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Too soon to really say. I felt I did okay the first day given the learning curve.

Posted By: New TT MT on 2007-08-21
In Reply to: New TransTechers and Diskriter MT's. How's - your rpoduction so far? Pros/cons? nm

I am hoping my production will increase by at least 150-200 lines a day over the first few days and that should more than bring me up to speed.


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Learning curve
I'm not going to toot the speech making money horn, but I think it's a learning curve. I'm having a hard time giving up my mouse but still doing about 3 times the work and saving my wrists in the process. TT has offered a refresher course and paying us for taking it, I think that's not only smart on their part but good for TT MTs. Speech is here to stay and I need to suck it up and go with the flow, still too many years before I can retire.
Learning curve? You mean to learn VR?
It was about 2 days for me, not much time. Is this what you mean?
IT has a looong learning curve. Am using it and you are right. I have to stop and think before ever
But, am picking up speed and accuracy is improving. It was either learn to use it or type everything out.
What could be more appropriate for learning the ropes than learning how to spell? You are in for a
x
Generally, will companies allow you that "learning curve"?
Most of the jobs advertised say Must have X years of acute or hospital experience . . .  When I see that, I just move on.  After so much time, don't they require that you do a certain # of lines?  Were you able to reach that # and still feel like with all the time you spent researching, you still had a little bit of a life besides work?   I'll try to test for any company that will let me test for acute care just to see how I do.  Thanks for sharing your experience.  It gives me hope.
Learning
All of what you say is absolutely true.  I probably also am one of the higher paid MTs around today and I don't do it making 6 cpl.  I have continued to learn for the past many  years and will continue to learn to the last day working out my notice, that's just me.  I don't think MOST new MTs are ever going to see the day they will make $25/hour or even close to that.  There are reasons other than money, and I don't care to post them, that I am leaving MTing for.............gourd painting.
Learning VR.....sm
If an MT with many years of experience on EXText and a variety of other platforms were determined to take a PT job to go ahead and learn VR, which would you think is the best platform to do that on, and which company would you recommend for doing that? Any and all information appreciated! TIA....
learning VR ?
If you continue to use your mouse tomake corrections, then there is nothing to learn.

But if you decide to use 'hot keys' or 'short cuts', then there is.

It is said that letting go of the mouse usage, will speed you up. I do not know if this has been proven yet.

I am a 'mouse' person and I just cannot let go of my 'mouse.'

I assume a lot of MTs are like that.
Maybe there busy learning their new
I think someone posted before that they were getting like 9 new accounts.  So,  maybe everyone is tied up and can't really take a coffee break.  I'd be stroking those keys too if I was making 9.5 cpl (their starting rate per one post).  I'm glad there's at least one company out there that pays well.  I really don't think though that someone working there for only three months could really have anything bad to say.  I think someone else posted that KS promises lower health insurance premiums soon so that is a good thing.  
I am interested in learning more...
Please email me at dmorganzack@yahoo.com
Any new account will be a learning
Just mix it in with your experience all around.  You should be fine.
VR learning i s a myth
VR is not taught by MT in most cases because it is *back-end* voice recognition program. VR can be taught by the dictator on *front-end programs but most docs don't care to spend the time doing it. After 1-1/2 years of doing VR, and being told it would *learn* over time, I found out that was a lie. I have brought to bosses' attention the same errors in docs' formats, the same errors in punctuation, numberint, etc, etc, as requested and nothing has changed. I just do the best I can, knowing that the platform/program I work on will never improve.
I'm with you. I'm willing to take a temporary dip in pay while learning, but MQ better leave
nm
I love your posts - I'm learning from them...sm

Thank you again for taking the time to type this very informative post.  These types of posts actually help many people, I do believe.  Like you, I do all my own MTSO work and have not yet had to farm any out.  My MDs are great in that they all pay me by the 15th of the following month.  I pretty much demand that because the work is all back in their offices by the 30th or 31st of that prior month....so wanting to get paid by the 15th of the following month is reasonable.  I am sorry for your delinquent client but my docs know I only bill out once a month and that cuts down on the billing part of being an MTSO. 


