Yup, you're brand new! This is our industry. Full of
Posted By: MT2 on 2006-01-26
In Reply to: How long do you give a new job before you decide it's not a good fit for you? sm - MT4me
majority ESL dictators. Most of us all had the same start. These are the trying, tough times. Those who stick it out turn into great MTs. Those who decide it isn't their "gig" move on!! But this is basically it! Good luck! I stuck it out and am forever glad that I did.
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You say you're brand new at this
Unfortunately, what you think is "the worst" may very well be the best. Well not actually the best, but probably the norm. Give it some time to adjust. Are you new in general, or just new to at-home work?
Yes, if they're brand names...
Unisom is a brand name and would be capitalized. Generic drug names are not capitalized, unless your account specifics or boss say otherwise.
I think you're full of it.
you're not wrong..just full of yourself.
You're full of sh*t. You should see the house across the street...sm
where they live. It's a total DUMP, and this is a pretty nice neighborhood. They've been arrested for selling meth supplies. They dump their garbage behind our house. They dump big pots of ??? (cooking oil, I think) down the storm drain in front of their house.
We tried being nice at first, but with behavior like this, I'm done. These people are just rude.
This is not "being prejudiced." This is having to deal with rude neighbors who are bringing OUR property values down with that weed-infested DUMP over there.
I don't believe you're Indian, just posing as one to stir the pot.
You're pretty full of yourself aren't you?
your problems, your point of view, your way, your outlook, your, your, your.
frankly unless you know exactly what everyone is up against personally, financially, physically, emotionally, your "advice" is exactly worth what we paid for it. ZERO. Now don't waste your typing skills trying to talk down to us again. No one is buying into it.
obviously you're not full of sour grapes...nm
x
Life's full of situations where you're backed into a corner
a winner thinks outside the box and takes a chance rather than be ASSURED of a life-time of misery.
You're the type of people who live in the same town their whole life even when there are no jobs and complain that they're unemployed.
Complacency will get you nowhere, neither will whining about having no money when there are other options but you refuse to look into them.
Your employer may be partially responsible for the trouble in your life right now but the only person keeping you in this mess is you.
Full Core means full CPR code.
NM
Yeah, but full-time lines does not necessarily mean full-time hours, so I would do it if your produc
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not only the MT industry
making changes with insurance. DH works for one of the large telephone companies. We now have to pay for a larger portion of our Rxs when previously they cost us nothing, plus office visit copays also increased. It's still better than not having insurance at all. But, the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer!
What does this mean for the MT industry? sm
I saw this *** and wanted to share this with other MTs. What is your interpretation of this? Are we going to be out of work for good because I'm thinking electronic medical records are going to replace us, or am I misinterpreting this statement? What is your take on this?
"...President Obama has also talked about the need to computerize all medical records in five years, creating a huge opportunity for information technology jobs and data entry jobs."
It's the same as any industry...
You have the bottom, the top, and the in between. I happen to be closer to the top, but there are so many others who are not at the bottom. And if you knew me, you would know that I do not have the 'screw everybody else' mentality... and it's not really fair to accuse me of that based on my post, which did not mention anything even close to that mentality. I just do not believe that we have it so bad in this industry, that's all. I think we should spend some time looking at the positives versus the negatives. There are so many people out there who have it way worse than majority of the MTs here.
Not REALLY a brand name but please SM
This is a mouthwash specially compounded by a pharmacy - I think it originated at Duke University. I usually capitalize Magic because it's not really generic and not really a brand name. JMO
No, not a brand name.
.
They are brand new.
n/t
State of the MT industry
Obviously, you work some place that pays very well and you might even have secure employment. If so, that's great. Some of us worked for companies that were sold or sent all their work offshore and we had to take jobs where we could get them. Don't be so quick to judge other peoples' choices. It's true that in some companies, wages are lousy, but do you really think you'd be a fry cook at the clown's over working from a home office? If you are earning great wages and have a good job, I sure hope you're able to help other MTs find something as good as what you've got.
