Is the ASR specialist still lurking on this board

on the other board u said u make 10 cpl [2008-09-03]
the company board

Nope just 4 new board members -- [2008-08-13]
one of those being the new chairman of the board, all appointed by CBay. Keep wearing them blinders!

Since this board is monitored [2008-08-13]
I'd like to know how nuts do we have to get with this e-time thing? Should we clock out to use the bathroom? To answer a phone call? I think most of us have worked in an office at some point and we know that we didn't spend the entire time with our noses to the grindstone. So, c'mon Medquist. Tell us how anal this is going to be.

It was here on the board not too long ago. Current flex PT could stay in that [2008-08-08]
position but others trying to go flex were told no and that it wasn't an option anymore.

I've been away from this board for months and months but sm [2008-08-07]
thought I'd check here to see what is going on. I'm still working for MQ and have been for 8+ years. I am in tears over here. I just read a post from a poster named Belle?? who says that she is just short of retirement and hope she can hang on long enough to retire. I am crying over here! I am so upset at what the hell has happened to this company. I can't even begin to explain my frustration. Yet, I sent out 4 resumes this morning and 2 of them responded THE SAME DAY! Why am I still considering staying and not taking the other jobs? It must be some sort of cult or spell they put on us!! I have to leave! I must leave! I don't trust this company. And that poor Belle gal. Oh my. Does she seriously think that MQ is going to let her hang on and pay her retirement? No way on earth is she going to see retirement happen with MQ/Cbay, or whomever it is we work for. so many of us have stuck it out for the past fewyears. Someone got it right. They will probably lower our pay. Also, with the merge, why are they firing people all of a sudden? Do they have too many employees now with the merge? Sort of sounds like it. In any event, good luck fellow MTs and QA people. This sure isn't what is used to be is it? So, so, so, so, so sad...

Look at the company board. "What is going on here, I am shocked." [2008-08-06]
Some of the other MTs at other companies are starting to have problems too.

By the looks of the company board [2008-08-06]
Being Exploited post, Verifying line counts post, What is going on here I am shocked post as MT's are running out of work, accounts outsourcing, etc., it seems quite a few MT's are also having problems working with other companies as some of the big companies do tend to copy each other's work ethics. Us MT's need to do something.

She is on this board, so would think [2008-08-06]
x

We have a new Board of Directors...see link [2008-08-06]
http://www.itnewsonline.com/showprnstory.php?storyid=5330 Hope I did the linkright.

There will be a new chairman of the board, Robert Aquilina, but [2008-08-05]
nothing has been mentioned about the CEO. Maybe you PS is getting them confused.

Go to company board.nm [2008-08-04]
x

SLS here (surgical language specialist), We are so much more...sm [2008-08-03]
than someone who justs transcribes what they hear.

Haven't been on this board in a long time,,,Where is this article [2008-07-31]
you mention about KUMAR....where have I been??? Where can I see this article?????

I wonder what people that don't get on this board [2008-07-30]
are thinking right now? All the positive comments from MQ about how the take-over wouldn't change anything, that we're still our own entity, etc. Even says it on MQCentral. If I didn't have anyone to compare notes to, I wouldn't know any different. It's sad to me.

Take political threads to Politics board, thanks. [2008-07-21]

Pure speculation. No one on this board [2008-07-19]
Cracks me up how everyone always thinks they are in the know. LOL

Original post is on the Company board. sm [2008-07-11]
When a message is moved to another board all responses are lost. So, while your question remains intact, any answer that was threaded below that message is gone. We have no way of moving those with the original message.

DQS problem across the board [2008-06-23]
t least that's what I was told by support. Master ticket open. Mine's been reaaaaal slow for the past 3 days. Hope its not going to be down for days again!

What's the other board? I feel like [2008-06-13]
there's a party somewhere and I'm missin it!

Is it me? Is the board stuck? Testing, testing..... [2008-06-12]

Board stuck [2008-06-12]
Most of the time this week it won't download at all.

