Anyone recently with Axolotl? How difficult is Lotus Notes to use? nm
Posted By: Just me on 2007-01-26
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s
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Axolotl uses Lotus Notes, but you
type in Word, use SpeedTyple (the same as ShortHand) for an expander, and Stedman's Spellchecker. They provide all equipment/software. FT only, employee. Great benefits, better than average pay. I had never seen a pay range, they just asked me what I wanted.
Pretty strict QA, but not nitpicky about punctuation and are helpful. You don't deal with 1 QA person and for the most part all are on the same page. Daily feedback, monthly QA report. Very reasonable insurance and cheaper than anything I've seen yet. Tons of work, paid downtime (which is rare), good tech support.
They just hired a bunch of MTs and don't know if they are still hiring, but you can apply through their website and they will contact you within a couple of days if they are hiring. Testing down through a third party. Written part was challenging but the transcription part very easy.
A couple of challenging accounts, but overall not excessive ESLs. Not able to view past reports, though lots of samples available.
You are allowed to set your schedule, but has to include a weekend day, and you are expected to adhere to your schedule, very little flexibility, though no issues with getting off for doctor's appointments, etc.
Best company I've worked for in a long time.
Lotus Notes
Notes is basically a computer program. We type in Word, through Lotus Notes. Notes has several functions. It is where you sign on and receive your work, check your line counts, edited reports, etc.
You also have your account specs there, account address books with doc names, PA names, etc. Your E-mail is also on Notes.
It is a great program. Everything is right there for you. Very user friendly!!!
Yes, it is Lotus Notes and
They supply the computer.
I only know that they use Lotus Notes. Don't
s
Expanders and Lotus Notes
Axolotl uses a great Expander called SpeedType. It is a great program. It will hold reports as long as 8 pages. The platform is one of the best I have used. Very little, if any, demographics to input.
Do you know Lotus Notes? I think that's the software they use. nm
s
Lotus Notes Platform
Lotus Notes is a Word-based program. Everything you need is on the desktop within Lotus notes. It is where you sign on to receive your work, check your line counts, find account specifics and samples, etc. It is very easy to use.
You do receive 6 reports in your queue. The system replicates every 5 minutes and you will receive jobs to keep you with 6 at all times.
The system is not set up to spy on anyone. However, managers/QA can tell who is signed on and what reports that are in all queues. This is very important in case there are any problems such as the MTs internet goes down or if there are any issues with signing off any particular report.
Axolotl management does ask that if we are going to be away from our desk for more than 15 minutes to please sign out of the system. They do not want the work sitting in the queues when other MTs can be typing them.
One reason why Axolotl is such a great place to work is we always have plenty of work and they do not over hire. They base the number of MTs needed for any specific account by each MT producing 1200 lines per day. They do not treat us like little kids and watch every move we make.
I have been here over 2 years and it is the best place I have worked. They just ask you stick to your schedule and produce your minimum line counts.
Do they still supply the puter with Lotus Notes on it? nm
s
Do they still use Lotus Notes? Is program on your computer
s
I haven't started yet but they use Lotus Notes.
It is Windows based. Everyone I have talked to says it is user friendly, easy to make lines. Use Stedman's Spellcheck and SpeedType. You download 6 reports initially. I'm not sure if you complete the 6 and then get 6 more, or for every one you complete another one replaces it. They supply equipment. Employee manual makes it s/l they can spy on you.
I don't have experience with accounts, but told the accounts that I will work on are very low ESL. That doesn't mean there won't be bad dictators though.
Supposed to be someone available 24/7 if you need help, including QA.
I don't know any more than that since I haven't actually started work yet, still waiting on computer.
I am with Axolotl. There is nothing difficult sm
about using Notes. They also have Speed Type with it for an expander.
Please apply! We have so much work! Seems so many places have been slow since Christmas and New Year, but it has been the exact opposite for us! The account I am on used to just be discharge summaries, but we have now taken over their consults and ops as well.
Was told recently that they do 70% clinic notes and 30% acute care, very few Ops. Don't know
m
Applied to Axolotl Recently...
Hello,
I applied a week ago to Axolotl, but have not heard anything yet. Did it take awhile for them to contact you? I was really hoping to get in with this company. Good luck to you!
Thanks!
They have at least 1 very difficult
account that is hard to get lines on. They also have a weird platform. There are 3 files for every dictation, 2 of which you have to open. They supposedly give you a percentage of lines to allow for that, but I think it is a bunch of garbage. I currently work where there is no platform, we type in Word or WordPerfect 5.1, whichever we are most comfortable with and we have a macro to put in all the demographics - all we have to type is patient's name. I don't understand if my company can make it simple why the others can't.
You didn't ask, but Precyse offshores, if they tell you something get it in writing because there is little truth in it. Communication is very poor.
Not too difficult
With someone with your mentality--like shooting fish in a barrel. (Do try to get over it.)
