Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

A month is not long enough to get the big picture

Posted By: sm on 2005-08-13
In Reply to: about a month - transcender

I've been on the VR for almost a year and started with it on eScription and then went to the new platform about 4-1/2 to 5 months ago.  It starts out slow and then you gradually pick up and start thinking that it's getting better.  But you reach a point when no matter how hard you try you don't get any faster.  That's when you realize that you've already achieved the fastest you can go in editing.  After about a year, there has been about a 28% increase in line production and even that's not consistent because it depends on the dictators you get.  Every day is different.  The maximum line increase is nowhere near the 40% cut in pay. 


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

then you haven't been in the picture long enough..
Yeah people let loose everyday, but do nothing but whine like little puppies. This person is actually gonna do something about it even if it's for her friend. Wrong is wrong.

It doesnt matter how long her MT friend stayed. I don't care if it was for $300.

Oh, you can SPEAK all you want, have you ever been in a situtation where you had to fight to get your money whether it be $300 or $5000? I rest my case.
I agree that a month is too long, especially

for someone who needs a job and is persistent and has indicated this to an employer.  And to get you signed on and then check with the account manager and keep you on hold is ridiculous.  It's frustrating! 


But I don't think this is confined to any particular employer or set of employers or industry (based on my experiences).  I'm an optimistic realist - I hope it works out quickly and well but but some things like job hiring take FOREVER, so I expect it.  And the best jobs I've had have taken the longest to get me started.  You'd be surprised what goes on behind the scenes at companies!  I say be patient only if you have a good gut feeling and have heard good things about the company.


Been here a long time. If you asked me a month ago, I would have said yes. sm
Now, I would have to say no. Policies are changing and it is far from being fair to the MTs or Editors for that matter. I wish you the best, but you can find better than this company (with the way it is now). It seems a bunch of lunatics have taken over who know absolutely nothing about the MT world. Really sad....been happy here for while but no more.
3800-4200 per month - sm long post
I have worked for the same national for the past 8 years.

I might add that I have not made this much every year but it has been a gradual increase.

I get an average rate 0.085 and set personal daily goals far above the minimum required. If I reach my goal of 2000 lines in 8 hours, great, if I don't, oh well. Not worth killin myself over.

I go to all of the kids functions, games, plays, concerts, take them to and from school, practices, etc...

I take advantage of the extra incentives when I feel I have the energy and sometimes when I don't but they really need to get the TAT back in line.

They don't ask over much of me.

I would make a few recommendations for you.

First, do not throw in the towel with one company after a few months just because you aren't where you want to be as far as production goes. New polices, accounts, platforms... all of it takes time to learn and get comfortable with.

Secondly, set your OWN goals. Increase them slowly over time so you don't feel like you are chained to your desk. You will see your production start to increase soon enough.

Thirdly, if you aren't hasseled constantly, get a decent rate, and have a decent support system in your coworkers and supervisors, compare that with the other places you have been and ask yourself why you left in the first place, then weigh your options.

I left my last employer because there was a lot of gossip and little work getting done and I am a doer. It just drove me bananas. Much happier now.

Lastly, even with my current company, I have had to start from scratch several times due to loss of an account, loss of my expanders or macros due to technical reasons, I have filled myself during the feasts and starved through the famines but, I would much rather be right where I am than anywhere else.



Unlimited long distance for 50 bucks a month.nm
nm
Look at the big picture
I know what you mean.  I left a hospital situation because of some of what you describe .. no newbies playing though ;-)  You will have no PTO or seniority at home and it is hard to work with family underfoot.  Ask to have your place changed and get yourself some of those soundproofing earsets that are available out there so that the noise is muffled and you can block out the rest of the world.  I can still get lost in a room full of people if I am concentrating .. a blessing to be sure.  You will miss the things you are now taking for granted such as PTO and seeing people .. even some of the ones who drive you nuts.  Health benefits are not easily available or very good at home either!
No picture
I went to affiliates, but it does not list Medscribe???
You are right to look at the big picture, and
you seem very mature. Unfortunately, a lot of us (at least me) who work at home can get paranoid or feelings hurt even though we are professionals. I was a manager in this biz years ago, and upmost in my mind was that my team supported me, kept me in a job and if I had to discipline I did it sparingly and with full research first. I also went about it and ended up usually getting a more loyal employee, because if there were problems, it rarely had to do with the stated issue. As a manager, rather than jumping, it is important to weigh carefully, watch the situation and consider long-term repercussions to being nasty in any sense of the word. So, I agree you are a very professional person and have a high self esteem and you have the right approach. However, not everyone is as lucky as you, and some seek some positive contact, being so isolated working at home. I would say midground is always best. But big picture idealism best for everyone involved. If I had just kept my mouth shut instead of leaving and then talked to the higher up person how there was a miscommunication initially on the interview regarding scheduling, I am sure I would be there for the rest of my career. That is my personal experience. But, at the time, and even now since I have become strictly IC, I never ever want to be put down or disrespected by anyone most especially the person who is supposed to be supporting me as part of a profitable and mutually beneficial business relationship. Just IMHO.
The big picture of the SCAMMER
nm
The big picture of the SCAMMER
nm
If you go to her website, that picture is there with her...
name below the paragraph describing her company. Think she would use a model for that? Lighten up - sounds like you're cooking, too!

