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OK, I'll try to explain this the best I can.  My boyfriend has two children...one is a girl who just turned 18.  The other is a boy who is 15.  These two children will not eat ANYTHING!  The girl is pickier than the boy, but still he is bad enough on his own.  I have an 8-year-old son who will eat more of a variety than these two put together. 

I am really getting tired of eating the same old thing every week.  They will eat chicken, pork chops, burgers, hot dogs, pizza, and steak.  It gets very old.  My boyfriend and I love italian food, but if we make it we have to cook something separate for the kids (not including mine) to eat!

The girl doesn't like ham.  OH, but she will eat ham that you put on a sandwich...but if you cook a ham, she turns her nose up?!?!?  She likes baked potatoes, but not mashed?!?!?  The boy would live on pizza ANYTHING if you let him.

I know that since they are older there isn't much I can do about it.  Plus, they aren't my children, so I feel strange saying much about it.  Their dad tries to get them to try new things, but they won't do it.  In my opinion, he doesn't really try hard enough.  My son has always been made to try at least a bite of something new...if he really doesn't like it he doesn't have to eat it, but most of the time he thinks it's good.

I just am sick and tired of the dinner menu choices being so limited.  My boyfriend is a great cook (I am a good cook too, but he loves to cook, so he does most of the cooking).  I'll ask what's for dinner and then almost feel sick to my stomach when it's chicken AGAIN!!

If anyone has any advice I would appreciate it.  I think I needed to vent about it more than anything.

Just wondering because I believe that my skills and equipment meet their requirements, but never heard back after sending my resume.

I know that the MTSOs are often bombarded with resumes, but it would've been nice to be able to test for them.

Hi y'all,

Three weeks ago I began a new job doing acute care at a local hospital (part of CHS). On Friday they told us that our work would be outsourced beginning in April.... Previously I worked at another local hospital for 9 years transcribing Rad and ER notes, echos, etc. I left there because I need expensive orthognathic surgery and their insurance plan has a blanket exclusion against it. Plus I wanted to brush up on my "big four" skills.

Now I am looking for work. Boy have things changed!  I really prefer to work for a hospital or start up my own company again but would work for a service as a last resort. After reading the informative posts here, I have begun compiling a list of "good" and "bad" services so I can avoid certain ones.

Does anyone here have any advice for me? Not general advice about job hunting, but more specific advice about the services -- what to watch out for, etc. I have never done editing/VRT, but apparently that pays less anyway so I don't think I will be doing that.

Thanks.

I work at home for a local medical facility that are calling some of the at-home girls to come in and work in-house.  This is a form of punishment they use when they claim our production is low.  I have one supervisor that says that I am doing a great job, production is great and to keep up the good work.  I have another supervisor that says it sucks, (okay not exactly how she phrased it) I think is what is going on is that they are losing work as some departments are going to VR and another is going to be its own separate enitity.  The in-house girls, when transcription is low, they work on other things in the dept.  This is just my guess, I don't know what is going on but bottom line is one day I get told one thing and next day I get told another and I don't want to drive back and fourth.  I did the math, with 2 kids in DC and the price of gas that would be $900 a month.       I applied for an on-line transcription company Friday and Monday (yesterday) morning this company called me and left a message on my answering machine to call them back. I had gone to talk to my supervisor and working in-house situation is only temporary she said. She said that we are going to get a big Christmas bonus this year (we have gotten anywhere from $200 to $500 in the past). I really don't know what to believe. There is another at-home girl that is getting "punished" too and has to work in-house. I am wondering if I should not stick it out with this place a little bit longer just to see. The problem is I don't know what to tell the other company. I certainly don't want to blow them off. It is just hard to decide on what to do.

Ok...I tried this yesterday and do not see the question I asked posted...so I am hoping it works this time.  I am looking for some help with people that do their medical transcription at home and am seeking any advice on some good corporations that allow you to work at home with a flexible schedule.  I have been in the medical Transcriptionist field for over 17 years now....yeah I am old...LOL

If anyone can help....I sure would appreciate it....

