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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

About "US qualified MT shortage" and s/m

Posted By: ncmt on 2009-04-02
In Reply to:

claiming that MTs won't work nights and weekends, I don't know about you, but at my job, God forbid I have a technical issue that's not between 8 AM and 5 PM.  It's the office staff that won't work nights and weekends, not the MTs.


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Who is "us"?
I don't doubt what you say, but folks like you seem few and far between!
The definition of "US-Based"
Does NOT mean the company doesn't off-shore its work!!!! It might just mean they have offices in New York and LA where they answer the phones before shipping the work off to India or elsewhere.
No, just a shortage of US MTs who will
s
No shortage out by Akron, OH
s
lol they eat dog too, i think they were just having a shortage of dog at the restaurant so....
they had to do a roundup. Next, they will report the feline virus is out of control and do a roundup on them as well and that's all I have to comment on this post. Take care all!
Finish the course. I think there will be a shortage sm
in the future of all medical personnel from MT to MD. Looking at the whole picture, those of us from the baby boomer age are pushing 50 and as families, many of us had 3 or fewer children or none at all. So, in my opinion, that leaves a much smaller volume medical personnel to care for the aging in the future. So, finish that course so you can type my reports when I need them.
There is supposed to be a shortage
of American MTs I am reading in a large national information management magazine, and also according to our own gov. and our national association.  So why are wages falling if we are so desperately needed?  After 20 years, I am also seeking to get out.  I am at the height of my career in MT and find this is a losing profession.  They took a survey and were surprised in the article that wages have gone down.  They said a reason might because so many MTs work at home and so are part-time.  What a bunch of "you-know-what.!"  Wages are dropping because we do not get paid what we used to be paid.  I am making less now than 10 years ago.  I was recently offered an IC job for 7 CPL!   That was starting wages 15 years ago for FT.  Now they want to pay that for experienced and IC to boot, so you have higher percentage of taxes.  I have even seen 6 CPL.  These companies are trying to outbid each other by charging less and less, so they pay their MTs less and less.  They also must cover those big salaries and bonuses for the CEOs.
is there a shortage of American MTs?
nm
There is not a shortage. A lot of work
is being sent out of the country.
And the MTSOs say there's a shortage of
But yet they can't understand why.  Go figure. 
Maybe he's not qualified for the job?
.
How qualified do you have to be...
...to answer the phone in an indiscernible voice and put someone on hold while you "google" their problem on the company's online trouble-shooting manual, then come back with the right answer to another problem because you didn't understand the question in the first place? This is really about not wanting to pay people an honest wage for an honest day's work, not the lack of qualified applicants.
Maybe over qualified for what they want to pay. sm
I am in the same situation. I also have 25 years experience, all work types, preferrably op reports, and I can't get a response either.

I think the recruiter or whomever is intimidated by our experience and the low line rate they want to pay.

I guess we need to "dummy down" our resume. I don't know. I am not willing to accept 7-8 cpl either. So, maybe it is a blessing in disguise. I am baffled myself!!
I live in the NE and let me tell you, there is NO shortage of trees.
cc
gas shortage/leaving for ohio in the am
Here in Brunswick stations closed at 6 pm and not open until Friday and can get only 5 gallons then. Trucker said Atlanta was getting $5 a gal and now Atlanta is completely out of gas. I am leaving for Ohio in the am and concerned if this shortage is just here or all the way up. Any info would be appreciated.
There's a shortage of US MT's because the skill is becoming obsolete

Schools don't even encourage anyone to get into this field anymore because they don't want to have someone take a course and then be out of work in a few years when this skill goes the same direction that shorthand did several decades back.


Like someone said on the Company board, education is the key.  Don't allow yourself to be a one-trick pony and learn how to do something else while you can.


What a shortage of medical transcriptionists

Whoever says that needs to take a look at the job board and the posting that has over 1,000 views.


There are no transcriptionists looking for jobs either.


Nursing has created their own shortage
by severely restricting the availability of classes for students and refusing to make the class time available in the evenings, weekends, etc.

They also created their own shortage by making so many of the jobs papershuffling jobs rather than hands on care, and many of those jobs could easily be filled by a trained technician rather than an RN.