What I HATE about being an MTSO....is all those receipts you have to keep all year long...but it's not the keeping of the receipts, it's the TAX PREP that we face within the next 6-12 weeks....oh what a mess that always is....not a mess - but so time consuming that I do hire someone to do that clerical stuff to get things ready for the TAX people......my daughter is the one I hire (and yep, I do pay her well to do that part of the work). 


Again, thank you so much for your informative posts.  Be well....


Add me to the list of those interested in learning more

nm


I'd love to learning kickboxing
Are you in LA?
Thanks! Yes, I figure if I start out learning the hardest
it can only go up from here. My production is in the toilet though and being new, I have no idea how much of that to attribute to being new or having to rewind some ESL dictations a hundred times :(
Then provide samples and learning tools.
We are all only human.  The doctor is supposed to be reviewing and signing these reports they dictate.  Are they not?  If they sign off a report that has an error, that then makes the dictating physician liable, not the MT.  This docking for errors sounds like another scheme to make money off of hard-working MTs.    tsk tsk
learning Escription/Edit Script
I work for Focus also and there is nothing hard about learning Escription---it is very user friendly. The test is learning the shortcut keys to become a faster editor. There is a website that comes with this platform that will teach you the shortcuts, plus there is a great forum board to learn from other MTs. I love the platform, but still working on speed.
Sad, felt the same way at MQ....sm

They kept promising me that things would get better.  I typed acute care and radiology at the Big Q.  When all the changes were made and we were switched to DQS I had to choose between acute care and radiology.  I chose radiology which is my first love.  I was also switched from pay per line to pay per report.  My pay check truly suffered as there was little work for the great influx of MTs placed with the one office that handled radiology.  They were truly not ready to handle all of this.  Work was not distributed equally and what was your primary account was no longer.  As they phased out accounts from the cottage program to DQS my work load was lighter and lighter.  I stuck it out from August to January, but can understand how you feel as far as workload and pay, we all have to eat and are not working for charity. 


Hope everything works out for you because it can be soooo frustrating going from one company to another only to be disappointed and then back out on the beaten path in tow with many others.


I have never felt the need to use a
line counter other than IChart.I've been at this long enough that I can pretty much guess what my line count is/should be. Why in heaven's name would you continue to work for a company that you don't trust?
I felt exactly the same
aa
well, I have always felt
that it IS the MTs job to let her 'upper mgmt' know when she needed more work. However, I can tell you, that there apparently comes a point when a new account is NOT provided, ie, one doesn't always receive one when asked for one. Besides, it takes time, at the cost of momentum, to have to bounce from account to acccount looking for work. I am feeling rather irritated about this whole scenario right now and next time something comes my way, I may have to cut my hours at MDI and put my eggs in more than one basket.
Wow, that's all? No wonder we felt
x
Come on, learning correct spelling is important. No offense meant.
nm
sounds like how i felt with...
softscript. i lasted only one month.

move on. not only will you not make money, but you're also stressing on a difficult account. two strikes; dont wait for the third.
I felt hesitant, too. sm

I was offered a job at another company and accepted it, but something inside me said try TransTech.  So that's what I'm doing!  It's always hard to move on, but when you're being disrespected and treated badly, it's time.


I took what I felt to be an extremely
long and involved test to be an Editor for SmartMed. Got hired but still did not understand why it was necessary to test that extensively.
I felt the same exact way
and I did not sleep very well either the night after that meeting. Personally, I do not know what the big deal is about being paid by the keystroke. When I was hired on, I was told what I was being paid per keystroke and what it came out to be if it were a 65-character line just like every other place goes by and it has always been right on.

