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Has anyone worked for the Word Pros on an as-needed basis? Thanks. NM

Posted By: just checking on 2006-05-20
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Anyone with info on The Word Pros or anyone who has worked on an as-needed basis? NM
nm
Any one work for The Word Pros - any information nm
nm
I worked for them briefly on a part-time basis. sm

The people are absolutely GREAT, and the account I had was not difficult.  I thought their platform was a bit cumbersome and I could not import my abbreviations into their expander, so my line count took a hit.   They paid better than some, though, at 9-1/2 cpl.


 


Good luck.


A year ago, I was offered 8 cpl for experience and I needed my own Word 2003. I turned them down. nm
s
Last year you needed Word 2003 to work for them. Prior to that, you used their machine
s
Has anyone worked for Landmark Transcription? Will you share pros and cons please?
xx
Wel he worked with me, told me I needed to buy a new computer/
nm
Don't know mgmt, but in Feb. you needed Word 2003 and Office 2003 to work. nm
s
Has anyone worked for Adept Word?

Any information (good or bad) would be appreciated.  


I havent heard a word about an incentive and I have worked there almost 2 years so I guess I didnt
qualify for whatever status you needed to get an incentive. Is this something you get every pay period if you meet a quota or just something quarterly. Just curious.
OMG! LMAO! So worked up over 1 word? Better quit posting, her head's gonna explode!...nm
x
per line basis
nm
...rather than on a daily basis? Thanks.
xx
What you have asked has no basis
because if VR learned to where it could be left on its own accord, then 5 years later I would not be doing the same account on the same VR platform and I do not work for the TT.
Any company pay on a weekly basis?
Just wondering if there is one out there.  I really prefer a weekly paycheck, but cannot seem to find a company willing to do that. 
IC means job by job basis, not when the company

ICs work best from pools, and then of course a TAT would be attached to that.  There are companies out there that do this and do not abuse IC status.  Abuse of IC status are set schedules, set lines, etc.  No IC should have to be available just in case.  If so, that IC then becomes an employee.  An IC can lose money having to be available by not taking on other jobs.  I am defining a job as 1 file of transcription, not a shift, which would be for an employee.  Shiftwork is for employees not ICs.  An IC is their own boss and run their own ship.  An IC has a right on any given time or day not to accept a job.  These companies requiring set shifts so to speak and set lines are not following IRS guidelines.  Even though a company has clients that need their transcription back that does not give the company the right to treat an IC as an employee.  As far as I'm concerned, that company that am contracted with as an IC is my client.  Actually, if you contract work (IC) for a company's client, then you are actually a subcontractor.  If you had the client yourself, you are then the contractor. 


As far as pay, these companies do not want to pay any more than they have to, so they put the rate out there.  I have not accepted clients or MTSO subcontracted work because I am not willing to work for that amount of money.  I have also accepted work or jobs to transcribe on a job by job basis (typing from a pool).  However, if you are assigned a dictator, you still have the right as an IC to say at any time I cannot transcribe that file today.  It is the companies responsibility to find another IC to transcribe that job.  An employee cannot refuse work that is assigned. 



What is the % of ESL dictation you do on weekly basis?

What is the % of ESL dictation you do on weekly basis?


Why do people hate ESL dictation so much? 


I learned a long time ago that it is better to put the time into learning each ESL dictator, then when they come around it isn't as painful and some of them are actually pretty good and give good line counts.


It seems, no matter where I have worked, that when reports fell way out of TAT it was because there are a lot of ESL dictations that people didn't want to do so they just sit there.