I do not feel sorry for nurses.
What holiday shortage? None this year
nm
Unfortunately, this company has no shortage of workers.
I know they hired a few new grads after I turned down their offer. As long as someone will work for that, they have no incentive to raise rates. Companies now don't seem to care about experience and quality, only concerned with the $$$. They didn't care that I can transcribe 2000 lines a day with 99% accuracy. They would rather stick to their cpl and hire new grads. Well, good luck to them.
No I'm not qualified to be a doctor. I only said that it was possible
to do this job without formal training and that I was a nurse before I was an MT  and that did help me get my first job as a transcriptionist. I am not knocking an education, I was just stating a fact.
CMT does not guarantee a qualified MT, maybe
just someone with enough money to play the game and take a test. I personally have worked with and hired MTs with and without the CMT at the end of their name and I really see no difference overall the CMT makes as far as quality of work or fund of knowledge, and there are some with CMTs that make me wonder how they even passed the test. Experience alone is the tell all. I would hire someone with years of experience over someone with only a few with some silly credential behind their name. If you have been in this business for 15+ years, you do not need some credential to prove yourself. Some just need to have somthing to make them feel superior when they actually may not even be that good. Passing a test for CMT looks good on paper, but in my experience does not mean you can actually decipher dictation or produce quality reports in the real world. JMO
Is there a shortage of experienced MTs here in the USA? Am I blind and deaf? sm
I was talking to a prospective employer today.  First off, it is a start-up company in US.  They already have a base in the Philippines. Well, that turned right off; however, we continued the conversation.  My question to this person was this.....so, if you were to get contracts for MT here in the US, are you willing to just hire US MTs?  Answer...Well there is such a shortage of good quality MTs here in the US and we would like to have the work done in the Philippines.  My next question, and if the contract specifically states all work is to stay in the USA, what then?  Well, then we would hire only US based MTs. 

Finally, I had to stop him in his tracks....I told him I emphatically disagree.  There is not a shortage of US MTs.  The problem is that you or any other Internationally based company is not willing to pay the US MTs what they are worth.  You want cheap labor, and you won't get that in the US.  Our MTs here in the USA produce such a high quality patient record and you have to be willing to compensate for that.  If you are interested in USA contracts but want to use cheap labor with no concern for quality, than I am not the person for this position.


 


I am so furious right now as I mull over the conversation......am I just blind or is there really a shortage here in the US of quality-driven MTs.



I am an MT myself as well as QA Specialist and I just do not agree with this mentality.  I think they use this excuse to justify their wanting to offshore.  I see through the smoke screen; however, I guess I just need to hear it from my fellow MTs. 



What are your thoughts on this issue of not enough trained and experienced MTs here in the USA?  Personally, I don't agree. 


This was an executive-type position with an awesome benefit package and salary; however, I turned down any opportunities with this company.  I will not encourage or support giving our MT jobs to the Philippines, India or anywhere but the USA.



 


The real shortage is good MTSOs
First of all, congratulations to you for having the guts to stick up for your convictions.  I am really proud of you for telling them like it is.  There is no shortage of good MTs, there is, however, a shortage of good MTSOs and national MT companies.  Fortunately, we have boards like this one to tell us who those are, the ones who pay peanuts, the ones with inferior equipment/platforms, and the ones who outsource their work overseas and think the foreign MTs are "far superior" to the American MTs.  Most of us experienced MTs who have been in this business for any length of time, would not work for them.  The ones who cry that "there are no more good American MTs" are the ones who are outsourcing overseas or otherwise abusing their employees - that is why they have such a hard time attracting "Good MTs."  They need to look in the mirror to see the reasons why!
I am the orginal poster asking the question about the shortage. I am under 40.
I started MT while in high school in a VoTech program and have been doing it ever since! I am 35. Not every MT out there is "old".
Shortage on multiple accounts through a national. nm
x, nope, none, zip, all EMPTY
my point is -- not like there's a shortage of people to talk to.
dfkus
Question to ponder...If there is such a huge shortage of MTs, why is everybody always

No, I am not qualified as Chief of Staff
but I do my job well and I think that is what matters. I took the time to learn what I needed to learn (on-the-job training) and I am very much qualified to work as a medical transcriptionist.
MTSO's, are most of your applicants qualified to do
I'm curious if most MTs are qualified to "do it all."  Can most of your applicants do ops and ESLs?  Thanks for your input; I've always wondered this.
Tell him there is only ONE that is qualified to pass judgment
on you, and he's not the ONE.
Qualified MTs do not work for peanuts. sm
We are looking for GOOD companies to work for (most of them stink), not for 8 cpl either. I am sorry anyone qualified is working for that amount of money.
The best and most qualified QA person they had left. nm

It says you must enter each giveaway to be qualified
I think that means each different one you need to enter separately. that is the way the posts sounded to me anyway.
I had a "friend" who wanted me to get his GF a job .... said she was qualified because,
get this... she is a vet tech.
None ... trained OTJ and am quite qualified as has been proven (sm)

by me having no problem finding a MT job when I needed one.  Now I work for myself so I'm doing just fine.