If this industry has become amoral it's because:
MTs for the most part have always been treated poorly, no respect and low pay. We have to stand up for ourselves and not back down from our line rates because no one is going to look out for us but us. No, not even the docs and/or the OMs, surprise, surprise! I say she should go for the full monty. They get to see more patients and therefore have a higher income. Why should she have to settle for a lower income because they're smart and use time-saving macros?? 
Men make more than we do in any industry.
Sucks, but that's the way it is.
What is the industry standard...sm
Tried to post this on Wednesday, will try again...I need to know what is the industry standard conversion for minutes dictated to minutes typed? Not how much do you do - but what is average for one hour dictation - how many hours typed. Bosses think we're taking too long but we do not get automatic demographics and need to look on log sheets (if they arrive and if they're correct) for everything from patient name to referring doctors, addresses, patient #'s, etc. So I need to give him an "average" number of hours dictated equal "X" amount of hours typed taking into consideration the lack of information, the searching we must do and the various typing speeds. I'm not going to "judge" anyone's advice - just need some input from those that have been there. Thanks for sharing.
I agree - as with almost any industry (sm)
you have to find your niche and the place you can call home. IMO and experience, you can make $60,000-$120,000/year in MT if you find the right hospital, your own accounts, MTSO and/or area of transcription and increase your skills constantly. After say 4-8 different gigs and nothing works out, then MT work is probably not for you. Same for any job, whether it is tech support rep (my former career), mortgage broker, service tech.
Industry Standard for VR Pay?
What is the industry standard for VR pay? Specifically for someone just starting out.
Industry pay is sinking.
With 9 years experience, I was offered 5cpl for straight typing. Nuts if you ask me. Yet the company filled the positions with that pay.
The going industry rates are....sm
Around 14 cpl, 65 character line for transcription, 6-7 cpl for editing.
You can "thank" overseas competition for these pricing because they actually will quote around 8-10 cpl for transcription and 3-4 cpl for editing.
Stinks, doesn't it?
I remember when we used to be able to get 18-20 cpl, gross line and could pay the MT 10-12 cpl and all were happy. Gone are those days - I wish they were back!
You could mention where the industry is going
at all because it may offend someone. The funny thing is that some of the course outlines on line may give you some great material to go by as it explains it pretty well on some of those sites. I think it is a great career, so I may be biased.
Please do this industry a favor sm
CHARGE WHAT YOU ARE WORTH AND NOT A PENNY LESS!
I mean it. The last person I talked to about this has her own company. Clinics she charges 14 to 18 cents a line, depending on the difficulty and the logistics of the office. Nope, does not include printing or tapes, they have to call in, period.
For hospitals, she charges 22 to 26 cents a line and she gets it. She usually types as many of the OP notes as she has time for and doesn't sub them out because she likes that. Any lines she does herself goes into the corporation at 100% and she pays herself a salary for all her work, not by the line for MTing she does. She has 20 yrs of experience, all of it in acute care.
She says, DO NOT sell your skills short. Don't try to undercut someone to get the job. Remind these people that they get what they pay for and deliver on every promise, but don't make promises you can't deliver on 99.5% of the time. Incorporating is good, better than not and I know all of the reasons behind that too.
I wish you every luck.
yea but it is industry standard!
and also as i put in my email to my doc... the templates and macros BENEFIT YOU!
What is the future of IC in this industry?
Wide-spread IC, I mean, such as we've had in the past? Sorry for your situation, Blondie. The reason I ask is that the company I'm working for is making it a real priority to make employee MTs work their agreed-upon hours so the work can be kept in TAT and the clients will be happy and not break off blocks of work to send elsewhere. I'm wondering how you think the end of the work-whenever-and-as-much-as-you-feel-like era would affect the large numbers of IT workers. ??
More industry lies...
1200 lines per day at 8 cpl is only $96.00 per day. At that rate, if you worked eight hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, you would earn just over $35K. Who does that? Anyone working full-time for an MTSO can expect to earn less than $25K and you will rarely, if ever, see a raise. This survey is, as they say, in no way scientific. It is all designed to make people think it pays to be certified, which it does not.
