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

...counter not working... does that make them worthless?

Posted By: JJ on 2009-02-18
In Reply to: Do you have a tape in the machine?--sm - DeeAnn

Thanks DeeAnn, that link helped confirm what I thought. Neither of the counters are working on these two machines. Everything else is (tone,speed, etc. adjustments), peddle, power and headsets are all fine. Just no counters. Out of curiosity, do the counters not working tremendously devalue them? The neighbor was offering to give me one of three machines if I'd sell the two remaining ones, hence my involvement and interest. I've wondered about getting into MT (lord knows I can't handle full-scale court reporting school but am quick to learn, fast on keyboard and diligent though I need to sharpen grammar and proofing a bit). I was going to ebay these but with broken counters not sure what they are potentially worth, if too low then he may not want to part with anything. Otherwise, I'd go ahead... Refurbs are outrageously expensive but say around $50 each unit - is that asking too much? Opinions?


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

A MI MT working for MQ will make different
x
Is it possible to make good money working for someone else?
.
Help please!!! Is there anything that would make my c-phone footpedal stop working?
Maybe it got deprogrammed?  It was unplugged for a couple of months. Any suggestions please?
What about benefits? I make 50k a year working for a company
out of my home full time. No gas money, no traveling, no printing, faxing, and I get full benefits. How is making 50000 as an MTSO good money? I really just don't get it!
Have to agree. Kids do make working at home "different" (sm)

Mine are grown, but the grandchildren occasionally are over.  The oldest one will play his Gameboy or some cube thing all day and only occasionally ask to be fed.  However, when the youngest one can't go do daycare for some reason my world is turned upside down.  The granddaughter has it in her head that when I ask her to be quiet it means come over to my desk and whisper.  All in all, it isn't too often that I have children in my house when I work.  My hat is off to those of you who do it on a regular basis, you are queens of organizational/concentration skills. 



 


If they make it so difficult to test, just imagine working for them. Move on.
x
How is it that my opinion is worthless
and yours is always the only opinion that is right? Everyone has a right to say what they want. If you don't like it, then don't respond. People could say the same about your 2 cents. You think you know everything, but you sound like a Fat Sajak most of the time. See ya later B-town.
You are so right - it's basically worthless
nm
Many of us agree that it is worthless...

Very few companies pay more for being a CMT.  The so-called "credential" is not valued nor recognized by MOST healthcare facilities as well as individual doctors.  This is not just an opinion, but it is a FACT based on research with which I am currently involved.  (Whether a CMT differential is paid is only one small bit of information collected).


Also, you said, "...The name change came to be to allow others who work in the industry access to the association should it be their wish to join.  Previously those people had been excluded."


Those wishing to join who had previously "been excluded" are not American MTs.  It is common knowledge that the AAMT will collect a dollar wherever they can, including from off-shore MTs that are running the industry into the ground through both poor quality and accepting sub-par pay.


Taking "American" out of the name is very fitting. 


The AAMT had NEVER been a true representative of American MTs.  Even the BOS is simply a money maker.  It could be very useful.  However, arbitrarily changing some of the most basic rules of grammar by putting those new "rules" in a book is ridiculous.  By what authority does someone just CHANGE grammar rules???  Now that two editions of the BOS are published, you can be sure someone is working on changing more rules to enable a third edition to come out.


Hogwash!  AAMT, BOS...all pure HOGWASH. 


Maybe some here should get together, form an MT organization, decide to publish a book with our own new set of grammar and other rules, make up a test (and even charge to take the beta version), and issue a "credential" to those who pass. 


That would be exactly what the AAMT has done. 


Unfortunately, some online schools push the CMT until all their new grads think it is the coolest thing on wheels.  Only when they get a bit of real-world experience do they realize (hopefully) that they wasted their money.  Oh, and now while they wiat two years before they can sit for the CMT, they have the RMT (equally useless) so they can donate to the AAMT early on.


AAMT/worthless
Once upon a time....I was a cheerleader for this organization. I was a local and state chapter board member, committee chairperson, worked in the ranks. We went to meetings in other states to support out colleagues. We held big symposiums that took a lot of planning and attendees gained CECs. The national group from AAMT was never supportive of the local or state chapters -- it was all about their presence and money. They never listened to our members' concerns or delegates/members views. National had an agenda and the rank and file were not a part of their plans.
Take note that many many productive chapters have folded over the years. There was a time when AAMT was very anti on-line presence.
AAMT sold us down the river, as someone else said. Previous national board members were very involved with training and providing work off-shore, under cutting bids for work, at a time when they were hiding these facts. Many of them were never in the trenches and they were more concerned with corporate politics than the working MTs.
As for the CMT credential, that's a personal choice, but most of us never saw any benefit, and it was not cost effective. It's another way for AAMT to make money.
.... and the list goes on.
If you are already an MT, school is worthless
I have been an MT for nearly 10 years, OJT for me, as well, and I can tell you, I have never felt the need to go to school to get a piece of paper that tells people what I already know... I'm good at my job. The only thing that might possibly get you a better paying job is certification. If I was going to waste a year on studying something I already know, it would be for that. If I owned an MTSO, I would take a veteran MT who had OJT over a newly-schooled MT anyday. Give yourself some credit!
TL is a do nothing, worthless added layer of
management to make some people think they are more important than they really are.  Most of them know jack-sh** about anything, are just company pets and get paid to be a PITA.  
Money is worthless in that kind of disaster.
i
Then that makes the "wonderful" features of IT worthless.