Thanks...

a few days ago, and just wanted to mention here that if anyone knows about the AAPC on-line class I would appreciate their input.  I just noticed that not too many had viewed the message and thought the board does not get as many visits as some of the other boards here. 

TIA for any help/advice you guys can offer!! 

Does anyone know what it is called "to feel with the hand"? Is there a medical term for that phrase? Thanks!

I do NOT transcribe "medial sonoscopy."  

Good Lord.   

does anyone use this program - i have been using for about a year and now all of a sudden it will not bring the "patient fields" into the document - error says add document failed - was not having this problem before.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Can someone tell me in layman's terms how to do this? Thanks!

When I graduated six months ago, I was full of hopes and dreams for a bright future as an MT. The closer I got to graduation, the more I read the various MT forums but found it hard to believe that so many MTs were struggling to find the right fit. Now that I have been working for six months, I understand better what those MTs are talking about. Despite the fact that there is such a lack of qualified MTs, there are very few companies willing to take on the task of hiring a new MT. From what I know and have read, most new grads are very eager and willing to work hard to learn the skills of the trade in the real world (versus the unreal world in school).

Those companies that I have dealt with and do hire newbies basically just give a newbie a job but offer no feedback, no guidance, no advice. There is a big difference between filling in the blanks a newbie leaves and helping a newbie become a well-trained MT. I supposedly had a mentor the first few months but cannot recall ever receiving any support from that mentor. On the contrary! I taught my mentor a few things about terminology and the BOS!

I have applied for a new job with a few companies but most of the time I receive no responses to my emails after they have offered me jobs even though they promise that they treat their ICs better because they are soooo honest and supportive! Why do they offer me a job and then do not get back? Is it because I want to know more details about the company, the platform, the pay, and the types of accounts or because they have filled the position and see no need to communicate with me any longer? Well, the lack of communication tells me to stay away from that company and that that MTSO has pretty low standards, which I want nothing to do with.

Where I am working now promises have been made and not kept. Pay is on time and no one ever bothers me with annoying IMs or phone calls. The only time my manager talks to me is when I address her with a concern or question. Pay is okay being not the lowest I have been offered but also not that high. Work has been slow lately due to the holiday season, I suppose. Honestly, I believe they have overhired and that some of the MTs there are working more than they should be, which leaves others with little to no work. I do my best to turn in error-free reports and research doctor's names, drugs, terminology, proofread my reports and sometimes relisten to them before turning them in. We can look at old reports, and almost every time I do that to look up a name or drug because I just cannot hear it well enough, I find multiple errors in those reports. Either drugs are wrong or a doctor's name or things like must written as mist or quiet written as quite, not to mention that once a Latex allergy turned into a Lasix allergy, and I believe because the MT at the time did not proofread, do research or pay attention to the story being told. Those are times when I ask myself two questions: 1. How can these MTs get away with so many errors and without proofreading? 2. Why bother to take the time to turn in an error-free report, which is slowing me down, while the others are making so much more money? I have no answer for question 1, but as far as question 2 goes, I do believe that it is worth the "bother" for the sake of the patient and because I take pride in my work. Until I can combine quality with quantity, I will just have to work harder and longer than those who are interested in production. I just find it hard to believe that I am the only one who has noticed this, and I am also surprised that the doctors have never noticed.

I am looking for a job where accuracy counts without going overboard. What I mean by that is that I am not "scolded" for a missing comma or hyphen. I am looking for a job where I have my own doctors I am responsible for. Working out of a pool works for some but not for me. Maybe down the road I will not have a problem dealing with 100s of doctors, but at this point in my career, I consider myself still at the beginning and would prefer to take smaller steps. I am looking for a job that has trained, skilled and experienced MTs that really know what they are doing and can answer a question with a firm answer and not "I guess." I do not have a problem accepting a lower cpl rate in the beginning if I receive training, guidance, support and dedicated accounts. I am not interested in an unpaid internship because after a very good education with one of the leading schools and working for six months, I am capable of producing error-free reports although at times I still have to leave a blank or two. That is where I need guidance and support because so far I just do not know how to fill in those blanks. My worst QA rating so far has been 99.96! I just do not feel comfortable working for a company that submits so many reports with errors in them!

