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you'll see that the industry is more volitile than ever.  Work is being offshored to India and other countries and the garbage is left for the US MT.  Companies are going to VR.  Pay is low, you can expect to make 9 to 10 cpl average as an employee, maybe up to 11 cpl as an independent contractor.  A lot of companies cannot provide steady work and insurance is very expensive. 

I would not recommend leaving your job to pursue MT full-time.  Most companies want the experience to be current, within the last 2 years, so you could potentially have some issues with being 3 years out.

I would suggest trying it part-time to get a feel for how things are before you decide. 

Goggle.com and enter various phrases to get articles and companies.  I use a free doanload of ExpressScribe, yep, it is free. They have a number of various software things on their site to read and perhaps one will fit. The express Scribe is a piece of sotware to download, it is very simple and I like simple. You can listen and transcribe various voice file formats. You can use a wav pedal one is called a serial pedall and I think it is 9 pin and plugs in the back of PC and also another pedal I think a 15 pin wav pedal and goes in the USB port in front.  However, you can also use it without a pedal and it works fine.  You use a couple of key to stop, pause, rewind, I forget the key.  There are a lot of pedals so don't just jump in.  On this site you may benefit from emailing the company after reading and rereading, even if you don't understand.  .

_______________

http://nch.com.au/

Express scribe site above Copy and paste into address bar in your browser.

Need help can email darleneh1111@earthlink.net   

I think too many times IC's are treated like employees.  The OP is an IC and has a set schedule?   If you have a set schedule (no freedom), you should be deemed an employee and given PTO days, etc.  IC's should not be made to let anyone know anything.    Two weeks is an extended amount of time and out of courtesy she should let her "client" even if that is an MTSO know in advance that she will not be available to work those two weeks.  As for toting a laptop on vacation, not me!  The whole idea of a vacation is to relax and not have to worry about typing.  Most physicians do understand that you need a vacation.  They will cut you some slack.  Not sure about a two week period though.  Someone with their own accounts that wants to take off extended periods of time (more than one week) should probably find someone to "cover".    I have also found in this profession that transcriptionists do not trust others as they could try to steal their accounts if they were to take time off leaving the account in someone else's hands literally.  All the more reason to network and find someone trustworthy who will scratch your back and you in turn scratch their back when needed.  Tit for TAT so to speak but at a fair price.

Some are in it for the referral bonus, some are company recruiters posting anonymously.  It's really hard for anyone to tell the motives, but you can usually tell from the way a person posts who is on the up and up from those who are just spewing sour grapes and those bucking for the referral bonus. I tend to believe negative posts that don't personally insult other posters over positive posters that completely rule out any type of problem.  If a person is saying that their company is perfect and there are NO problems, that should send up red flags.

 What the heck is going on around here?  It just gets better by the day!

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/19/economy-slumps-firms-line-hire-skilled-foreign-workers/

First of all, everything you say may be true of the mother regarding her suspicion, but as I always try to do before I criticize and pass judgment on others, first try to mentally "walk a mile in her shoes."  You might be thinking the same thing under similar circumstances.

Secondly, she signed a waiver for her daughter to go on that trip with full knowledge that these "adult children" were not going to be supervised by these chaperones in any fashion other than just being "available" if they needed them and to help out if anyone lose their passport or suitcase, stuff like that.  The mother knew full well why she was letting her daughter got to Aruba... TO DRINK AND PARTY!   If she didn't know that, then she's a dense as they come.  I wouldn't give my daughter 2 cents towards a trip to Aruba at age 18.  There's only one reason to go to an island like that, to drink.  If the beach is what you want, we've been known to have a few beaches here in the USA, but they don't want that, they want to be free to party it up.  So you can't blame the chaperones, at least not in my opinion.

Thank you for your posting; I find it very useful.  However, I want to comment on the fact that, during training, I never heard of the BOS and received absolutely no feedback.  So, to think that newly trained MTs are ahead of the others, is not necessarily correct.

As a matter of fact, the very first time that I ever heard of the AAMT Book of Style was upon receiving the graded and corrected FINAL EXAM for my course (Career Step) which made reference to my use of a dangerous abbreviation.  I then inquired as to WHAT IS A DANGEROUS ABBREVIATION, at which time someone did RESEARCH and, after a few days of research, reported to me that she had to ask someone else and discovered that a dangerous abbreviation was defined by AAMT, as mentioned in the BOOK OF STYLE.  I immediately purchased a copy of the book and studied it on my own.

I think that none of us fits into any one category.  I hate it when I am stereotyped, especially with regards to what a potential employer may think I know or do not know, or may be capable of doing, as determined by the exact number of years that I have been working.  There are plenty of exceptionally good companies out there who have totally rejected me due solely to the fact that I have less than the number of years of experience that they require, while my current employer constantly gives me the most difficult jobs because I am, in his mind, "one of the best."    Of course, I can't wait until I have those required number of years of experience so that I can reject those very companies that rejected me back in the days when I only had 2 years of experience!!