Do you have any connections in the industry?
If not, you might as well forget it. The people/companies that land accounts are the ones that know people and have connections at the hospitals, offices, etc. If no one knows you from Adam, then they aren't going to give you the time of day.
I think 100 may be a lot for brand new newbies. nm
nm
Maybe it is just the particular model/brand
I have had I believe three Fantoms now (first one so heavy so bought second one years later, then ran over big screw and broke the bar on the bottom of the second one). I have the HEPA filters and have never had to do anything with them - not even change them as mine have a button that is suppose to pop up to tell you when it needs to be replaced. I have probably owned these over the past 10 years or more.
You are right, emptying the cannister can be a little messy - I do what you do and go outside, use a plastic grocery bag to empty it in (or better yet have husband do it) as I, too, have severe allergies.
If I had to choose though, I would still go bagless as I hated changing and buying the bags and once they got about half full you didn't get the suction like you do with an empty bag/cannister.
I am not familiar with the type you have where you have to clean the filter. Ugh.
Look below regarding the Noisebuster brand!
They may work for you too. Good luck!
My brand is SoftFlex, but if you use
a straight keyboard, there is a heated keyboard you could get. Or put a heating pad in your lap. http://www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=10313&sk=MX51419
Goldtouch is brand name. see msg.
www.goldtouch.com
I always get mine on eBay. They aren't cheap but you definitely get what you pay for and they are great, in my opinion.
What brand of LCD monitor to buy? sm
I am really troubled by eye strain ... got new computer glasses from eye doc but still not happy ... a number of people have said I should swap my CRT monitor out for a flat screen LCD. I'm game to do it, but have been reading reviews until I'm brain-dead! Thought maybe you folks here might share what brand of LCD you are using, and if you are happy with it for word processing. I hear some are better for text than others, and I don't want to shell out the bucks without looking into it. TIA!
Brand is Saitek....
I am on my third one and I love it. Have yet to find another keyboard with a touch like this one. It is not silent - it clicks, which is what I really like about it. Nothing at all like a laptop keyboard which make my fingers dyslexic. Bought a MS keyboard, but it sits in the corner as I type much faster with my Saitek, worn off letters and all. The fact that the letter disappear is my only complaint. The light up feature is nice, but in my opinion not bright enough. Gotta say though, it is pretty cool 'cause you can change the colors to purple, red or blue.
I have one for sale still that is brand new...
I bought mine from Dictran in May but have never used it as I ended up taking another job that doesn't use this. I'm asking $85 if you are interested. You can also E-mail me.
I got a brand new computer
custom built by a small shop here in town with XP instead of Vista. Don't count out a small business being able to help you! Cheaper than a Dell, too...
HP is the LAST brand I would recommend!! sm
I have had an HP desktop, which gave me occasional problems, but nothing big. i got an HP laptop last year, and it has been one headache after another. First the wireless connection died, I have had to do a major system restore, I have had to send it in to HP for service, and it still doesn't work right. OTOH, DH bought a Gateway laptop this year that is pretty much the same as mine as far as specs, and he hasn't had a bit of trouble with his. I would recommend either a Gateway or a Toshiba.
Try the Department of Labor and Industry.
You can turn them into the State Attorney General's office, BBB, FTC, as well. And small claims court. I would send a certified letter demanding payment first with the threat that if they do not pay by XX date, you will pursue further legal action against them.
Heartland - the heart of the industry!
Heartland is the best company I've ever worked for in the transcription business.
Check out mtjobs.com, find a post for them, you'll be really glad you did. They are fair, always there to help you. They have great benefits, and one of the few companies where you are not just a number at the other end putting out reports. When I call them, they answer. No automated lines. When I have a problem? They fix it, right now. It doesn't get much better than that. :0)
Men appear to be making more income in this industry
I have worked with a guy here and there. It amazes me that they are able to make more. In one position, there was a guy in a position to distribute work who funneled the canned op reports (vasectomies primarily) to one guy on my account. Another is one I am working with now who somehow convinced those hiring him that he required a certain amount of money to raise a family. And he gets it. Seems to me that this is favortism. The "it's a man's world" frame of mind.