Will MQ board be renamed to CBAY? nm [2008-06-10]

C-SPAN is the best suggestion I have seen on this board yet [2008-06-05]
nm

This board is for MQ employees only. [2008-06-04]
x

No, this board is for posts regarding MedQuist - NM [2008-06-04]
x

i never was tested. I was acquired with another company [2008-09-05]
and I stay only because I haven't found another job. I'm not looking for another MT job. I believe in time it would turn out the same. I've been going to school part-time for the last 8 years and recently applied for two jobs through my school - a credit analyst and a collections specialist - neither are what i really want to be doing, but they both sound like decent enough jobs. A relative offered me job running a cash register in his store Friday, Saturday & Sunday night for minimum wage. I turned that down. I'm going to leave Medquist for a good job, not another piece of cr@p one that just like Medquist. I've also been taking tests with the state civil service, and I've down well on most of them. I'm at the top of the list in several jobs in several counties, so there is hope there. & they are really good paying jobs. If I could get an accounting job with the state, there is a good possibility that I could be making close to $100,000 per year by the time I hit retirement...oh... and then there is also the possibility that I would actually retire, which is not so apparent with this job.

I agree that MQ needs to keep their staff happy. If you watch the video on QTube [2008-09-04]
at MQCentral and go toTown Hall Meeting (4th one down), he states that for the last three years the company has tried to grow.He stateswe NEED ALL U.S. MT's and wants to Higher every MT we can domestically every month. He also states, Supply declining in the US and we LOVE AND NEED ALL OF OUR DOMESTIC TRANSCRIPTIONISTS IN THE U.S. AND WOULD LOVE TO GET MORE. He also states, We have an active recruiting program andlook to find ways to higher more transcriptionists. The company should focus on how to keep the MT's they have.GET A CLUE. He also states that MQ has about 40-50 MILLION sitting in a bank. Well then, start giving out raises to the MT's every year, especially the MT's who have not had a raise in 5-10 YEARS. My gosh, GET A CLUE. Then the company would not have to spend money and find more ways on how to higher more MTs. TRY AND KEEP THE ONES YOU HAVE. The Board of Directors allget raises EVERY YEAR PLUS HUGE, HUGE BONUSES and if it was not for us MT's, ME's, QA's, they would not be making the money they are making. It makes me sick to my stomach even writing this. Sorry for misspelled words. Gotta go.

moonchild there are very few of us [2008-09-04]
who don't feel your pain. Hang in there. I always say what doesn't kill you will make you a better person. Maybe we need to go through this so that we are better trained for whatever is ahead for us. I know this will have to come to an end sooner or later because MQ can't just keep losing MTs with no one to replace them and they are running out of options. Again we will all make it through this really tough period of time and we will all be the better for it, even if it is with a different company, and MQ will be sorry they treated us this way. Again you are not alone, most of MQ's MTs are feeling the same way, even if the few cheerleaders who post on this board say different, and I for one will be praying for you and hoping for a fast end to this insanity that has been going on for the past year or so...

I agree that MQ needs to keep their staff happy. If you watch the video on QTube [2008-09-04]
at MQCentral and go toTown Hall Meeting (4th one down), he states that for the last three years the company has tried to grow.He stateswe NEED ALL U.S. MT's and wants to Higher every MT we can domestically every month. He also states, Supply declining in the US and we LOVE AND NEED ALL OF OUR DOMESTIC TRANSCRIPTIONISTS IN THE U.S. AND WOULD LOVE TO GET MORE. He also states, We have an active recruiting program andlook to find ways to higher more transcriptionists. The company should focus on how to keep the MT's they have.GET A CLUE. He also states that MQ has about 40-50 MILLION sitting in a bank. Well then, start giving out raises to the MT's every year, especially the MT's who have not had a raise in 5-10 YEARS. My gosh, GET A CLUE. Then the company would not have to spend money and find more ways on how to higher more MTs. TRY AND KEEP THE ONES YOU HAVE. The Board of Directors allget raises EVERY YEAR PLUS HUGE, HUGE BONUSES and if it was not for us MT's, ME's, QA's, they would not be making the money they are making. It makes me sick to my stomach even writing this. Sorry for misspelled words. Gotta go.

