to the comments about cherrypickers making $$

i have to absolutely totally disagree.  I cherrypick reports that are less than 30 seconds in duration.  I by no means MAKE ANY LINES WHATSOEVER!!! In fact, it is to clear the board and lower the number of reports in the system.  If I were to be paid by the line, then by all means, those reports can sit in the system and wait for days for all I care.  To give you an example, I did 102 endoscopy/colonoscopy reports in six hours ... my line count was 520 lines ... do the math ... I was not going to be taking home squat if I were paid by the line.  HOwever, there were 102 less reports in our hospital system. 

I just had to say that.  thank you, and now I await your bashing.

• to the comments about cherrypickers making $$ - cherrypicker
  • Glad I work somewhere where you cannot cherrypick....our work is divvied out by minutes and - sm - Laura E.
  • How about when the acct. mgr. hand-picks easy reports and puts them in the que of less qualified/tal - sm
    • LOL@Ho Chi Minh NM - me
  • Well, if you were working for my co., then you'd be the idiot because - Me
  • There is always going to be cherrypickers especially when sm - well
    • Yup, it's fact of life when people are paid on production..SM - hmmm
      • THE PERFECT SOLUTION....sm - Lynnie
  • FIRE THE CHERRY PICKERS - hh
    • I SAY BURN THEM AT THE STAKE... - mjay
    • Oh right, THAT would stand up. nm - sheesh
  • stop cherry picking or get out - dat
  • i have 19 years experience and still type 220+ lines/hour - cherrypicker
  • my supervisor cherry picked the normal - yes and
    • BINGO - and we have a winner!
  • yes, my supervisor and other transcribers - cherrypicker
    • FYI, did you know that a transcriber is a machine and a transcriptionist is a person? - nm
  • cherrypicking hurts EVERYONE sm - for shame
    • tank the cherry pickers - GT
      • Part of the blame here falls on the dictator...SM - devil's advocate
    • feel sorry for the cherrypickers - sm
      • I have to agree that cherrypickers will be out of work when VR takes over, since the harder reports - mlstoo
        • cherrypickers will not be out of work. Who says cherrypickers sm - disagree
          • You got that right....sm - asbestos annie
  • Was this approved by your supervisor or is this your own account? - sm
    • Those colonoscopies are also templated I am sure. SHAME ON YOU. - I agree
      • Cherry picking - DixieDew
        • primary..secondary - GT
        • Cherry Picking! - Sandy
        • DixieDew, I don't always agree with your political views, but you're right on the money in thi - category! Thatsafactjack
          • My political views - DixieDew
            • Give yourself some credit. - I bet he's not. nm
        • Can't anyway. Just get them back. sm - No picking

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You definitely ARE being punished for being good.  What other profession punishes their best people by giving them the xxxxx work?  That's what is so upside-down wrong about this field (and why I am getting out, fast).  MQGuy, you need to stand tall and insist on some element of fairness.  Otherwise, the faster they shovel it to you, the deeper you're gonna be buried in it. 

Wish I could tell you to hang in there, but it might be better to just hang it up! 

Here's some good news - my branch just eliminated cherrypicking by disabling the Dictaphone button that sends reports back into the pool, thereby rending cherrypickers impotent! Yea!!!

Now they have to do the same frickin' lousy docs as meeee!

First of all, everything you say may be true of the mother regarding her suspicion, but as I always try to do before I criticize and pass judgment on others, first try to mentally "walk a mile in her shoes."  You might be thinking the same thing under similar circumstances.

Secondly, she signed a waiver for her daughter to go on that trip with full knowledge that these "adult children" were not going to be supervised by these chaperones in any fashion other than just being "available" if they needed them and to help out if anyone lose their passport or suitcase, stuff like that.  The mother knew full well why she was letting her daughter got to Aruba... TO DRINK AND PARTY!   If she didn't know that, then she's a dense as they come.  I wouldn't give my daughter 2 cents towards a trip to Aruba at age 18.  There's only one reason to go to an island like that, to drink.  If the beach is what you want, we've been known to have a few beaches here in the USA, but they don't want that, they want to be free to party it up.  So you can't blame the chaperones, at least not in my opinion.

