it's what you know, not how long you've been around.
Posted By: sm on 2008-01-03
In Reply to: What should an MT make with 10 years - MT4eight
I've worked with long-time MTs that didn't do very good work, had limited knowledge...and vice versa. What we ought to have is not what we're likely to be able to negotiate for either. Many factors involved, but i'd say 9 cpl for 10 yr or more...but best to get your foot in the door, where you are happy to be, and then negotiate up if possible when they see what you're made of.
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It's been a long, long time since I've used a C-phone, sm
but I do think jobs can be paused.
I've been doing this a long, long time...
I used to make $70,000 and up a year and did so for most of the late 80s and 90s (one girl used to make six figures a year working 7 days a week!) Because we were making more money than the supervisors and Medical Records Directors in hospitals, they began to switch to transcription services which were sprouting up all over the place. Plus AAMT came into existence and even though in the beginning it claimed it was to fight for transcriptionists (although assured us it was NOT a union), they eventually morphed into an organization that was more management friendly. They developed the "guidelines" and the 65-char line. That was the beginning of the end for those high-end wages. Then all those mickey mouse transcription schools popped up, and now outsourcing overseas. YES, we're complaining.
we've come a long way, baby!
As the old hymm goes "I wouldn't take nothing for my journey now".... I did work on the belts too, my brother was my boss and loved to torture me about it! Talk about archaic! Now I am So spoiled! (and so thankful).
One more thing, I've been in MT and QA long enough to know that just
feel like you had no trouble with the terminology, doesn't mean you didn't have trouble.
I have come across many MTs who believe they know what they are doing and really don't.
Not me. But I've waited for this for a long time.
Been through the daily grind for over 20 years. At one point I even had all four of my kids in different schools, having to drop them off before leaving for work. I don't miss it one bit. I still laugh when I'm lying on the couch in my pajamas reading the morning paper while all of the commuters are fighting for a place in line at Dunkin Donuts.
But with 4 kids, 3 still at home, my house has always been like Grand Central Station. I have never been able to complain about the quiet for sure. Hubby works nights so is here during the day and starting early afternoon there is an endless stream of hungry teenagers in and out as well as messy little grandkids. I don't remember the last time that I was completely alone for more than an hour. I wouldn't know what to do.
Oh, I've been doing this many long years, so I understand what SM
you're saying. I've been dept. supervisor, QA, all of it -- all long enough to realize that I am not infallible, for sure.
What I will say is that spending two hours reading reports aloud is not going to help me in any way, shape, or form. If I thought for a moment that it would make my work better, I'd be willing to sacrifice the time and do it.
It's really sort of like a tic, what I do when I transcribe, and I can't help it. I have tried to let stuff sit there and have the spellcheck catch it, but it's like a reflex action. I've backspaced to it before I had time to think about it. I know that I'm not really using my resources very efficiently.
I think I said in my first post that I started on typewriters and went from there to a computer with just a keyboard and monitor, and the only editing tool available to me was the backspace key. Mercy, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I transcribed that way until 1993 (? thereabouts), when I got my first spell check and word expander.
Unfortunately I don't. I've had it for a long time in the closet. nm
x
Best post I've read in a long time.
I tend to go back and forth with my feelings about this profession. In the mornings I am glad I do not have to get up, get ready and go to an office. Many times in the evening, after I have during the day and still have work to do, I feel like stuffing it all. Many times I am disheartened when I get my paycheck, but I am glad to be getting one, while my sister worries about getting laid off from her manufacturing job. MT has advantages and disadvantages.
Oh, my. That's the funniest thing I've read in a long time.
AHDI: Solving the world's problems, one foreign MT at a time.
ROLFMAO
Fun With "Rick" and Jane is the best/funniest movie I've seen in a long time! s/m
Okay, it's not Rick and Jane, but the censor wouldn't let me put the short form of Richard.  LOL
Oh I know, I've studied legal aspects of med recs, too, been in this a long time. sm
I totally get everything you say, and I don't argue with any of it.
