remember when nurses wore the little hats...hahaha
Posted By: t on 2006-06-12
In Reply to: DRG'S - DEATH OF BIG BUCKS FOR DOCTORS - Xbigbucks
nm
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Hahaha You mean a wooden nickel -- worthless! Hahaha
:)
Hats off to all MTs - sm
I posted this late last year, but this year I made it during MT Week. I sincerely tip my hat to ALL of you who do medical transcription. The knowledge you have to do your job is priceless, and you certainly do not get paid enough. That knowledge not only includes all the terms you use, but where to find the ones you don't know. And putting up with all kinds of dictators, their body noises, extraneous noises, shuffling papers, etc. I truly, truly do not know how you do that job day in and day out without going bonkers. I do radiology, and I really love it. They tried to cross-train me, and started me on discharge summaries and psych reports. I ABSOLUTELY HATED IT!!! If I had to do that everyday, I would not get out of bed. But for radiology, I'll stay up all night and work...go figure. I just wanted to tell all of you how much I admire you and all that you do. You truly are not appreciated enough and are not told often enough, and although my lowly opinion doesn't mean squat, I just felt I needed to tell you all that you are admired and respected by this lowly rad MT. Hope you all have a great MT week.
Hats off to those that had to do it the hard way
Because I'm a lousy typist!  Seriously, if I started this career years ago with old timey equipment (and I did use that equipment in many clerical capacities, just not as an MT), I never would have stuck with it, I make too many typos.
I consider myself lucky that I entered this field about 5.5 years ago, with no formal training but a good grasp of computers and some terminology from coding/billing, trained inhouse in only one specialty; then had to relocate and decided to try working from home. I never could have done it without the inhouse training/experience, that is certain. But at the end of 3 years inhouse, I knew I could succeed without the gang of old-timers that helped pave the way for me.
What I found to my advantage offsite was my drive and ambition - something often sorely lacking inhouse. The ladies that trained me are very set in their ways. They are used to a set number of easy familiar docs, at one location, and their leisurely hourly pace. Some confided that they had attempted at one point or another to work for a national from home, and they simply could not take the variety of docs, the ESL, the rapid production pace, having no pair of "second ears" to help them over a garbled phrase; they never bothered to use expanders; these things were too much for them and they could not make a living at it, so they had to go back to in house. They are suprised that I was able to make a go of it in cyberland; and I keep in touch and thank them now and then for making it all possible.
Anyhow, thanks to eveyone who has mentored a newbie and helped them find out if this is where they belong. Its not for everyone, and many of the complainers on here need to admit that and move on to something they find more fulfilling.
What a WONDERFUL thing to do. Hats off to you. nm
:)
i may be weird, but i prefer ds over ops. hats off to you folks...c msg
i work with chartscript and im able to look at prior discharge reports for each doctorpatient and doing a copy/paste; this helps speed things up. i dont know if your program allows you to do the same.
its kinda hard to create normals because off different hospital courses for each patient.
if you get doctors who pretty much have a normal format, you could create normals for each and just edit as you go; like any other worktype.
sorry couldnt be more helpful. good luck.
I had them - GREAT! Wore them out in 3 years. nm
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I once wore a hole in my spacebar...
I loved that keyboard. the letters were intact, just that figgind hole.
That's almost as bad as having nurses do it!
n
Did this for 2 years. Wore me out! Finally, gave one up.
:{
I wore one, but by all means DO WHAT YOU WANT! Your comfort is what matters.:-) nm
x
I wore a Spanish mantilla - it stayed out of the way and was still fun.
I wore mine on a 900 mile drive
to florida. Didn't leak a bit.
I actually wore a hole in some of my keyboard letters... nm
x
MT Bashing by nurses
I found this on a nurse's blog - they were talking about MT mistakes they found in charts...
Nurse #1:
I tried to get a job as a medical Transcriptionist for extra money, and no one would hire me because my 15 years experience of direct patient care does not qualify me to be a transcriptionist. Oh really? Or, I guess I mean, Owe Reilly?
Nurse #2:
I have no idea why they wouldn't let you work as a transcriptionist - what sort of special training would you need that you wouldn't already have?! It might be a good way to make ends meet if there came a point where a nurse couldn't stand up for so long anymore. It doesn't seem like it would take much in the way of critical thinking skills...
