old dog...new tricks...lm
Posted By: flybye on 2005-08-10
In Reply to: The boomer babes. sm - DixieDew
Thanks for the walk down memory lane! I once knew a senior MT who originally worked off of WAX CYLINDERS ("by 1902 the brown wax cylinder was eclipsed by the molded black wax cylinder. A typical recording on a black wax cylinder was about 2 minutes.") At the end of her shift, part of her job was to scrape the cylinders clean for the next day's recording! I started out on noncorrecting IBM Selectrics and reel-to-reel tapes...then correcting Selectrics, but we had to make multiple copies with carbon paper and blue, pink, yellow, goldenrod, and white correction fluids...then the 1-line display Olivetti...then the Wang, Raytheon and Xerox behemoths. Also, I still have my original 1973 Sloane's Medical Word Book  Now I use a highspeed internet home-based LAN with VOIP and a KVM switch...guess the only thing that hasn't evolved is the quality of dictation! Kudos to all of you MTs out there from this 30+ year veteran. We've come a long way baby! 
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tricks...
Do you do radiology with a lot of canned reports? I do acute care, have been in this business for 30 years, have 4000 entries in my text expander, and a good day for me is 1300 lines. My fingers never leave the keyboard. I see posts from people like on this board and I wonder what planet you are on.
In the old days when we used DOS, I routinely did 2000 to 2200 lines, but with Windows, I have never been able to get beyond about 1400 lines.
old dog tricks sm
I too am an old dog and got very tired of clients, especially hospitals, sending me their very worst, bottom of the barrel dictators, just because I got every word. They always dumped their pail on me as far as sending me the worst of the worst, the same with a service I worked for. Their excuse was "you're the best and you're the only one who can do them, so that's why we need you." Tired of that old line, but not much you can do other then complain in a nice way that you need a "mix" to keep your sanity. I used to get heartburn and headaches just thinking about how they could be so cruel. We also have a breaking point and a little break in between these guys and girls sure would be appreciated. Know how you feel, it's not fair.
old dog - new tricks
Well it is about time for me to come into the digital world. I have ordered my foot pedal and going to try and get my accounts digital -- plus am picking up an overflow account that I need it for. Anyway one major question and bear with this old, old tape user MT. If they send me a voice file either attached or through an FTP and I download it, can I then also forward it onto one of my subs -- in other words is it like my chart notes files where I have the original and only a copy is sent to my subs or when you attach a picture you still have it on your computer. My reasoning/question is because if I need to check over a dictation after they have completed it, I will have a copy on my computer. Or can they go thorugh the FTP site, download the voice file also? Thanks for all your help. Like I said -- old dog new tricks.
Tricks........
The trick is sit down and type. I use ShortHand as an expander. The hospital account that I type for and make 11 cpl requires 1000 lines a day....I do this in about 4 hours, 5 tops. That is roughly 250 lines an hour and in 4 hours I've made 110.00. Then I work on my other account that pays me 10 cpl for about 2 hours which is another 50-60.00. Then I wrap up my day with an hour or so doing clean-up on the account that pays me 9 cpl. There is no magic to it or tricks. I might mention this is all straight typing as none of my accouts have gone to editing, even though one is going to in the next month or so and at that time for the editing part I will receive 4.5 cpl. The money is out there, you just have to work. No one is going to pay you to sit in your seat and surf the net all day. A friend of mine works on the same hospital account that I do and she types 10-12 hours a day and pulls in almost 5000.00 a month. It can be done!
tricks of the trade
I have seen a LOT of posts on here for people asking how to get their lines. Some are having trouble even hitting lower numbers like 1000-1400. I have been working for a long time on a little book of tips, "Maximizing Line Counts: 30 Tips in 30 Days." I started this at the request of my boss who wanted to give it to all existing employees as well as new hires. I am interested to know if there are any transcriptionists who would like to have something like this.
would love to know the tricks!!
I've been at this for about 6 mos and have finally gotten to a pretty normal 1100-1200 a day linecount... But would love to increase that and the $$!!
Google Tricks
First of all, if you go into advanced search in Google, it gives you tons of "criteria" you can work with.
