You're smarter than I was as a newbie! I've - sm
Posted By: Look Before I Leap on 2008-01-15
In Reply to: my response - blondie
gotten myself into some terrible job situations in the past by jumping on board too hastily.
I think the person applying for the job in that original post probably wasn't that good at timing her questions. Even so, we do have every right to ask about them, just as they do to ask about us.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
Apparently management is smarter than you - they're your boss!
x
If you're new, good - if you're not a newbie, not so hot
Would need to know how long you have been an MT. For a newbie, this is a pretty good rate of speed.
However, if you have anything over a couple years of experience, then this is not too hot.
Also, what are the dictators like? Is it a "United Nations" account??
If you ARE capable of 200 lph or more and you can't seem to get it, then the problem has got to be with the platform you are using. In my experience, the platform into which you transcribe can make or break your paycheck - so if the platform stinks, then I hate to tell you, but there is no way you will be able to improve your line rate. I have quit jobs because of awful platforms more than once.
You're doin' great, newbie! nm
s
Honestly, you're doing well for a newbie. Hang on to
The way this industry is going, if you can't do acute care, and be able to edit it, you might be in trouble down the road both in terms of job security and the amount of money you can make. You will be suprised how quickly your line count grows when you get used to the formatting, doctors' names, get your glossary and standards built up a little,and get into the rhythm of things. Keep studying terminology on your own time--especially for ops. Be flexible about accepting a couple of different accounts to keep you busy and your knowledge base growing. You want to try to build up your speed with small goals, but not at the expense of quality; the speed will grow on its own if you have the terminology down pat and you use your production tools wisely. The first six months is the hardest, but hang in there.
Sorry to disappoint you but I've never posted on the newbie board!
.
You're doing better than I am and I've been doing this
for 22 years. My point is burn out. I can't make my rear sit for more than an hour at a time. Some days I won't check my e-mail or get on my personal computer at all until lunch time and I find those days I do much better. As you get more comfortable with IT you'll be more productive.
Do you feel smarter than everyone else now?
Just showing off, I guess. Apparently, no one is as smart as you and no one but you has the right answer. Here's your shiny star. *
because they are of the Gods and thus smarter than you, and
have no clue they are hit and run liabilities...
There should be a required medical/legal, in's and out's class on dictation....something more than 'push this button and talk.'
My dream is to have them transcribe each other, but only if I can watch.
But don't forget how much smarter she is than you - not. NM
/
technology smarter than you think
An advert for *TAKE THIS MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION COURSE AND START A NEW CAREER!* was sifted into my junk email box.
 
I've done what you're talking about
You will need a laptop (of course) and a USB broadband connection card. You can get one of those from pretty much every cell phone provider out there: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket, USCellular, etc. Cricket is the only one that offers no-contract service without charging an arm and a leg. Verizon's daily rate is $15/24 hours. Cricket's monthly rate is $40. The rest of the monthly rates are usually around $60 but include a 2-year contract. Unfortunately, Cricket is not available nationwide, just certain metropolitan areas, so it would depend on where you're traveling whether Cricket would work or not for you. Verizon and AT&T cover MOST of the USA, but at higher prices.
Anyway, you can also recharge your laptop through your car's cigarette lighter. You would need an adapter that would cost about $30 from Wal-Mart. Doing it that way requires that you idle your car (or drive around) for however long it takes to fully charge your laptop.
For length of typing time, you might want to buy a 6-cell or 8-cell laptop battery instead of the 4-cell that laptops often come with. That will extend your battery life from 2 hours to perhaps 4-5 hours, depending on your laptop size. Those little netbooks for $350 sometimes come with a 6-cell battery and claim to last 5-6 hours on a single charge. The keyboards on those are tiny though - you'll probably want to hook up a USB keyboard if you go that route.