But I work for a national that has had the same errors in the same normals for YEARS, so we're talking probably thousands of charts by now. I can't fix years of apathy. If I was in charge, you betcha I would.
The doctor's name is what's on the document, it still comes down to him/her.
I did it girls. I tossed my old headset in the trash and bought Bose. I've got a long
z
Honestly that is the most intelligent thing I've heard from an MT co. in a long time. Completely
You have to be able to retain knowledge.
You have to know how to reserach effectively.
You have to be able to use deductive reasoning.
You have to have confidence in your decisions and not constantly "need assurance."
You have to be able to separate sounds in your head that are both internal and from multiple external forces.
Some of these can be taught, some are innate, some take years to develop, some either you got it or you don't.
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.
I hate Instant Text. It is expensive, long long learning
curve, and too much distraction for me.
How long should I wait after applying for a position before I follow-up. It has been as long as two
without hearing from some. Just wondering if I should send an e-mail to follow-up to see if they received my resume or not. I don't want to offend anyone but feel two weeks should be long enough for someone to at least acknowledge my resume and that I have applied for a position. Right now I would accept anything even a note saying no thanks. Any advice would be appreciated. I haven't had to apply for a job for the past 10 years so I am a bit rusty at this. Thanks again for any advice.
Congrats! How long have you been a MLS and how long did you study for the test!
Please see message. I have three daughters with long, long hair.
I also have long hair down to my waist and my three girls have hair that long too. My daughter brought them home from school last year. I was devestated and grossed out!!!! I have never had to deal with lice. Anyway, we did the treatments and two of my girls broke out in a severe rash with the OTC stuff. Their little heads were so sore!! I thought I was being meticulous with eggs, only to find them hatching again down the road. A nurse at the pediatricians office suggested I try oil to suffocate them since my girls were allergic to the lice solution. I bought a huge bottle of veggie oil and dumped it on all three heads, plus my own. I then wrapped the heads in platic wrap and then a towel. I left this on for 30 minutes. It takes a while to wash out the oil, but we never, ever had the lice or eggs again!!! If you try this, make sure you put on an old shirt and put a towel around your shoulders. Obviously we were desperate, but we all have such long hair and very thick hair so I was willing to try anything. And I figured there was no chemicals involved so that was pretty safe. And it sure did help my littles ones since their scalps were pretty raw from the solution. Hope this helps and Good luck!
I had a problem with this for a long, long time sm
I have always worked days, like from 6-3. Over the last few years, it didn't matter how much sleep I got, I became real groggy between 7 and 11. Really shoots the day. Talked to my doctor and he said my blood pressure pills were the culprit but he refused to change me to another brand or dosage since I have multiple aneurysms (2 in the brain). My BP has been stable for a long time and he wants to "keep it on the low side". I tried taking them before I went to bed instead of early in the morning, but then I had headaches all day. So, I am changing to a night shift for a few months so I can sleep when those pills kick in and so far it is working pretty good. I stay mostly awake during my shift and die when I hit the bed from 6 am to 10 am, then I lay down again later in the afternoon for 2-3 hours. I still get 6-7 hours of sleep, it's just split up during the day, plus I am mostly awake now when I sit down to type. I don't have to deal with the heat in my office, either. It tends to warm up real fast in here with the south sun on the house and 2 pc's running all day, even with the air conditioner on.
Way back when, a long, long time
ago and in a galaxy far, far away, I had my own accounts also and some years cleared $75,000. Yes it can be done, but you need to have your own accounts. Also lots of delivery, and other duties involved. I work for a large national now and make much less, but I got tired of accountants, having to deal with hardware problems, deadlines, driving deliveries, printing, printers, etc. So I decided to simplify my taxes and stay home and just type. Don't have to worry about computers either, because the company will just send me a new one.
