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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Birdie, where, generally, do you live?

Posted By: nfm on 2007-06-27
In Reply to: Cant's wait to leave - bye-bye Birdie

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TO bye bye Birdie

TO bye, bye, Birdie,


I wish/beg/hope/pray that you will write us a handbook, or at least share a report of your journey with us.  Seriously, I would very much like for you to write a book and sell me a copy.  I want to hear all about where you have been, what you have seen, and any insights you might have as to how we can individually and collectively make the necessary changes.  I'm truly not familiar with how things are going right now in other industries (except that nurses are getting better pay than when I was doing it), but I just know that I personally have been in a living nightmare ever since I graduated from the MT training and started trying to make a decent living at it.  The situation is worse now than it was just 2 short years ago. 


You have the experience and insight that would be most useful to relative newcomers such as myself.  So, please consider it, do it.


 


where is the post of bye-bye birdie?
nm
Bye-Bye Birdie, any luck? nm
nm
Bye Bye Birdie. Could you email me too. I've been watching the board and interested in your findi
since I also have been on the job search from you know where. I would be interested in any information you would want to share.
I don't know where you live but where I live foreclosures are rising and there are no jobs -- non
I worried about my employer for part of the winter as my accounts grew sparse. I had plan to switch to being an employee with benefits but dared not make the switch in this economy (this was last year this time, got it?)
I figured keeping my seniority was worth whatever security it afforded.

My accounts have rebounded some and I can pay my bills.

By economizing seriously, I have paid off my credit card and put some money aside, just in case. I'm breathing easier, thanks.

So, all in all, I'm not complaining. This last winter was brutal, but I had a job and I paid my bills. When employment rebounds and/or national health goes into effect, people will go to the doctor again and we will be busy.

My part of the world is like a ghost town -- everyone who could left to find work in the city -- many apparently leaving their homes to the banks. Several houses in my vicinity have been on the market more than 4 years.

Forgive me my loyalty ... it pays the bills.

What does yelling at the rest of us do for you?
generally, yes
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Generally, no...
Acute care is considered H&Ps, operative reports, discharge summaries, and consultations, although some companies might include ER as acute care.  I think it really depends on what you were told when you were hired.
Benefits generally add 40% to cpl and TH has
~
I was just being generally silly - but not
sure who my cohorts are! I assure you, I'm a lone jokester.
How long does it generally take...sm
Focus Infomatics to let you know whether you passed or failed the testing for employment? 
Generally 3-4.5 cpl. Much lower than transcribing.
s
I actually meant this generally, I do not think it's all that different in other states....
from what I've been reading and hearing from others. My husband and I have separate insurance each with our own employer and pay a fair rate of 100 a month or so and they are very good plans and not that HMO garbage. BUT we don't have kids. We have an excellent income and live on the east coast too but that would not make it *okay* for me if we had to pay those rates. So, right now I'm thinking of definitely nixing that whole having a family idea we've been discussing. I was hesitant anyway because I feel this world is just not a nice safe place anymore. So this may just seal the deal for me. What a country, huh? : (
I'm generally happy with my company. SM
I have great supervisor, lots of PTO, helpful coworkers. I have all the work I can do on a consistent basis and no one bothers me.

One problem: OUR PAY KEEPS GOING DOWN.

Thanks for listening.
A big MTSO generally doesn't lay off.
They'll come up with every excuse in the book not to authorize unemployment.  Are you working now or have you been out of work since you contacted your supervisor?  I would say contact your supervisor again and tell her that if you don't hear from her by (fill in your date), then you will be forced to apply for unemployment since there is no work and you haven't been offered a secondary account.  Since you say that the other accounts are all sufficiently staffed, I don't know if this would do much good anyway because then they'll give you a secondary, but you still won't have work.  Maybe it's time to start looking at other companies that are hiring. 
Generally, will companies allow you that "learning curve"?
Most of the jobs advertised say Must have X years of acute or hospital experience . . .  When I see that, I just move on.  After so much time, don't they require that you do a certain # of lines?  Were you able to reach that # and still feel like with all the time you spent researching, you still had a little bit of a life besides work?   I'll try to test for any company that will let me test for acute care just to see how I do.  Thanks for sharing your experience.  It gives me hope.
Conference dictations are generally extremely sm
tedious as the voice quality is awful. Consider that when I was in college back in 1970 I made $1.50 a page straight typing from text. You'll be transcribing, not straight typing, a conference or interview.
Work is generally slow all around. Easter
is early, plus spring break in lots of places.   I've been on OT for the last 2-3 weeks and ran out of work yesterday and probably will today too.  Enjoy it while you can. 
I am just generally a worry wart but I am trying to work on it.
I guess that is why the e mails get to me. My job is really important to me, and I take pride in it, I always have. So, maybe I need to lighten up. I understand what the OP said, but I guess we have to make choices in life. The boss has a family, they understand we need lives. Guess do more than expected of us, and using the delete key is a good approach. Just need to quit the worrying habit!
Generally the length of time you are required to keep sm
records on file for a former client is codified in your contract with them.
I don't generally label cheerleaders as Management, but that has to be one. NM
NM
Most generally lots of people on here to start trouble????