After telling you all of this, this is what I would like to know: Are there any honest MTSOs out there that ensure that all of the reports have a 98% or higher accuracy? Are there any MTSOs out there that realize how much they would actually benefit by hiring newbies from the good schools? Like I mentioned earlier, I believe that most new grads are eager and willing and cannot wait to finally work. There is not only a lack of MTs, there is also a lack of qualified MTs. Why do not more MTSOs utilize this new generation of MTs that have a solid education? Why are so many MTSOs dishonest? Why do you promise one thing and do another? Why do so many MTSOs put up with the many doctors that dictate so poorly? Why do you not approach the doctors and tell them that they are endangering the patient's life by submitting such poor dictations? Don't you think that if all MTSOs put demands on those doctors, the doctors would have no choice but dictate clearly? If all MTSOs put those demands on the doctors, then they could not go running to an MTSO that accepted the lousy dictations. I intentionally left out the financial aspects of this conversation because this message is long enough as is.

I hope that plenty of MTSOs come forward in a positive and constructive manner. I accept that some people out there will disagree with me, but I do hope that those persons that choose to respond do so in a positive and constructive manner. I have noticed a lot of bashing on here lately, and I suggest to those who find joy in doing so that they need to apply their time and energy to making this profession a more honest and enjoyable one! 

Can someone tell me how to take a winscribe serial port footpedal and use a USB adapter with it...i have a new computer and it does not have the com port access

Word 2003 is the preferred version to use with Scribe.  Can you use it with Word 2000 and if so, does the older version of Word complicate things or make it slower?

Just had a question for you all.  I am almost done with my course, and hoping to get a job soon thereafter.  Does it just depend on the person how well we get that 98% on-the-job? I mean, how long it takes us to consistently achieve that.  I am usually about 97 right now, so I am hoping it won't take me much longer! How often are you usually (on average) reviewed at work and what about grammar, punctuation, etc? Does it just depend on the company? What happens if you are below 98? Thanks for all responses!

I just saw this on another site and thought it was funny.  In Google search engine type - failure and hit the I'm feeling lucky and see what comes up.   

This is the first work I've been sent.  I was not able to figure out GearPlayer in time to take the test, so I had to manually play the sound, type, etc. 

I was told (here) that I could drag the sound file over the GearPlayer window and it would load.  I tried that tonight, but there was an error.  So I read some instructions from GearPlayer and it mentioned files have to be in HTML format, so you could save the file to your computer and then drag and drop it.  I tried that and I'm not getting an error message; it looks like it loaded fine, but when I use the footpedal all I hear is STATIC.  What is wrong?

No,

 THE OFFICIALS! 

How many years have you been an MT, and what's your longest run at the same company....

I've been an MT for 11 years....the past 8 with the same company. 

I have done this before and for the life of my I cannot remember how I did it. Can someone help me out?  Okay.  This new doctor would like heading and numbers under each heading.  He wants me to tab over from the number to begin typing and the words to sort of "wrap" so that the second line would not return to under the number.  I will try to show it here.

Treatment:

1.     The patient will ____________________________

        the rest of the sentence would continue under the words "The patient.