If management is really reading [2008-09-04]
this board, and we know you are, how can you be reading these posts and not know what your doing to your staff??? Laugh now, but things are going to change. You won't be able to send our jobs out of the country for very much longer and you will need the US MTs to work for you and you won't have us. It will then be your turn to live with a lot less money and it will be your own fault.. If I were running this company I would certainly be trying to make the people who bring the money in a little happier because without us you don't have a company...

aamt [2008-09-04]
Back in the 90s I used to be a member of AAMT and got the journal, and even attended several state and national conferences and was even a CMT for a few years. I have since not renewed my CMT and no longer am a member. I was never given an extra pay or raise for being a CMT so that I did not renew. I used to be on the board of directors for the local AAMT when I was living in a major CA city. The conferences, which were 3 day weekends for the yearly conference, for me were to hear the speakers, mostly doctors on new procedures they were doing back then for different ailments. And of course, the vendors were mostly book companies and some of the major bigger services looking for employees. We were always trying to get through to AAMT that we needed to have some better wages and be treated as someone important. they also assured us that voice recognition would not be in MT's world in our life time. Well, it shouldn't be, but it is here I guess. Those definitely were the good old days, and we will never see them again.

on the other board u said u make 10 cpl [2008-09-03]
the company board

you're lucky i get 7 cpl and 4.9 cpl for ASR [2008-09-03]
& i've been with the big fat Q since they bought the company I was working for back in 2000. it's ridiculous. I have no quality problems, no line count problems, i work my schedule, type extra when asked, but i'm somehow not worthy of a raise, even though the price of everything keeps going up and up & now I make less thanks to ASR, although I am pretty fortunate in that I really have to deal with the cesspool too much. I usually only hit a couple a week. I'm am also fortunate in that since they treat me like cr@P, I really don't give a cr@p anymore about my job. I don't read QASAR anymore. Sometimes I don't even listen to blanks a second time. I can't wait for the day to come when I post on this board asking how I get the Q to pick up their eQuipment because I just Quit and that day is definitely coming. Hopefully I won't become too out of control before then & they can kiss my @$$.

ASR [2008-08-30]
Not all on ASR are unhappy with it. It all depends on the accounts you have whether is is a nightmare or a way to rack up lines. I have been back with MQ since August and had never been asked to learn ASR, I volunteered to be trained on it in April. The accounts I do on ASR happen to be very good. The only problem is when a dictator is new to ASR and it takes a little time for the system to learn them, usually about a week and then they are fine. There are always going to be a few who never learn to talk so that the system can understand them, like anything else. Overall my lines and payhave gone way up since ASR, more than enough to make up for the 30% loss in pay for ASR. I am not a speed typist. I have heard that the people who are really fast and can do a gazillion lines an hour may not fare so well doing ASR and the ones who are slower find it really boosts their line counts/pay -may be animportant factor when considering doing ASR. If you have a lot of bad dictators on your accounts, chances are the ASR will be horrible; if the there are more good dictators than bad, then ASR will be good. It seems some of the best dictators on my accounts are using ASR now and the bad ones are not (many because they have been taken off ASR because even the machinecould notunderstand them). So, you cannot tell how things really are byreading thisboard (for instance, I amvery happywith MQ, having had experience with other nationals).In every situation when someone is complaining about something,you have to remember it depends on whataccountsthey have,the kind of PSthey have, etc. Some complaints may be justified, but again it depends onwhere you are in the company.It is a shame that somemay miss opportunities just because they were scared off by negative things on this board. The way you picturehow ASR worksis pretty much correct, very easy to learn anddo.