Thank you for your posting; I find it very useful.  However, I want to comment on the fact that, during training, I never heard of the BOS and received absolutely no feedback.  So, to think that newly trained MTs are ahead of the others, is not necessarily correct.

As a matter of fact, the very first time that I ever heard of the AAMT Book of Style was upon receiving the graded and corrected FINAL EXAM for my course (Career Step) which made reference to my use of a dangerous abbreviation.  I then inquired as to WHAT IS A DANGEROUS ABBREVIATION, at which time someone did RESEARCH and, after a few days of research, reported to me that she had to ask someone else and discovered that a dangerous abbreviation was defined by AAMT, as mentioned in the BOOK OF STYLE.  I immediately purchased a copy of the book and studied it on my own.

I think that none of us fits into any one category.  I hate it when I am stereotyped, especially with regards to what a potential employer may think I know or do not know, or may be capable of doing, as determined by the exact number of years that I have been working.  There are plenty of exceptionally good companies out there who have totally rejected me due solely to the fact that I have less than the number of years of experience that they require, while my current employer constantly gives me the most difficult jobs because I am, in his mind, "one of the best."    Of course, I can't wait until I have those required number of years of experience so that I can reject those very companies that rejected me back in the days when I only had 2 years of experience!!

I appreciate this thread.  It has been very educational. BTW, not only can it be a difficult situation when you work for a "family" business with the wife being the office manager, but I have had negative experiences as a patient when the wife was the doctor's manager.  It just doesn't work out.

While I agree that "other duties as assigned" can be interpreted in many ways, there must be a limit to this.

What I have learned from this thread.

1.  If you have two professions such as Nurse AND MT, write a separate resume for each.  Whether or not you reveal your transcription skills to an employer who is employing you as a nurse is your decision, but should not be required.
2.  As an IC MT, write your own contract.  Stipulate that your MT "business" includes certain duties only pertaining to medical transcription and performed at your location during the hours that you decide.
3.  Stipulate that because MT is your private business entity, due to conflict of interest (or whatever terminology you decide), you do not conduct your private business functions during the same hours as the employee job unless you want to and it is clearly understood that there will be separate charges.
4.  Once you have an established business and income for that business you may need some kind of business license or need to be registered.  The laws vary determined by your state and/or city, county, etc.  However, usually you do not need to register your business until it is actually making a profit.  In the meantime, the existence of your business on paper would offer you some kind of protection against an employer who has employed you as a nurse and is attempting to take advantage of your transcription skills. 
5.  If an employer attempts to have you do transcription on the side, out comes the contract.
6.  Do not offer discounts to anyone simply because they are a friend or employer.  Treat them all the same, require them to pay extra for extra services.  Spell it all out in the contract.  In other words, protect yourself and set them up in the beginning so that they know they will not be able to take advantage of you.

Last I looked, the nurse practice ACT, at least for RNs, is rather specific and does not include such tasks as mopping floors or transcribing dictation.  You sound like a very nice person who has attracted someone who seeks to take advantage of your kind nature.  Don't let them do it.

When asked what I do for a living, I tell them, the response I get the most is this "oh, i've heard of that.  Been wanting to get into it as a side job."  Gee thanks. 

Or "Did you have to go to school for that?"  And actual disbelief when I tell them I did. 

Or "Don't you get sick of not being around people?"  Again...gee thanks.  What am I a shut in?  I still at least go out and check my mail a couple times a week!

Or "Whats that"  Blank look on face or extreme disinterest or disappointment.  Gee, thanks again. 

And here's the meanest one that I received from a guy I was dating for awhile "Are you just afraid of being successful?"  Hmmm.....can I get a gee thanks?

and asking for any more money if I had not checked into the situation thoroughly first.  UPS even said that they hire extra drivers over the holidays that do not use UPS vehicles, so anything could have happened.  I'm not pleased about this situation, but I am trying to at least provide a Christmas for the kids.