The asterisk "*" is the wildcard. If you were looking for a medication that was 20 mg, you could put * 20 mg into Google and it would start listing all meds that were 20 mg. If you put: No wheezes, rales, or *, Google would give suggestions on what would fit here.
If you are looking for an either or, the OR (capitalized) searches for both. Like "side effects, aspirin OR tylenol" This entry would bring up both.
If you type in "define: words" (two spaces after define) it will list all dictionaries the word is in. Google also has a calculator, does conversions, all kinds of things, just have to look on the Google site.
Hope this helps answer some questions--
 Rebekah
Where did you learn all these tricks?
I have the program and have really not got into it too much yet, but the manual leaves a lot to be desired. It is very highly recommended so I intend to keep on trying. I bought it about a year and a half ago, and admit I finally gave up and put it on the back burner, but I really want to learn how to use it. I will add, though, that I have had a lot of trouble learning the tricks with Word, since I am on my own and having to teach myself.
tricks of the trade...
ok...so create autocorrect forced entries for words that often trip you up; if 'does' vs. 'dose' is a common error, create "doz" for dose and "duz" for does (or something that works for you). one of my common errors is 'doe shave' for 'does have'; so I created autocorrect 'doe shave' to be autoreplaced with 'does have'; i also created autocorrect 'dzhv' and retrain myself to use it. make sense? another proofing trick i use is to change the VIEW of a document during proofing; it's *amazing* how formatting and text errors "pop" when i switch from 'normal' to 'print' or 'outline' view...i catch things i would have missed had i not changed the screenshot. you can also use search&replace for common format/text errors; you just have to develop the habit of SAVE, SPELLCHECK, SAVE, CHANGE VIEW, PROOF, SEARCH/REPLACE, SAVE, COUNT, CREATE AUTOTEXT NORMAL (IF DESIRED), SAVE, EXIT, ADD COMMENTS, SIGNOFF...i think you'll see your QA improve =)
My tricks - sorry long post
 I'm not an expert but this has worked for me.
Since I am the primary breadwinner of the household, I made the whole family a part of the budget process. We have two kids left at home (2 grown and gone) and I still manage to pay them their allowance (10.00 per week each).
How about we start there. I have a Chore Chart on a dry erase board on the fridge (so they see it every single time they hit the fridge) with the name of the chore written in permanent marker so they can't erase it, then put the initial of the one responsible for that chore that day. If, at the end of the day, those chores are NOT done? They get a black X in the box next to the chore. Only their initials are written in dry erase so I can change that around from time to time.
If they miss doing their chores 2 days out of the week, they get NO allowance. If they argue or procrastinate, that gets 1 check. If they get 2 checks by the chore, then that is the same as not doing the chore and they don't get the credit for it. Even if they eventually get it done, they still don't get credit that day because they procrastinated OR argued about it. Pay day is Friday.
Time is money people and I don't have the time to clean as I should, they are old enough, and they want money too. I don't give money for movies, candy, or trips to the dollar store. They now have their own and are learning to budget.
Sometimes I give them bonuses too for doing an inventory of the freezer, pantry, organizing the cupboards, etc... Helps us keep track of the things we have for the next step.
MENUS ~ If you get Woman's Day Magazine or First, or anything like them that have the monthly menu calendars in them? PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THEM. They can save you BIG $$ on your food bills.
My kids are horribly picky eaters and meal planning has saved me a lot of money. I now have them sit down with me, look over these meal planning calendars and see if it is something they would like. If they put it on OUR calendar, they initial it, and we make our grocery list. If the time comes for a particular meal and they turn their nose up at it, I send them to the calendar to see if they initialed that day. If they did.... Eat it! PERIOD. (by the way, I never put anything on the calendar that they don't agree with so, after a few months of doing this, there is never any more turning the nose up at dinner time - HA fixed their wagon!)
We also do a mass cook and freeze fest now and then. The kids get into it too. Very easy for them. THey are 12 and 13 so I have the meal calendar taped to the inside door of the pantry. When I'm working, they can go look and see what's on the calendar for that day, pull it out of the freezer, and put it in the oven. I have written the temp and time for each one next to the item on the calendar. Works out fine.
