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

Seasoned, we were told from the very start we could not

Posted By: VR person on 2009-03-04
In Reply to: Not a dumb question at all... - Seasoned editor

retype the entire report, better not zap it off and start over because it was a no-no and your pay would still be for the lesser amount per line even if you were allowed to retype. It is not VR that I am steaming, enraged at, nah, it is mostly the ESLs we have now. I love VR myself even with its quirks.


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

I start at Webmedx next week and was told...
that my account will be 30% ESL.  When filling out the questionnaire, you are given the opportunity to tell them the amount (percentage wise) of ESL you can handle.  I put down 30-40%. I'm impressed with the way the recruiter handled things and, hopefully, will feel the same way in a month or so.  He seemed to really want to work with me and address any concerns that I had.  Good starting line rate with a good incentive plan. 
I was told hourly start to accrue PTO immediately...
production employees after 1 year. BUT - that doesn't mean you can't take a vacation, just that you don't get paid. When I worked a factory job some years ago, you didn't get any vacation the first year - paid or unpaid!
Newbie bud was told 1200 lpd, THEIR computer, low pay. Poor communication from the start. nm
.
Precyse MT's: Can a seasoned MT do 250+ LPH
nm
The reason the seasoned MTs won't
for them is because the line rate is offensive.
Don't you think, though, that one reason seasoned -
MT's are making more mistakes and not caring about it, is that we're expected to produce more and more, and yet we're getting paid less and less. 'Back in the day', when I was getting paid hourly, my production was higher, and my quality was better, but that's because I received a good wage, so I actually CARED. Now, it's a race against the clock all day long. The industry is getting what it's paying for, which is 'NOT MUCH'.
How many lines per hour should a seasoned MT
I know it depends on work types and such but I just need a generalized idea. This is my first time being paid by line. The job offers a good mix of exams. TIA
Questions for any seasoned transcriptionists....
I am supposed to do a typist and word processing test tomorrow for a place called KCS Psych Type in Illinois.  The reason I replied to the job was because it advertised work-from-home, which I desperately need right now due to family matters.  Anyway, I am debating on whether this is worth the trip right now because its a 2 hr drive each way, and I have to get a rental car, and for some reason the lady isn't answering my questions about the rate of pay.  She also said in her last email for me to keep in mind that if I am hired, I would need to commute to Bartlett until I am trained; when I emailed back immediately to ask her how long training would usually take, I have received no reply.  Should I do this?  I really can't decide!!  Help!!
Resume Tips & Tricks for Seasoned MTs!!!
We should all add these qualities to our resumes.  It's what they expect anymore anyway:

 

- An outstanding ability to take muddy, garbled jibber-jabber and severely fractured English in 155,000 dilects and turn it into unbelievably beautiful transcription, with no blanks!

 

- Oh, and don't worry, Mexican, Cuban, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Indian, or even rabid auctioneer doctors who speak so fast they could not understand them self on a play back . . .  no problemo!  It doesn't matter, because I am so good if it sounds remotely close with even one syllable barely audible or intelligible I will struggle until I get it.  I do this eagerly because I know you are selling me pride in my work, not a decent wage and because I dread your miserable QA autopsy of my work.

 

- Will work as hard as a slave for $3 an hour average with a college degree on the most gut-wrenching work you have, and all this without an occasional can of salve for the whip marks on my back.

 

- Will also fill in hundreds of entries for free on patient information, courtesy copies and researching things like how to spell Waccamaw even if I don't live in South Carolina.  Things  doctors could spell, or dictate clearly but won't because they are too lazy. 

 

- I will also run those dates of service through my magic crystal ball formula to know when the doctor says The patient was seen today, I should look back on the ADT screen and see when he dictated it to know what he means by when it was dictated.  I will do it because you will bonk me on the head and tell me, It's your job to do this for free!

 

While I am at it, I will run a medical quality assessment through my head to see if it sounds logical and reasonable for all medical sciences and diagnoses.  I will happily verify those medication dosages are correctly dictated because even if the doctor has been to medical school and I haven't . . . I should identify that 325 mg of Coreg will kill someone and correct it!  Again because, It's my job, to run around behind doctors and wipe their butt for free!!!  I'm happy to do that, even if I haven't had the benefit of medical school because . . . . yes, I'm that good baby!!

 

- And at the end of two or three years of struggling to make a wage above the poverty level learning all this garbage, if you find some foreigner will do my job cheaper to make you more money, don't sweat it!  Just fire me . . . in a conference call with 101 of my coworkers in mass humiliation.  No problem!

For seasoned, fast transcriptionists, hourly would be a step down ...
I agree with your post. I've given a lot of thought lately to whether hourly would be more fair (given the extras that we have to do), and I've come to the conclusion that it is not. In the spirit of honesty, if I were to take an hourly position, my production would suffer for it.