IT takes so long to get used to using that increase is production you may eventually get is not enough to cover for the money you lose while trying to learn the program.  If you have to memorize everything, you might as well use Autocorrect. 


Shorthand is much better and easier to use. 


 


This kind of post is worthless without reasons. nm
:l
Forget the worthless AAMT certification
It will help you a lot more in the long run.
If you want to sue, you MUST have damages to sue for. GO to the DOCTOR or a suit is worthless.

I've seen enough Judge Judy (I love her, too!) to know this. If you have no damages, you get no money. With no PROOF of damages, you basically have no damages.


You would need to take pictures of any scrapes and bruises that you have as a result of being dragged, falling, the leash pulling you, etc. You also need a doctor's report.  A judge won't just take your word that you were hurt. Good luck!


Never heard of RMT. In my experience, CMT is worthless in the job market.
x
I have a 100% discount for you. Don't take the test! It's worthless as is the association be

You're working to make money, not to spend money.
These people should be ashamed of themselves taking advantage of people this way!
Working 6/hour days, 5 days/week I make
$42,000.00, but the work is there to make more if I want to.  I'm in the southeast. 
They have a counter here that is free I believe as well - sm
go to the home page and find it that way. Also skip the business license unless your "employer" is requiring it, or if your county requires it, more hassle than it is worth. As of now I don't require one where I am, though my DH did for cutting grass at a local church for a few years(though I made 6 x more than he did). We have personal property tax here so I'd have to pay taxes on my computer, etc, that I use for work, so far MT is under the radar in my county though other counties in my state require it, go figure.
line counter
I got it to work if I use slow method, so if you figure it out great, but whew, what a help evenif slower then the regular method
line counter
I found that the MTstars counter works great EXCEPT for gross lines - I was shorted 622.00 last year and just found out, when was notified I had been shorting myself. (what a company to tell me of my error - I was shocked.) All other "parts" work well but hope eventually it gets fixed on MTstars so I can continue using it.
Line counter
Just wanted to clarify - The MTStars line counter works great for me. I did have an issue but my original post probably should have been split into two - a company I work for actually told me of an error - that does not happen too often.

I have referred others off site to this counter and no one has had problems. My concerns about straight line counts has a fix (comparable rate) that I use with the counter. Do not want anyone thinking this program has anything deficient with it. I use it to bill my IC clients as well as my private ones. I would be lost without it.
Over the counter drugs

Are over the counter drugs capitalized? Example: "Unisom"


 


Thanks


Personally, I do not use the counter so it --sm
would not bother me. I use the transcriber for only one client that dictates 15-20 miinutes a day and is very easy. Maybe make it very clear in your ad that other than the counter, it is in good working condition?
Agree that over the counter meds for
tapeworm are ineffective.  It's not worth the gamble.  While you try the OTC out, the tapeworm is depleting nutrition from your pet and making it weaker. It's worth a trip to the vet!!  Good luck!
line counter user too
You know, I NEVER thought about the feature in Word (using Word's total char w/spaces/65 = total line count. It never occurred to me that that doesn't count hard page breaks, tabs, or returns! I feel really stupid. I've always just trusted that that is the way things are done (thinking that TX companies are actually treating the MTs fairly concerning pay). And the thing that makes me so mad is that, that is the way most transcription companies have you figure your lines! Because apparently that's the way their customers ask/tell them to bill them! Something is definitely wrong with this picture. We, as MTs need to stand up and just not take it anymore! I'm TIRED of just taking what they make us take. Granted, I'm sure there are actually some decent, honest Tx companies who actually pay for all characters/keys used, but I'd have to say, by and large, that is just not the case.

Having said all that, I have one client that I also bill using Instant Text Pro V line count software and I love it. But I have worked for other companies in the past who used strictly the Word method of counting characters w/spaces and dividing that by 65. How unfair is that? All this time! Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
MT STARS LINE COUNTER
You need to repost this over and over - it is great, glad I did not miss it.
AND the countdown to Christmas counter way up at the top--sm
right down to the seconds. this is great! someone there has an ingenious mind to think of this type of thing! Merry Christmas!
line counter programs
I have always suggested MTStars flash counter and have never had a problem for my "newbies" who come on board for me - however I have a new trans whose systems does not support this invoice generator - line counter program - Can someone suggest another free invoice / line counter program and direct me to link so that I can inform her. I prefer not to have any Newbie spend money when they do not have to. Any information you can give will be greatly appreciated.
Line Counter Software...