For the sake of privacy, you WILL want to get some form of USB broadband through a cell phone carrier if you're traveling. Free WiFi just isn't secure enough for HIPAA compliance. When I'm working with my USB card while traveling, I also turn off the wireless signal on my laptop, so that others on whatever wireless network is available do not have the option of trying to view my computer contents. Also, I set my settings as private as I can to prevent sharing of files across networks, but I do that at home too.
If you're going to be typing in front of other people, you'll also want to get a 3M privacy screen for your laptop's screen. That prevents people from viewing your screen from a side angle, and means that if you're in front of your screen then you're the only one who can see its contents.
Smarter than the average bear :-)
xx
An IC working smarter, not harder, does not
x
All I've seen about OSI over there is that they're pond scum
Must be another cheerleader. I find it hard to believe, but I'm going to check it out. Kind of like a train wreck.
You're welcome, hope it works for you! I've used
Instant Text, but only briefly. It seems to be "bug-y" on my system. I usually have at least two or three documents open in Word at a time and when I switch back and forth using F6, IT screws up my being able to switch between documents easily, also when using IE I don't like the adjustments I have to make with my mouse to get the screen back to how I need it to be when Instant Text. I started with PRD+ for DOS a long, long time ago, used it for years until I switch to Shortcut for DOS, then made the switch to Windows and started with ShortCut for Windows. I used that program for about nine months before finding Shorthand. I really liked Shortcut but it has it's limitations with coding. I love ShortHand the most of the three programs mentioned. It's easy to use, I can duplicate easily, a really nice feature that I wish IT had. I also tried SmartType. It wasn't user friendly, or at least I couldn't figure it out! I think it may have been bug-y with my system or something. Anyway, long story short, I love Shorthand, it's easy to use but one can do rather complex things using it. Oh, and that little box that follows around on the screen showing what my short will be when I expand it is a great feature!
I hope you're right! I've heard...
from many MTSOs that MTs will always be needed. The problem is low rate of pay. It's nearly impossible to make a decent living now and the rates are only going lower.
Just five years ago, I was working in-house at a hospital getting 12.00/hour along with an excellent incentive plan + beanies! The hospital went with EMR (electronic medical record). With that, many MTs were out of a job. Jobs like those are nearly impossible to find now.
After the in-house job, I got lucky when I found a great at-home job. I started out at 15 cpl + beanies. Now, MTs are lucky to get 7 to 8 cpl w/o beanies.
I do hope that things get better for MTs soon. However, the way things are now, I know that there is no way I can continue working as an MT, as I barely make enough to pay my bills.
Good Luck!
I am 60, stronger, smarter, and better work ethic than any 20 yo
The only *perk* to offshoring is the companies get to pay them even less than they do us, not to mention they can train them to be a lot more obedient and not actually demand to be treated like humans.
Anyone on this forum working Smarter and not Harder?
I have been in this profession 28 years now; turned 50 this December. Back in the day, I could sit down and type nonstop and be done with my work in 6 to 6.5 hours at 2000 lines. Now it is all I can do to get 1200 lines, and I am working from sun up to sun down. I work a full time employee position and part time IC position. Full time consistently running out of work, so first of year, I will be subcontracting full-time, but will also keep the part time IC position- just so I don't have all my eggs in one basket. What is the key to working less and making more?
had my expander on meant can not, and smarter not harder
I love this job.....
You're the one that sounds angry. I've made sure
If you need to stoop to that level to live, apparently the one who's made a wrong turn on the pathway of life is you.
People get angry about the prospect that they failed in life. Time to reevaluate, regroup and see why you feel so angry and take it personally when people make statements such as mine.
I've heard with Dell if you tell them you're a business,
you'll get someone from the US. I already have two HPs but tried it anyway. I used to say home or home office but said I use it for business and still got someone from India but he spoke very, very good English compared to some I've spoken to in the past.
Now! I work smarter - not harder. I learned through the years how to do this.
I have a pretty stress-free MT job and absolutely love it! Make good money and am enjoying life and my teenagers a bit more.
I realized that the job is not everything.
Heavens, now you're popping in about NOT having kids. You've sure been quiet for a while!