Long, long files. Seemed like they'd never end! I'd never go back to VA again. nm
s
Been in this biz a long, long time, 30+ years and....sm
I love/loved MTing. However, things have changed so much during these years. The job definitely gets easier; don't have to look up much, can decipher ESLs much easier, in other words, you get pretty comfortable with things and you have confidence in yourself. The more experience you have the easier the job, but....
I actually made more money 10 years ago!! We didn't have speech recognition and you actually got paid for headers/footers, demographics, carbon copies, etc., you got paid for what you did fairly; today, I am not so sure.
You will feel burned out at times, but that passes and you find you like your job again.
Good luck to you!!
Spell as best you can or blank them and keep going. I've passed many tests when I've left blan
s
As you can already see, you've come to the wrong board! By using the word professional, you've
excluded about 99% of the population of "whatever" it is that hangs on these boards. Certainly not professional for sure! But you sure are doing a good thing for someone! Its the thought that counts. Sorry you met the dregs right at the start.
HELP! I've turned my screen sideways, I can't straighten it up. I know I've seen sm
this before, but I can't remember what it is. Do you realize how hard it is to read sideways? TIA.
I've lost track of how many people who've asked about it to NOT
.
I've always verified every line I've typed (I have my ways) -sm
If you're supposed to be paid a certain $/line, that's what you should be getting no matter how they do billing unless of course it's specified in YOUR contract with THEM.
BTW, I've never caught a company cheating me ever.
I've used it. It's the worst piece of crap I've ever seen.
seriously. I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy, or their Vianeta program. Awful, just awful.
Wait until you've been there six months and if you've improved
quality and quantity, I'd say go ahead and ask. Otherwise I'd say annually... good luck
I've seen the same every place I've done acute care, and
pointing out dangerous or repeated errors (often in normals for goodness sakes!) never got the result I expected. When I would press the issue, supervisors said if the dictators didn't complain, then the mistakes must not matter!
It didn't matter if the MT changed what had been a cardiac med in the beginning of the report to an antifungal by the end - I kid you NOT! One poor girl used facial for fascial and fascial for facial!
I've used a few expanders, and of those I've used, all must be "coded" to get things lik
One thing I do to get around this, is to create a macro and then link the ShortHand command to the macro. It works for me, but I do the same five clients every day and only have about 20 or 30 macros/Shorthand commands that work like this. This may not work well for you if you have lots of formats and hundreds of docs.
I've been doing this doc for many years, so I've learned how to function with him. sm
I can tell what's a stutter, what's another word, what's just an "uh." Years of experience will get you through a lot.
Wouldn't want to do his charts all day, of course, but a few per day aren't bad. I haven't had to send his to review in a long time, but they do take a little longer to shuffle through.
I've worn contacts for 30 years. I've had both
hard and soft. My vision is much better with the soft ones than they were with the hard ones. When I first started trying contacts soft ones were still new and they couldn't get me to 20/20, so I went to hard. Hard were okay until my eyes started changing shape and then I could no longer wear hard ones. The soft should give you better vision as they conform more to the shape of your eye.
A long, long time ago, I was going thru
a really bad time emotionally and physically. I was suffering, and my transcribing suffered. I assure you - if you are to the point of not paying your rent, literally, and needing food stamps, there is something else going on in your life than current transcription rates. We are all in this industry and many are thriving, most getting along comfortably. If you are literally to the point of food stamps, you honestly would be a fool to continue. I blamed it on my job, on my line rate, on everything but the honest truth that I was ill and was NOT working as I should or could. It is a really sad thing that you keep spreading this propaganda that MTs in our culture are doomed and now destined for food stamps. Food stamps are not something to toss around lightly, as you would know if you ever had to use them. Please let's not be quite so dramatic. Again, if you are really in those dire straits, you really need to face that MTing is not the fit for you, personally, and do something about it rather than blame our industry. You dwell on the past, but we can't do that. While you may have made other wages 20 years ago, may I remind you that we were pounding away on IBM Selectrics using layers of paper and bottles of white out, going crazy trying to rewind tapes over and over to get that dang word, with no idea what an Expander was. Technology is fantastic. Things have changed, but things are still great in this industry, and in this world. Those who change and can adapt will be fine, but you need to recognize that most of us are not ready for food stamps.