I look at things this way and the new guy said it himself during the meeting. There is a shortage of qualified MTs here in the US and now, according to him, there is starting to be in India. As far as I see it, who knows, there might be something even better somewhere else if things do not feel that they are working out for me. Do I worry? Yes, I do, but more so in a way that it seems like a possible unnecessary hassle for me and I like simple.
I felt the same way last year......until
I left the home based business I had established for over 15 years, and took a job managing an office. I did it for a solid year, and at the end of the year, I missed so much being able to just take a break when I wanted. I was in a management position and could not just take a break for a solid year. In fact, I could have never left early, took a day off, or took a long lunch as I was the one in charge and nobody else was accountable. I don't know if that was really the case, but I sure felt like it.

After a year, I decided to come back home and start transcribing again. No regrets thus far. It's been three months, I sort of picked up where I left off, and my family is very happy to have me back at home.
I always love when people aske me what I do for a living, I tell them, and they ask how do I do that? I feel lucky. I have been able to stay home, earn a great living, and raise my kids. I am here for the deliveries and repairs, am able to fix dinner, and do a load of laundry in between jobs.

There is only one thing about working at home that has been hard. I love to give 100% to everything I do, but when I work at home, I tend not to do that. I spread myself too thin and manage to get it done. Would love to fix that part.

Overall, I am just so greatful to be able to do what I do.
I just felt replying here was enough. I SM
really didn't care to receive an email saying basically the same things.  I know she doesn't actually have my email address.  I have posted hundreds of times on these boards and this is the first time anyone has done that.
I have kind of felt the same way, s/m

I work for a GREAT company.  I make a good line rate, I have great benefits and I always have more than enough work to keep me busy. 


There have been some negative posts on here regarding the company I work for.  The main complaint is the fact that they expect their MTs to work the schedule they commit to working when they are hired.  There are also a few complaints about how strict QA can be.  There has recently been a couple of posts about the company talking about lack of work on Monday and about having feed problems. 


The truth is I have been offered OT on Mondays for the last month or 2.  We have had 2 separate feed problems due to facility issues (not a company issue) within the past month.  Now, my company pays downtime if we run out of work, they do not overstaff our accounts, they provide us great benefits and pay us great wages but people are still complaining???  I just don't get it. 


If I had to go outside of my home and find a position, I sure as heck would not have near the convenience that I have with this job, even if I have to stick to a schedule.  When you go outside of home to work, don't you have to work a schedule???  Do you not have something said to you if you are late or leave work early???  Do you not have something said to you if you make errors in your work???


I also hear people complaining about rude editors, co-workers, etc.  Ummm, is everyone in your life always in a good mood?  When you work outside of your home, do you never get your toes stepped on by someone or another???  I think I remember my biggest reason for working at home and that is because I don't like dealing with two-faced, back stabbers.


I know there are a lot of bad companies out there as I have worked for a few myself but after starting with this company and being here almost 3 years, I am amazed at the people who still complain about them. 


MTs need to realize that this is a JOB.  We have to make the same sacrifices as 90% of American workers, which includes WORKING A SCHEDULED SHIFT!!  There is no doubt it is a little sacrifice so that I can continue to make a good wage, have good benefits and always have work. 


 


It felt more like a secretary.
I lasted only a month.  I felt more like a secretary than an MT.  The amount of demos and information that had to be searched before you begin transcribing was unreal.  QA also picked everything to death. 
Squirm! That is exactly how I felt!
Butterflies in my stomach. Like my instinct was kicking in. Thanks for the validation. :)
Have you ever felt like your company was

Picking on you?  I tend to feel that way these days.  Like, I feel that QA is being overly stern for some reason and the owner doesn't seem to care either way.  In a sense I feel they WANT me to quit, but why not just fire me if I am not doing a good job?


After two years on the job and very consistent high QA scores, they decide that my QA isn't up to par and put me back in 100% QA and I have been on this for 3 months now and never had anything else said to me about it. 


