and let's not forget cherrypicking! That'll boost your lines way up nm
Posted By: !!! on 2005-07-15
In Reply to: I did 400 lines in an hour once sm - Tea
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Yes, you sure do! We have sold since 1998, I believe. I'll never forget my first negative.
I sold a collectible PEZ angel dispenser. It sold for like $200. I had a hard photo, as in like a photo we developed from Kodak. My husband and I were SO excited, we nearly fainted. We took the thing to a professional packer, can you imagine? Back then, nobody sent packages - know what I mean? Maybe only sweet grandmas and mothers with kids at college! So, we paid nearly $20 to have this professionally packed, shipped it insured for $300, etc. Well, the buyer got it and claimed it was smashed to pieces. UPS investigated, and they are REALLY fair about this stuff - the box was unblemished - perfect condition. Because a UPS rep had packed it, it was packed to perfection and their specs, so they refused to give the guy a refund, and told us that he was a scammer. Back then in the early years of E-Bay, scammers would buy collectibles, get them shipped, and then return a broken/damaged one they had laying around already. Bait and switch! And many buyers got bullied into giving them their $$ back. So this guy went NUTS on us, demanding the $200, which was long gone for groceries! Plus he was lying, and UPS said so!! Well, he left me the most scathing negative. My very first feedback! I cried and cried and cried. Wrote to E-Bay, wrote to the President, wrote to my mother - nobody cared back then and feedback was NEVER removed no matter what. I'll never get over that first negative. Now its a scam - if you get a negative, you basically go to that company that E-Bay owns - not safe harbor - something else - the name escapes me, but they even "guarantee" some sellers. Anyhow, you go to them and basically pay $10 to $20 and your negative gets miraculously "removed"...So, even feedback really isn't reflective of the truth anymore...My husband still sells, but my heart just isn't in it anymore. He uses the $$ he makes for buying more junk to sell! It keeps him amused and out of trouble, and he's happy if he has $20 in his pocket (not much $$ in the MT world anymore!)....
Yeah, take the time to do it, and once you do you'll never forget the name of that catheter!!
Don't always look for the EZ way out.......
With an expander, you'll do more lines in that amount
s
I'll bet she meant that's how long the lines are before it returns. nm
x
Sounds good to me! I'll take it. Unless their lines are skewed.
x
Sounds amazingly stressful. I'll stick to my 1200 lines a day, thanks. nm
s
Thanks for the boost!
Just not use to speaking although I am getting better. Just became at lector at my church. My husband is the big ham when it comes to public speaking. You have at least outlined some things that I need to address. The high schools in our community are changing the curriculums to gear each school towards certain professions. Medical, Computer, agricultural or academic. So that they may have a choice of school for their interests. Thanks again.
Thank you Amanda, what a boost you made for me.
nm
Strangely, your post helped boost my ego when it was wavering....
I was so sure I was doing a good job, but had a hard day today. The docs are spelling out simple things, and I am afraid my company is screwing up big time. Then I start second guessing myself and wondering if I am the one screwing up, (although I had a nice QA score and some nice comments from QA.)
But, judging from your post, no, I am not screwing up. Everyone makes mistakes, but I am not making constant HUGE mistakes like you note in your post. And I have a good attitude with QA, and they have always been nice to me. So I must be doing okay. I am sorry, though, that QA is finding the quality of MTs in the U.S.A. so low!!!! This is very discouraging. But I have noticed that most high school graduates do not know how to spell nowdays. It does not seem to be a priority like when I was in school. Do you think that is most of the problem? Are simple words and basic grammar the problem, or maybe a matter of not wanting to look up the medical words?
Thanks, Mimi. Guess I better boost that production - I'm sure you're right
nm
Study found that electronic health records did not boost patient care. sm
Link to article on yahoo news stating that electronic health records fail to improve care, study says.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/records_dc;_ylt=AsT2t1nasUEaoOxgIsyoMUOs0NUE
cherrypicking
what company are you speaking of? kc1
Cherrypicking
You are correct about Cherrypicking. It should not be occurring. If you believe that there is a problem with Cherrypicking, you should contact your technical support person and tell them to change the settings for the "Q" button. If they don't fix the problem, you should be sure to contact eScription. They have a method to stop Cherrypicking.
