Yes it is one of the hardest things to do.
Posted By: I'm so sorry on 2005-09-25
In Reply to: I just put my cat of 12 years to sleep today...sm - Georgia gal
:(
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Hardest for me are the NE (i.e., RI, NJ and the like)
Shoot, I used to date a guy from NJ and almost fell over laughing when he asked me out of "cwaffee" LOL.
I'm a Texan too :-)
One of the hardest, IMO
Been doing oncology now for 17 years. One of the hardest parts is the drug regimens.. and they are ever changing, such as the protocols and study drugs. The next hardest for me is understanding the chromosome analyses. I've got some really good websites I could share with you if you would like. Best thing is to have good references and websites.Good luck in your decision and just post here if you need websites.
I think this is sometimes the hardest part
of the job, that it is at home. I did it out of house and I enjoyed it more there, maybe I was a little less productive but I am a social person. I had to adapt and it has been hard. I am forcing myself out more but there are weeks when we are on cut off when I don't leave for 3 days, feel like Howard Hughes sometimes. hahahah.
The hardest is whatever you aren't
used to. Discharge summaries have a lot of drug names, but the good thing is that it is the last report dictated (ideally), and with with many systems you can see the earlier reports for drug names and other terms.
I would say some of the most slurred dictation happens during the physical exam section of the H&P, but if you can see the dictator's previous reports are viewable, you can make normals. Lots of times they say the same thing every time, so that's an opportunity to use a normal and save yourself keystrokes.
So these are some reasons there are no pat answers.
first night of each week will be hardest
The first night of the week you work is always the hardest, especially if you have slept a normal night. Try to get a nap that first night before you start your 3 days. I always kept caffiene pills (like No-Doze) handy. I didn't take them often but once in a while they would come in handy just to get me through the night. Also, take a shower before you start as if you are starting a regular day. If you get enough sleep during the day after your shifts, you shouldn't have too much of a problem. My problem was I neve was able to get very much sleep, which is why I had to rely on the caffiene pills at times. For some odd reason when you work third shift you don't seem to need as much sleep either. Good Luck.
Hardest lessons to find out after BK
I thought health insurance was too expensive when I changed from employee to IC. I had emergency surgery and afterwards lost everything when I could not pay the bills.
First, sit down with every debt you owe and categorize everything - credit cards/loan companies/nonsignature debt/mortgage/car/medical/taxes, etc. Each type of debt has a different relief route typically. These are things to expect: Whether you enter a credit counseling program or BK, credit score will be damaged for years - how bad is relative to what you attempt to obtain credit for in the future. With BK in particular, depending on what state you live in, most major insurance companies will not sell you a home owner's policy until BK is discharged in 7+ years. You may also have increased car insurance rates. Depending on your personal circumstance, you need to check with your insurance companies. For instance, Nationwide will not sell the homeowner policy until after discharge. You need to ask whether your state uses credit for car/home insurance rating. Earlier posts are correct - student loans, Federal and State taxes are exempt from BK laws - if these are part of your debt from past years, you need to talk to both your state and the Fed about your options which might include an offer in compromise. If your student loans are just coming due, you need to talk to the company about options. If you have older student loans, most can be deferred with added interest and penalties. Some employers are now running credit checks in the application process - yes they can and will use that information in the hiring process.
The "new" BK laws mean that your debt will be reviewed and if you can pay back a portion, you will be required to do so - but this is major legal mumbojumbo, so my ultimate advice - do your homework and find the best BK or debt relief attorney and pay a consult fee before you make any drastic moves. They may try to 'sell' you a BK filing (obviously, that's how they make their money) but you need to pick their bones for all the info they can give you relevant to your state.
Lastly, 35k of debt with 35k of income is doable but you would have to knock your school time down to nominal or put it on hold altogether for a while to avoid BK and not assume any further debt. Whatever happens, do not let your medical insurance slide or any other policy which safeguards long-term- it may seem worth it up front but I can tell you it is the single worst decision you can electively make. Best of luck to you.
Think oncology is one of the hardest specialities.
vv
Agree...Hispanic is the hardest!
I've done everything from Indian to Asian and never had a problem with those...but Hispanic accents always throw me for a loop. For instance, I have one MD now that pronounces "violation" as vee-o-lit-on. Took me forever to figure out what she was saying not to mention her grammar was horrendous!
Oncology - by far is the hardest for me. New protocols every day to learn. nm
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Op reports by far are easiest for me - hardest is Oncology. nm
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which accent do you find the hardest to transcribe?