:)


You hit the nail on the head! Qualified sm
IS the operative word. I blame most of this on MT schools that make big promises and cant possibly deliver in the little amount of time they require for schooling. As Travelin MT said, just by the questions on the Word Board it is obvious that even beginning MTs have not been taught the basics. I don't know what the whole answer is but I do know that these schools that promise to turn out MTs in 4-6 months need to rethink their promises.

Also back when I use to do hiring and testing I would get people I knew were not qualified, did not match the qualifications I listed in the ad but would not take no for an answer. I had a few that I just finally brought in for testing and as suspected they could not even finish the test and the parts they finished were horrible.

There has to be an answer to all of this someplace.
What company do you work for? I am very qualified and need a job! nm
x
nursing shortage includes nurses for instructors...sm
you can't teach nursing classes without nurses to teach the classes - that's part of the shortage and part of the reason why the shortage continues. Also more nurses are going for the bachelor's degree (4 years vs. 2 years) and that is extending the time before they are out in the work force.
I think MTs deserve to have QA who know their stuff. QA should be more qualified than an average MT
QA specialists are specialists in the field. Of course there are new things learned every day, but a good QA person KNOWS that melena is different than melanotic...it is a given. There are certain things you have to know and that is one of them.

Many companies *think* they can just hire anyone for QA and call them QA and that is why so many ads you see say they pay 3 cents a line, etc.

QA staff should have megayears of experience in MT as well as at least 3 years of experience doing straight QA with the mentoring factor involved also.

All companies owe this to their MTs and if you are getting less, you are not getting what you deserve from your employer.
You are way out of line. What Bush is saying is that there is no qualified female
PHYSICIAN to lead a woman's health program in the US, and he is going to make sure that women are treated the same way he would treat animals or reptiles.  After all, didn't he get his kicks as a kid by putting cherry bombs down frogs throats and blowing them up.  He has no respect for any female.  
You have got to be kidding!! Good luck getting qualified MTs for that pay (LOL)! nm
x
If I quit MT, I'm only qualified to be a greeter at Wal-Mart. (n/m)
x
I was at a job 2 weeks and qualified. I believe it is immediate, or basically, once you have a polic
nm
I live right off I-75 in Richmond, Ky and we haven't had any shortage yet, but price is definitel
up at $2.99 a gallon.  Good luck to you!
Because you're a nurse you also feel qualified to be an M.D. too? (Wink)

In this business in order to remain qualified to receive
those benefits, you must maintain the required line count/pay earned per pay period. Otherwise, you shall find you're working for nothing extra.

It also doesn't matter if your place of employ runs out of work, which in turn hinders you from qualifying for those benefits, you lose them regardless.

Ahh, the joys of the Medical Transcription field.

Best of luck with your new practice.
I disagree, first off, I have a heck of a hard time hiring qualified US MTs
client ready work.  Then, when I do hire MTs I constantly run into the problem of how they only want to work part time or can only work 2 hrs on this day, an hour here, or an hour there, or the next problem is consistency.  Out of the blue, oops, can't work today, or I lost connection to the Internet yet they're too stupid to go offline instant messenger.  One MT owes me money because I was nice enough to help her out (yeah I know my fault) and she screwed me over.  Such drama.  It's a CONSTANT battle to find good US MTs.
Sorry, there is not a list of user names & I didn't know "just me" qualified as a taken nam
x
How about when the acct. mgr. hand-picks easy reports and puts them in the que of less qualified/tal
Then the rest of us are stuck listening to Ho Chi Minh struggling through a neurosurgical op note because we're "more skilled and able to handle it," and end up making about 50 cents an hour. When you think about it, it's easy to get "punished" for not sucking at this job and the rest of us end up pulling the slack for the dead lumber that took a 2-week correspondence course and have to be spoon-fed easy reports for reasons unknown to me.
Which is the one where they are sc*&ing us the standard lines or the qualified lines? SM
Mine show up as STD when I pull up my transcription log.  But I see now there is STD/QT....  So which is the one where they are ripping us off, standard or qualified?  Need to know.  I am about to switch companies and I will not do if they are actually taking lines from me.  Thanks guys.