Your comment, and I quote: (sm)
Posted By: Some people think they know it all...haha on 2008-07-19
In Reply to: VEHEMENTLY - OLDTIMERMT
"I wouldn't count on it!!!". You don't know jack sheit.
I live in a huge metropolis with many many large university-based teaching hospitals where MTs are in greet need, and since I've been there over 20+, I'm top dog. So don't be questioning me, or discounting what I am saying. I think you wish you were in my position. Just another case of jealousy rearing its ugly head. If you live in the boondocks and make crap money, then move to a large city where you call roll in the dough working this profession.
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Don't quote me but I think it just may be
a couple of dollars cheaper but AAMT members I think get a discount, but again don't quote me. It runs around $300 approximately. The test is given in one sitting but does have two parts. It is given at a testing center. Go over to aamt.org and they have instructions on what is necessary to register and take the test.
Good luck.
quote
I work in a urgent psychiatric center and the reports have quite a bit of quotes. If the doctor states "quote," I will put word for word what he said. You cannot change the wording to make it more appropriate. This includes grammer, i.e. I've, I'm and gonna.
I think it's more than $500, but don't quote me
Also, hopefully they're a decent company. I worked as an IC for a company for three years. Twice I didn't get my 1099 until two days before taxes were due in April after calling and emailing over and over again. And last year, after I quit, I never received it at all.
You said, I quote:
'You really dont type any lines (already typed for you) so why get paid by the line?'
How else do you want to get paid doing VR? Only for every mistake corrected?
LOL ! Where is the logic?
We are also paid for the reading of the lines, this is work too, not only the typing!
here is another brief quote from a website
"For example, says Suresh Menon of HealthScribe, one of the largest medical transcription companies"
Healthscribe was based in Sterling, Virginia. They joined up with Spheris. They will tell anyone that asks them, yes, we outsource to India.
Oh, I just love this quote --
"which requires extensive training and time to become proficient," Sims said.
Oh, and for all that extensive training, not to mention medical/pharmaceutical knowledge and proficiency with spelling and grammar, companies expect MTs to jump at an offer of 6 and 7 cpl??? Yeah, I'd chose this career path if I were a young person..Baaah
AAMT quote - who is up to
"If you can't lick 'em, join 'em; if you won't join 'em, form a competing organization." - unknown
"I am trying to tell him he needs to go to the ER." This is a quote from OP who is now calling
:+
not *taking up for her* quote - just....sm
stating facts, she is 19 and she is an adult and it is her body and ultimately her decision. Those 4 things happen to be factual (reality). Can you not face reality?
Nobody is *taking up for her* as you so stated......
that's deep. can i quote your brilliance?
so good with words. i bet you work for mq.
A famous quote comes to mind...
"Arguing with a fool is like arguing with a drunkard."
'Nuff said.
Don't base your quote on rates
Why are you a better deal than anyone else? It's not because of rate, it's because you care about your work and you're reliable -- what else?
ASK them what they've been paying -- they won't know because they probably won't understand their invoice. Ask them to send you a copy of the invoice. Reply to me privately if you need to, I'll help you figure it out.
But even if you get that, keep the focus of the discussion off price, keep it on your quality, your caring, your reliability, what you can offer them. Do you buy EVERYTHING based on price? If not, think about the things you buy based on quality and base your letter on that.
If your sole value is because you have the lowest price, you're fighting a losing battle.
To quote the original poster
.
If it is a direct quote from the patient, you have
x
the reason? *no common sense* quote...nm
x
"Duh" teacher quote of the week....sm
Last week a teacher wrote my sister that her daughter was easily distracted in the classroom. Well guess what? There are 32 kids in her class (above what the state requires but they have a teacher shortage) and my niece says the teacher lets the kids run wild. No duh - I'd have a hard time concentrating with 32 kids in the classroom as well if I had 32 other 5th graders in the room.
Again, quote mark problem in macro
Same problem as before with a macro that I posted, only one quote mark where there should be two:
In the macro where you see: cset:=("=)
there needs to be a quote mark on the other side of the equal sign: =
Selection.MoveEndUntil(cset:=("=), Count:=wdForward) should be: (substitute the quotemark for the word quotemark)
Selection.MoveEndUntil(cset:=(quotemark=quotemark), Count:=wdForward)
This quote mark needs to be inserted on both sides of the cset=("=) which is in the code twice. If this instruction doesn't make sense to you, please e-mail me and I will send you the macro.
Hope this helps.
As long as it takes, to quote good old Dr. Phil!
You're both worth it - go for it!! 