I do okay with Oriental, Greek, Indian, most European accents. However for some reason when it comes to Spanish docs, forget it !  It just sounds like gibberish to me.
I love the Asians, because they TRY the hardest, and it usually comes out funny. nm
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Hardest thing was marker keys
But after about a week, I got the hang of them. Actually, that is THE thing that makes IT worthwhile for all the other features. Just choose keys that are easy for you to use.
Also, I used the expansions I had at the time from the old Expander and created a glossary from those, so my familiar expansions were already there. Once I got the hang of the marker keys, then I started utilizing more of the features.
I love my IT!
My hardest was a woman from Spain - very, very fast! NM
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Hardest: Dental surgery. Easiest: Cardiology, OPs. sm
Most interesting: Psych.
I think it's generally whatever you get the least of that you'll find the hardest. I used to hate OPs, GI procedures, and cardiology, but eventually got used to them and found they are repetitive (aka good money makers!).
In all fairness, it is a known fact that English is the hardest to learn sm
How many Americans say BP was 120 SLASH 80. Slash? How about over?
With ESLs we have no idea what their native language is like unless we speak it. It may be 120 by 80 for them and they are translating.
I don't know about you, but growing up my plan was to be a translator for the UN. To that end, I took Latin, Spanish, French, German and some Russian. I was a straight A student in these, but I have to tell you, it was not easy. All of them have "gender" to every noun which in turn governs the formation of adjectives and pronouns and even such things as "a" or "an" take gender. Sometimes even verbs take gender. English only has remnants of gender (a boat is a she, as an example).
There are also plenty of ESLs who speak more than two languages and English is only one of them. That adds to the confusion for them because gender isn't consistent. One language may have a male moon and a female sun, while the other is the opposite. In German, the verb needs to be the second word in the sentence and comes before adverb. The above languages frown on more than two adjectives for a noun, whereas English doesn't care. In English you can string together many adjectives if you want to, but this would be considered linguistically incorrect in other languages. Verbs have declensions and by and large, the cases stay the same across the board. English just think of eat, eaten and ate as an example of an exception and we have many such exceptions.
I catch myself saying that English is spoken just as it is spelled...well sometimes, but laugh isn't spelled laff.
Oh and you gotta love UK doctors...eeestroh gen spelled oestrogen comes to my mind.
ESLs can be incredibly frustrating. I know this, I have recently worked on an account with 80+% ESLs, most of whom were rather poor as they go. The fact remains, you have to either find yourself a job where there are no ESLs, which is becoming increasingly difficult, or learn to live with them. Some of my very favorite dictators of all time have been ESLs, partly because I struggled with them and when it just "popped" in my head they were easier than most Americans, and oh so redundant, they made me a lot of money with normals.
I will say that I believe that more money should be paid to MTs when the account is very heavily ESLs because they take a lot more time.
Poll - what do you think the hardest accent is? I vote Hispanic. nm
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Poll: hardest and easiest work types. I enjoy...
orthopedics and psychiatry. Do not like cardiology, oncology.
I just left after 16 years of marriage. Hardest decision I've ever made, but something that I ha
My husband doesn't want to work. Never has and probably never will and it took me 16 years to figure out that nothing was ever going to change. He has been in and out of college over the years with a number of different majors and when he is on the verge of actually finishing something, he up and quits, because I believe he doesn't want to actually go out and get a job. He loves the going to school part, the studying, etc., but the actual finishing and putting his education to work, that's too overwhelming.
For years I made excuses for him, supported him, and actually believed that as he got older he would mature and finally find his way. He's 42 now and runs off every day with one of his unemployed friends to play frisbee golf or go hiking or water skiing or fishing while I'm sitting at home at my desk typing until my nose bleeds!
I was one of those women afraid of being by myself. I recently had a major depressive snap where I cried nonstop for three weeks. I found a great doctor who became a great friend and she helped me find the right medicine to get my head clear and then she helped me realize that I don't have to be afraid of anything. I was already supporting myself and my kids without anyone elses' help. What was so frightening about leaving my husband behind?
So quietly I made my plans to leave. I let my husband know that I was going to move back home to the area where all my family still lives when school let out this summer. He didn't believe me because I had said it all before. So I just made sure he knew I was thinking about it again. Then May came along and miracously a job opened up at the hospital in the small community I wanted to move back to. This hospital never has openings because they virtually have no employee turnover whatsoever. Everyone's been there at least 5 or more years. I took it as a sign and made my move. Within two days of submitting my resume, I had an interview set up. Without even waiting to see if I had the job, I packed up my kids and our stuff and told my husband "I'm going. I love you, but if you want to be with me you need to get a job and actually be my partner not one of my kids." And I left.