As an experienced and fast transcriptionist, the amount of time I spend looking up unfamiliar terms is negligible, and I've reached a point of knowing what mush-mouthed blanks I won't get, after listening six or seven times.

The only thing I ask for is pay commensurate to my experience and knowledge. With a decent line rate, I could accept that there are other things that go into my job and that my line rate doesn't just pay for my production - it pays for the emails, and the instant messages, and figuring out line counts, and spending ten minutes every so often looking for a doctor's address.

As it is, at 8 cpl, those things are not worth the amount of money that I'm making. They seem superfluous and cut into my real life.

So, in answer to the first question, with 12 years of experience, an ingrained attention to detail, and all the knowledge of this profession that 12 years can bring, I believe my worth is 13-14 cpl. That's roughly $47,000 a year at 1500 lines a day. I think, given the intensity of our work hours (and the fact that, unlike other jobs, we don't get to spend an hour talking to coworkers or daydreaming or resting for any reason), that's a very, very fair wage in this day and age.
TransHealth has some that start the next month after you start work. nm
xx
I don't hesitate to ask. Have been told "yes", and have been told "no." Never been to
:+
Ok. When will you start?

When do you start?
When were you hired and when do you start. Curious about how long it takes to get started.
when did you start??
Lots of inconsistencies here, when did you start?
DEFINITELY start looking!! nm
x
I'd start looking sm

for something else if I were you.  There are plenty of jobs on the job board.  It wouldn't hurt to start applying.


 


Just my opinion.


they start at 0.065, not 0.06
nm
What do they start at on ASR (VR) nm
x
7.5 cpl to start

Oh yes, when do I start having fun?
We have had cable for some months with Charter. I had AT&T and got tired of paying for this and that, too much. My husband could be sold a swamp in Florida- listed to the folks at Charter, new and improved. We got internet and land phone in day before New Years and now have had them over here probably a total of 5 or 6 times since then. Do not even try calling anyone with their company- no service place uses India- I called the other day and some person named American name kept going over something I was not talking about - 3times and I finally asked are you in India. I said my question is....... what word in that sentence do you not know? I finally frustrated hung up. Not a good service place AFTER you get.
I would start looking for new job...
Just left a company who docked me pay because of not changing demographics in program (not Word). This was after working there a year, getting calls early in the am to do stats and other fun things. If you smell smoke, there is usually a fire.
where do I start?sm
I worked for them up until February of this year. Management was unapproachable, at best. Paychecks ran a few days late every paycycle and were frequently inaccurate in the line counts.

I do understand that a lot of the people causing all of the hub-bub there are now gone, and I have a friend working there who is pretty happy that she made the transition. I guess everyone's experience will be different.

Start with an A?
nm
I think they start at 7 or 8

Yes you do not start out as a QA
nm
Start looking
It's not what you said. I agree with every bit of it. It's how you said it.
Start looking
Is it necessary to speak so harshly to a fellow MT? I am willing to bet that a few kinds words would have been more helpful to this person that the heavy-handed diatribe. Now is the time for kindness and compassion, not condemnation, don't you think? Have a merry Christmas.
Where do I start...

Fiona, what do you know from Adam?  You have gone off on some huge rant that is totally unrelated to my post ...talking about Detroit and Repugs and all sorts of nonsense.  Just because *you* are not happy and *you* are not making a good living does not mean that *you* represent the entire industry.  I'm doing just fine, thank you.


so you think its ok to start sm

a post with I will explain it for the 100th time and end it with do you understand now


Yes I have followed all these posts and the rudeness is overwhelming!  I would much rather hire the person who asked the question that ticked x off so much than X herself!


I really don't care what you think about anything I have said but I would not treat any employee like that nor would I talk down to anyone asking  a question or posting an opinion.  It seems to me like a lot of the folks on this board just want to scream and complain.  I realize the economy stinks.  There are many places where the work load is down and its going to get worse.  As the economy gets worse and people have no insurance the demand for elective surgery and medical care goes down, thus our jobs.


What I have seen in over 30 years is that the ones who scream  the loudest are the ones that have 1-3 years limited experience  They scream about getting OP notes, ESL dictators and any other thing they don't like.  Instead of screaming about the content, MTs should decide they are going to learn to do every single type of transcription.  I realize it is different working for a hospital than a MT service.  I do not agree with all this switching around on accounts for the MTs either.  It just makes a mess.   You have frustrated MTs making no money because they can't stay on one account, frustrated MTSOs because people are complaining (rightfully so) and frustrated clients because the work is either not done or the quality is very bad.  You cannot be at top level doing 10 different accounts in a day.