I quote a price per gross 65 char line, say 12 cpl, but then convert
I have one client who doesn't want bulk and is Franklin condensed 10; another is on Garamond 12 with a 1 inch margin R and L. I take a large block of type, put in a format that gives me 65 char per line and do a line count that way and get a price for the whole block, for example, 58 gross lines at 12 cpl = $6.96. Then I take the same type and format it as the client wishes, get a line count and divide the dollar amount by the lines. If their formatted version came to 28 lines, then 6.96 divided by 28, would come to 24 cpl for their format. I always include a line on the invoice to indicate their 65 char line rate. Something like
2586 extended lines at 0.24 cpl = $620.64
(your line rate converts to 0.12 cpl for standard 65 char line)
I always educate the client as to the industry standard of the 65 char line which allows clients to compare apples to apples...
"take one line from a post and use it against the person" - read your own quote
nm
Google "Miscrosoft Word 2003" (use quote marks)
it's not my fault, the darn quote mark just doesn't post for some reason.
Okay, for some reason, the first quote at the front of qldc does not show up, but in the line autocorrect.entries.add name:=qldc" there needs to be a quote mark around each side of "qldc", not just at the end.
If you want to use this macro -- and find it won't work and are confused my instructions, please write me and I will e-mail the macro to you.
I really don't like the idea of people having to spend their meager pittance of a salary on expensive software to do such a simple thing.
QA comment
I just wanted to say a few things from the world of QA. There are some MTs who get dictators the likes of which I just cannot even describe as far as ESLs. Oh my. My heart just bleeds for you all - I mean it. I don't know how you do it, the dictators are that awful. But most of you MTs who get these language-murdering dictators struggle and persevere thru usually endless reports. It IS noticed, though you might think its not. Not that peon QA people can do anything for you, but I do notice and applaud you. And I DO mention names of these MTs to account managers on a regular basis, praising their effort on these impossible dictations. Don't know if it helps, but I like to believe it does! On the flip side, there are other MTs who are just a disgrace to our profession - they're not learning or new (we can tell). They are simply lazy and sloppy, making the most horrendous careless STUPID mistakes one can even imagine. Sometimes my mouth just hits my desk in horror. And I just shake my head and wade in and fix the entire report myself - that's what I'm there for, right? And for those who take offense that some mistakes are stupid - well, there are some that are stupid! No questions are stupid, but mistakes sure can be! I wish all of you could see firsthand what is out there as far as the quality of MTs. I know you would be amazed at the disparity between MTs. And we ALL makes mistakes, yes, but its how you handle them that counts. I try to be so kind and respectful to all with my corrections, even the lazy sloppy ones. So many MTs are so sweet and write back and thank me for the help, which is totally not expected, while the lazy ones write back screaming at the injustices of their errors! Or they call the president of the company screaming in indignation! Its a shame - I could give dozens of examples of absolutely incredible lazy not-thinking mistakes, but I would never want to embarass someone who I probably QA'd and who might read my post. I never want to hurt a soul, but really wish some MTs would just think while they were transcribing. Some MTs do try so hard - and with all the odds stacked against them by the dictators from outer space! Just my rambling thoughts at the start of a long night shift in QA-land!
Comment
Please also check borderline personality disorder on the internet. True bipolar has fairly long periods of either mania or depression and cycles. Bipolar is more ongoing pervasive personality of poor coping skills and conflicted interpersonal interactions.
My advice is to realize there is probably nothing you can do to help them or change them other than altering the way YOU deal with THEM for the good of your own mental health!
Comment
Not sure why you needed the computer as I am assuming you already had a computer and the equipment? Most computers with fairly new Windows system would work okay. I personally feel the rental fee is kind of a bad idea in the long run at $48.00 a month. Sounds like you may need a phone line again unless you can get wireless. You'll have to talk to tech, I guess.
As far as learning and training, are you on DQS?
comment
With any job anymore be it MT or something such as an engineer, there is no such thing anymore as job security. I myself am 27 having 7 years experience as an MT. I actually got started in MT after my first year of college as I wanted something part-time . . so much for that:) Do I moan and groan sometimes about work, sure, we all do either if you are an MT or not, but at this point in my career I am confident that if I do not feel that I am getting enough work to provide myself with a wonderful life and not just getting along that I can submit my resume with confidence that I will find something to suit my needs.
can you say what the comment was?
I think it was the comment
that you type fast that got everyone's goat. Being an MT is just not that simple and hardly something to just learn on the sly for some "extra money." By the way, most of us at-home MTs actually started out in the workforce and got enough experience to BE ABLE to work from home, not the other way around.