I got the job, thankfully. I've been here a month and I know without a doubt that it was the best thing I've done in a long time for me and my kids. My teenage son had built up a lot of resentment towards his father and their was a lot of anger and tension between the two of them before we moved. Now, my son is happier than I've seen him in years. He's more social, made a lot of friends, and even has a girlfriend now. My daughter misses her dad, but she has always been remarkably wise for her young age and is very open about saying how calm everything is up here.
So there's my story. I would never encourage anyone to divorce or leave their husband, and I haven't actually taken the step to file for divorce yet myself. But sometimes separation is liberating and therapeutic. It has been for me. I can't remember the last time I felt so peaceful.
Bad things? what bad things? people's being petty and small?
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You can't make things worse and could make things better.
The skinny woman may be ill. The guy might not know the dog is a nuisance. Who knows? Maybe it is not as forbidding as it seems and maybe they just need to be asked in a nice way.
I do a lot of the same things you do...
I also go water the plants - sometimes just being out in the sunshine for 20 minutes or so wakes me up and gets me going again.
I also do the online thing for my kids: Gap, Old Navy and Abercrombie Kids. I occasionally look at Sephora for me. 
And yes, exercise does help. I either take a run first thing in the a.m. or around 1:00. The morning gives me a totally different spin on the day - I feel better in general the whole day and much more positive. If I wake up too late for that, I end up going around 1:00, as I find that around that time I start wandering mentally anyway. I used to feel guilty for taking the hour or so away but realized if I added up all the minutes I spend staring at the screen (waiting for the words to type themselves) it would be more than an hour. So I try to use my time wisely and for myself by exercising and feel more focused and positive afterwards. This is a habit I'm still creating. I've been doing this a while now and I still some days have to convince myself it's okay and the hour is going to help me, not hurt me. After I'm done I'm always glad I went.
Thanks for posting this question - you gave me some good ideas.
There are a few things you can do. Don't
answer phones, let machine pick up. Turn ringer off on cell phone. Stay off boards, turn tv down or off. I don't know about others but I need a little background noise so I keep tv on a volume where I can hear it but not truly understand what is going on. I keep it on the music channel just so I hear something in the background. Don't think about the dirty dishes, laundry or 100 other things needed to be done in the house.
If you need a drink, get one before you start, same goes for a snack. I get a bowl of something to snack on before I start working such as pretzels, carrot sticks, m&m, etc. I bought an oven timer to keep on my desk. I set it for 3 to 4 hours and then take a little break when it goes off. When I first sign on I can work for 4+ hours w/o getting up.
Make macros of phrases. The phrases are the key. If you're forever typing something over and over and saying "I should make a macro for it," don't say it, do it. Closed head injury precautions are set as "chip-" in shorthand. I also do a lot of consults and at the end they have their own little "thank you for allowing me to participate" statement. I use the docs last name with a T at the end of it for the word thank you such as "SmithT" because not all the thank you statements are the same. WDI is written discharge instructions, wci wound care instructions. Macro your labs and headings so you don't have to keep typing them. If the word or abbr. needs to capitalized make a macro. igg comes out as IgG. The less you hit your shift key, it's saving a key stroke. 05m comes out as 0.5% Marcaine, etc. Make something you can remember. I'm at the point now where I've done the same accounts for years and hardly make macros, maybe 1 or 2 a day. If I make a macro today I write it in a notebook sitting right in front of me. It's a quick reminder for me.
Hope some of this helps.
Many things are said here...sometimes...
people get a bit testy. But, guess what? We are all adults, aren't we? Long ago I learned to not take offense to things, remarks, opinions, whatever - as most often taking offense only drags you down personally. Why let things get to you?
MQLover has every right to express her opinion. Is she the only one who ever slams back when she gets slammed? Hardly. That is a natural reaction. It's a defense mechanism. We don't all feel kissy/huggie all the time, and we especially don't when we express our thoughts and get smacked for them.
If someone's post irritate or bother you, why not just skip them? There's a heck of a lot more to life than getting upset of bb posts.
The things I do.
% of utilities, -phone, water, electric-mileage, internet, interest on auto payment, repair to car, cleaning equipment for office, repairs to office, cell phone, equipment-foot pedals, soft ware, supplies, paper, pens, etc. I have often wondered if I could claim my PJs as uniform expense.
But apart from those things R they OK?
two things
Gas heater in the living room and an additional small heater for my hands, if they get cold.