On the other hand, the only solution that I know of, in this economy, is to keep it all inhouse, pay the employees benefits and a decent wage with incentive pay.  Even with that, there will be those who want and need the flexibility of being an IC or an employee working from home.


Sorry, but X did not have to respond as she did.  Makes me wonder why folks with this kind of attitude cannot see why they are not getting jobs!  It also makes me wonder if, as students, they really thought that when they went into the working world of MT IF things were going to be as they were in school, i.e., dictation, difficulty of dictation, quality of sound, etc.  Probably not.  The real world of MT is not as being taught in school.  Personally I think things should go back to on-the-job training with a minimum of 5 years experience in house acute care before being able to work at home unsupervised.  The schools that are advertising 4-6 months of schooling and you are an MT ready to start your own business have  destroyed this profession and created a whole lot of prima donnas in my opinion!


 


You did not start over 9 cpl at DSG
First of all, why not enter your actual name and not hide behind that name, ConnieW. Second of all, you nor your friend were hired at over .09 cpl. I think you're just trying to start trouble.
Not to start anything here but

I consider a lot of money to be a bonus at AIG or even a yearly management salary while employed at most of these bailed out companies.  Thanks guys, we are all paying taxes to support you folks and your outlandish lifestyles. 


I don't have a college degree in business but I really do think I could get one of these same companies into the same mess, not have to work very hard at all (certainly not as many hours as I put in as an MT) but get a RAISE AND A BONUS - which I certainly don't get as an MT and ya got it, a bonus.  


I would start looking
I was in a similar situation. Management said they didn't want to lose any of us. They USED us to keep the account current and then left us high and dry. If I could go back, I would have started looking for opportunities right away. As my mother always said, It never hurts to look.
Would this co. start with a D?

Where to start?
Nitpicky, micromanaging, bad leads, IMs through the roof, do 1 day this way, next day another way, never a good word your way but lots of bad ones.
I will start with KS any way and try them out. nm
xx
Umm, does it start with an
nm
To start with...
Professions/jobs that require a weekend day or full weekend work? Let's see...you already covered doctors and nurses, so how about:

1. Gas stations.
2. Target/Walmart/Kmart.
3. Restaurants (yes, waitressing is indeed a career).
4. Bartenders.
5. Preachers/priests.
6. Fast food places.
7. Ad nauseum.

I'm sorry, I've got to agree with MT30+ here. You want time with your kids and with your God? Well, you have that time during the week. Pick a weekend schedule where you inconvenience yourself and start at 5-6 a.m., and then you have the rest of the weekend with them once your shift is over.

As far as spending time with your God, isn't there something in the Christian Bible (I am obviously not Christian) about a 'house of worship' being any time, anywhere people are gathered in God's name or some such saying?

I'm sorry, she turned down a self-professed 'wonderful job' to have weekends off. My pity/sympathy/empathy level with her is hitting at 0.

There are too many people out there right now who DO want to work, so at least in her turning it down and showing her lack of commitment to the MT profession and healthcare profession in general, perhaps someone who truly WANTS and NEEDS to work will get the position.


when did you start with MDI?
nm
Not to start a whole new argument, but sm
It seems awful strange that I know of at least 4 people that have left Transcend in the last 2 weeks or so from the same account because of lack of work all the time on either primary accounts or secondary accounts and now they don't have an ad posted, like they usually do to fill them back up fast.   Hmmmm, maybe they finally realized that they overhired!!!
no, not to start it all back up again ...........

Get the best rate you can when you start
because no matter how much your produce, how much you help out, and how high your quality, you will NEVER get a raise.  This was supposed to be based on a random QA review monthly but that went down the drain and now there are no reviews, either.  
I'll start now if you will

RE: Get the best rate you can when you start
If you had ever looked at the policies and procedures which is posted on the company's website, you would see that reviews are carried out, and raises are given according to company policy.
Tried to start with them 3 times
I was offered a position with them, gave notice in-house, then they called me the day before I was supposed to start and said the had lost the account. A similar situation happened 2 other times.
Start Working?
How was I supposed to start working without training? I had no account specifics, and no one responded to my calls or emails. I assume that I'm not "hired" anymore.
And how many new MTs will be stupid to start at 4 cpl?
x
In their ad it says 7.4-8.5 cpl, but contacts have said they start everyone off low. nm
b
Rad reports - $1.10 to start
nm
Thank you, start training this
Friday and am looking forward to a productive relationship.
Start testing........
Start testing for other companies.  I think you will find that the smaller companies might make you happier <G>.  I know and hear your frustration.  I had that same thing happen and it is very hard when you want to start your day and cannot due to no work in the system.  I still think someone else is typing the work somewhere else or maybe they sub to another company or something.  For as big as they are, you should have work all the time I would think.  Maybe I am wrong, I am just guessing without the facts.