Has anyone else experienced this?
They've done nothing in the entertainment industry
Time to double your dosage and take a nap, dear. Sounds like you've gone over the deep end and are taking this way too personally.
You need to get out more.
Tell that to the cruise ship industry.
dd
The industry is changing and as it stands
now I would not recommend this field to anyone, but I am not worried about not having a job, at least not in the next 5 years. I am good at what I do and can do any work type, can do ESLs with little problem, have done QA, so I feel like there will always be a job as long as I want it. The pay may never get any better though.
There aren't that many jobs available, but there are so many people looking for work that a lot of companies don't feel like they need to pay to advertise. Check with employment agencies or temporary agencies. I worked for temporary agency years ago and got offered full-time positions with every place I worked.
Not sure what your career of choice is in, but you can get just about any degree on-line, or at least do all the basic courses.
Not sure of your financial situation, but if still paying for technical school, going part-time probably won't work for you so you could go to school or get in some type of internship for whatever you wanted to do.
You can sit back and wait for someone to knock on your door and offer you your dream job, but you'll most likely die waiting, or you can get your goal and work towards it. If you aren't willing to do that, then you are stuck where you are.
Article? As in one? This is an entire industry, and
has been going on for decades - I believe it was the 1960s when the food processors and dog food conglomerates figured out their partnership would profit them both. Its not an article, and to think so is honestly just ignorant. Also most huge dog food producers are actually other companies that have no interest in dogs at all - Del Monte and Heinz are in the dog food biz. Have you seen labels lately of the name brands that now claim to have some tomato enzyme in them? I can't recall the name, but it is literally a tomato enzyme that they claim is a new discovery for being great for dog joints. Its literally the tomato swill that Heinz and Del Monte use to have to throw out as its the slop that lands on the floor after Ketchup production, etc. Now, they just hose it into vats and throw it in the kibble ooze with a fancy label that most consumers fall for- tomato enzyme. I only wish I was making this up!! And its not a scam industry nor are we extremists. Most of us don't promote any brand at all - best thing for Spot and Fido is boring old meat, marrow bones and a few veggies steamed, and brown rice. The leftovers that our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents used to feed their dogs - table scraps - were fine! Again, do the research. Decades ago, dogs used to have an average life span of 20 to 25 years - now its 10. Cats used to live longer - 30 years - now its 15. And our parents and their parents would have laughed hysterically at the thought of spending good $ on Gravy Train or Alpo. We have been "had" as American consumers, and you are actually gonna argue about it! Your vets - bet they support Pedigree, too, which is absolutely garbage - dead animals and loads of corn filler, which, by the way, most dogs are intolerant of. They don't digest corn well. But its cheap for the manufacturers! Pedigree is well known for keeping lots of vets on its payroll to praise its products - gee, ya think they might like the $$. There are thousands more vets who know Pedigree and the like is garbage and are finally getting the courage to speak up about it. They are getting sick and tired of treating the animals who are NOT benefitting from this dog food. Nope, sorry, but way more than 1 article - its knowledge, and knowledge is wisdom, and wisdom is priceless.
I'd love any advice also. I'm new to the industry...
... and anything that will help me up my productivity is greatly appreciated. I love this board and the ability it provides to get advice from those with more experience. THANKS!
No, we who have worked in this industry don't have a good
we've been sold up the river! Can anyone say OFFSHORE?! That is the very reason our rates of pay have gone down the tubes. How COULD anyone maintain a good attitude? What I post to newbies here is just fair warning. No one can make any kind of living on 5 cents a line. Newbies are also fodder for crappy MTSOs. It may sound negative, but it's the absolute truth. It's pretty sick when offshore companies are now training US MTs. My suggestion to anyone thinking about going into MT....don't. Find another line of work. There are other things out there you can do.
And the healthcare industry DOES have integrity?
.
I believe the goings on in the industry affect us as MTs?
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