AVG. Pay [2008-08-28]
Does anybody know what the average MT makes(across the board in general) at the MQ sweat shop?

Flabbergasted [2008-08-27]
Its not that hard people. When you are done you hit the end of session box then sign off- Then it kicks your second reserved job back into the pool to be picked up by someone else instead of being stuck. Really people come on. This is not a hard concept and y'all are supposed to be able to be bright enough to follow instructions. I cant believe what I see on this board sometimes and you all wonder why you dont make top dollar.

see below [2008-08-25]
This is just a quick note since I'm working, but when I've done exactly as you suggest, I am never able to get more than a string of words in that expansion. Does anyone else have this problem? Obviously I'll try it again. I'll be comparing what others have to say as well. Incidentally, MQ has told us to not do it for the obvious reasons, but I certainly can't imagine anyone with half a brain not ensuring what one imports to be consistent with what is dictated. Granted, this rule was made before they knocked us down to poverty wages, correct? I'm sorry, but I have to think of myself for a change, and can do both in this instance. My guess is that 99% of the MTs on this board have enough brains to know what to import and what not to import. Thank you very much!

AMEN....I've been saying this ever [2008-08-24]
since they started messing with us a couple years ago, and even more so over the past year, and every time I said this someone on this board would accuse me of stirring the pot, but once again I say the truth is the truth....MQ has finally gotten themselves to a point where no one wants to work for them and so many have left that they are starting to feel the pain. Maybe now they wish they would have listened to us in the first place, but I also knew that management wouldn't care until their wallets started getting smaller. Way to go MQ you finally have started to imploded upon yourself...isn't payback a bitch?????? WE TRIED TO TELL YOU, BUT YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN...

I love a friendly debate!! And I think you realize [2008-08-24]
that and will accept this in that spirit. I agree 100% on Google and I made reference to those odd hits where it is great. Can I personally find a photo of necrotizing fasciitis in 5 seconds or less in my personal books? Yes. I am really, really fast with books, out of years of necessity. Yes, Google can be a great tool, but my point was, as QA, I see it as a hindrance to many MTs who use the entire internet actually, incorrectly. They choose drug names based on a layman's board, killing the spelling. These MTs are not learning or even attempting to learn. Your CTR was a good example, but again, the MT should have the knowledge of scar formation rather than the random luck of having Google fix or finish a sentence for you. I have used it for that myself, like those incredibly complex genetic results, stuff like that, but again I then go on to read the entire article, and my rule is always triple reference at 3 valid sites on the internet. You sound like a super MT and obviously very intelligent. Unfortunately, lots of your peers do not share that gift, so they could search for a drug, like dijoxin, and they see a hit and immediately think its correct. You would not believe the errors we see in QA. Its scary. As O&W opines, books designed for MTs are great, approved tools - yeah, there is the occasional typo, but they are designed for us to find terms fast and efficiently. Lots are garbage, but I have my collection of 10 or so that are the bombs in the MT world, and well worth the $$ spent each year to renew them. Again, all the medical articles and journals are online now, too, which is a great resource, but not many MTs read them. Again, its the knowledge that is key here, not the expanders. Google and the internet are unbelievably fantastic tools, but most do not use them correctly, or to their fullest. Give me a good medical reference book anyday!

You epitomize exactly my point below [2008-08-22]
salary. You are precisely the type of MT who has taken years and years of training and become a consummate professional only to be relegated to a typist who corrects doctors spellings (swear to god..that is how MTs were classified on another board). I hope I soon get your courage and find another position. At this point just to be rid of E-time would be worth the change. Good luck to you!!