If you read the whole thread and all my comments, I said that MTing is a big career choice for women in their childbearing years when they want to work at home. We ALL know that, though some of us want to refuse that reality. It always has been the #1 career choice for women who want to work and be home with their kids. Period. Of course, there are a lot of other women who choose the career or fall into it for different reasons. Its like the #1 job new moms or wanna-be moms look into. You all sure blast them when they post on here with a few innocent Qs on how to get into the industry. You don't have kids by choice - good for you! You and I have crossed paths many, many times before. Its a great choice for you, and I totally respect it. At least you aren't having kids and dumping them in day care centers! That I just do NOT get, and never will, especially when you could have them home with you - at least the choice is there. And as for moms not being able to control their kids, you will NEVER be able to control them when you just ship them out. No one ever seems to post an argument on that one. Yeah, I couldn't control little Johnny and Sara. They never wanted to just entertain themselves, or play with each other. All they did was fight and scream and demand MY attention, so...off they went to day care, and now its SO much better when they're home. They get along beautifully now, and just LOVE each other, and no more fighting...Nope, the only peace is the 8, or 10, or 12 hours a day that they are absent from their home. Sooo sad. And the poor day care workers and teachers - they get to deal with the disastrous kids whose own mothers can't stand them underfoot, but at least they get paid $$ for it!! Maybe I'm in the wrong profession.
I've no intention of switching over just cuz they're a "money maker"
I'd rather do consults and clinic notes which I enjoy. To some of us, it's not ALL about the money.
I'd rather make a little less and enjoy what I do. *Shrug* Maybe that's just me, though. Someone else can have my seat on the OPs bandwagon, lol!!!
oh wow, so that makes you smarter than me because you corrected an error on a message board???
Congrats...how have I not been supportive? I never called you anything nasty or said anything negative...I merely stated sometimes you have to suck it up...ESLs are never going to get any easier...you just have to adapt...and the pay will get better once you prove yourself...I think you just don't like the reality of the situation...sorry for being honest...
You're lucky they work for you. I've never gotten a refill to work right, ever.
x
I use EXText with my current job and I've used at a couple of other jobs I've had. I've ne
used DocQscribe, but I have used Meditech, Cerner, Vianeta, the Precyse platform (I can't remember the name), Dolbey, and Lanier platform I think was called Cequence (?).
Out of all the different platforms I have typed on, I have liked EXText the best. In my opinion, it's very user friendly, easy to learn, and I really like ESP which is the built in abbreviation expander. Plus it is very easy to create your own normals which I love. My fingers literally never leave the keyboard because there are macro keys for everything. You can use your mouse if you prefer or learn the function macros. I love it. I think I'm more productive on EXText than with any other platform.
To SAD NEWBIE
i glanced at the main responses to your post, not all of them. But i disagree to an extent with what you've been told. I have 30 yr experience, for however much weight you want to ascribe to that.
You've heard that practice makes perfect. That is not really true. Practicing things CORRECTLY "makes perfect". You can do something over and over and over, but if it's done wrong, you are not improving your game.
Depending on how much the paycheck is an issue, you may wish to find another job before quitting this one. But the longer you do things wrong, the more disservice you are doing to yourself. It's also hard to break established habits.
This is all said assuming you are sure you are being steered in the wrong direction, ie, these directions go against good MT training and/or against the BOS in important ways.
I have no doubt that some companies hire poor or inexperienced QA personnel, contrary to another posters comment.
My suggestion is to look for another job. It may take a little time and be a little frustrating, but what you gain by starting off with good QA and building a good foundation, cannot be found in the situation you describe. Part of the good foundation is on-the-job experience.
Believe in yourself, make sure your premise is correct, and then do what is right for the long-term. e/m me if you wish.
Sad newbie
I totally agree. I've been doing this for 20 years.
I once had a QA person reconstruct a sentence so that it read 'index' instead of indices.