Bringing this back up from below posted by Babe  People come here to get advice, and seeking opinions on companies good or bad.  Sure, there are a few bad apples that will not be happy anywhere they go but I think most of us all want the same thing, an honest and good company to work for.  To post only the positive would be great, but then as we all know, there are companies that do their advertising right here posing as MTs, only to find out later when we get burned and have to start the entire process of testing and bouncing yet to another job.  You are either very naive about the MT world we live in today, or more likely you are a company official that doesn't like anything negative posted about your company, specially when its lots of it.  I don't think anyone is stupid enough to believe everything they see here, but if you see a  lot of  specifics about a particular company and you experienced it yourself, then you have to give that some credibility and back that person up - this could be good information or bad information.  My assessment of KS personally is that I have not seen anything that would sway me in any way.  Any information I have seen here leaves me as feeling neutral.I think people just want an honest opinion, thats all.  I guess you perceive a negative post warning about another company's ripoff techniques starting trouble  Hmmm.. makes me wonder what chair you're sitting in, sure don't sound like an MT. 


Generally, benefits cost the employer $3/hour, so that's sm
probably how yours would figure out, too. 9/cpl/65 is a respectable rate for benefits. Like the other poster said, it depends on what you need and what your scheduling preferences are.

It's every two weeks on Monday, but with direct deposit you generally get it
on Saturday and I even know a couple of MTs who get it on Friday.
Generally, with holidays, patients put off elective procedures, sm

more doctors take off, and generally you can count on a lighter workload, especially with Christmas and Thanksgiving.   I tell myself I will save up and prepare for it, but usually I end up scrounging frantically for work, so do not feel alone. 


Oh, and pay no attention to the whining comments.  Most of us have compassion and understand the panic that cam come along when you realize you have run out of work for the day or whatever.


Hang in there ... it will get better. 


Whatever it is, I've learned that it'll generally keep until morning.
Plus if I've been jangled awake in the night by the phone, and am only half-conscious (and wholly p****d off), I'm not going to be of much use, anyway.

If it's bad news, I'd rather read it as an email while I'm having my coffee in the morning.
Sorry to say, this is generally not a good place for support or info. sm
In fact, it's pretty much a cesspool (no offense to true cesspools worldwide) filled with just enough folks who get their jollies being contrary, rude, deceptive, nasty ... you name it.

There are other boards that require logins and therefore there's less of the anonymous sniping that is seen here.

And, of course, this post will be deleted, while the nasty ones remain.

Very sad.
It depends on where you live. If you live in their
service area it would be cheaper than outside their service area.   I only have rates for out of service area and medical is  139.13 for family or 168.42 depending on what plan you choose.  Dental is 20.85 for family, vision is 5.13.  These are per pay period. 

Individual coverage would be 44.79/54.21 medical, 7.99 dental, and 1.71 vision.  

I opted out of insurance as we have through my husband's job.  I believe  the cheaper insurance is a 70/30 plan and the more expensive an 80/20, not sure about co-pays.  Deductibles are $2000 for family, not sure about individual.
Because in a production environment, the MT will generally produce a significantly higher number of
lines per day.
Weekly? Services are lucky if they get paid twice a month. Generally, services bill out to their
/
i live in NC. Where is this sm
company at. I am thinking about changing employers.
Yes, I used to live near them.