M... but why are we being so secretive? Are we... [2008-08-21]
not allowed to say on this board?

wow...just had my eyes opened on [2008-08-21]
Just for fun..went to Main Board to see what other people who do not work for MQ have to say...and was shocked to find this ridiculous post about how we need to quit whining about how little we are paid..it's not like we're doctors...it's not like we went to school for 8 years. I am incredulous!! I spent TWO years training as a Transcriptionist (and yes I also graduated from college).. Not to mention my pay has been reduced 60% in the last five years...60%...I am not overstating this or being melodramatic. But now I understand why it is accepted by MTSOs that a trained transcriptionist is worth so little..I guess there is enough out there who believe it! Not to mention it was discussed this is a job..NOT a career. Excuse me?? I have trained for this..I am highly specialized in multidisciplinary medical terminology..I have been doing this for over 15 years....if that is not a career..then what is?? By standard cost of living increases over the last 15 years (of which we all know, none of us has ever received), I should be making an easy $65,000/year.. and I am WRONG for thinking this?? I would be happy makingmy routine $45,000 to $50,000 back in the mid 1990s. And for those who simply state...well..don't lke it..go get another job!...I just love that statement...try telling that to a nurse, or radiology tech...or another medical personnel who trained for years, worked in their profession for 15+ years, only to be told all of a sudden...Uh..we are not going to pay you your $25 to $45/hour we have been paying you..we are cutting it 45 to 60%. Not so easy to leave the only training you ever had for a career you have diligently worked your entire adult life...but I know...I know...I have no choice...but please allow those of us..to feel very depressed, disillusioned and yes...angry.

Slowly edging toward the door [2008-08-21]
Craig's List is where I found a computer. Dell. Older model. 30 gigs memory. Got it for $125. Have to upgrade the RAM, that's another $50 (E-Bay). Probably will have to end up getting a word expander. I took the test for another job on the new computer the other day.I got the call I'm hired today. Start in a couple of weeks. I haven't given my notice yet, but will soon.Gonna plug this new 1 gigibit ofRAM into the machine so I know it's going to work, and then happy day. I don'texpectMedquist to react or ask why. I think they're so out of touch, reactionfrom the clueless isnot to be expected. Since my pay has been cut by the ASR (which is a joke), it's a lateral move. But with Medquist's management style, it's a no brainer. The fact is, Medquist just is not competitive any more. And I represent significant company assets. I'm trained across the board, Basic 4, radiology, every single specialty, and I know what the doctors are trying to say even when they mispronounce it or spell it wrong. I change their left back to right when that's what it supposed to be. I'ma one MT microcosm of their whole work force, and I will tell you Medquist, you are heading down the tubes, and you don't have a clue. You're more interested in enforcing time clock rules and guard dogging your computer which is in my home and uses my internet at my expense, and I'm going to be so glad to be rid of you. So, if it's a financial problem, check Craig's List. There are good computers there for next to nothing. And there are a lot of fine companies that will treat you better, less like a number, who know you have knowledge, and just because part of your job involves typing, they know you're more than a typist. I pity the poor Medquist investors. But on the other hand, they could have read the posts here and seen the writing on the wall.