Thanks for the comment but this is...
exactly what I mean. It is like there are those in this field that think just because you can pick on an error "clarity" vs "clearity" it makes you better then the next. I will admit I am not the best speller or and expert in grammer but I am not DUMB and no one should be made to fell that way. Especially if I am looking to the QA for guidance.
COMMENT
Hayseed, Aren't you the gal who did 1700 lines in 6 hours or something like that? In that case, it's likely you wouldn't have any problem making their quota. But, how about that hourly rate? Will they be saving money by putting you on hourly, will you be making more money than when you were doing MT work? Ask for all the details in writing, would be my advice. Ask them to also state, in writing, if you can return to MT if you don't like QA. Congratulations and good luck!!
Comment
This is a good solution; it puts it in their face, so to speak. I've heard that people have to hear or see something an average of 3 times before it sinks in. If they receive no feedback, they think everything is okay or totally horrible, depending on their own point of view (this is for all people in all aspects of life; I suspect that doctors will just assume that everything is okay). If they receive negative feedback with a smile, they tend to believe that improvement is optional. A more dramatic, serious approach is necessary.
Comment
My situation may be a little bit different from yours, but you are not alone, and ER reports seems to be the main star.
I don't have any answers, but I'm kind of in the same boat with you. I have been working on an account that has all worktypes. I begin working very early in the morning, when I might be the only one working on this account. The ER reports supposedly have top priority, right after the stat reports. My problem is that lately I've noticed that once I complete all stat reports and am getting to the good stuff--the ER reports, whoever is managing the queue changes the priority of the more difficult OP reports and consultations, so that they float to the top of the queue, above the ER reports. This maneuver would sometimes make sense, but the account specs are such that the ER reports have top priority.
So, then, it takes several more hours to get to the ER reports, at which time there are so many workers on board that I end up getting 1 or 2 ER reports. I've lately gone from making over $22/hour to a mere $7/hr. I feel like I've been messed with, simply because I really got used to the account the way it used to be and now someone has come along and purposely made it more difficult for me. I have the option of signing off, changing my hours, or going elsewhere. I do have another interview pending after successfully completing the testing at another company. I know that the grass is not always greener, but there is a limit to what type of treatment that I will tolerate.
Comment
I agree with you.
This situation seems to be the end result of long years of MTs trying to do their best, while plugging along and accepting the treatment of the facilities, that filtered down to them through the MTSOs, who may or may not be addressing the issues of bad dictators with the facilities, for fear of losing the contracts. I believe, it is the job of those who have direct contact with the doctors (i.e., those at the facility in the HIM dept). According to what I have observed, they are not doing this job, and are either clueless, don't care, or enjoy this special power of oppressing the workforce from afar. It also seems that they are not required to properly train their dictating clinicians. Some of them are very active, however, in checking reports for proper comma use and such details, and do not hesitate to contact the MTSO to complain when the MT left out a comma, or failed to select the proper date of service on the header, failed to read the doc's mind and did not realize that when he/she coughed in a certain way, it was a clue that he/she wanted a copy sent to Dr. Joe Doe, etc. Of course, they actually do not pay for headers and footers and they do not provide the MT with enough information to fill in all the details on the header and footer.
I have an egg timer. I spend exactly 3 minutes trying to figure out a blank or the correct name for a doctor that requires a courtesy copy, etc. If I cannot accomplish this in 3 minutes, given the lists that I have been provided or internet resources, the report gets a blank and it is sent to the QA department to figure it out. Each report gets a grand total of 5 minutes for multiple look ups of blanks that are the fault of the dictator or due to me not having enough information to fill in headers, footers, consulting doctors, etc. If it is my fault because I do not know the terminology, and the word was dictated clearly, I will take more time researching. If the MTSO wants to address the issues of poor quality dictators/dictations with the facility, that is their choice.
If I were to have my own accounts, I would hope to have a deep pool to draw from so that I could include sanctions for such difficulties in my contract with the option of discontinuing service to those who proved to be so difficult. However, I do not wish to be a dreamer, and don't think such deep pools exist, at least not in my part of the country, so I haven't even tried this option of having my own accounts.
Comment
I"m not sure I understand your comment, and I am not here to debate, but the account that I work on has plenty of difficult dictators, as well as plenty of easier dictators, comparatively. My point was that you cannot depend on what type of report you will get at any given moment; there is no picking and choosing and the next in line might just change due to major shuffling. It is not predictable by worktype either. Whether there is plenty of work depends on how many MTs are working at the time, whatever jobs have been added to the pool, etc. There is often no work during third shift.
