Agree. Ask if the load can be split or if you can do only the later dictated stuff. You

• Opinions wanted... - MTing around in CA...
  • Agree. Ask if the load can be split or if you can do only the later dictated stuff. You - need to breathe sometime! nm
  • I say - sm

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Instead of the traditional straight keyboard, they have a keyboard that is split down the middle so your hands can be at a more natural angle.  Its called an ergonomic keyboard.  I LOVE mine. 

If you go to this URL you will find the exact keyboard that I use. 

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=043

What don't you agree with - that an MTSO should notice an applicant's lack of skill and move on to the next applicant?  Medical terminology is only one part of a transcriptionist's skill set.  She must also have English vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and punctuation that is better than a doctor's.  Fortunately, these things are hard to fake! 

If one applicant doesn't have the skills, she'll find somebody who does.  It's her (or his) reputation on the line.  

I believe the better schools test people before they accept them so those who don't have the background skills won't waste time and money on a career they won't succeed in. 

I guess newbies hear it all the time from the training courses they sign up for - to try to get 6-8 cpl right out of the gate. Of course the training course is going to tell you that - they wouldn't get any customers otherwise! LOL! I think if you haven't got a bite after your first go round, you might consider doing the second round at a discount. If you didn't make the cut the first time, there's too many competitors out there at the same rate. So drop your rate.

I started from home from the beginning even while I was in school.  The hospitals around here don't hire newbies.  My first account was just one specialty, 2 physicians, for a small MTSO.  The work was primarily done on templates and I got paid for everything.  Made what I thougth was fabulous money.  All I needed was my cheatsheet and a few samples and I was all set.  Fantastic line counts because of the templates.  Then the account came up for renewal and the MTSO decided to drop it.  I was out of work with 1 day's notice.  I decided that would never happen again so I went with a national to get more experience with other specialties and have backup accounts.  Suddenly I had more than a dozen specialties all at once for just one account, at least 50 dictators, multiple worktypes, account specifics that were more complicated than college math, no templates, and I'm here at home with no one to ask for help.  I spent  most of my time looking up what seemed like every other word practically.  My Stedman's books never made it to the bookcase from my desktop.  I'm still surprised my bird never learned to say, "The WHAT?"  He sure heard me say if often enough in exasperation!  I gained a whole new respect for rice and mashed potatoes.  I've stuck it out because I wanted it too bad to give up and have been willing to make the sacrifices so that I'd be able in the future to compete in the marketplace, but it's not easy by any means.   And pay on production by a national when you're new is a killer if that's your only source of income.  There's just too much to get used to all at once and of course that slows you down.

I too would recommend going with a hospital if you can find one.  Otherwise, find some good rice recipies and be prepared for the long haul.  The up side is when you can look back and see how you've grown and know you had what it took to do it.  

If a newly minted MT gets a job at home as an IC, their pay per hour will be *very* low starting out.  I know.  I started that way.  When I get a call to be a guest lecturer at the local community college Transcriptionist training course, I tell them to get a job in a doctor's office or a hospital, if they have the opportunity, and work at home after they've gotten experience.  That has become harder, too, as many transcriptionists are leaving the home jobs and going back to the doctors' offices and/or hospitals as the larger transcription companies cut pay through using artificial speech recognition, sending good quality dictation overseas to the international labor partners and leaving the very worst of the dictators for the U.S. and Canadian MTs, and cut benefits for the home-based MTs.  You will read reports stating that "there are not enough U.S. MTs to do all the work and it has to be outsourced".  Not exactly. Not enough MTs are racing to accept a third world wage would be more like it.  Many places demand (and get) somebody with 5 years of experience.

Another issue would be starting pay for the new MT. When I was hired 5 years ago at my large company, my starting pay with NO experience was higher than is being offered to MTs with 20+ years experience now, and my starting salary was inadequate to live on then.  I will never get a raise.  I do better now because I have more experience, but the only way I would be able to earn an adequate salary would be if I had the same doctors and the same specialties all the time, but I will likely not repeat the same doctor, specialty, or even facility within my work day.  The only trends I have been seeing in the last 5 years have been negative in terms of salary/benefits.  

I hope everybody's else's MT experiences are happier and if you choose to enter this profession, I wish you all the success in the world.  (My experiences as an MT may not be typical.  Your experiences may vary. Just telling you a different scenario than the rosy one generally depicted by schools and/or recruiters.)