I found it was less costly to install a gas heater than use the fireplace.
Thanks! I'm always trying to think of new things and though....
I thought this might be different to brake up the monotony! Thanks again!
Well there have been quite a few things
here and there, but I have always put off calling them cause they spend 10 minutes getting the spelling of my name right. I am like, "you can call me whatever you want to call me, just answer my question!"
The problem I am having now is that my internet will not allow me to access my bank site, but my cable company helped me with this problem. Since we went back and did a system restore and it still didn't fix the problem, they suggested that I am probably going to have to reinstal internet explorer. I left my CD at my Dad's though, so I will have to wait to try it and see if it works.
I am just wondering if I run into a problem again and I called if they would switch me to a US representative if I insisted. I remember awhile back someone posted that they did that with a credit card company or something. I think I am going to try it though.
That's if you want to be any of those things.
Really, why choose a career field solely based on potential income? Does money buy happiness? Doctors and nurses work very long hours. LPNs make $12 an hour, RNs $18 and up. Attorneys, well, who would want to be an attorney? Accountants here make $12 an hour to start out with a 5-year degree and CPA.
Have you tried these things? (sm)
Writing for the paper and making extra bucks by doing MT?
Maybe go back for your Master's and teach journalism in smaller colleges?
Possibly freelance for web sites? Check out elance.com and other freelancer sites. Lots need writing. Work that experience! Do you have a portfolio to show off?
Good luck :)
two things you can do
1. Run Disk Cleanup - click Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup.
2. If you use Internet Explorer, click on Tools | Internet Options. Click on the buttons that say Delete Cooks and Delete Files.
Close your browser, restart it, and that should resolve your problem.
Well, with the way things are going,
I think I would be happy to get anything. Many companies are doing away with gifts completely due to the economy.
I'm not willing to pay for something that will only tell me things I already know.
I know to use an Expander and templates/normals. I know to expand phrases, words, reports, etc. I know to stay away from the boards, let the machine get the phone, and treat this like a REAL job, but it's really hard to concentrate when there's nothing but garbage dictation on the system. I can see somebody else already took all the work from my primary, so I'm stuck with the lousy ESL secondary that I hate and won't make any money on. I can never make any money working for any national. They bounce you around so much that you never have the same dictators from day to day and can't keep account specs straight.
are doing these things....NM
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Some of us can do 2 things at once, and well! nm
nm
They are okay though there were some things I did not like - sm
though it may not bother others. Need to have AIM on while you work so they can IM you....they can monitor you this way too, unless you know how to turn off that feature. Alway felt to me like Big Brother was watching. Did not like primary account, lots of short reports (I like them long with good line counts, not these dinky 10 lines things that take you 10 minutes to crank out); loved my 2nd and 3rd though, but rarely got to see them. Were considered an employee, nice, don't have to worry about taxes. Had to give a schedule and stick to it (granted you are an employee so you must do that), but flexible. Have to work 1 weekend day too. Get lots of faxes, sometimes too much. People are nice enough though, never had trouble with QA. Like I said just a few things rubbed me the wrong way, good enough place though. Good luck.
What are the things that keep MTs
I'm putting together a list of things that make it hard for MT to get decent line count. Can anyone give me their opinion? TIA!
Could mean a lot of things......sm
Could mean that the QA department is backed up and your report just hasn't come up for review yet. Does your QA department have a higher level to which more difficult reports are sent for yet another listen? It could be that it has been held up in this way. I know how frustrating it must be for you not to have your feedback yet. I hope you get it soon. :-)
Here are some things.....
If you own your home, you can deduct taxes, mortgage interest, DSL or internet service, electricity, heating bills, anything you bought for your job, i.e, pencils, pens, a new chair, a new desk, highlighters, etc., and anything else that is related solely to your business at home.
Don't forget you can also deduct anything you donated. Every few weeks I "clean house" and donate all my goodies to Salvation Army. But make sure you get a receipt.
Several things...
For me personally, I was drwan to transcription for several reasons. I love the field of medicine and I love to learn something new every day. Those were the main things at first. Now, I love to be home for my children and am happy this job that I already love helps me do that!
getting things done
I have found David Allen's GTD approach very useful in organizing life, time, and goals. You can do a search for "getting things done" on google.
As if 1 of those things isn't bad enough.
Yikes.
I never go to any of these things...sm
that way I'm not stuck with buying stuff I don't want/need/pay too much for.