We don't use critical thinking skills? Darn, then maybe I should look into the career opportunities at Burger King...
The nurses do all that, except maybe the scalpels.
x
Thank God for some nurses who DO dictate...
for the docs who are horrible dictators. I do progress notes for an ICN nursery almost nightly. Thank GOD for those nurses. There are 2 docs right from the old country who can't string a sentence together in English though good docs they may be. We're talking 7-8 page very detailed reports on some of these babies. The other night, one of these gals dictated the first part, God love her, and actually handed the phone to the doc to give his 2 cents worth, awful dictator. Hey, the best thing some of these docs can do is let their PAC's do the dictating!!!
And Why?? Because nurses are presented
x
oh yeah, at that wedding, the bridesmaids wore black, too sm
with dark red rose boquets. It really was beautiful, at night, with candle light...ooh, I wanna get married again...
I did for a while and they paid on alternating weeks, which was nice. But wore me out so I
:+
any previous nurses MTing now?
Hi there, I have been an MT for 4 1/2 years now, and I enjoy it for the most part, but I've really been thinking of finishing my BSN degree. I had started college as a nursing major back in 1988, but dropped out after two years of completion of the prerequisite classes. I have always had an interest in the medical field so MT'ing has been interesting, but I've really been wanting to finish up my nursing degree though, I have always regretted not finishing it. Especially when I do the operative eports I really would like to be in the operating room working. So, anyway, I have put my application in for the BSN program again and waiting to see if I get readmitted. Are there are any former nurses out there who are MT'ing on this board, or perhaps any nurses doing MT'ing too who have any opinions? Or are there any other fellow MT's going to nursing school on here and have any input about it? If you are a previous nurse who is now a MT how come, and vice versa, if there are any MT's who are presently in nursing school please let me know how it is going for you.
The very WORST MTs I have ever done QA for were nurses for 20 plus years!
Mind you, this was after they graduated from one of the *Big 3* schools to boot. I know most MTs can type circles around them. They were asleep at the wheel most of the time!
And just how many MTs transcribe NURSES' notes?
Nurses document about 2 sentences, so their work is amenable to point-and-click.
Physicians who typically scribble very short notes don't dictate anyway, so you're not losing anything by them using point-and-click.
The ones who dictate do so because their notes are too long to write. It's just about as annoying to point-and-click them in an EMR as it is to type them out by hand, so most physicians who value their time do not wish to waste it fooling with computers. At our facility, they continue to dictate.
Hospital dictation is not usually suitable for point-and-click. It's too long and some physicians are able to dictate at the speed of light, so they would lose too much time writing it themselves.
I'll share one reason some doctors do want to do it themselves: the quality of the transcribed reports they get back is so bad they can't stand it. They figure if it looks terrible and is crammed full of nonsense, they might as well do it themselves. At least, it'll make sense.
There are no dictators, physicians, nurses, PAs or the like
who don’t dictate on the VR I use, wish I did not have the crap dictators as you call them but they are not left out on my end. I really, really hate it now when I do get a straight report to type I am so happy with the VR I do. I think before long most big places will go that route, little ones not so much as I think VR costs quite a bit.
Friends tried hypnosis for smoking. It lasted for about 2 weeks then wore off. nm
m
Then again you could end up w/one that nurses q2h like mine did! Lucky to get a shower in even. nm
s
Was nurses aid, then aide in ICU, then ward clerk, then
MORE medical terms cuz halo the docs were professors, and they let me play PA under their supervision, then w/comp supervisor, then pregnant, then had to find a PMs job and landed in transcription dept as trainee. If I could meet their requirements, I stuck. If not, I was fired. I stuck.
The docs and nurses enter from keyboard themselves. sm
It is VERY irritating. They spend all their time looking at the keyboard and screen and not at you, the patient. Worse yet, when you go back the next time, you find they entered wrong information.
nursing shortage includes nurses for instructors...sm
you can't teach nursing classes without nurses to teach the classes - that's part of the shortage and part of the reason why the shortage continues. Also more nurses are going for the bachelor's degree (4 years vs. 2 years) and that is extending the time before they are out in the work force.
Do you think nurses and front office professionals look sloppy?
I don't like to go around looking "sloppy all day" either, but is it really practical to work comfortably in nylons and suit jackets when I am sitting and typing all day? No thanks -- I can't work well that way!