Power bills... Yikes - LIGHTS OUT. When I go to bed, every light in the house is OFF except the porch light, the little light above the stove, and the nightlight in the hall across from the kids rooms.
GAS- Holy Smokes. Up to 2.79/gal here now. No extra drives to here and there for anything. If you just want a cold pop to drink cuz it's hot? Make iced tea instead. Not worth that kinda money for a wasted trip to the mini mart. Just plan better the next time. The kids want to go to the pool or their friend's house... pump up the bike tire kids and grab the walkies. I make my kids take walkie talkies (Cobra brand 5-mile radius at WalMart for 80.00 and WELL worth it.)
One last little tidbit.... SAVE your receipts for EVERYTHING for at least 2 months then compare them after the end of that 2 months when you have learned to tighten up the wallet a bit and see the difference for yourself. Makes it really worth your while.
I have cut enough fat out of excess spending in the past year to put away 400.00 or more every month into a savings account that I can use for emergencies, vacations, whatever.
By the way... Would be a good idea to have a forum JUST for Budgeting and Money Saving ideas here wouldn't it. Administrators???? How about it?
I can share some Shorthand tricks if you like!
Gladly
Re: tricks of the trade from longtime mt
Awhile back longtime MT offered to share tips to anyone who e-mailed him/her. Has anyone heard from him/her on this as I have not. I've tried a couple times to contact him/her but have not received an answer or the tips, so I was curious if I was the only one who had not. I really was interested.
it sounds like your doc is sharp and on to some of the tricks -
My hat is off to you for taking such quick action. You are obviously a very concerned parent. She will thank you for it one day, I am sure of it! Best wishes to you. :-)
Tips/tricks for getting FASTER
Hi all.... wondering if anyone would like to share some "trade secrets" for have better line counts, etc. I have been a Transcriptionist for 12 years now and know there are ways of being more efficient and being quicker at this that hopefully I could take advantage of. Thanks! 
Has anyone ever heard from Longtime MT about the tips and tricks.
I haven't heard anything. Again I'm wondering if this person was just fishing for responses to see how many she'd get as she's never conacted me from the start nor have I seen any tips and tricks for boosting production. Has anyone else?
Potty Training tricks that worked for me....
I did this will all of my children. I would go to Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store and buy a lot of little cheap toys and trinkets and put them in a pillowcase. Everytime he or she went to the bathroom they could reach in and pick out a prize. They went every time and after less than a week were potty-trained and when the bag was empty that was it. This last year when I trained another one the lady at the check out asked my why I had so many toys and I told her what I was doing and she said "that is an expensive way to do it", but really $15 for a bunch of toys is the same price as a week of diapers and after that week I don't need the diapers anymore. Anyhow, I know it is bribing, but it works and you can't beat that!
FINALLY got it - Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! THANKS!!
What tricks do I have to perform to get a transcription job at home?
I have applied for so many at home jobs and have done endless testing (some very lengthy) and have not yet received any feedback from any of these companies and then they have more ads out for transcriptionists. I have 30 years' experience and have taught med term and medical transcription at the local college for 20+ years. What gives?
Any tricks on making work more pleasant??
Hey guys:
Does anyone have any ideas or tricks to make work more pleasant?? Been doing this a long (too long) time, and the isolation is getting to me. Any ideas?
Thanks all.
I agree! A "Tips & Tricks" would also be helpful...N.M.
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Anyone willing to share Emdat Inscribe tips/tricks?
I recently started working on the Emdate Inscribe platform. It is a little more cumbersome to maneuver than what I am used to, and I was wondering if any of you seasoned Emdat MTs might share any tips or tricks you've found to speed yourself up using this system? I've had a couple "glitches" with the function to look up/paste doctor names, for example, and not being able to close out the "prior transcriptions" box because there's no X! Not too much help from the MT company so thought I'd try here - any tips will be greatly appreciated, or if you know of any websites or other resources. You can respond here or to my email and thank you in advance!
check out Productivity Talk. Lots of tricks in their SH forum.
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MS Word 2007 -- I have to switch over to this. Any hints, tips & tricks would be great. Thanks!
I've heard some people are not very happy with it. Any suggestions on how to get started, and any good tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help and expertise!
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