At the hospital I started at, I worked nights. The day girls left all the ESL dictators for me. I sat there, by myself, and cried. I didn't realize it at the time, but they did me a huge favor.
Two years later, I was working at a different hospital, transcribing x-ray for a an ESL radiologist. He came in to tell me he was leaving and that he would call me in a couple hours in case I had any questions. When he left, a girl from medical records approached me and asked who he was and what language he was speaking!
FYI: Throughout my career, I have had the pleasure of interacting with physicians one on one. Their biggest complaint is transcriptionists who don't give them what they say. Of course, I always chuckled to myself because they probably weren't aware that I changed their grammar or reconstructed their sentences to read better! Some of them want what they want and they don't care what the AAMT says.
Hang in there, love. Do look for another job and keep looking until you find a place that recognizes your potential and will help you. Best of luck to you!
You must be a newbie
They've been doing it for years and most people who have been in this business for a while are aware of that fact. Neither MQ nor Spheris care about American MTs. They are money-hungry corporate giants with only one thing on the agenda....$$$ keep all the money for the management who know nothing about transcription, let the people who actually DO the work and earn the money, work in the sweat shops for peanuts. These big corporations suck! They suck the life, ambition and money right out of you! I have been around a long time and worked for both at one time....much to my dismay....They are both traitors to the American MT.
Newbie
I am a newbie and I make .05 cents a line. Not proud of it, but I am in a training program. It only averages to be about $150/week.
Welcome Newbie...
Every once in a while we get somebody on here who is a troll. Just comes on and makes inflammatory remarks to get trouble brewing. She is equally nasty to everyone. You can see that a good many of us are quiet upset by her behavior. Do not let her frighten you away from this site. We really do give each other a lot of encouragement when needed and are respectful of each other for the most part. Please don't let this one person make you think this is how we all are. She will settle down soon and you will get to "talk" to some really nice folks. This too shall pass. Welcome to the site. It's nice to have fresh ideas.
when i was a newbie...
i had the hardest time and it wasnt that my (1) trainer didnt give me feedback, but it was that every other month, she changed the way she corrected. hey, im still with the company. now i also work for another company part time and they have so many mentors/editors and they are all different. so here i go again. i really suck in op reports and just when i was about to give up, my part time job decided to move me over to other worktypes but ops. i get them every now and then and its okay. point is, a lot of things can happen to overwhelm you especially as a newbie. we're still going through it. you want it that bad, you hang on.
not a newbie thank you
It is not rigors, it is boogers...as in "green boogers..."
And no, not a newbie by far...10+ years!
How Does a Newbie Get Help?
How exactly is a new MT supposed to get experience when no one wants us. Will anyone take on an at-home MT Newbie????? Please help. Advice welcomed.
newbie
I have recently finished my exam from an MT school and am awaiting my results. My question is: Should I start applying now for jobs or wait for the results? I have to have a job of some form by the end of May. I was thinking maybe trying to get a part-time job now to get the feel for it and maybe by May I would be comfortable enough for full-time. I saw where some places would only allow you to apply every six months so that kinda scared me. Any information would be very helpful to me as you all have more experience. Thanks!
Just said possible not for newbie
Re-read my post. Said it is possible. Also said that I am older and have older docs. Have also done EMR. There is a need -- just need to find your niche. As I deposit my checks I will remember "It is possible" though not everyone believes.
I am a newbie too..
Sometimes MTs are rude only because they are frustrated. Other times it is part of their personal make-up. Try not to get frustrated. Learn all that there is to learn at your current place of employment. Continue to assist others as you are able. Character is grown by your enviornment around you and your ability to ignore, to the best of your ability, people who aggravate you. I have encountered many positive, seasoned MTs on this board. They are out there. Good luck to you.