I refuse to wear sweats or jammies because I want my work to reflect my professionalism and I think the way I feel about myself reflects that -- hence, scrubs, which medical professionals wear. I am a medical professional and I don't think there is anything sloppy about wearing tasteful, professional, and comfortable scrubs.
Do you think that front office people, nurses, and doctors look "sloppy all day" by wearing scrubs?
The only person that bothered me at my wedding was the one who wore a white dress. Black is fine.
Scarry!!! Docs and nurses entering drugs and dosages into online charts. (sm)
Most of my docs cannot spell medical terms. They can't pronounce or spell drugs. The nurses are for the most part useless - no ARNP I ever asked could help me with a medical term.
I just spoke to my HMO. They are now offering personal Online-charts showing
visits, tests, immunizations, etc. of what you personally had done.
I asked EXACTLY HOW DOES THIS INFO GET INTO THE SYSTEM, at what point?
The woman said: It is input by the doc and the nurses.
I shuttered!
There goes the end of quality health care as we used to know it!
Hahaha I like it!
.
hahaha
and they can call it USI (United States of India Trans___s/l iption Servises. Their website can brag of the great work they do and services they provide for their customers. Like a TAT of 24 to 72 hours, depending on how hard the doctor is. They can boast that they will have a 2 percent accuracy percentage. That is 2 percent if you want the lowest rate which doesnt offer QA services. But your accuracy percentage can go up to almost 50 percent if their experienced QA team glances over your document and can hopefully spell everything right that you dictate. And then there is the only 2 reports out of 100 typed discount where they could only type 2 because they couldn't understand the rest and they cherry picked! And OOPS, there is the no one else to type it cuz the Indians didnt understand you either discount.
HAHAHA
You are all so arrogant. Do you really think your abilities are sooooo keen that you can have this special sense of what poster is who? Actually, I am the one ROFL because you all look so silly. I AM a different poster than the other. I dont work for MQ, just an MT who is SICK AND TIRED of hearing you gripe and complain like infants! Not all MTs have bad attitudes and complain all day long. And just because there may be 2 or more people posting good things doesnt mean they are really just 1 person.
Of course, if it makes you feel better to think that there could only be 1 person who is tired of hearing it, then go ahead and PRETEND.
HELPFUL HINT: If you took all the time you spent complaining and applied it to work, MAYBE you could make more than the 2 dollars an hour you are complaining about.
HAHAHA Whatever do you mean by that?!
HAHAHAHA
There are quite a few good conversations to stay out of here. It's frightening, the character shown on this board! Amusing sometimes...mainly sad and frightening!
I appreciate the information. Thank you!
with a man who is on the down-low.....HAHAHA.nm
x
Hahaha! OMG!..................nm
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hahaha, I like that !......nm
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Hahaha....you
soooo should write that note! Hilarious post
Hahaha Well, now have you had any MT experience at all?
Any education from an MT course?
You WILL have to learn! When I worked at the hospital and trained MTs, it was MUCH easier to train them starting on a specialty or two first, and I usually started with cardiology and orthopedics. Then went to neurology, oncology, infectious disease, and so forth.
Again, that is MY experience and MY perspective. Others may tell you different.
Illegal? Hahaha
Your so-called contract was a statement of what your rate would be at that time. It did not guarantee you any specific amount of work nor pay for any specified length of time.
Go seek help! Go seek an attorney! Throw more of the money you're losing to a cause you won't win.
It's disheartening, I agree. Spheris has done it...know what? They're still in business and they still have great MTs (along with the pitiful ones as well). A few jumped ship when it happened; some came back. New ones came on board. The company moved on and is doing better.
That is what will happen here. I'm not trying to downplay your reaction -- you are right to feel upset about it. But please, please don't waste more of what you are losing by seeking help where you won't find it.
Regarding the F9 feature -- absolutely no company is required to charge clients and pay employees on the same definition...and yes, there is a difference - it is called making a profit. If MQ (or any other MT company) wants to charge clients for a flat rate, a per-minute rate, a per-line rate, a combination of flat rate per report + lines, etc., but pay their MTs only a 65-character line...then that is their right. It isn't any MTs business what/how MQ charges their clients. That's business, period. Not just this industry either.
It IS your business that you be paid what you agreed to under your "contract". However, since they have adjusted their pay scale, that "contract" is null. You have the right not to accept it by quitting. You have as much right to nullify that contract as they do.