I felt the exact same way
Was depressed for the past 2 days about it and wondering how I'm going to pay my bills now. Trying to find another job also.
others felt differently - NM

I have never felt so demoralized.
You just keep taking and taking and giving nothing in return, but you still want 100% from us. Low morale, low productivity. And I know I am not the only one.
I agree.. things have just felt different there lately
Past few months, whenever overtime is offered, it is offered with a warning that your lines should match up to your overtime hours and don't take advantage, blah, blah, balh. Almost makes you feel guilty for putting down overtime even though you are sitting there working. Now, we basically have had our holiday pay taken away. I used to be a real big supporter of OSi and they have basically treated me well, but I'm getting really discouraged.
You also felt that you were just lucky to get paid at
You stated that in another post?  Again, are you out of your mind?  So, if you work for free, no wonder they love you!  HAHA!  The joke is really on you and gee thanks for making hard for the rest of us to demand a paycheck on time every time.  You're very condescending and you can even let it rest!    Just an observer, but you are obviously just as bad as the owner that comes on here and posts in an unprofessional manner.  Get over yourself already.
Wondering why you felt a need to start this thread
From my experience, I had no surprises. The transcription test was one of the easiest I've had. The written test took half the time I anticipated. I was scheduled 3 days in advance for the verbal and since I've had verbal tests in advance, I knew what to expect and did very well. I was hired 2 hours later.

They have been nothing but professional, organized, accommodating, supportive, have absolutely the best benefits (and I really investigated this before I applied to them) around. My pay doesn't bite, nor did I take a pay cut.

I think another poster further down the page said something to the effect that if you really know what you are doing, not just think you know what you are doing, this is a good company. I made more money my first check with them than my last check from the employer I left. All things being equal, comparing apples to apples, I am very happy there.

Your mileage may vary. I didn't bash you. Please extend the same courtesy.
Thanks. I felt like bashing my head against a wall
.
Amen to that - I have years of exp but never felt picked on here. nm
.
I looked into Nicholas, but I felt that it was too risky

I felt like I really fell through the cracks at Medquist...
My computer didn't come for almost a month-and-a-half, I had to have training rescheduled after it finally came, and then I couldn't get a return call from my supervisor with my account specs.

When she finally assigned the account, I got this huge e-mail with samples in it, at least 100, and not really organized in any way, shape, or form. I had some questions on the report types I was supposed to be assigning, but never heard back before getting an e-mail from that she was going to be gone for a week at a supervisor meeting. She didn't even tell me who to call for help.

I made it less than 2 weeks there as there was just no guidance. However, there was a gal who called about a month later to see how things were going, and I told her my experience. She said they were looking into mentors for newhires, so maybe that has improved now.
I suspect the owner of the MTSO felt

it was a good time to retire.  If you Google Transcription Stat and Sausalito (where the MTSO at the root of the whole affair was located--interesting because the office used to be in downtown San Francisco and Sausalito was where Kim lived.  Wonder if she was running it out of her home at the time the whole thing went down...), all you get is references to the UCSF affair so I suspect she is no longer in business.  Didn't one article say her UCSF work totally dried up after that?  That was her main account, as far as I know. 


I was referring to fact you felt need to use expletive,
q
I don't know what they wanted to know. I didn't take the test. I felt it was invasion of pr
nm
sorry.....intro should have read i felt the opposite last year....until
nm
When YOG sold to MQ, I felt like I was punched in the stomach. Ironically, sm
I went to MDI-MD immediately after that (I refuse to work for MQ).  D made a few remarks about Carole, how she always said she would never sell and then did ...... and now I guess D heard the call of the almighty dollar as well.  I can't honestly blame them.  If I had worked hard all of my life and built up something and someone offered me a gazillion $$$ for it, I would figure I had earned it, sell, and enjoy the fruits of my labor.  Still, I feel sorry for the MDI folks now.  I am now at Keystrokes, praying that they are not the next company to be gobbled up. 
I felt that exact same way and quit a job that was not work out..6 weeks and 30 applications sm

later I am a temporary employee at Walmart for 6.00/hr.  Still more than I was making at my production job but how humiliating.