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

I agree but it's tough right now....

Posted By: islandgirl on 2009-02-07
In Reply to: WE CAN SET A NEW STANDARD!!!!! - Just Say NO! to low line rates!!!

It's hard to demand more when most of us are taking what we can get to get by.  The economy is down!  MTSOs must make their profit and if they are only getting 10 cpl then they sure can't give us 10.  I've been in this field for 10 years and make 8 cpl right now.  I wish I could get more but it's not even the time to demand that.  And I sure will not turn it down because then I would have nothing.  At least I am making something.  I also wish I could find a PT IC job but I haven't had much luck with that lately either. 


I do agree that we deserve more, but I don't see that happening any time soon.  If dictation wasn't being offshored and we were thought of more highly, I'm sure our pay would be at a level we deserve.





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

That's a tough one...
I think I would call the office and speak with someone rather than e-mail at this point. Maybe your supervisor is on vacation or something. I do clinic right now for my office, but the work has been low on the accounts for a little while, hope just a seasonal thing going on. I would call and ask specifically if the account is low or if there is a problem with it somehow and also if there are other accounts you can learn. When I first started with them right out of school (passed the test better than a lot of people with 15 years' experience they said), I was supposed to be on a large clinic account to start out, but there was a glitch with getting them set up and I was put on discharge summaries, never did get into the clinic and stayed there for 2 years. It was a very difficult account with majority ESL but was great experience. However, if you need the money and get no answers from anyone, I probably would be talking to the other company. It's so hard to say what is going to be the right choice. I left MQ after that 2 yrs and went with first one company and then another one thinking the benefits and perks, etc. that were proposed by them were going to better being an employee but didn't turn out to be the case, wasn't making anymore money, insurance was higher than what I could get on my own, needed the flexibility, and now back with MQ. I think every company has its own particular set of circumstances that aren't a good fit for everyone. I wish you luck and I can feel for you right now. I know what it's like sitting there waiting and waiting and worrying how you're going to pay the bills and wondering what to do... With you having gone to Andrews and already passed a difficult acute care test, I would say your options are going to be wide open and lots of companies would be happy to have you on board!
Wow, that's tough. SM
Speaking as a QA, I know sometimes it's hard to remember to praise the positives as well as pointing out the negatives. :)

Playing devil's advocate here:
Maybe this person is extra-busy and is just trying to get you the important feedback.
Maybe they know this facility is picky about things and that's why they're being harder than others.

If they're not being actively unpleasant to you (nasty emails), I would TRY not to take it personally and just be extra-careful.

Perhaps a friendly email saying how much you appreciate them taking the time to provide feedback could break the ice, too.

Good luck!
As tough as it is
I think the best way to handle these morons is to completely ignore them. When you let them see how much they upset you, you're just feeding their sick little need and encouraging them. I vote for pretending they don't exist and letting them feel a little less satisfied. Trolls will always be around and if they for some reason can't be banned from this site (as I know they are on some sites), they should be treated as the invisible little things they really are. There are plenty of decent people willing to give mature answers to the questions asked on here and those are the ones who should refuse to be forced off by a few idiots. Ignore them and they'll probably go away or get so psycho that their posts will be deleted anyway.
Yep, life is tough all over. NM
x
tough question
Depends so much on the going rate per area. Plus if you have to pick up and deliver. I'd say 13 cpl for 65 characters with spaces is a fair rate.
that is a tough decision, but...sm

Just my point of view - I have a 3-year-old daughter and I absolutely treasure the fact that I'm home with her, despite the fact that my pay is so lousy. I would not change that even for the chance to be a multi-millionaire. I say look into your heart and try to see it through your children's eyes. Personally, for me, regardless of the financial struggle I have to deal with, money will never be more important than the well-being and happiness of my child. Even if she turns out screwed up, at least it will be from my influence, not outside influences. Especially while they are so very young....


I hope you'll find my post helpful! Wish you the best...


It's a tough decision. I nearly got an
ulcer worrying about it last time I went through this, but the bottom line is that all we can do is research the companies, weed out the bad ones, and then choose between the ones left. There aren't any guarantees because none of them are perfect, but if you choose one that pays well, fits your schedule, has a good platform, etc., then that's about the best we can do. Once you take the plunge & make the final decision, a weight will be lifted from you :)
MDI's tough accounts
I have probably the toughest ESL account there (probably 80% ESLs who rotate through several hospitals and I love it! Give me an ESL who tries any day over some American mushmouth who is too lazy to move his lips. I love my accounts! And yes, they are tough.
Don't know about that, but the accents there are supposed to be really tough! nm
s
It is tough on part timers.
I think that's probably the point. Webmedx benefits by having more full time employees. I don't personally like it because I'm part time and it's a pay cut for me, but I do understand.
you don't sound tough enough to be a company. sm
ohhh, you did it for ME? nice try, but that's a 'line' if I ever heard one.