Good luck!
cherrypicking
That is horrible advice. We don't all do it and it is the fastest way to lose respect of your employer and your fellow workers. You have to take the good with the bad and every good, seasoned Transcriptionist knows that.
cherrypicking
I do not think that cherrypickers can get away with this for a long time, because every report has a trail to see what happened with it.
cherrypicking
I need to vent. I work for a really nice company, have been with them for several years, and really like my work. Lately a couple of new people were hired, and it is obvious they are cherrypicking. Tough dictators get refused/sent back to pool. On our platform, we can tell when a job is sent back. If you are one of those people, why do you think you have the right to pick and choose your work and leave the crap for everyone else. it is only fair to take the jobs as they come. We will all get some good, some bad. Would you like the shoe on the other foot - you get stuck with all the crappy dictators? I am asking here, please do the work as it is assigned. Play fair, will ya? I have seen people post on this subject before but had never experienced it. Now I know why prior posters were so PO'ed about it. It kills the line count for the day, every day, while the new kid on the block is raking it in. Whoever you are, I hope the boss confronts you and assigns you all the junk for a while or fires your butt so those of us who have worked there for years can continue with the jobs we have loved for so long. You are ruining it for everyone else. Okay, vented. back to work. wonder what is in the pool now.
cherrypicking hurts EVERYONE sm
you are supposed to be part of a team! Do you even know or care what that means? As the other poster stated, SHAME ON YOU! 
Cherrypicking at end of shift
What about when you just have a little bit of time left on your shift and you want to shuffle through and pick up some short jobs instead of the 25-minute psych report or the long consult that will put you way over your shift?
Another fine cherrypicking day.
Man, would I love to go on all day about this company and the cherrypickers here. This is totally 100% unbelievable that they let people do this every single day. 
No cherrypicking allowed here, but....
I know some reports do get shot back into the pool now and then. Luckily for me, they're nearly always LONG reports by my favorite dictators (ESLs are my specialty), so I don't complain at all. However, the rule here, which is hard to enforce, is that any skipped jobs or cherrypicking is grounds for being severely chastised for the first offense and immediate termination for the second.
IMO, why not just type it and be done with it????  Doing that takes less time than anything else, and time is $.
I agree that it's cherrypicking. sm
I don't mean this to be harsh, but if you're going to be a Transcriptionist for a company instead of having your own accounts, you need to be willing to do ALL of the dictators. Why would it be fair for you to pass over the difficult authors, take just the easy ones, and leave the hard work for the others? What makes you think anyone else wants to do them either?
Question about cherrypicking...
I'm on a new account that uses the Lanier. I really think there has been some major cherrypicking going on the past 2 days, but I have no clue how. I'd like to ask my boss about this, but am afraid to stir the pot as I'm so new. However, this is very, very frustrating. I thought I'd start out and see if anyone knows if people can cherrypick such a system. If not, it is all in my head then.
Any advise would be appreciated.
Cherrypicking by proxy...sm
All good and well in a hospital setting: Everyone knows what work comes out, when it comes out, who has done what, etc. What about home MTs? I know for a fact that my account (a rather large one encompassing 2 or 3 hospitals and seldom getting the same dictator the same week) has predominantly good dictators for the Basic 4 and at the beginning (about 2 years ago since I started) made a pretty good line count. Now it seems my shift (late evening) has virtually 99-100% ESL dictators. Now some of these were just dictated, some were dictated 12 hours prior....but whoever gets to assign them assigns a high priority number rating so we can't skip over them. I don't mind doing my share of bad dictators as long as everyone does theirs, and if even ONE MT gets to reject a particular job or "cherry pick", EVERYONE should be able to do it. But I'm not going to be singled out to get all the crap dictation at the whim of the work router when I know this is only a small percentage of the work available on that account. I wonder who gets the good stuff?
They are not griping about just cherrypicking, the point of this
whole post was how can an MT who works for Softscript get that many lines when the rest of us had our SPACES TAKEN AWAY AND LINE COUNTS ARE FALLING, WITHOUT BEING TOLD WHEN IT WAS DONE. We are told on an almost daily basis that the "line count" server is down and will catch up. GUESS WHAT, IT NEVER DOES. Although, apparently it does for a select FEW, aka the positive posts on here.