Amen to that. I SO get the picture.
javascript:editor_insertHTML('text','');
javascript:editor_insertHTML('text','');
I picture them morphing into
sr
You can google it to get a picture of it, but it looks like a
phone and you use it to dial into the a system directly.  Usually you are dialing directly into the hospital's dictation system.  It has a foot pedal attached.  Depending on the company you will need unlimited long distance, unless they have a local number of 800#. 
For anyone who doesn't get the big picture

I feel sorry for you.


An IC has expenses that are tax deductible and includes all business expenses. 


Internet? ULD phone expense? Office space? Fax? ad nau... Honestly, when did we become a group of elitetist, sefl-serving, uneducated group of independent contractors?


I could go on.  Instead I will log off. Entitlism is just not something I can stomach on the 4th of July.


The bigger picture sm
I am an MT as well and have been in this business almost 20 years. There are some who have more years invested in this line of work than I do, but 20 years at one job is a long time, and for those of us who have worked at home in this business for that long, it is very difficult to reenter the public work world IF there is a job out there that we might qualify for.

I agree with you in that the entire industry is suffering and has been for the past few years, but when I see company after company not giving raises and, worse yet, cutting line rates, I think it is time to look for employment outside of the MT world. You won't find a better situation in another MT company. They are all swimming in the same murky water and circling the same drain.

No, it's not just MTs who are being impacted, but this is *MY* profession (or what's left of it) and *I* am being impacted with this company's decision to find another way for me to make even less in my paycheck while everything around me...utilities, groceries, gasoline, insurance, etc....is rising to the point that I simply cannot afford to live any more.

I'm a realist as well, and what I see is an entire industry crumbling under the weight of top-heavy management and slave wages for the ones how pay that management. It's time to move on down the road.
Yes, always good to have full picture.
xx
Is that your own piggy in the picture? It's precious! :) nm
s
After reading below, seeing your picture, still lauging!
Love it.
Where on the site is the picture located?

I always get a mental picture of that poster
Not to be mean, but I always picture that poster clawing at her face and pulling her own hair whenever I read her posts. All the unnecessary capitalization, the countless exclamation points...I just picture her in my mind having this massive meltdown and screaming at the top of her lungs while ripping out her hair and clawing her face. I don't even try to envision, it just strikes me as being a mini-meltdown and I can't take the post seriously. I write it off to overly dramatic, sigh and move on.
I was told several new accts are coming on this month and also next month, so
I'm not worrying.
Pay period goes from 1st of the month to the 15th, then 16th to the end of the month. sm

So, I guess you could maybe get by with less than 1000 a day, although the incentive tier would make it worth your while to do a bit more.  I am using ExText, and yes, I find it easy to use, but then I used it for a year with another company.  I think their other platform is Mongoose, and I know nothing about that, so really cannot say.


Yes, they are hiring now.  In fact, there is a $500 sign-on bonus.  I think it is all just acute care.  I'm sure they would love to have someone with your experience.  Rhonda Durham is the recruiter.  I am sure she could answer any of your questions.  I am happy to help too, if I can, but I am relatively new.  The account I am working on is mostly psych, it seems, and I am loving it.


Another nice thing, their benefits start after 60 days, not 90 like most.


Good luck to you.


Not arguing, haven't started yet. Just trying to get the whole picture here.
nm
You have to show a picture proving you have a door?? sm
Man, that is really getting picky. I would fail that requirement, I'm sure a lot of us would! Sounds like they are TRYING to make it impossible for you to continue with them.
Big discussion a few weeks ago about them wanting a 3 x 5 picture of you sm
and your work space. They are a major outsourcer, as well.
Do the 30 minutes and leave the rest, then she'll get the picture.
ll
A picture/website speaks a thousand words.
Thanks for this input. It is definitely a wake up call.
As opposed to what sort of "panties" she wears normally? Thanks for that mental picture!