Get a backbone and call that bluff. These guys are BIG business and business saavy - they know the supply of services far out weighs the demand, and they are smart enough to play that game. You need to be smart enough and strong enough to NOT ante up and fold like that.
It's called tough love...

If I didn't care I wouldn't have responded at all!  Have a merry one yourself.  I know I will broke or not.   


Tough economic times

I worked for OSi in Douglasville, Georgia, a few years ago but quit because of grossly incompetent and arrogant QA department. 


If that is no longer the case I need a part time job in addition to my current job.  What is the scoop these days?  It would be the last place I want to work but I don't know where else to start and I must get a second job. 


Any information about other good companies who offer part time?  


TIA


Tough economic times

I worked for OSi in Douglasville, Georgia, a few years ago but quit because of grossly incompetent and arrogant QA department. 


If that is no longer the case I need a part time job in addition to my current job.  What is the scoop these days?  It would be the last place I want to work but I don't know where else to start and I must get a second job. 


Any information about other good companies who offer part time?  


TIA


They were using ExText when I was there. I was one of the unlucky ones that was on super tough ESL
s
I have no proof of this, but it seems these must be tough dictators for the money they are willing t
cannot get experienced MTs with the low pay, hence the turnover is rather substantial.
Wow - tough question. I've only worked for 1 of those.
I just researched by what was most important to me.

Good luck in making your decision.


We need to embrace VR - change is tough but (see inside)
how many of you cried when you had to get rid of your IBM selectric? The industry is changing and the ones that will be successful are the people that will change with it.

VR is not as bad as some of you say and not as good as others say, but it is somewhere in between - and it's all about how we look at it.
But, in these tough times mine was started
before these times so that doesn’t wash in this case. I wish I made the money I did in the 80s- almost 60 thousand, outsourced and my money fell to 40 something and now it is like everyone else in the 20s. I like, others don’t and last word on this, some apparently just worse than others, so glad I am where I am and not stuck with second hand equipment.
How's the sound quality lately? A few years ago posters were having a very tough time with it. Th
s
Ham sandwich and lung cancer vs 100K. Tough choice.
:)

I have been to SA and the UAE and, let me tell you, there's a lot more respect for the MTs there than in the good 'ol USA.

Westerners are not held to the same standards as locals when it comes to dress and custom. You don't have to wear a full-on face shroud or eat dog or whatever. Just show some basic common sense decency. You'll be assigned an escort if, for some reason, you need to go somewhere at night or want to go to a certain part of town out of the American neighborhood. (Great little market, for example.)

It's like this:

In Hawaii, I hardly ever wear anything but cut-off shorts and a bikini top. And I don't stand out because most of the people I'm hanging out with wear the same sort of thing. But if I was to go to Manhattan and apply at a Fortune 500 company as a receptionist, do you think I'd wear my cut-offs? No. Everyone would say, 'cover up.' And rightly so. I really wouldn't have a problem with understanding, or adhering to, the dress code.

So maybe wearing jeans and a tee in SA would be akin to wearing cut-offs and a bikini top to Wall Street. It's just not respectful or acceptable. But who can't deal with that?

For anyone who enjoys learning about other cultures, and who can muster up the standard level of respect we show to other cultures even in America, I would heartly suggest being open minded to this type of offer. Heck, I'd go if I were 10 years younger. (If just for the opportunity to hang out and party in Dubai.)
It wasn't tough 5 years ago. Or 10 years ago, yet
How to you spell
G-R-E-E-D ???

All the shifty, dishonest, greedy pigs in this country belong in JAIL.
Great pay rate on a 55 ccl, great lady to work for and work is not tough. sm

It is all IC work, although you still are expected to give a schedule if you are doing stat coverage.  Only major drawback is the big wait for your first check -- almost a month from the time of your first invoice.


 


Good luck!  


I agree, absolutely agree
and I might say, this is keeping updated in ALLLL specialities and subspecialities, drugs, instruments, and on and on. It is not a good profession for sure and sadly it is the MTs who are being very definitely HAD
Agree 100%
STAY away!
Nobody is going to agree anyway. LOL
And nobody has worked for every company in the U.S. to be able to offer an informed opinion.
Agree

I agree also.  I do think that each company has its MTs that have not one thing good to say about the company and on the flip side, there are many that love it.  I have worked at a few different companies in my time and find through experience on this forum to be true.  I absolutely love Transcend.  There are a few things that aren't perfect in my book, but the good far outweighs the bad.  The thing that I hate, though, is if you have anything good at all to say about your company, you are either management, lying, or a cheerleader.  I think that people love to believe the worst. 


I also have found out through my travels that things can vary greatly from one employee to another even though they may work at the same company.  There may be a rule for you that does not apply to another, example - below one says Spheris would not allow someone to work at MQ also but there is an MT who is doing it with permission.  An MT can get on here and argue all day long that this or that doesn't happen at their company but it may very well happen for another MT.  It is so humerous to me to see that we believe that being employed at a company, in our remote homes, that we think we know everything about that company and how it operates with the other remote MTs - MTs that more than likely we don't even know. 