I appreciate this thread.  It has been very educational. BTW, not only can it be a difficult situation when you work for a "family" business with the wife being the office manager, but I have had negative experiences as a patient when the wife was the doctor's manager.  It just doesn't work out.

While I agree that "other duties as assigned" can be interpreted in many ways, there must be a limit to this.

What I have learned from this thread.

1.  If you have two professions such as Nurse AND MT, write a separate resume for each.  Whether or not you reveal your transcription skills to an employer who is employing you as a nurse is your decision, but should not be required.
2.  As an IC MT, write your own contract.  Stipulate that your MT "business" includes certain duties only pertaining to medical transcription and performed at your location during the hours that you decide.
3.  Stipulate that because MT is your private business entity, due to conflict of interest (or whatever terminology you decide), you do not conduct your private business functions during the same hours as the employee job unless you want to and it is clearly understood that there will be separate charges.
4.  Once you have an established business and income for that business you may need some kind of business license or need to be registered.  The laws vary determined by your state and/or city, county, etc.  However, usually you do not need to register your business until it is actually making a profit.  In the meantime, the existence of your business on paper would offer you some kind of protection against an employer who has employed you as a nurse and is attempting to take advantage of your transcription skills. 
5.  If an employer attempts to have you do transcription on the side, out comes the contract.
6.  Do not offer discounts to anyone simply because they are a friend or employer.  Treat them all the same, require them to pay extra for extra services.  Spell it all out in the contract.  In other words, protect yourself and set them up in the beginning so that they know they will not be able to take advantage of you.

Last I looked, the nurse practice ACT, at least for RNs, is rather specific and does not include such tasks as mopping floors or transcribing dictation.  You sound like a very nice person who has attracted someone who seeks to take advantage of your kind nature.  Don't let them do it.

When asked what I do for a living, I tell them, the response I get the most is this "oh, i've heard of that.  Been wanting to get into it as a side job."  Gee thanks. 

Or "Did you have to go to school for that?"  And actual disbelief when I tell them I did. 

Or "Don't you get sick of not being around people?"  Again...gee thanks.  What am I a shut in?  I still at least go out and check my mail a couple times a week!

Or "Whats that"  Blank look on face or extreme disinterest or disappointment.  Gee, thanks again. 

And here's the meanest one that I received from a guy I was dating for awhile "Are you just afraid of being successful?"  Hmmm.....can I get a gee thanks?

and asking for any more money if I had not checked into the situation thoroughly first.  UPS even said that they hire extra drivers over the holidays that do not use UPS vehicles, so anything could have happened.  I'm not pleased about this situation, but I am trying to at least provide a Christmas for the kids.

Sheri 

I have been dieting for three years....just trying to lose about 25 pounds.  It's been hard.  Now I have to tell you that I am just under 5'8" and now weigh 140 pounds.  Sounds great doesn't it?  Well, my significant other has never seen me naked in 8 years because I think I still look kind of gross.  My point is, that while being fairly slim is, of course, a good thing, you may continue to have issues with your looks.  I still focus in on all the places that I find unattractive or flabby.  I don't think I would ever be happy with the way my body looks.   

I think part of the problem is cultural, in that we are daily bombarded with women on TV, in magazines and in movies who are not representative of what women generally look like. 

Yes, your weight right now is probably too high but perhaps you should set some realistic goals rather than trying to look like, well, you know, all those women I was talking about.  I found that exercise combined with the dieting was the most beneficial.  But you probably already know all this.

My son's acne started when he is 12.  He's 16-1/2 now and it's as bad or worse than ever.  Started off trying various over the counter things; didn't work.  Tried Proactive; didn't work.  Went to a dermatologist who tried Retin A, antibiotic capules, antibiotic cream, steroid injections to inflamed zits, etc.  Basically no change.  We kept going back but it never got better and finally son refused to go again.  The doctor had mentioned possibly using Accutane.  The dermatologist said he had never seen so many blackheads on one person (said that in front of my son too, which I think was kind of poor judgment).  But I was thinking my god - if he's the worst a DERMATOLOGIST has ever seen - geez!

Anyway, he has blackheads, whiteheads and bumps deep under the skin.  The bumps you don't notice so much until he is in the light - sunlight or for instance the spotlight the dentist shines into your mouth - and then holy cow - they are everywhere, hundreds of them, each probably the size of a BB.  The bumps are only on his face but he also has very bad blackheads, whiteheads and pimples on not only his face but his neck, shoulders, back and upper arms.

My son doesn't ever act like it bothers him at all but I'm sure it must bother him and I'm sure kids must say something about it.  He seems to pretend they aren't there.  My husband thinks he is just overwhelmed by the sheer number of them and the fact that nothing has worked so just ignores it.

I know Accutane can have very bad side effects but I'm wondering if in a case like his if we should try it anyway.  I think I will make an appointment with another dermatologist although I KNOW it will be over my son's protest.  He will try to refuse to go.  He is the one who decided he wasn't going to the other dermatologist anymore.  I think maybe I will try to find one that specializes in acne, if there is such a thing.

Has anyone here used Accutane or had a child who did?