Newbie
I am a newbie as well and I am one of the lucky ones. I tested at one place and got the position right away. I have been working since May 2006 and I love it. I only worked in-house for about 5 months and now I am working at home. I didn't have to work in-house, just had to for internet reasons...didn't have it yet :) All I have to say is that you have to ask a lot of questions in this field and that is what QA is for..they get paid for helping me out so I don't care if they get mad at me or not..go ahead and send me a rude e-mail, I could care less...I believe that this has been so easy for me because I worked extremely hard to get where I am (took course through Career Step and graduated with high honors) and prayed every night...and still do! Just keep positive and pray for everything...God will answer!
Even when I was a newbie there would be no way
Would not have even considered it for experience or not. That person is probably making plenty on that, and if she is not, she needs to work out her rates better if she wants to subcontract.
Newbie to MT
Congratulations to all that love and are successful at being an MT. Have wanted to do this for a long time but it's harder than it looks. I just don't have enough experience to get anywhere even with the training. I've spent so much $$$ and after feeling like a moron taking a pre-employment test today I can say it's time to throw in the towel. I am disappointed and embarrassed all at the same time. I don't know how you all have done it. Envious in Ohio. 
Newbie
I did not get the job I was hoping for. No training prepares you for things like "Get more experience under your belt and give us a call in the future." I had a difficult time with an ESL document. It's a blow to my self esteem.
Newbie to MT
Please, please hang in there if you truly want this. None of us had it easy in the very beginning. I failed tests too. I'm sure we all have. I know of a special board for newbies/students and recent grads. Email me and I will give you the website.
Newbie to MT
I also wanted to say . . . and this is the honest truth -I can honestly, honestly say I have learned more as a working MT than I learned in MT school. School is great for the knowledge of terms, but you actually learn more by doing -- at least I felt that way. I have come to learn a ton of terms that were never covered in my MT books. When I come upon a new word I write in down in my notebook for the future. I have a notebook for each speciality. I also create a binder with samples for each doctor I work for. For me, things seem to stick in my head if I write them down. When you test if you come upon something you do not know -- look it up and jot down the answer for the future. :)
I'm not a newbie
nor am I "settling", and I did make up a name just as legit as yours! I'm just being realistic, that's all. I don't think you are though.
Another newbie
I make 6.5 to start and am having a heck of a time making my line counts. I am still making minimum wage after 3 months, although I do work acute care and transcribe for over 100 docs. It is easier to start out doing clinic work with less docs. But I would not accept a position at 4 cpl unless it was a SR position.
Newbie
Newbie here, work in Neurology I'm a MT, CMA and Manager at my clinic and have worked in the same clinic for over 12 yrs and was thinking of doing home transcription. My husband works nights and I'm home alone in a quiet house from 7:00 pm until 6:00 am.
How do I get started? Any help would be greatly welcomed.
need help!! newbie!
could someone give me some tips/inside info on how i can get into this field on a part time basis? i have 9+ years of medical coding/billing experience - 4 yrs. specializing in OB/GYN and over 5 yrs. PT/OT and Orthopaedics. is it possible to get hired on experience alone and no classes or certification?
thanks!
newbie also
I graduated from our Community College in May, and I have gotten no help with job placement. I to am on my own. I worked very hard, got straight A's, can pass tests, but as soon as the company finds out I got my training from a community college, I don't hear from them again. I'm as lost as naive 1.
Newbie
I have to make a comment on this particular post. Of course newbies are willing to work for peanuts, hello, at this point I am willing to take anything! Where are we supposed to start? All you hear is how nuts we are if we think we are going to be making anything more than minimum wage and then we get slammed because we are willing to take the low-paying jobs, good grief this is the craziest thing I have ever heard! I have been looking for a job for over 2 months and all I have been offered is 3 cents a line! I am seriously thinking of taking it just for the experience...if I were a seasoned, experienced MT I would try giving the newbies some insight and uplifting advice..so far I have to say that hasn't really happened for me here. thanks for letting me vent
newbie
As a newbie, I am getting really depressed reading these posts. What a bleak outlook and I haven't even begun to work yet, and who knows maybe I never will. I have put in so much time into this and when I read these posts, I just wonder if it was at all worth it???
|