It sounds like you need to look for another job. I do not tolerate cherrypicking at all. If a
company I'm working for is allowing it and I find out about it, I'm gone. I work too hard to put up with a services poor business habits.
Jane Harner
You are one paranoid woman (?), rather obsessing over cherrypicking.
Her post had not the slightest to do with cherrypicking, you have egg on your face, and you SHOULD apologize. Though I doubt you will, as you get to hide behind your anonymity. 
Why does it have to be cherrypicking? The person just asked a question?
x
that should be sympathize, man, my eyes are bad these days...also, about the cherrypicking...
how do people know that, if they are not doing it themselves...in my experience, those who complain the worst about that are usually doing it themselves...
that is my opinion.
my apologies...I agree with you on THAT part about cherrypicking...
had that happen first-hand my first year of transcription...supervisor took all normals, easy dictators, etc., all to score points with the Medical Director - constantly making everyone think she was some kind of wizard on the keyboard (haha, it is funny now, but all of us in the office knew exactly what she was doing...)
Okay, am I completely loopy, or was there a post about cherrypicking?
Just curious, because I responded, or so I thought, and now I do not see any mention of it...anyone know? Thanks!
I was referring to slamming the cherrypicking post
nm
My thoughts on cherrypicking - newbies please read
Cherrypicking isn't right for the obvious reasons. But another thing, and this is what I decided early on, it's best to just sit down and learn to do those hard dictators, especially if there's QA or somebody else around to help you. Because someday you may be in a position where you HAVE to type that dictator, either because it's assigned to you or it's a stat and you're the only one available. It's too late to say you can't do it, especially if you've been on the account for a long time and are expected to know the dictators by then. I don't ever want to be in that position. That's just my opinion.
Cherrypicking - such a cute description for theft.
cc
maybe you oughtta try cherrypicking too...force the co. to deal with bad dictators! nm
1
Cherrypicking didn't make our line rates less -
the lower line rates are what started people c-pickingin the first place, so they could make enough each week to live on. Back when I was paid by the hour (and lots more than I'm getting now per hour, I did whatever came along. But I'm sorry, I'm not gonna GIVE an employer a chunk of my change for the 'privilege' of doing a 40-minute report by a gum-chewing ESL with static on the line, partying nurses, or crying babies in the background, that I just plain can't understand, when I have the option to choose something that is at least transcribe-able.
It was rude in nature. 'Thanking' people for cherrypicking was uncalled for.
/
I have heard so many people rationalize cherrypicking and seen too many supervisors not deal with i
It's a scourge on this profession ... like the folks who gratefully accept absurdly dreadful line rates because -- "it's better than nothing"
It's why we're all making LESS than we did 10 years ago, 15 years ago ... made worse because that's even without adjusting for inflation ...
there a note on the company board from QA regarding cherrypicking and they mention "line padding&
This is a new one on me. I've heard of cherrypicking but what constitutes line padding? Isn't everybody typing what the doctor dictates? How can you possibly add extra????
It'll be the most expensive magazine subscription you'll ever get! No point in joining. nm
s
Aaahhhh, now I get it. Gross lines vs. Character lines. I guess I've just been conditioned to
think in terms of character lines. One of the perils of working as an IC for somebody who defines what a line is versus owning your own company and defining it yourself. After working for someone else for 15 years, maybe it's time to bust out on my own.
I'll go! I'll go!! I won't take hormones and will be ready to defend your honor :) n/m
.
No. It'll be the most expensive magazine subscription you'll ever get, and it's unnecessary
s
You'll get used to it. It is keeping the right leg propped up at the same time that'll be the
When I broke my ankle, I was just grateful it wasn't the hands. Without our hands we'd be totally screwed.
I broke my right ankle slipping on ice and was lucky to have gloves on because the palm of the glove was totally torn up and my hand was okay.
Good luck and be sure to do your exercises when it is time.
That is a lot of work/lines for 2 people. I do 3000 lines per day sm
if you times that by 30 days that only comes to 90K lines a month, that is working 7 days a week including weekends. I don't think 2 people can handle that.
900 lines is below 1100 lines, where the bonus starts.
x
It'll happen. You'll find your fit.
You might have to kiss a few frogs first, though.