This is an exchange -- skills and services for money. If either party doesn't care for how the other is conducting/upholding their end, or if circumstances change, either party can leave. It is called employment at will.
Please, save yourself the money at least. Work on healing the heartache of it.
Hahaha -- I'm confused on who I was even
talking to...you or the one who answered below!!
Oh well, I think we all got each other's points!!
We are really dating ourselves here, huh?! Hahaha
The mother of one of my son's friends said something to that effect to me the other day. She is a stay-at-home mom and they live only on what her husband makes. Great for them. They are very religious. Great.
However, then she proceeded to tell me that if more women would just stay home instead of having to have their SUVs and their face lifts and their fashionable clothes, that the men could then make decent money to support their families.
Once she caught the look on my face, she quickly made a notation that of course that didn't apply to women like ME who had to support a family by themselves. I just smiled.
Again, if I have a billion dollars and want to work -- that's my right and my choice. I don't owe it to any man or any other woman to sit down and not take a job so they can have it!
That kind of thinking is dangerous, in my opinion.
hahaha! Thant's about right! nm
d
To Mac: HAHAHA - NO JOKE - sm
I absolutely love DEAL OR NO DEAL - *ROFL* - so JOKE OR NO JOKE - answer is NO JOKE sweetie!!!
*winks* @ Mac and laughs!!!! 
HAHAHA ... That's funny - I meant 'obviously' ...sm
I haven't posted on this thread before and there's SO much to read on it! LOL
Thanks for pointing it out.
BTW...I never said I knew everything! Gawwddd, if I DID know everything I sure as heck wouldn't be on this board!! Hahahaha
Hahaha I know. I agree whole-heartedly.
When I first started watching this board, I was shocked. I truly was. Shocked at how infantile a good majority of the posters seemed to be.
Then, it became quite amusing. It is clear to me that what is going on is basically the Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde syndrome. These MTs must be nice, somewhat professional, decent to anyone who can see their face and know their names. However, give them a chance to be anonymous, where they feel no one will ever know, and their true underlying character surfaces.
They are simply miserable. They feel cheated. They feel they cannot bank (literally, hahaha) on this industry because it isn't what they want it to be. They feel wronged in that they must do hard work for good money or do without. Hard work never hurt anyone; it's lack of it that destroys people.
I have had some very good conversations with a few mature people on this board. People who are intelligent enough to hold differing opinions without being dysfunctional. People who recognize the difference between opinion and fact. People who do not subscribe to the infestation of misery in their attitude.
These children on this board find it perfectly fine for their own opinions to be displayed here (complete with all the little icons and capital letters -- practicing for school, I'm sure -- and slang language) but the minute someone posts who has a different opinion they get all hysterical.
Hahaha It's worth the amusement and the occasional good conversation.
Her name is mother alright. hahaha
Brace yourself. You know it's coming. It's Mother Busy MT'ing (???) Hammer (Preaching) Time!!!!  YOU WILL LISTEN TO BUSY MT'ING!!!!!
Balls instead of chairs - Hahaha
Just thought I'd pass this along in case anyone is tired of sitting in the same old chair everyday while they work. I've seen this "tip" before but never bothered to try it until recently.
I purchased one of those large inflatable exercise balls and use it instead of a chair. It's a very refreshing change. I did have to learn to balance a bit because in a chair you can move around, even when you're not aware of it, and the chair is stable but the ball isn't. It also helps me keep better posture, is easier on the low back/sacrum, and I think it is helping my abdomen because you are working your abdominals and legs while sitting there.
Anyway, it was worth a try for me. I may not use it all the time but it is a great change.
Hahaha. I just know I received it in an email
and regardless of the author, it is well written and speaks my perspective perfectly!
Thanks for the information, though!
Disgusting commercial, huh?! Hahaha
I use Brawny paper towels and Lysol Kitchen spray on counters and appliances. I use plastic scrubbies on the sink and anything I need to scrub up before the dishwasher and the put the scrubbie in the dishwasher as well. I spray Lysol on the sink and faucets before I go to bed.
I started this when I saw Oprah's show on women who horde and won't clean/throw away anything. The experts she had on the show had checked one woman's kitchen sink for bacteria and compared it to her commode and the commode was cleaner! I about fell over. I have dishcloths and dishtowels but they are washed after every single use! Ewwwwww!
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