Hey there ....


Does anyone have a lead on any line counting software for under $30-$40?  I have TexTally, but it does not calculate the same way my Word 2002 calculates. 


  Thanx for your time.


admin....ha! aka bean counter
nm
He added over 200 to the counter right from the start.

It's a trick.


Platform line counter

I check my line counts with the software counter every day at the end of my shift and write it down.  At the end of this pay period, if I did a full pay period count on the same counter, my count doesn't add up to the same as when I add each day individually.  At first I thought it might have to do with blanks, but it is off by almost a whole shift's worth lines and I don't leave very many blanks.  I double checked the dates/times I entered to make sure I didn't miss a day.  I did not.


Has anyone else experience this?  I'm wondering if my company gets the count they pay me for this way.  I normally don't add them all up for the whole pay period, so I never noticed it before. 


macro for line counter

Paste this into your macro editor, if your line is 55 characters (or whatever) instead of 65, just substitute 55 for 65.


Sub PostLineCount()
Dim N As Long
N = ActiveDocument.Characters.count
N = Round(N / 65)
AutoCorrect.Entries.Add Name:=qdlc", Value:=N
MsgBox N & " lines in this document"
End Sub


If you need to type in your line count into an invoice, it is now in your autocorrect, just type qdlc in your invoice.  The autotext entry qdlc will change to the new line count each time you run this macro in a new document.


I hope somebody finds this useful and it will save her a little bit of money.  If any of you have some specific need this macro does not address, I will check back here later and post the new macro solution for you.


Are you sure the counter wasn't slow? sm
Sometimes it takes quite awhile for the counter to catch up, especially if you are on a large account with several MTs working on it. I always check back the first thing the next shift and it has usually caught up by then with the correct count. BTW, would you email me privately with the name of the company for whom you work - I'm looking for an EXText job. Thanks and good luck!
Do you take over the counter medication or from a physician. Which seems to work well.
:
WORD/LINE COUNTER QUESTION

Is there a program that you can down load to keep a running total of your lines all day.  I keep forgetting to go into word count after every report.  The company keeps track but I want to be sure it is right.  I have M. Word 2000 so I cannot leave it running like the newer versions. 


I do that and I also use paper towels to clean counter.
zz
Try melatonin over-the-counter in your vitamin section.
Doctors I worked with got me hooked on it. They said they used it themselves.  Doctors know the side effects of chemical drugs and steer away from them when it comes to taking drugs.  Anyway do a search on Google about melatonin.  It may work for you and it really has no side effects for me, like the grogginess prescription drugs give you the morning after you take a pill to sleep.
Question on counter program - for administrator
I use your line counter program faithfully for line count clients, but recently had to use it for page count client of mine on a second computer - I downloaded it the same way etc..  When I check off page count and enter my rate all files come up as 1 page.  This does ot happen on my other computer - is there anything you can give me a headsup on so I can use it on both computers - both are exactly the same setup and operating programs.
Best line counter/invoicer - suggestions?nm
nm
Please take note that the Word line counter--sm
is not accurate because it counts ALL lines, even those that are blank. If your reports are double spaced, it will count the lines in between as lines. be careful. recommend a good line counting program instead.
Line counter that does not depend on MS Word??
I had a computer crash. After I reformatted my computer, I no longer have Word, only WordPerfect. All I counted lines with before was Word's statistics, lines with spaces. WordPerfect does not give lines with spaces. I have looked at several line count utilities and ALL so far expect you to have Word installed on your computer. They use Word and just report the line count to you (so what would be the point of purchasing a program to do that....just use Word!!!). I need an inexpensive reliable line count utility that does NOT require Word. Thanks.
Anyone been able to figure out yet about the MQ line counter being Transcription QC QA and Clerical
and no Correction. Maybe we are all going to QA each others work to save money for Frank so he can take someone to Hawaii or type his letters. Maybe.
See inside for how to access Word's line counter...
Open your Word program and select Tools and then Word Count.
I use a line counter system similar to sylcount--sm
It has an invoice feature within it. I save my daily files by patient name and whether CN, H&P, etc. If I had to run an invoice like that each month, it would be much easier to have your files by each doctor and then run the invoice feature on the line counter. It would count each patient during that month by name and list it on the invoice that way, as well as including the line count and the cost. It would be much easier than doing it by hand. Good luck to you.
Keep a shallow bowl of apple cider vinegar on the counter.
This is something my mom did - worked for her, works for me. I set a small, shallow bowl of vinegar on the back of the stove or tucked into a corner on the cupboard. It cuts the odor down to almost nothing and keeps it gone. Plus, it's a whole lot cheaper than the over-perfumed stuff from the store.
Sally's? Wow, I would never have guessed. JCPenny carries some at their jewelry counter as well
nm