Does anyone know of a company that hires ICs on a very flexible basis.
I really just want a position that I can work as a second job, maybe some weekends and evenings and nothing set in stone. I have found even with a lot of the companies who say that they are flexible or really not. The next thing I know, I need to tell them exactly WHAT DAY and WHAT TIME I am working ahead of time etc. That is exactly what I want to avoid. I want the flexibility to work if I want and take off a day or two if I need to. Is this possible?? I realize that the main reason they ask for a schedule is to plan accordingly but I do not want that "pressure". I was an IC recently and if I was not on right at the moment they "scheduled" me, then I would get emails or phone calls. Maybe I am just dreaming that I can have this flexibility..Anyone??
My plumber doesn't do work for me on a daily basis. .sm
In my state, we need to get a 1099 if we make over $1000 as an IC. I have never paid a plumber that much money, thank goodness!
What people have to understand is we are competing on a global basis now. nm
xxx
Anyone else working for eTransPlus running out of work on a daily basis?
How are you handling it?
Hmm..If this is the radiology account, I thought they were paying on a per-report basis..sm

I worked for them for a little over a week and we were being paid per report.  Must be a different account they were recenting hiring for or either they changed the pay structure.


At any rate, my experience was less than grand as well.


The platform is Word. Their program works with Word but does not change how Word works. nm
The benefits just changed the first part of this month. I don't have them but I remember them being reasonabl for a single person. Family and spouse was not reasonable in any way (in my opinion).
Who here is required to type 1800 lines on a daily basis for FT work?
x
small to medium company that works in Word or Word-based program - email me. nm
nm
ExText is integrated with Word. Auto correct is a part of Word.
ExText is a Word based platform. When the page opens for you to type the document it will be just like you are typing in MS Word.
anyone work for Oracle - do they use Word or a Word-based program - e-mail me nm
nm
Just wanna work in Word - need company that works in WORD! nm
nm
Their program works with Word and does not change how Word functions. sm
You use your own expander. Overall I feel it is user friendly and I like it.
Does the Emdat platform use Word or is it Word-based? nm
nm
OSI PROS/CONS

Pros: Good platform. Don't run out of work. I only know one manager, and she is nice. They don't bombard you with nasty emails. 


Cons: QA team is snooty-snooty-snooty and makes a lot of mistakes themselves. Not sure but I think there is a lot of cherry picking going on because all I get is junk and my account is easy. I feel bad about sending QA blanks because they have a bad attitude about it. Training pay is only $8 an hour. I heard that you can get paid more than that at some other companies.


I guess it could change for the worst as I get used to them. More pros than cons.


Pros and Cons
What do you find important in a job? Do you need/what insurance? Do you want someone else to be responsible for the equipment? Do you have a problem putting money back to pay your taxes? Do want a strict 9-5 job or do you want to be flexible?

As an IC you have to pay your own taxes, keep up your own equipment, usually no insurance from company, though you may have the flexibility you might also find you work more hours throughout the week to the keep the account in TAT. The reason for this is because companies that hire ICs usually do not overstock the MT pond and work is very plentiful.

ICs are usually paid a better line rate because they do not get all the other benefits. Tax write-offs are there but are not great unless you rent an office and have some major expenses.

So really it just depends on what you are looking for. As they say, dfferent strokes for different folks.

All of these things can be pros and cons for both employee and IC. You have to decide what is important to you and how it works in your life.
Pros Vs Cons
My experience wasn't quite as bad as others but ended quite poorly.

Having just ended 1 year and 11 months with SoftScript, here's some insight:

PROS:
---In all that time, they were out of work exactly twice, for a matter of minutes--that's a big deal to me in this industry in which lack of consistent availability of work has been (in my 19 years) a chronic problem.
---They're good about sticking you with specific accounts and dictators so you can get familiar with them--also a big deal if you've ever pulled up work from new clinicians and accounts on a daily basis, quite a headache.
---Likewise, if they say, e.g., in my case, you're going to be doing ER notes exclusively, that's what you'll get, ditto for ESLs, unlike quite a few companies who promise only say 25% ESLs and mostly, say, discharge summaries, then, as just happened with me with another interim company, start glomming nothing but ESLs and/or OP notes onto you.