 


I agree 100%.
I agree 100%
I don't agree entirely.

When offshore outsourcing first began many clients began jumping on that bandwagon thinking they were going to be able to save money.  That resulted in a great number of clinics and hospitals eliminating their in-house transcription departments because of 1) reduction in overhead expense by outsourcing a whole department and 2) realizing an even greater reduction in expenses by using foreign labor at less cost than domestic transcription wages.  The trend is beginning to come full circle now and because of quality issues and the higher cost of risk management more clients are demanding that their medical records information stay in the United States.  A lot of MTSOs now advertising are stating right in their ads NO OFFSHORE MTs NEED APPLY.  Clients are beginning to see that it wasn't as cost effective as they thought it would be because it actually ends up costing more in the long run either in quality or risk management. Some hospitals and clinics are actually bringing work back in house again and only using domestic vendors for overflow work.  I think sooner or later unless the quality of VR improves it will have the same result. 


i agree
I also had a similar experience last year and did not like it at all. It was a total mistake.
Yes, I agree

Thank you for posting this!  I am also very happy with Amphion.  It is nice to hear a positive experience for a change.  I hope your post will help other MTs searching for work realize that there really are some good companies out there!



I agree--
They will make your life miserable with every nit picking thing they can think of to get you to quit. Again, this was my experience, no one has to agree with me.
Agree
but I thought that she was referring to simply putting it in a diagnosis, not coding.
Agree
LOL......I understood that she was just transcribing the numbers as they're dictated. And, we all know the docs don't always give the "dash" (-) or "slash" (/) word when it needs to be typed in.

I wasn't trying to help code, been a while since I did that, just trying to help make sure her question was answered. (No offense intended.) :)
I agree with QT
QT EASY platform -- a few mushmouths -- mainly PAs very few ESLs -- also FutureNet is a good company  -- direct deposit as statutory by they will express mail checks and good cpl rate -- sorry for the typos  -- just got done for the night and no fingers left
I agree..
I left after sitting for five hours and getting 2 reports, this was Transcend who bought MDI. Then, there was the sound issues.

The staff was just great though!
I agree with everything you said....
It just seems like Transcend is the company to bash this month, but I am extremely happy
I Agree.....
There are so many "cherry-pickers" on the account(s) I work on, it makes me crazy. Some of us get stuck doing the hardest jobs and the others breeze through.
I agree 100%. (sm)
Someone here had a bad experience and has made it her goal in life to run this company down. Maybe she didn't come up to par....actually you can tell that by her messages. I have only been with OSi about 6 months, but will be staying till I retire.
I agree!

Definately the meanest on this board.  Always has something to say, whether it pertains or not...


I agree
the swearing on the boards and making fun of other people, pathetic.  I thought we were all grown ups here.  I can't believe that some of these grown women sound more immature than my 11 year old. 
Agree! LOL (nm)
.
I agree
No I don't work out of the Amherst office -- have heard so much about them on this board.... I work out of the Orange CA office and last week except for 1 day -- it was like pulling teeth to get enough work to keep me busy during the day. Now, I am face today with either sitting babysitting my computer all day just waiting for work or taking the day off either unpaid or burn some PTO. Can't really afford either, but this is just stupid. If I get my butt out of bed and "at my job" by my start time.... I should get paid whether there is anything to do or not.
Agree, besides, what one co does, the others will
zz
I agree. sm
Not a very good place to work. Communication was horrible when I was there.
Agree with above
Yes, they pay for downtime.  The only time they do not is if is due to something on your end like electric failure or internet failure.  If there is no work or if their computer breaks or system is down, they pay $12/hr downtime.  In my experience, there is also the option of making up the time if only a few hours or so (which equates to more than $12/hr for me, so I have always made time up if I could).      
I agree with aa
Here are the good points: They do apparently pay for spaces now. I would confirm this if you apply.

They seem to have plenty of work - you definitely won't be sitting around for days without work.

They pay approximately 5 days after the end of the pay period, which is actually pretty fast as payroll goes.

They do seem to have some interesting accounts, although I wouldn't know how you get on them.

If you can ignore the goofy emails that get sent out on a regular basis and try to ignore the inconsistent QA, they pretty much leave you alone. If you need benefits, though, look elsewhere.
Have to agree
I quit two weeks after training.
I agree
I am dealing with the same thing right now. It is frustrating to my family life. They call me at night a lot to work.
I agree..
Get rid of the middle man, the MTSO, if you can!

I just landed a fantastic opportunity with a clinic who has done exactly this and can afford to pay me twice the highest rate of the online companies, and I still work from home with a super flexible schedule. I also didn't need 10 years to land this job. I am closing in on two.

I suggest searching the ads for clinics and hospitals who are looking to hire you directly. That, or land your own account locally. Most of these online companies are really taking us for a ride!

I will never go back to 8 cpl knowing what I know now while the MTSOs are vacationing on the other half of what should be my pay


I agree!
Who would want 2 work 4 someone like that? Is this where MT is heading??? Sheesh.