Comment
Don't let the naive and trusting cause you frustration. It will be their loss in the end. Per the well-known phrase--The only way for evil to prevail is when people do nothing or continue to choose to remain blind and trust and support those who have proven themselves to not be worthy of trust.
Comment
Unfortunately, the "come around" part does not happen automatically; action is required in order to stimulate a reaction. I admit to being part of the movement to treat doctors as regular human beings and requiring them to respect us as human beings, as well.
If you don't want to comment so be it...sm
You don't know me, I don't know you. I didn't see the harm.
wry comment
Maybe TravelinMT was just "wryly" commenting. How did I know she had been out of work? If so, why wasn't she commiserating with me, instead? Why did she even bother to read the post or comment at all? I was simply asking for advice, not trying to step on anyone's toes. I am in no way feeling sorry for myself. I am actually working, but will probably be out of a job in several months, so am searching now. I was simply asking about the possibilities of finding work.
I appreciate all the helpful posts, though.
I basically wanted to find out if anyone thought I could still find a job, period. And, if after a month, I should be feeling worried? It is amazing to me how many companies do not respond to resumes sent, so is hard to know where a person stands.
Thanks to all of you who gave me actual advice and encouragement. It is much appreciated.
Wry Comment
Geeze, you have two choices in this life, you can cry in your own misery or you can choose to make it better. I choose to fight, no one owes me a thing in this life. I have a son with a chronic disease and cancer, I am a single parent, I have often worked 3 and 4 jobs at one time. That is how I fight, I do what I need to do to make life the best it can be. AND WHO ARE YOU to decide or question whether or not I should read or answer a post? (The last time I looked this was a open forum on the internet.) That question goes both ways, Why did you post such a stupid question? You asked a question, I gave you an honest answer, Look in India because that is where the majority of our good jobs have gone. I have worked at more than one facility as a consultant knowing/seeing the writing on the wall as their on-site transcription gets out-sourced with promises to the employees that they will be working at home and the next thing they know the hospital says sorry, you have just been laid off. Life is tough for everyone. Suck it up and get over it. If you don't fight to make your life the best that it can be, no one will do it for you. Be grateful you are still working and have time to look, so if it takes you a while at least you still have a paycheck coming in.
Has any one else been mad from a QA comment?
I am just irate. The first e-mail I opened today was from QA telling me "don't guess". Boy that sent me through the roof . I don't guess at anything, and it really bothers me that someone would accuse me of doing so. Has anyone else ever had that happen to them? How did you handle it? I want to call the person and scream at them, but know I can't do that. I just find it extremely insulting to be accused of guessing on a report, that is like the worst possible insult for an MT. 
as a spin-off on your comment
i just found out that Joran had a black eye from that night, supposedly from a fight with some guys. My theory is that he tried to force himself on Natalie, she fought, ended up dead and dear daddy the wanna-be judge helped dispose of her via his connections; i don't believe we'll ever find the body. Hope i'm wrong. I don't buy the just-a-kid idea. If it was an accident, he's had the opportunity to say so, make it right and deal with it. but no, him and dad are obviously in-the-know but not saying.
as far as the prejudice -- i think we all have it in some form to some degree or another, be it for color, obese folks, hill-folk, uneducated, religious, etc etc. Hopefully we will eventually all grow past it and see another soul, as God does.
Yes, media seems to have bias, but it is a reflection of the real world bias too. We've come a long way maybe, but it changes person by person, and it doesn't happen quickly.
Why the name calling? You are sad. The comment sm
was made because he was for spheris and the outsouring they do, and yes they don't advertise jobs here because they outsoure. You are the one that needs to do some soul seardhing and grow up.
Yeah, I have a comment
It's called work baby. Every company has this. Every job you have to do something you don't like. My job, not at MQ, I have to take junk, work on other accounts, type bad doctors. That's what you have to do in this line of work. It's everywhere not just MQ. At least you have work. There are some MTs that havent had work for a long time and have no money coming in. Have a good attitude and so what if you have to work a little longer to make a little more $. You have to do that sometimes, it's life.
now what good do you think that comment did. really.
Now THAT comment would have offended me!
nm
I don't understand your comment
Most parents do the best they can, but no one deserves what happened to those parents. How sad for the 2 little ones and how sad for the boy's parents too. I can only imagine their grief.
We all would like to feel safe in the way we bring up our kids and no doubt we all do the right thing, so nothing could ever happen to us, right?
What an absurd comment.
b
I know - my comment was deleted
.....I guess if you own the board you can delete anything you don't like being said about yourself. So much for freedom of speech.