CONS:
---They do have a lot of ESLs, counterbalanced with, again, the fact that you get the same ones over and over and at least have a chance to get to know them individually, and I only encountered one that was all that bad. In fact, the worst dictator I encountered with them was obviously U.S.-born but blithered along in jibberish like he was on a major speed trip--blanks everywhere. However, if you just can't stand ESLs at all, don't go with them, at least not in ER work (about 80 to 90% of what I did).
Conversely, if you don't like ESLs but recognize that you're GOING to have to get over it (40+% of doctors in the U.S. are ESL, and the numbers are growing), SoftScript might be the one with whom to get your feet wet.
---Payroll is usually on-time, but they do use an outside company for this and occasionally are off by a few days.
---They started out very laid-back about flexible schedules; as long as linecount quotas were met, no big deal; then, the last few months, they kept calling to try to pin me down. If you can stand to work a rigid schedule, go make better money in an office; schedule flexibility is supposed to be one of the biggest benefits of home-based work, isn't it?
---The BIG one: Likewise, after almost 20 years, I just can't produce like I used to and, at their request, sent them medical documentation as to why this was the case, after which, with no warning whatsoever, they fired me, and this was right after a night when I did some extra work they suddenly desperately needed someone to do.
Some legal eagle friends (including a judge) have told me I have an Americans With Disabilities case against them, and if I hadn't gotten another position to occupy my time and bring in the money, and if ADL cases didn't usually take so many YEARS, I would be sorely tempted to pursue a case.

BTW, don't ever let fear hold you back from such action. There is precident now, yes, even for ICs. I'm one of the few males you'll probably ever encounter (though probably only because there are so few of us in MT work) who won a sex discrimination claim against a pink collar employer--took about six months and we settled out of court rather than had a trial, but I'd do it all over again if I felt the (especially financial) need, which I don't now.

Thanks for the chance to process all this, hope it was helpful.

Again, after almost two years, I did find the ultimate result with SoftScript ungrateful to say the least, but, again, they did have that rare and important quality above--consistent availability of work--throughout that time; that's important if you're not independently wealthy--and if you are, what the heck are you doing reading this?! --CTToth@Yahoo.com
Pros and Cons

Having done both since the beginning of time I have formed this chart:


Pros:


The thermostat for heat and air conditioning is yours and yours alone!


You can work around your favorite soap opera! 


You can buy an espresso machine and make your own lattes and save a bundle on that alone! 


You can eat when you want, where you want or if you want, and choose your own food from your own refrigerator for lunch and start dinner on your breaks!


You can wear sweat or jammies and save all your best clothes.  You can throw all your pantyhose in the trash (maybe your bra too if you are daring enough). 


When you get up to stretch you can throw in a load of clothes. 


You can work as much or little as you choose and at the times you want to! 


You can type barefooted or outside in your patio. 


You can choose your own equipment and software much of the time!


Cons:


You have to do your own taxes and/or quarterlies. 


You have to pay for your own equipment and get it repaired. 


Sometimes the doorbell or phone rings and no one else will get up to answer it and it breaks your rhythm. 


Sometimes when you are wearing your sweats even though you are most comfortable you wonder if you are turning into a bag lady. 


If some of your accounts are contracted by you personally then you need to deal with the office or hospital medical records politics yourself and may need to drive over there to pick up and deliver, attend a meeting, renegotiation.  You may wish to have a service pick up and deliver work if they use tapes and you usually pay for this yourself unless you are fortunate and the docs pay for it.  . 


For me the pros won out every time I reconsidered and I am still here, still working, still getting paid and wearing what I want with a smile on my face most of the time.  My sisters who stayed at the hospital still have not gotten a raise in 10 years and are wearing pantyhose.  So, who is lucky?   


Pros and cons
Yeah!! I am just completing my course and viewing some of the posts has me a bit worried. Thank you for the positive spin.

Pros and cons
Please post pros and cons for this company. Would like to know if you have enough work, flexible schedule, QA staff good, average starting cpl rate for experienced transcriptionist. TIA
Pros/cons
Great company - the woman who's the lead Transcriptionist (mostly completely in charge, really) is great. Always there for you, always ready to answer questions. Line rate is average/slightly better than for a decent IC position, but it's pretty easy to make well over the average number of lines, 'cause you typically have the same dictators every day. Paid headers, footers, etc. The best part is the amount of work - it's limitless right now. Still, no one bugs you to take too much. You just have to get done what you take.

Even though you're IC, you do get 2 weeks paid vacay per year after being with them for a year.