There was a recent post at this link.  http://forum.mtstars.com/company/v/1/7698.html


And a post from 2004 stating that they were disorganized.


They don't live up to their name...nm
x
don't know but u live elsewhere than me....sm

When I go soliciting more private work (rarity), I expect exactly what I charge today and for the past 10 years; have never raised my rates. I chose my rate by what was/is usual and customary in the area where I live and what other fellow MTs charge.  No complaints thus far, but I live in and around a couple of huge cities, and I do charge 12 cpl, promising 24-48 TAT, with close to 3 decades experience.  Best luck to you !!  


Anyone here live in PA???
side of the state and wondering if anyone could tell me of some good neighborhoods to move into; anywhere between Stroudsburg and Philly.  Thanks everyone!
Where I live
pretty much all jobs require a background check and the potential employers pay for them. I have had to have a background check for every job I have applied for here. It really wasn't a big deal.
if that is all it is, i can live with that;
I will just remember to get it in on time.

I believe you have to live near SM
the hospital to reap the full benefits of the insurance.

Others have stated they cannot use the hospital insurnance and that there is little work, due to over-hiring.
I live in s/m
NW Arkansas (Wal-Mart country).  There are craft fairs and festivals just about every weekend.  Near Eureka Springs where the whole town is made up of gift shops and tourism is about their only industry.  Lots of wealthy tourists willing to pay $5000 to $10000 for a quilt.  Yes, I meant to add that many zeros.  Nice gourd birdhouses they'll pay $150 or more for.  30% commission still leaves a nice hefty profit. 
Where do you live?
and what sort of experience is your 14 years in? I work for a hospital that is looking to hired experienced MTs right now... some leads, but still some possible openings. What state/city are you in?

I worked for a service, then for a hospital. My hospital experience is totally positive. I wouldn't go back. Just my 2 cents worth. Hope you find something!
Where do you live?

maybe it depends where you live,
it was in the regular mail. Corporate is in the northeast and so am I. Maybe that's why I got mine and you are waiting.
live s/b life (nm)

it helps if you put where you live - sm
you stated microcassettes accounts - so more than likely maybe something nearby or a hospital that perhaps still dictates the old fashioned way - (AND YES, THERE ARE HOSPITALS THAT DO STILL USE TAPES!!)

so whereabouts do you live
how do you live off 800$ a month?
x
Depending on where you live (sm)
this could be a very good position for you. The people I used to supervise (pathology transcriptionists in-house) made about $15-19 per hour depending on how long they had been there. This is in Southern California, though, where employers will pay a little more when transcriptionists are scarce.
Depends on where you live
It sounds like you live in an area where there is a moderate cost of living. Here in the Bay Area, $15 an hour for an MT in any specialty/area is unheard of. Most start at $22 an hour for 1+ years experience. Well, this is what needed -- plus a lot more -- to pay $2,000 a month for rent or purchase a $600,000 two-bedroom house.
Re: Depends on where you live.
In the East Bay, say Albany, El Cerrito, Pinole, El Sobrante, and there are some very nice areas in Richmond (despite the news/press coverage), even all the way out to Vallejo and Fairfield. But for Berkeley, San Francisco, Marin, the West Bay, and the South Bay - forget about it!! All depends on where you like to live and what you can afford. If you are looking for Marin or Walnut Creek-type neighborhoods, then you will pay $1 million for a two-bedroom house. If you are looking for more modest, but still nice neighborhoods like those above, then you will find what you are looking for in the East Bay.
The town that I live in is

Stillwell, in Georgia.  The Stillwell is for the town, MTC is Medical Transcriptionist Coder.  :) 


thanks for the info though. 


The town that I live in is

Stillwell, in Georgia.  The Stillwell is for the town, MTC is Medical Transcriptionist Coder.  :) 


thanks for the info though. 


We must live in the same neighborhood (sm)

The cost of living is too high here to work for 8 cents per line.


The nationals have sucked up all the work here because it is such a high cost of living.


It would be fine if they would give me a decent account, but I haven't had a decent account from a company in such a long time, I just gave it up.  I am tired of wasting my time and energy only to get the worst of the worst again.  You can't make a living on it.


I don't know what state you live in but,

in my state (Maine) whether you quit or are fired, you get no unemployment unless you honestly cannot find employment for a period of 3 months.


Check your state unemployment benefit laws.