Sure did...you been around for a long, long year
I've been a bully; I've been bullied.
I used to sell a lot on eBay. There are some people who buy high-priced items and play games with you. I've had to call them repeatedly, report them to different agencies. It's not fun. You put time and money into the business of selling, and there are people out there who live to manipulate the system and cause trouble.
And, I've been bullied by buyers who made unreasonable demands, insist that they pay by check when you clearly state you don't accept them. It's not fun, and is one of the reasons I don't sell anymore. People!
I've also bought from some sellers who I would not deal with again because of their unprofessional attitude.
But, overall, ebay can be a great place to be.
I've become the man I've always wanted to marry.
I live alone, am 46, never married, no kids, just dogs horses and chickens and just got done building a new house out in the boonies away from the rat race. (Used to live in Manhattan) Couldn't be happier. Selfish maybe, but never out of time, never stressed, and I don't take anything out on others. There's something to be said for being alone but not lonely. I'm not looking for a man to "make me complete." They only sap me of my time, energy and money (how little of it there is with MQ). I consider myself lucky getting to choose my time with friends, and not just stuck with a deadbeat partner. Ladies especially: Be strong and allow yourself to be independent. Any old man will not make you stronger!
A gross line IS a gross line regardless if it's 90 characters long or 1 character long... SM
I'm very sorry that your lines are 90 characters line and you get paid by gross lines. You are cheating yourself - that's not my fault. You cannot change the definition of a gross line. So I gues I'm not understanding what you are trying to say. Now if you are trying to say that your line equals 90 characters and that's how you figure your lines, than you are not using gross lines. You have defined a line to be 90 characters, whereas most MTSOs define a line as 65 characters. If that is the case, then I must say again, you are cheating yourself.
So which is it, do you get paid by gross lines or by a 90 character line?
You know I've done the grilling...I've tried it all...
And I find the best way to cook steak is in a good quality thick-bottom nonstick pan on top of the stove. I found this trick on the internet. I heat the pan on high and when nice and hot, throw on the steak, no butter and no oil. It browns almost immediately, cooks fairly quickly, and seals in the juices - tender, moist and delicious!!!! It doesn't even need seasoning but salt and pepper before cooking. ;)
I've not only typed, them, I've had a few, myself! LOL
.
how long ago was that
I started working at a hospital, right out of high school, in 1969 and they sent me to college at night and paid for it. From the first day in 1969, I was dealing with ESL's. There were always doctors with accents. When I was a child I had a Jewish doctor who could hardly speak English. That was back in the 1950's-1960's. Your argument does not sound like outsourcing, it sounds like bigotry to me..shame on you.
Wow, how long have you been at it? I have 292, but ran out. nm
how long ago........
were you hired? I know now they won't look anyone that isn't experienced in the areas that they are requesting. It is MedQuist that hired you?
How long
have you worked for them. What specific pluses do they have?
how long
over a year. managers who are a help and a platform that is really easy to use.
yes, as long as
you have not signed anything with either company that states you won't work for anyone else while working for them. Always read legally binding documents carefully and thoroughly.
don't know how long ago that was,
appropriate anymore. I was taught "when in doubt, leave it out," especially if the comma is meant to add emphasis.
I have seen too many instances where too many commas have ruined a document.
How long have you been on DQS? SM
Why do you think the line count plunged so much? So, there is no way to use your own expander? thx so much
how long have you all been a MT?
I'll start: Almost 27 years doing acute care reports, but I have about a year of experience doing radiology (hospital).
Care to share?
how long?? try 20+
I started doing transcription in 1983. Certified for 12 years. Still going strong. Hands perfect. Love this job.
How long
I have been official MT for 13 years, unofficially for about 7 years before that.
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