Cons: Right now (which I believe they are changing by hiring on new staff), you mostly deal with Indian guys who seem like they're not 100% sure what they're doing all the time, and they can be a little difficult to deal with (not mean, just confusing). However, CardioScribes doesn't offshore. I'm not sure about their sister company, MediScribes, but I made sure to ask twice about whether or not CS does.

Also, because they're growing so rapidly right now, it seems like they don't have a good, stable support system in place, so things are pretty hectic sometimes. However, this has NEVER translated into anyone getting angry or anything. It's just taken patience.

On a scale of 1-10 in terms of companies I've worked for, I would give them a 6-7 right now, but I fully believe they'll be a 9 within months, after hiring the right management and getting accounts nailed down.

Recommended.
Pros/cons

Thank you for the information, and I agree that no company is 100%.  As long as they do a fair line count, have sufficient work, and pay on time, I am happy. 


Pros/Cons
That would be time consuming.  However, they do allow IC status versus only full-time at Keystrokes.  This is going to be a second job for me (soon to be a single mom to two children) and I need the extra income, but can't handle two full-time jobs with two little ones.  Thanks for the info!
Word for Word Medical Transcription
Pros and cons please.
In his ad, he's asking for Word Perfect, not Word, if that matters. nm
s
The platform is not Word, but it is Word-based. I
had little Word experience and the recruiter told me to try to find a book to learn the basics of Word as their program is Word-based. 
Now I wish they would just call me back......no word no word and
What is up with these MT companies that advertise. They don't even answer. I have a great resume, tons of experience. I'm confused.
eTransPlus pros/cons
Thanks in advance!
Would like pros or cons of Windrix (sm)
Anyone know their IC pay scale? Lots of ESLs? Kind of platform? Plenty of work? thanks
How about pros and cons of Axolotl?
nm
Pros and cons to Spheris

I am currently employed by them.  The way I see it, there are going to be negative things and positive things about anyone you work for.  Spheris is no exception.  IMO, one of the positives is that I always have work.  The only time there has been a shortage of work is over the holidays in December/January.  Other than that, I have always had consistent work.  They do offer primary and secondary accounts, so you should always have somewhere to be that has work.  Another positive thing is that I have had awesome supervisors with Spheris.  They have been very flexible with me when I need to take care of my kids and change my priorities around.  I don't think every supervisor is like that, but mine have been and I have been very lucky.  Also, the QA staff is awesome and very helpful.  I will definitely say that they are the best QA people i have ever worked with.


The negative things that I see are that, first, I kind of feel like just a number.  They have so many transcriptionists, it seems like they don't have time to take care of them.  There's a reason they're always hiring.  I think that a lot of people get disgruntled really quickly.  There is no PTO for part-timers (they took that away about 7 months ago, which made me go back to full-time).   They seem to be taking more and more from the employees as time goes on, but again, it seems like they have to do that to be competitive.  Spheris India is also another big issue for many of the MTs working for Spheris, so if you don't want a company that is outsourcing, steer clear from Spheris.  If you want any other information, feel free to e-mail me, and I'll answer any questions you have to the best of my knowledge.


Pros and cons of Medware, please. nm
nm
There are pros and cons to every company...

Not a fit for everyone.  Yes, there are lots of ESLs, lots of physicians who do not know how to speak, lots of different work types----comes with every national, I suppose.  You may feel you cannot make money or you may get a really good account that is a great money-maker.  The choice is yours.  I think it is a great company overall despite the cons one encounters with just about any company.  There are pretty good pros too.  Nice differential for shifts, potential bonus, and great benefits especially family insurance. 


you just need to make you a pros and cons about each sm
company and decide what is most important to you in a job and benefits. what is important to me, may be different than what is important to you. is it possible for you to give it a try before giving notice to execuscribe? i am sure you would find to be happy at TT as so many of us have and not look back if given the chance. FYI, i have only been there about 2 months too so i am not recruiting, but am very happy thusfar and in this business with so many horrible companies, i like to spread the word about the few good ones that are out there.
Could someone give pros and cons? nm