Very difficult to say unless
you know what the system is like, the dictators, the quality of the MTs, etc. 3.5 is not a great line rate but you can make some money if you are only filling in blanks and can get in and out of the reports pretty easy. I was offered 5 cpl once but the dictators were so horrible and the MTs so horrible and the system so slow I went broke immediately and quit. There is a learning curve obviously but sometimes you know immediately it won't get much better. Good luck! The very best way is an hourly rate but most companies not willing to pay that.
I did it! It is not that difficult...
a lot of it will probably come back to you. Allow yourself a week or so to pick up speed, but I think you will be fine.
Same here. It's very difficult to get anymore than 200 lph
Am considering quitting also. Have averaged 300-400 lph at any other place I've worked. I also agree with you about the emailing bit. After every update about how much work is on the system, it's ALWAYS followed by an email from the owner about a minute later telling you to either stretch more or threatening you with their PRN Program or that you'll lose the work to offshoring, etc., etc...
Have nothing against anyone there, but I very rarely ever break 200 lph working on their hospital accounts. Bayscribe definitely gives low line counts.
If you only do 100 lph cause of a difficult doc then its a whole 8.80 an hour...
tt
Difficult dictators?
So MDI-FL and WebMedx both have decent health insurance for a decent price? And what do we have to do to get that? Are they all ESL? Or do they truly have decent dictators where you can make some money. I have done very few ESL. What typing speed are they looking for?
it's difficult, but it comes down to self-discipline
Like you, I started at MT when I had my first newborn in the house. He's 18 now. All told, I have three boys, ages 18, 17 and 16 living in my house, and my husband. My home office is in my walk-thru pantry. We have a straight-thru house, so one has to walk through my work area to get into the kitchen, and all those growing males have to visit the kitchen often. In addition, I apparently have the hang out house, and there are usually a good number of other young people at my house most afternoons and weekends. That is one thing that I love, though. It's good to know what my boys and their friends are up to.
Over the years I've worked hard to establish boundaries. It WAS hard in the beginning to let the phone calls go. It was difficult to turn friends and family away from the door, but it had to be done. I had the same problems as you. I was up all night, production was low, etc.
I didn't resort to renting office space, I just got mean, I suppose. My answering machine message said that I was working and would return personal calls after business hours. These days, I have caller ID, so I can check the number of incoming calls. I answer calls from school, work or from my children and husband. That's it. Other calls go to voicemail. I changed the locks on the doors, and did not give keys to my family or neighbors. I had a few arguments with them, and used a very stern voice. I'm busy. I'm working. It's no different than anyone else who works in an office away from home.
I do, however, get up from my chair fairly often to avoid edema problems. I will throw in one load of laundry, wash a dish or two, run the vacuum in one room, or even scrub a toilet. But I get up and do only one quick chore at a time. No t.v., no radio, etc.
It's difficult, and it takes some perseverence and certainly self-control to establish boundaries and good at-home work habits.
Good luck with your new office. For me, though, I would not want to work to pay rent for an office when I have free office space at home.
I agree with you. It's not that difficult IF - sm
you TRULY are an experienced MT. I am not talking about the I have 20 years doing neurology or I have been doing op notes for 15 years. MT. I mean the MT who can, no matter what comes up next, DO THE WORK and do it well. Everyone has to leave a blank every once in a while, but I believe there are a lot of people out there doing this job who cannot turn in even 1 job without a blank in it. They have limited experience, trying to pass it off as acute care/teaching hospital experience and when they get the actual work, boy does it show.
I find this very difficult to believe.
//
They are difficult accounts, and they have not
been able to hold anyone on these accounts for some reason. They've had these accounts for quite awhile, so I'm thinking that in order to keep the client happy, they must be offshoring the account again. They will do that from time to time. I'm glad I'm off of it. I was not making my lines on the Michigan account.
VR and difficult dictatoirs
I saw your post and would like to tell you and anyone else, do not get your hopes up high that VR will not work because of difficult doctors. I know for a fact. I work on VR and some straight and I would have never believed it but I personally think VR works even better sometimes with most of the difficult ones than with our better speaking dictators. Why, ? who knows. I myself was under the same thought when we were told were going on VR, oh, it will never work with so and so. It does and very efficiently on the VR I work with.
98.9% QA is NOT that difficult to attain -
Nor should it be if you are a quality-minded MT. I don't understand the negative about this company just over the QA. Their rate may seem low, but the 7 cpl rate is for clinic work, which in my opinion is much easier and deserves a lower rate! The acute-care rate is comparable with other companies nationwide.
I must point out that there are pros and cons to every company nationwide and that no company is a fit for all MTs. Compared to other nationals, however, this one is way above average, in my opinion. I'm sure I'll get bashed for this, but that's okay - I'm hauling money to the bank each and every paycheck!
not a difficult transition
Having trained MTs from DQS to ExText I can safely tell you that it is not a difficult transition. There are many similarities and it is doable. Never be afraid to take a leap of faith, it could change your life. It changed mine.
How difficult is it to get 100+ reports
for radiology on Meditech with ShortHand Expander in one shift?
