college, some graduated, some never went to college. Who cares? I spent 27 years doing this so yep, it has become my profession......worked Wall Street for 3 years in the 60s-70s, well that was my profession at the time (decade). Worked restaurants as a kitchen manager for 5 years - that was my profession during those 5 years and what a chef I am....*LOL*
Worked in a major teaching hospital for 10 years PRIOR to doing full-time MT work.....so yep - the medical profession is my profession and I'm a paraprofessional !!!
Dream on..........
For College - sm
You may want to check with the school. At FSU, your laptop needs to have specific programs/capabilities if you want to take it to class with you to use in class, and also to download from their blackboard on the internet.
My tech also agrees Toshibas are the best and I was lucky that the Toshiba was compatible with many of the requirements.
college or not
I graduated in 2004 with an Associate Degree in Medical Office Administration, Office Systems Technology, when I was 18 yrs. old I went to nursing school and then worked a few years as an LPN. I don't regret my college or degrade college in any way, but, most employers want an experienced MT but won't give anyone a chance to prove that someone just starting out can do the job.I am now 50 years old, taking care of my disabled husband and CAN NOT get a job at home working as a medical transcriptionist, and can't afford to take the extra tutoring that some suggest. I would just like a chance to make a living, not a bunch of money, just enough to pay my bills.
They are not gone...they just went to college--sm
They will be around more than you think....when they need money...when they need their laundry done...and, of course, holidays. They will miss you too, I am sure. You won't be nearly as lonely as you think you are going to be. lol
College
I have 2 kids in college, one I helped on the front end and because of this career, one I will have to help on the back end (meaning help him pay off his loans while he is in school instead of giving him money up front). The Stafford loans have very low interest rates right now, the rates went down. I live in Western NY and there are 2 MT jobs that I know of at one hospital. The other hospitals don't have inhouse transcriptionists. One uses a service (used to be my competitor) and they are giving all new residents laptops for EMR and the other gave all their doctors laptops 2 years ago. I'm tired of MTing to be honest, 10-12 hour days, 7 days a week, first as MTSO as qualified people were hard to come by and then because either the service didn't pay, didn't pay on time or didn't have any work so I have needed to work for more than one. I would love to do anything else.
Thanks - I have 1 in college and 1 soon to be..nm
x
kid drinks in college
And what are you gonna do if you kid does drink at college?? Kidnap him/her and deprogram them? They are adults when they are in college. I would hope by the time a child gets to be 17, 18, they have been taught right from wrong and no I would not want to know if my child was partying and drinking in college. They are living a normal young adults life. I would want to know he/she is having fun and doing their studies and, of course, if they became a drug addict or alcoholic, they I will be there but normal partying for young adults, Im okay with that..better than being tied to my apron strings.
Paying for college for my son..
My son is attending college and I have paid for 2 years through a junior college, but it is now time for him to move to a major university. Because of my salary of just over $40,000 a year, he has never qualified for any type of scholarship, only student loans (which I have paid back). Does anyone know of ANY scholarships, etc. that can be applied for? I know nothing at all about how the system works and feel I have failed in trying to help him (it's all I can do to hold down 2 jobs in order to make the $40,000). We even tried to have him set up on a student work program, but they said you could not do the student work program if you were getting student loans. It was like at every turn, there was something to disqualify him from getting assistance. He carries an 'average' grade point (more interested in social aspects, of course, than his studies). He has never had a counselor at the junior college that helped much. He is interested in sports administration, so the junior college counselor did not know what field to put him in, so she put him in liberal arts, and now we find he needs some other classes instead. I'm searching for any help with limited time to search. He tries, but he does not seem to get anywhere either.  ANYTHING ideas would be appreciated, and thanks in advance.
Do you have a college degree, and in what?
I know there are MTs out there who have Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degrees. According to other posters, those of us with higher education who choose to do MT are pitiful.
48-1/2 WF, M, 2 kids, 1 to college
/
2 kids in college
I have 2 kids in collge, 1 in state and 1 out of state. My daughter's financial aid (out of state) is based on my income because she is still considered a dependent (she lives in dorm). My son's financial aid (in state GA) is based on his income because he is independent. The difference is if the student has a lease for rent in their name, they are considered independent and it is based on their income. Depending on what you and hubby make, he might be better off on his own financial aid wise for college. Both of my kids get about the same in federal financial aid ( I am considered lower end of income - long story) Both of my kids get pell grant and also get the subsidized and unsubsidized loans from government. College is very expensive even if they go to a local community university/college. Hope this helps
what are you studying in college?
xx
WHERE DOES YOU CHILDREN GO TO COLLEGE sm
Maybe our children go to the same college.
I will start
One daughter goes to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. The other daughter will be going to UMass at Amerst in the fall.
What are you studying in college? nm
xx
No I never said that, they paid for college, I only - sm
helped with incidentals. I did not have too, I wanted to. They did not say I had to work but I wanted to contribute as much as I could to the expenses. Art supplies and books are not cheap and I told them I would take care of that. I spent about $2K a year in art supplies alone, w/o food. My first 2 years they paid tuition and board in the dorm, my Jr. & Sr. year I got an apartment which I shared with 1 person the first year, and the next year I got a bigger apt. and shared with 2 people, cutting the rent cost in the process. I also covered my butt by subletting in the Summer so they would not get stuck paying rent on my empty room (though I would have paid that from my summer job if it had happened). In no way do I think I put myself through college. All I did was try to save my parents some cash and be as self-sufficient as I could in the circumstances. I am very grateful for what they did for me. During 2 of my years in college they were shelling out $15K a year for my older brother to go to Drexel (his tuition and apartment), so they had their plate full. Luckily my dad had it all covered through extremely wise investments when I was just a little girl. I have been extremely fortunate but I never expected it all to be handed to me on a plate, and I have never said "oh, I put myself through college", what a load.
I also went to a community college
and never had any problems finding a job. In fact, I got my first job at home before I was even finished with school. I took all my classes online and have worked from home for the past 3 years here with my kids. I say go for it!
Actually I did go to college and I'm not bitter at all....sm
Just realistic, as I said. Obviously you've not found the right company - there are out there, believe me. But the previous poster did say it correctly - if you were working in an office with your degree, you couldn't just jump up and run. An MTSO or company has a business to run, too. I schedule my appointments after my working hours - pretty simple it seems to me.
Free college in GA?
Is that a statewide program? What do you have to do to qualify for it?
Not so. You can go to college and work
around classes. That does not prohibit you from obtaining unemployment.
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