Oh she'll spice it up alright, she'll be
placing hidden cameras in the other ladies' dressing rooms! LOL!
continue your goal; he'll/they'll get used to it/over it
nm
I'll vent and I'll sign my name sm
I have two IC contracts right now. I recently went back to a job I had quit earlier in the year to work for the other company I am still working for.
The newer job has 80% ESLs. I transcribe OP notes primarily and I can fill in other work types as the opportunity arises. I am frustrated with this particular situation. After 6 months, I am making less money and working longer hours. I am past the learning curve and I should be doing better, at least in the number of hours I am spending doing the job. We have run out of work for 24 hrs at a time at least 5 or 6 times since December 1, and in November it was more than that. I have a friend who worked for this company as well and she was having similar difficulties. The only thing that we can figure is that they are shorting us line count some way, because after 6 months at it, it should be easier/faster/more money, but it is less and less every single pay period. It is not a nice thing to accuse a company of doing, but it SEEMS that way to us. I am fed up with being expected to type every single OP note that comes in 24/7 and meeting the 6 hr TAT for them on weekends, evenings, holidays, wee hours of the morning...
I took back a job I held for 2-1/2 yrs. The team leader has changed and this gal thinks that I should be on call 24/7 for whenever she has work. I might have some at 7 a.m., or perhaps not until 6 p.m. or later. I can't plan my personal life and between these two IC situations, I find that I am not eating on a daily basis, not showering on a daily basis and not sleeping more than 3 or 4 hours at a time. I have lost weight and I don't feel very well. I woke up today with a rip roaring head cold (my first in nearly 8 yrs) and it has already moved to bronchitis and I am expecting pneumonia by the weekend because I develop it very easily. I already have deep pain in my back.
Yes, I should call in sick tomorrow, but I really can't take the fallout. The job I took back I am covering for another gal who wanted vacation over the holidays and if I have to call in sick, the team leader will call me and pitch a fit about how this is my responsibility. It IS my responsibility, I did say I would do it, and I will do it, despite being quite ill. In the past, when I worked for this company, they would not allow me to call in sick for a "cold" without a doctor's note. I worked through many illnesses with them and only called in sick when I developed West Nile Fever and while I was sick for over a month, I only called for my last 12 reports one day when I could no longer see the computer screen because my head hurt.
The problem is that yes, many MTs lack work ethic. They don't take their responsibility seriously. This is not a work as you please career, not even for an IC. I can see the MTSO's point of view, I truly can. Like finding experienced, reliable and capable MTs, for the MTs who are these things, finding a company will treat you like a human being is equally difficult. I sit here, feeling lousy and like I am an utter slave labor with no consideration whatsoever. I know that my work needs to be done, but when I am this sick it is better that someone else do it for the sake of the work, for accuracy and for speed of getting it out. I know that I am needed, but to be the MT these companies need me to be, I also need to look after my own health.
I will also mention that when I have asked for vacation, I have been approved for the time, but the MTSO queues up my work and calls me then I am not on the system getting it done. I have told them I had been approved for time off, but the MTSO didn't schedule anyone to cover for me and I am told to get on work, vacation or no, if I want to keep my job.
Thus, I work 24/7/365 and have for years. I work sick, I work when I am in pain (I have an AI disorder), I work exhausted from staying up all night covering for others who are allowed to call in sick and have vacations when I can't have either. I work having no health insurance and not being able to afford the $125 a month to buy some with a high copay so I can see a doctor. I work without breaks for breakfast, lunch or dinner and I sometimes come close to having an accident because if I leave my desk to go to the little girls' room I get nasty calls about where I am at and what I am doing.
Many MTs are mistreated, and I am one of them.
Gross lines include all lines containing
printable characters, so a full line and a line with one word on it are charged equally. Straight lines are basically the same as gross lines, but with this method of counting the blank lines are counted as well (again, equally). I have only had one company pay this way, and they are a middle man. I would think the charge would be about the same as for gross lines, and that not too many offices will want their lines counted this way (the one I worked on was probably inherited from someone who had counted the lines that way, so just continued).
The norm is 1 minute = 10 lines; 10 min = 100 lines - sm
granted this varies per dictator. More lines if a fast talker, less if a slow talker.
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