I had to reply to your comment about
the alcohol. I totally don't get it either. My daughters (the other is 20) are not allowed to drink in our house at all. I have lectured them over and over again that the friends that they have that let their parents let thekids drink are asking for trouble and if I find out they give you alcohol I will have them arrested. My 17 does not drink. I am sure the 20 year old might at college. I told her I have no control over that but it will not happen in our house. The way some parents get away with allowing their kids to drink is going a way for a few hours and if something happens they are not responsible because they were not home. I read an article that some parents have drinking after prom parties because they think the kids are safe in someones home. My state just passed a law that if any adult is caught giving minors a drink they will be arrested.
Nasty QA comment?
Dear OldQA:
I am one of the recently laid off Heartland employees. I went to this message board for some job hunting and support in light of this situation, and I was completely baffled by some of the things I read. Here are 2 of many comments from your not-so-nasty colleagues as an example of what I‘m talking about:
(Posted by MsAnonnie Mouse)
First of all, I would like to say that I sympathsize wtih those that were laid off at Heartland, however, I believe that that there were probably indications that this was going to happen, I for one, remember seeing a LOT of job ads for Heartland and they suddenly stopped on the 2 major transcription job boards. For me, that was an indication that something was going down the tube.
I also do not agree wtih offshoring, but when I read the posts on this board, I see one theme over and over; that being laziness in general. I see posts where people gripe and complain about having to work weekends or nights or whatever and wanting to get paid decent money, but they want to only be able to work 8-5 Monday through Friday. I have been in this field for over 20 years and I believe that I have always pulled my fair share. I have seen it in the company that I work for now, and the work load goes up dramatically on the weekends, because NOBODY wants to work and as we all know, medical transcription, for the most part, is a profession that is 24/7.
Sadly to say, our society has become one, where we expect to have something for nothing. Meaning that we want the nice thinngs, but we don't have to break our necks for it. I hear of friends who are giving their kids brand-new to almost brand-new cars in high school. Heck, when I was growing up, if I wanted contacts, or a car, or clothes, I had to detassel corn or work in a fast food place to get the money to be able to have those things. I don't see that happening now, and in essence, that is why so many of our jobs have been offshored. Its not only a cheaper labor cost, but most of these people in general have a better work ethic.
My company takes pride in the fact that it doesn't offshore and it will be a cold day in a very warm place before they do.
My only advice to those that were laid off is to hang in there, send out the resumes and hopefully, you will be able to find a new company that will treat you like an employee and not a number.
Posted By: OP on 2006-05-10
In Reply to: Heartland Layoffs - MsAnonnie Mouse
Some people seem to be missing the point here -- I also do QA as well as medical transcription and I generally am working MANY hours a day and usually 6-7 days a week, because I know budget-wise what it takes for me to surviive.
As a QA person, I see a quality of work that is totally unacceptable and it is from American medical transcriptionists. I read about people saying they can do X number of lines in an hour, or that they type X number of words a minute and as a QA person, that is usually the persons report that has 10 or more blanks in it, because UNFORTUNATELY they are more concerned about production than they are quality.
I sometimes wonder how many medical transcriptionists go back and re-listen to a report they have typed and then are able to figure out what the doctors are saying?
I have worked both inhouse and from home and I really have to agree that if someone TRULY wants to get started in this field, then they should work onsite first to truly get a grasp at what medical transcription entails.
There ARE people who are medcal transcriptionists who DO work long and hard hours and ARE getting shafted by the companies they work for, but quite frankly, I am tired of the ones who have toddlers and small children at home and whine about how they can do this work and take care of their kids too -- just because you work at home, dosen't mean that your children can be underfoot all the time and it is also learning about priorities as well. If you were working on the outside, you would NOT be allowed to take a huge amount of time off for kid activities or family activities, so the MTSOs do have legitimate gripes when it comes to employees not working when they say they will or keeping to a schedule, and this is where I am coming full circle when I talk about a work ethiic -- it has slowly and steadily been disappearing over the years.
Real nice show of support huh? There is nothing more disgusting than using the subject of layoffs, or offshoring for that matter, as a platform to complain about your own problems and dissatisfaction with your job. Shame on them!
Dear Scribevibe: With that being said, you WILL come across nasty, condescending comments such as these (on this message board as well as when you're working). I have been doing this for years, and I still come across them, and they are OBNOXIOUS! You need to let their comments roll off your back or they'll drive you nuts. There are QAs out there who are helpful and even sometimes encouraging, but be prepared for ones who are not and IGNORE THEM (and their nitpicking). Don't let them "snark" you :)
I can't even offer a comment to you.
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