I for one would like to take a moment to thak QA...sm [2008-08-20]
I am an MT/ME, and there is no way I would want to nor do I think I could perform the QA position. You have to listen to stuff that no one else can understand, weed through a lot of noise in the background, etc., etc., you know, the stuff we have all screamed, pulled hair and nearly cried to get through. Can anyone imagine that being ALL you get all day? You know how we complain righteously about difficult dictators, poor sound quality, stupid ASR, etc., etc. AGAIN, could you imagine this being all you do all day long, every single day, and then have to get berated and dogged because you have to do your job?? No one likes to be criticized, but before QASAR,QA had to figure out a way to let the MT know what they did wrong every single report without offending or negative feedback. I for one am glad QASAR is here as it gives QA a tool to correct mistakes and generic feedback set up by a program, not QA's personal comments. I have contacted my QA Team Lead with a few questions about QASAR and waiting for some answers like how the system figures feedback points, etc. Later post to follow when I get info. From what I understand here, QA does not control this feedback. I can see where that is true from some of the feedback I have received. As for a QA person saying they get paid to find MT/ME mistakes, maybe they were just trying to get a point across, being sarcastic or just having a bad day and taking it out on MTs. Who knows, and you guys well know you cannot put in stone everything that is said on this board, it would be pebbles with all of the different answers given for each question or comment. I for one appreciate the hard work that QA does. You know that old saying, don't shoot the messenger. We are all under a lot of stress, so MTs and QA really need to work together, and quit bashing each other. I have never seen such bad bloodlike this before.Both positions require a very high level of professionalism and charisma. Of course, you also know the old saying one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel. We all work hard on both ends to produce accurate quality reports to the clients. On this end, I keep asking when we are going to get the forum in MQC where we can go and actually help each other with words, difficult dictators, etc., etc. It is supposed to be in the works right now. Who knows when it may actually come about. I am not saying we should walk around with blinders on, assuming all is well and nothing bad is ever going to happen. All I am saying is appreciate each other and make the best of the situation we are in. We should be working together, not blaming each other. QA and MT positions do not set the rules, we just have to figure out the best way to abide by them. I hate sending in reports with any blanks at all, much less swiss cheese, but I know on that other end there is a person who will do their very best to make sure the report is its highest quality possible. Thank you QA for doing such a great job!

Thank you and Amen to that. The [2008-08-20]
truth when it comes to MQ is espeically ugly when you think about all they have done to us and the ones who say we are disgruntled employees I still say are management who keeps an eye on this board, or the very few who have gotten preferential treatment, and I personally think that all of us who stuck it out with MQ, especially over this past year, not only deserve a huge raise, but a Purple Heart for service above and beyond as well.....Wake up MQ your ship is sinking without MTs to keep it afloat....

QASAR [2008-08-20]
I agree that the QASAR is a great feature. I would like to see a board for just style questions, or maybe this is covered by the word board.

repeating phrases in reports [2008-08-20]
What do y'all do when you regularly have more several docs who do this? Should this be flagged for QA? That's what I've been doing. Just curious how QA looks at this type of thing across the board. Thanks.

After about half hour of research, I am tending [2008-08-19]
to think that its probably Cefzil and not Kefzol. As for the Zofran, normally I would say probably incorrect; however, oddly enough, I am finding lots of ophthalmologic sites with Zofran referenced as intravitreous. In my drug references, it states that Zofran can be used for many other things other than nausea. I can't confirm the Zofran intravitreous because the sites are the kind you have to pay for, i.e. medical journals. Perhaps the QA person has first-hand knowledge of this combo, or they are shooting from the cuff and incorrect. I would definitely write to my supervisor and QKL or whatever they are called, in a friendly manner, and ask if they could confirm this combo, as you had never heard of it, nor did anyone on an MT word board, something like that. Friendly, but assertive. Personally, I would go with it probably being wrong, and that would, indeed, be a terrible error. My current refs also have Kefzol as being discontinued in the US. But I do know that Cefzil can be given intravitreous for eye problems or surgery, etc. Zofran is pulling up that way as well, for some sort of opthalmic condition, but I can't get into the text. Perhaps QA went with that same Google hit, which is always a mistake if one can't follow the lead to completion. Lots of hits on Google are not valid, and you have to do the research for the definitive answer, especially with meds. Great question!

Why Corporate Greed Is Shipping American Jobs Overseas [2008-08-19]
Check out: http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books_9780446695091.htm I think this is pertinent for the MQ board; please leave it here for a while before you move it to the main board, since our company has been sold exactly as per the above article, to an offshore company. Thank you.

Please tell me you're kidding, right? [2008-08-19]
Do you even know what QA is or means? Its Quality Assurance specialist. All we do are find and fix errors, and fill in blanks. Please get a grasp or understanding of basic jobs in the MT field. There are MTs, who transcribe or edit VR, there are QA specialists who proofread MT work and ASSURE quality, i.e. find errors, and supervisors, who oversee either MTs, QA, or both. Yes, QA gets paid to find errors - your errors, my errors, anybody's errors. Honestly.