TransHealth starts 1st day of month after month SM
you start, BC/BS, good rate on single, don't know about family premium.
Last month was slow on my account..but this month (sm)
we've been swamped...
The new insurance is very reasonable. I pay $200/month and they pay $200/month. sm
Unfortunately, I have had to use it a lot since it changed and I am very happy. They have covered everything.

The insurance is actually $80 cheaper per month than I paid at the local hospital, which is a large employer.


typos on this board are to be forgiven, but new company's numerous errors and the picture they

painted for our first impression of someone in whom we are required to put practically our entire life details in an email back to them left much to be desired in my opinion (by this MT).


No problem :) No matter how long, it is too long for me - I am broke the day after payday. Kids wi
do that to you!

I know that they have worked very hard to make sure that checks are never late and I can say that in the past two years, I have had one problem (2 days late) and in the past 18 months, they have all been on payday and perfect.

I know that there are a lot of hard feelings in MT in general. I also know firsthand (and I am not mgmt) how hard KS has worked to get things going good.

I would not want to walk in an MTSO's shoes for any amount of money, but that's just me. I like to finish my work for the day, forget about work when not working and get paid on payday. I never want the other things that go with mgmt or owning a company of any kind :)
They definitely rip you off with your line count. Figured this out long ago and quit long ago
x
What really sucks is that I looked for a LONG, long time -sm
before joining DRC - wanted a highly reputable, not-too-big co. that was LOCAL, and that treated its MTs humanely. I'm very happy with DRC & had planned to stay with them permanently.
Long, long history of not paying...and
similar posts have been made here in the past few months. Everyone thinks they will be different, and then they end up coming back here to warn others that they don't pay.
but those were long, long lines for
most of the reports. You could make more with a 65-character line count.
$$ per month

I am trying to compare nationals versus working at a hospital.  Please respond if you have time. 


For all of you working for a national, what do average making per month?  How many hours per day?  Do you work for one doctor, a clinic, or a hospital? 


I, personally, would like to make $2500 to $3000 per month but don't.  Is that unrealistic?  Currently, I only average around $1800 and this is with no benefits; I have flexibility but no benefits. 


What transcripton platform do you guys find to be the most productive for you?


I realize you can't have everything, but you do have to live; also, I am trying to stay home because of my son, i.e., taking him to school, being there for school functions, sport's activities, etc. 


$$ per month
I make around 5-6K per month and have done so for 4 years running. I work around 45 hours a week with rotating accounts. I do get a high line rate of 12.5 per 65-character line.
A MONTH! What do they tell you when you
call or email them? I'm not waiting a month. I was hoping to get started this week as it is a new pay period and all. Wow. Good luck to you.
about a month
s
Exactly - that's why every month...sm
when they post the anniversaries there are plenty of employees with the company with 1-27 year anniversaries. 
In my second month with MW on EXT..sm
I have had very few issues. For the most part the sound quality is good. A couple bad docs but that is par for the course for a facility that size. Several ESL but some of them are better than the English-speaking I have done in past! I have had no issues making lines if I stay on-task **grin** I am happy I went with them. Hope this helps.....
Been there almost a month now -sm
I don't mind it at all. It didn't take me long to get used to everything. I did get paid and I think fairly. I check my line counts in my own way and I've found them to be perfectly accurate.

Every job is going to have difficult dictators. You know what they say, there's one in every crowd (okay maybe with doctors, there's more than one), but you'll have that anywhere.

They're extremely professional and treat you the same. I agree with the other poster, don't expect anybody to hold your hand there. So if you can stand on your own 2 feet, go for it.
P.S. I pay about $200/month

for two people and this is the highest end insurance (BC/BS PPO) through my hospital.   


I was with them for about a month and during that month
I had maybe one week of work. The rest I was out. Pay was so so. QA was a little strange about fixing things that were not wrong to begin with (changing six weeks to six week when it should have stayed weeks). I am still puzzling over that one. Anyway, more often than not, QA was wrong, but you could not tell them that.
it's the 1st of the month after your - sm
90 days are up.   So if you got hired Feb 15 then your insurance would kick in on June 1
Just in the last month
there was a post here about someone not being paid. My experience is from a couple of years ago, but in the two years since, I've seen posts here from time to time from people complaining about not being paid. Search the posts from the last month...you'll see someone just complaining about not being paid by them.
$26/month -- nm
x
I got one of those too a month ago or so
I believe this is from the same joint that is recruiting for the sQuid. I was tempted to look into it at the time but I had heard that the health insurance benefits offered by *S* had gone down the crapper. If you're interested, I'm sure you have nothing to lose. It would be nice if you could get job details without having to spend hours on testing first.