Sheri 

I have been dieting for three years....just trying to lose about 25 pounds.  It's been hard.  Now I have to tell you that I am just under 5'8" and now weigh 140 pounds.  Sounds great doesn't it?  Well, my significant other has never seen me naked in 8 years because I think I still look kind of gross.  My point is, that while being fairly slim is, of course, a good thing, you may continue to have issues with your looks.  I still focus in on all the places that I find unattractive or flabby.  I don't think I would ever be happy with the way my body looks.   

I think part of the problem is cultural, in that we are daily bombarded with women on TV, in magazines and in movies who are not representative of what women generally look like. 

Yes, your weight right now is probably too high but perhaps you should set some realistic goals rather than trying to look like, well, you know, all those women I was talking about.  I found that exercise combined with the dieting was the most beneficial.  But you probably already know all this.

My son's acne started when he is 12.  He's 16-1/2 now and it's as bad or worse than ever.  Started off trying various over the counter things; didn't work.  Tried Proactive; didn't work.  Went to a dermatologist who tried Retin A, antibiotic capules, antibiotic cream, steroid injections to inflamed zits, etc.  Basically no change.  We kept going back but it never got better and finally son refused to go again.  The doctor had mentioned possibly using Accutane.  The dermatologist said he had never seen so many blackheads on one person (said that in front of my son too, which I think was kind of poor judgment).  But I was thinking my god - if he's the worst a DERMATOLOGIST has ever seen - geez!

Anyway, he has blackheads, whiteheads and bumps deep under the skin.  The bumps you don't notice so much until he is in the light - sunlight or for instance the spotlight the dentist shines into your mouth - and then holy cow - they are everywhere, hundreds of them, each probably the size of a BB.  The bumps are only on his face but he also has very bad blackheads, whiteheads and pimples on not only his face but his neck, shoulders, back and upper arms.

My son doesn't ever act like it bothers him at all but I'm sure it must bother him and I'm sure kids must say something about it.  He seems to pretend they aren't there.  My husband thinks he is just overwhelmed by the sheer number of them and the fact that nothing has worked so just ignores it.

I know Accutane can have very bad side effects but I'm wondering if in a case like his if we should try it anyway.  I think I will make an appointment with another dermatologist although I KNOW it will be over my son's protest.  He will try to refuse to go.  He is the one who decided he wasn't going to the other dermatologist anymore.  I think maybe I will try to find one that specializes in acne, if there is such a thing.

Has anyone here used Accutane or had a child who did?

Keep your chin up and don't let that attitude get to you.  Always do your best and it will show in your work.

I haven't ever had any sarcastic comments, but once a doc complained because the report type was incorrect on something I typed. Not bad for 7+ years working for the same place.

Many of the people I type for say something like, thanks for typing, at the end of a dictation.  And I have to say I really appreciate that.  Atta-boys in this business are pretty few and far between.

My main complaints with QA are when the individual QA's opinion regarding commas and such affect my QA scores, with the threat of deductions to pay, withholding of raises, benefits, etc.  I did actually receive a payroll deduction once, but it was due to the QA's error.  Thankfully, I discovered their error and was able to prove it.  It was extremely inconvenient, however, because I received no advanced notice that my entire paycheck would be reduced by 15%, and I had to wait for the next paycheck to receive the correction.  I also resigned that position based on the rude treatment I received from the payroll department and the subsequent hassles that I experienced while proving the QA's error.

Again, it seems that QA has very little to do with patient care or document accuracy.  Recently, there was a big controversy with our QA regarding the proper way to indicate military time.  QA had decided that a colon was required and deducted points because I did not use a colon for '1925 hours', while the BOS indicated that a colon was not required and the customer specs didn't specify anything about it.

I have some Stedman books, but it galls me when a company says that Stedmans is THE SOURCE.  Most of the time, I have found answers on good Internet sources; accuracy is easily confirmed.  My books are not easily searchable, and I have not invested in the electronic versions.  Also, I have found discrepancies/inconsistencies between different Stedmans books.  I just purchased my BOS Second Edition 3 years ago, along with the PDF searchable version.  I'm not anxious to purchase the Third Edition so soon.

Again, I believe that all this stuff is more about control than about providing accurate reports for the benefit of the patients.  IMHO, there is more than one accurate way to form a sentence, and this QA grading process is a bunch of unfair baloney.  If the dictators were grading according to a similar QA process, it may seem more fair.