I would think pretty difficult
IMO..... I think it would be pretty tough, unless the reports are very short (then hopefully you would get paid per report). I used to work in Meditech and I spent more time filling in the demo screen than typing the reports! I don't think MediTech is Radiology-friendly (IMO) unless the reports have some meat on them! Also depends on the version of MediTech, some have the autofill and some you have to fill in every blasted box.
So far they are fine and not that difficult
Yes - sounds like you are the one having the difficult time -......
must be you who got the axe! Maybe you should spend your time looking for another job and praying you get one.
Thanks for the info.. Is your account difficult?
I read some earlier posts about a high turnover and the hospital being too picky..what do you think?
Was the test really difficult? How bad are their ESL dictators?
x
I tried it also..platform too difficult to navigate..nm
Is this what you mean by difficult or high maintenance? lol
:+
How easy or difficult is it to meet your
line requirements with their accounts and typing platform?
Has anyone tested with DRC and is it a difficult test? Thanks nm
nm
What is the IC rate for doing very difficult ESLs. nm
:
FutureNet ... Very very difficult dictators
The people at FutureNet are nice and for the most part easy to work with. Their platform is easy to use. The accounts are the bottom of the barrel as far as dictators with thick accents, fast talkers, slurred speech. QA is nice but can't help you get used to these awful dictators. The quality of dictation just stopped me in my tracks, it was so terrible. Again, the staff are pleasant, but they aren't the ones who have to try to decipher the dictation to make a decent line count.
If you have the experience, the pay is higher than most nationals, and if you have an extremely good ear for accents, you can do very well. The dictation is internet based so you don't have to scratch around for your own unlimited long distance. The pay comes on time in my experience, but there's no Direct Deposit. The line counter is always accurate, I have checked against my own, and never any discrepancies.
The editors always seem able to fill in the blanks, so it is proof that some people can understand these dictators, but even though the folks at FutureNet were some of the nicest I have worked with, I could never get a handle on the accents, so regretfully I had to move on. Don't be fooled by the test reports, the actual dictation is much worse.
Obviously they were trying to unload a difficult doctor...
on you, and they got mad when you wouldn't take him/her. They were probably hiring mainly to find someone to do this lousy dictator.
... and give more to the MTs who do the difficult stuff. nm
x
How difficult is Escription to learn? nm
nm
Never said it was difficult to attain. I have never had QA issues. sm
But the idea that someone would fall under that level just twice in an entire year and get cut 1 cpl in pay seems a bit offputting. I normally do about 20,000 lines a pay period, so that would be a substantial cut in pay.
I am sure it is a great company for some. I'm not knocking them per se. I am just saying that the pay cut policy is enough to make me look elsewhere. No doubt they will not mourn my loss. (smile)
KS Testing? Difficult platform...sm
I haven't applied to them yet, but a family member has, whose test she had me listen to for validation and her own satisfaction. One test was easy, great dictator. The second test, and we believe it was made to be as hard as they can make it, could not, I repeat NOT be understood in any way or form. Ordinarily, I would have slowed it down and repeated it with my foot pedal, but a pedal could not be used on the KS tests, not can they be slowed down. Had my cousin known this, she would have chucked the lengthy written test, since the dictation part seem to be set up to fail. Why can't they at least make the difficult dictation compatible with a foot pedal and/or speed control? 
This is a difficult question to answer (sm)
You will find MTs here who can meet their required lines at any company, then you will find MTs who cannot meet their required lines no matter where they work. Also, within one company there are different accounts. One MT may be on an account with many difficult dictators, another may be on an easier account. As far as platforms are concerned, the only platform that I worked on and thought was absolutely horrible was Meditech, and there are even different versions of Meditech, some of which are apparently better than others  . In this industry, I think the only way to know how it will be to work for a company is to actually begin working for them and see what happens. It's called job hopping. I've done it a lot and it has worked for me...just leave in a polite manner, do not burn bridges - it's a small industry. If you are struggling currently, keep moving until you find a good fit .
It was really not that difficult, a lot of acronyms and abbreviations, though. nm
xx
If you can work through the difficult ESLs, that is...
x
It didn't help. Had 3 difficult reports by
same dictator. First job legitimately pooled to me, second I forgot to check, third report 1 other MTs cancelled the job so I ended up with it. It totally burns me up.
I don't remember the test being difficult. sm
But it is part of looking for a job. Unfortunately we have one of the only jobs that I know of that most companies make the applicants test before even looking at them. It does get time consuming looking for a new job.
VR is more difficult than straight MTing
because there are no expanders, no templates, no macros and that brings you down. You MTs who so desparately stick to the OLD methods, are impotent without your Expanders and your grammar and spelling is questionable when it comes to correcting the whole document!
VR is ok, but the payment is pitiful. Hopefully this will be corrected in the future. VR is here to stay, believe it or not!
YOU are the ignorant one, always were and always will be, the future will show you!
Why do you think there are so many notes SM
on this board pertaining to how long it takes to get a decent line count?
They will tell you it is a 65 character line. It is not. As stated, more like 75-80. There are ways to work with it, make tons of macros, etc. But it is tough.
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