I know someone who has an account that she's had for about 3+ years.  This practice recently went through some changes; one of the main partners retired, they hired another one or two new docs, and now the other partner who was left behind has slashed costs every which way, even to the point of not purchasing letterhead anymore.  They expect their MT to now print their letterhead (oh, and she has to buy the paper now too!!!), and she is consequently using a lot more ink than normal.  She was already printing their letters and not charging them for the ink (on their letterhead that they furnished), but now she has to use their letterhead template on plain white paper, which is going through ink like crazy, not to mention the now added cost of paper on top of that.  How rude is this?  Do you believe it?  I told her she needs to speak up.  She is pretty angry about it, but she is so afraid to say something for fear they'll get rid of her too!  And, in all the years she's been doing their dictation she has not gone up on the price, not one penny.  Any advice out there?   

Remember mickey mouse ice cream bars?  They were shaped like mickey's head and the face was vanilla ice creame with chocolate ice cream for eyes and mouth.  His ears were chocolate covered.  I don't think they make them anymore.  What treats do you miss that you can no longer find? 

VoiceScribe program?  I am offered a position with a company but they only give you a 30-day trial for this program - then after that you have to purchase license for $600.  I just can't afford that right now.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you. 

Thanks to all of you for your advice about sciatica.  It gives me hope to know that others had it and have gotten better - and I am really happy to know what all the options are for being treated. 

To the person who said this is a result of being a Transcriptionist and sitting so much - is that true???  I never thought about that being a factor.  I normally walk about 4 miles a day (not right now of course) but I guess that doesn't outweigh the loooongg sitting that we do, does it?

I type the clinic notes at home, print them, verify the all notes printed, place them in a manila envelope clearly marked with the clinic name and dictator doctor's name and date of clinic.  I then deliver the notes to the lead Transcriptionist at the hospital which manages the clinics.  She in turn distributes them to the clinics. 

The last two weeks, I have gotten several calls from the lead MT that I give the work too that clinics are calling saying they are missing certain notes from certain days which is impossible because I type all notes for a specific day in one large document and print them out together.  There is no way that some are printing and some are not.  Plus I ALWAYS verify that each note printed.  Today, she called and said there were missing notes from two different days.

Then there is the issue of my work being typed by someone in the hospital.  When I deliver work I get a print out of what's on the system as far as clinic notes.  It is a worktype specific list that only I am supposed type.  There are a couple of doctors who dictate all their notes in one looooong job.  There were two very long jobs on my list, but were never pooled to me.  When I enter the specific job number, it says they have been transcribed.  In one instance, the dictator dictated half on one job and half on another.  I typed one job and the other just magically got transcribed.  When I've called to ask who's typing these reports, no one seems to know.

These ladies in this particular transcription department are not a friendly bunch.  I have felt that they sort of resent the fact that I am doing work from home while they have to come in and type.  I think they are wondering why they aren't allowed to work from home.  The work I do is very easy clinic work and would be pretty easy lines for one of them to do just to pad their line counts.

I have a meeting tomorrow with the HIM director who contracted with me about TAT and I know they want a shorter TAT than the agreed upon 24 to 48 hours and I know she is going to want me to make more deliveries than the three I do a week now.  I have asked that they set up a remote printer for me so I can print from home that way delivery isn't an issue anymore, but they act like this can't be done which I know it can be done.

I'm about to cut this account loose, but it's such easy work.  It's just that I'm running into brick walls at this place.

Thanks for listening to me whine! 

Years ago when I worked for a smaller company a bunch of us made a big  box of goodies and mailed it to the office.  They were such great people, helpful and cheerful. The company always sent us something and we didn't want to just send to the owner of the company so we felt a card in a box of goodies everyone could share.  Smaller places have more of a personal feel .

Now I work for a larger company and home made goodies may not be such a good idea. (The shipping alone would be a killer.)  I guess a card addressed to "everyone" will have to do it.  Thought about having X-mas cards made up with  my family picture on it and sending that to kind of help them also put a face to the name.  Too much?  Think I would be better off with just a standard card? 

Those of you that are doing anything for the office you work out of, what are you doing?  Would love to "borrow" a really good idea.

TIA

I can't get anywhere on a line count, I cannot understand what they say

Are all MT jobs like this !!!!!!!!!!!