Maybe the persons who began the QA points/grading process were just bored and needed some drama.  Or maybe the objective, again, was simply to devise a method/excuse to reduce MT pay and prevent payout of benefits?

Hi, everyone.

I recently had an applicant inform me that my help-wanted ad was being badmouthed at this site, and I have since read elsewhere that I am apparently an overbearing/pushy, basically obnoxious person to work with (I have also posted responses at the other places I could find, in the hopes that the remarks do not keep potential applicants from applying).  There is a reason my help-wanted ad is so detailed.  One reason is to answer all possible questions that anyone interested in the position might have.  Over the years, I have amended my ad due to circumstances that have come up with transcriptionists I have worked with.  The information in the ad regarding "the work is to be typed until it is finished, not a set amount of lines per day," is because I had a Transcriptionist that thought she could type a very small amount whenever she felt like it, leaving the remainder to be typed by someone else later.  As I am sure you know, many large MTSOs only require that so many lines per day be typed.  In my situation, the transcriptionist essentially gets assigned doctors/clinics, so all of the work needs to be typed and returned the following day (the transcriptionists choose their workload when they are hired).  At any rate, I am sure many people will find flaws with my help-wanted ad, but I did the best that I could to fully inform everyone what the job actually entails.  BTW, as the ad states, the .07 cpl is only for one or two weeks, which covers my time for being on call to help out while the transcriptionist is getting comfortable with how the Macros function.  In the beginning, the new transcriptionists only type a few small reports per day, so if you deduct 1¢ per line from the reports they have typed, I am getting paid very little.

jhwm, I would like to say "thank you" for the kind words.  I have read a lot of really vicious things about myself and my company, none of which I feel is deserved.  I understand that I might not have time to chat with everyone who applies, but I do not feel I have done anything to justify the horrible things that have been said about me.  LOL--You're right, there is a lot of information coming at each new person in the beginning.  I am not sure when you worked with me, but these days, I forewarn anyone new about the information coming their way and that they do not need to memorize it.  Some of the information that has been compiled is on things that are not related to the job, such as how to do certain things in Word (basically everything I learned when first switching over from WP.1 to Word).  The pictures of the animal's eye, lab forms, terminology list, medication list, etc. are supposed to be helpful so that the transcriptionist who is learning does not need to look all over the place whenever an answer is needed quickly.  Sorry, I am in defensive mode and keep finding myself trying to explain everything!  Again, thank you for saying something nice about me.  I hope others see your post and realize I am not a total ogre! 

You said ....

I am a slow typer, I am only paid 7 cpl, and have 20 different doctors on a daily basis.  I am feeling like maybe I have wasted the last 10 years as an MT.  I hear so many talk about their perfect accounts, making $100+ a day only working 8 hrs a day, and I the only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I am home for my kids when they get home from school.  Where are those good accounts, good platforms, and good paying MT jobs that we experienced MTs deserve?

By NO MEANS do I have a perfect account!!!!  I not only type more than 20 doctors a day, I usually have to do all those different doctors from about 10 different accounts!  NO EASY WORK... mostly ESLs, poor sound, but hey, that is my job. 

By the way, when I got out of school for transcription, I could barely type 40 words a minute and I was shocked when I got into the real world.  Shocked even more 2 years later when I went home to work.

This is not about easy platforms, easy accounts, or easy money.  This job has to be about a total love for the work you do.  It cannot be about being home with your kids.  You have to have an awesome memory, ability to use Expanders efficiently, and mostly it is either in you or not to be able to understand these ESLs. 

I do wish you luck. 

I too have to use the antenna with it but according to the map, I'm well within the coverage area.  I usually have 3 to 4 bars.  I'm currently using Bayscribe with it too.  In fact, the company I work for wanted me to work on Escription and said the wireless would be no problem.  However, decided I didn't want to do VR. 

The person I spoke with just didn't seem very knowledgable about it.  The first time I spoke with her she told me the problem with it was going out in bad weather.  Then today she thought I had a card. 

Thanks for your comments.  I'm just bummed.  I can't get DSL or cable where I am and I thought this would open up more job opportunities for me.