Thank you both - these are exactly the things (sm)
I was talking about! This will be VERY helpful. Have a good day :)
These are some things I do
Boy, I hear you on how time consuming and tiring it can be to get ready to go! We don't have any kids but we have three small dogs (which are like kids to us).
We camp almost every other week-end, May through September, and I try to do as much as I can during the week to get things ready, a little each day that I can.
Also, I have bought as many things as possible to leave in the camper so I don't have to take things from the house to the RV/back and forth. I try to stock the cupboards with foods that can be left there for the season. This year I also bought us underwear that stays in the RV all summer. When we come home from camping, I wash it and back it goes to the RV. (Then in the fall, it will come in the house and we can throw out old underwear and buy new again the next year for the RV.) We also leave warm clothes in the camper all season as they are usually part of our "winter clothes" anyway.
We also keep our RV electrical plugged in all season so I can leave many things in the refridge and freezer, without using up our propane to run the fridge. We have an outside outlet on our house so we can do this.
While we are camping, I make a list of things I note we will need to buy for the next camping trip; otherwise, I would never remember what I needed. I also have made a "Camping Checklist" of things I need to remember to take each time and things I need to do before we leave. That really helps me a lot.
HTH some. Have fun camping! We will be going on "vacation" (five days) in our RV next week and we can hardly wait. Even each week-end away is like a mini-vacation for us.
Several things:
1. Separate accounts. Get a credit card in your business name to run all business purchases through. That will simplify things immensely. Get a business checking account (you can choose Jane Smith DBA - doing business as -Transcription Services Limited if you are not incorporated).
2. The first year that you are an IC, do not worry about quarterly payments. You do need to withhold enough from your paychecks to be ready to pay your regular taxes as well as an additional 7.5% self employment tax come April next year. Put all of this in your business account. The second year, 2007, - as long as you pay 100% of what your taxes were in the previous year, you will not incur any fines. So if you paid $8500 between your husband and you in your taxes this year, next year divide the $8500 by 4, to get $2125. Watch your husband's withholding and every quarter, take what has been withheld from him and add whatever it takes to make $2125 from yours. I.e. he has $2000 withheld, your quarterly payment should be $150 - allowing a little extra.
I agree it is worth it to find a good CPA that will help you get organized and give you deadlines for filing, as well as help you find deductions that you are entitled to take. But after that, easy enough to do on your own if you do your own taxes anyway.
I have two things (sm)
Watching my two-year-old son sing and dance, and my five-year-old daughter getting 100% on her sight words (reading) at school four weeks in a row. And she's only been in school for four weeks. My kids make me happy and proud!
Here's other things I do to them....sm
1. Ask them if they need you to spell everything you want to say for them.
2. Ask them if they'll be voting Republican, Democrat or Independent in the next election and to explain the pros/cons of each candidate. I love to hear them stammar on that one!
3. If it's a male, ask him if he makes his wife walk behind them and treat them like a second class citizen or if she is allowed freedom like we have in America.
4. Tell them you'll listen to their sales pitch if they'll agree to listen to yours - then start reading the Sunday ads to them.
Several things
Semester is half over!
Just 27 hours left to graduate!
Life's going good. Anything wrong is something I can get a handle on.
Feel blessed. My family is safe and well. It's beautiful weather. I have all I need and most of what I want.
I'm silly that way, I guess. :)
Things you don't know
Unlike you, I volunteered for yesterday and today, but did not volunteer to stay up all night Wednesday with a preschooler begging me to take away her tummy pain, and also deal with her illness as I tried to work yesterday.
I did not "plan" a "big" family gathering...they invited themselves over (all 3 of them), which I was grateful to do YESTERDAY when my load was to have been lighter. It was in my mind a show of appreciation for the 2 nights I have had without having to work or be the sole responsible person for this child in a year (they kept her while I was in the hospital from a stress-related GI illness).
I am grateful this child is in my life as she was literally dropped off on my door step unanounced one day because her parents wanted to be teenagers. But the stress of court dates, proving paternity so the parents can "get a fresh start" by walking away from the child they produced, the therapy sessions to help her cope with why they abandoned her, the state agencies that provided minimal assistance to kinship care providers but mandated appointments that cut into my pay to attend....
Right now vanity is a luxury I cannot afford and perhaps, yes, I kind of resent it for other people TODAY. I did not resent it yesterday and shall not resent it tomorrow (even though I am on mandatory stat coverage for the entire weekend with no pay for it).
I am stressed and I vented about vanity. Now, I will take the child I did not give birth to and essentially take my toys and go home. Thanks for the support! Merry Christmas, too!
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