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

As long as it takes to post on here, google came up quicker

Posted By: lm on 2005-09-06
In Reply to: perineal rhinitis???? - Can anyone document this? THANKS I'm in a rus

nm


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

Agree with pat..takes too long

I'm a member of NFO and after about three months I have about 970 points, and you need 1,000 points for just $10.  I only receive about two invites a week for surveys, don't know how to get anymore than that.  I'm also a MyPoints member.  I usually just get the 5 points for reading the message and never buy anything, so it takes a long time to get points added up for me.  Maybe once a year I do redeem them for about $20 worth of gift cards. 


The people who advertise that you can do the surveys in your spare time and make all this extra money make it sound like you can just log on to a site and they are sitting there waiting for you, and you can do as many as you want, all day long, for as much money as you want to make.  Wouldn't that be nice! 


I have never heard of or seen the car advertising thing except on cabs and public transportation, oh, and of course delivery trucks and cars. 


I don't know how long it takes YOU to go to the bathroom...
but 40 minutes sure is enough time in 8 hours...give me a break...
Your settings are definitely wrong if it takes you that long.
Go to File/preferences, and reset the Pause _ msec after ___ Keystrokes to Pause 1 msec after every 25 keystrokes. You will see an amazing difference in the speed of the program.
You don't want to record, takes a long time and unless you

are making big $$ you won't make any money.  Also, if you forget to rerecord header info you're out of luck.


You can get an adapter from Radio Shack for about $15 and rerecord to a cassette player, in which case you'll need a transcriber, or record to your computer and I'm not sure how that is done.


As I stated last week when you asked this question, you need to look into digital phone service, something like Vonage, or most high-speed internet services also offer it. 


You could also buy prepaid phone cards at Sam's Club, where they are fairly cheap, but you're still talking about $100+/mo.   My digital phone is $34.95/month and you can keep your landline or switch it to digital, which is what I did. 


 


 


It takes a long time to become familiar with
all of the surgical instruments and equipment in operative reports. Most of the time if you do operative reports you usually do all specialties, and each specialty has certain equipment that they use. It just takes time to learn.
I guess, as long as nobody takes a look at the demographics, it's o.k...nm
nm
As long as it takes, to quote good old Dr. Phil!

You're both worth it - go for it!!


How long would you say it takes to get a decent grip on them. I do have samples already I have read
over and they arent hard but I havent heard the voices yet.
Good answers and becoming a skilled MT takes surprisingly long, but SM
although 5 years may be about average, there's an old saying about how some people have 20 years' experience and some have one year repeated 20 times. If you want to cut that 5 years down VERY substantially, work full time (a conscientious full time, not just slopping thru the day) and push for new work types and accounts as woon as you've milked the old ones for all you can learn from them. Plus, a reality is that availability of the Web as a resource now helps people function at a much higher level earlier than previously.
And have several grills with volunteers to man them. Piggy takes too long to cook! People will show
s
The FUNNY thing is that in the amount of time it takes for them to post a message
x
Just saw you post. Sorry it took so long.
I tent mine up as high and as far apart as it will go.  Since hand as in hand shake position, wrist support isn't an issue.  I think the hand shake position is a main factor is preventing wrist problems.  Not having to "force" wrists downward and then move hands about is, I think, the secret. 
My tricks - sorry long post

I'm not an expert but this has worked for me.


Since I am the primary breadwinner of the household, I made the whole family a part of the budget process.  We have two kids left at home (2 grown and gone) and I still manage to pay them their allowance (10.00 per week each). 


How about we start there.   I have a Chore Chart on a dry erase board on the fridge (so they see it every single time they hit the fridge) with the name of the chore written in permanent marker so they can't erase it, then put the initial of the one responsible for that chore that day.   If, at the end of the day, those chores are NOT done?  They get a black X in the box next to the chore.   Only their initials are written in dry erase so I can change that around from time to time.


If they miss doing their chores 2 days out of the week, they get NO allowance.  If they argue or procrastinate, that gets 1 check. If they get 2 checks by the chore, then that is the same as not doing the chore and they don't get the credit for it. Even if they eventually get it done, they still don't get credit that day because they procrastinated OR argued about it.  Pay day is Friday.  


Time is money people and I don't have the time to clean as I should, they are old enough, and they want money too.   I don't give money for movies, candy, or trips to the dollar store.  They now have their own and are learning to budget.


Sometimes I give them bonuses too for doing an inventory of the freezer, pantry, organizing the cupboards, etc... Helps us keep track of the things we have for the next step.


MENUS ~ If you get Woman's Day Magazine or First, or anything like them that have the monthly menu calendars in them?  PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THEM.   They can save you BIG $$ on your food bills.


My kids are horribly picky eaters and meal planning has saved me a lot of money.  I now have them sit down with me, look over these meal planning calendars and see if it is something they would like.  If they put it on OUR calendar, they initial it, and we make our grocery list.  If the time comes for a particular meal and they turn their nose up at it, I send them to the calendar to see if they initialed that day.  If they did.... Eat it! PERIOD.  (by the way, I never put anything on the calendar that they don't agree with so, after a few months of doing this, there is never any more turning the nose up at dinner time - HA  fixed their wagon!)


We also do a mass cook and freeze fest now and then.  The kids get into it too.  Very easy for them. THey are 12 and 13 so I have the meal calendar taped to the inside door of the pantry.  When I'm working, they can go look and see what's on the calendar for that day, pull it out of the freezer, and put it in the oven.  I have written the temp and time for each one next to the item on the calendar.  Works out fine.


Power bills... Yikes - LIGHTS OUT.  When I go to bed, every light in the house is OFF except the porch light, the little light above the stove, and the nightlight in the hall across from the kids rooms. 


GAS- Holy Smokes.   Up to 2.79/gal here now.   No extra drives to here and there for anything.  If you just want a cold pop to drink cuz it's hot?  Make iced tea instead.  Not worth that kinda money for a wasted trip to the mini mart.  Just plan better the next time.  The kids want to go to the pool or their friend's house... pump up the bike tire kids and grab the walkies.   I make my kids take walkie talkies (Cobra brand 5-mile radius at WalMart for 80.00 and WELL worth it.)


One last little tidbit....  SAVE your receipts for EVERYTHING for at least 2 months then compare them after the end of that 2 months when you have learned to tighten up the wallet a bit and see the difference for yourself.  Makes it really worth your while.


I have cut enough fat out of excess spending in the past year to put away 400.00 or more every month into a savings account that I can use for emergencies, vacations, whatever.


By the way... Would be a good idea to have a forum JUST for Budgeting and Money Saving ideas here wouldn't it.  Administrators????  How about it?


 


 


 


 


 


 


Then how is it that you have time to post here all day long?
so transparent
Yes. It is definitely quicker, however, the
red tape, I mean...come on people...We work our $$SES off..
E-mail me. I typed out a very long post, but having

computer issues and I lost it.   I've traveled for 5 years and can give you lots of info.


Click on  the blue TW to e-mail me. 


 


I didn't read your way-too-long post, but...
did you type all that out, or copy and paste from somewhere, cause if you typed it all out...you need to get a life and quick!
Hi, im new here, long question.. dont know where to post it!

Hello everyone.. I don't know where to start and I'm just taking a quick break from my work
sorry if this is long, i want to get the best answer and help so i'm gonna give some background (and i dont bother usually with capitalization in my friendly emails, but i assure you it is not how i type my work).. .LOL

Anyways, I am 25 years old, have been doing transcription for seven years (my mom taught me when I was in high school). I love my job and work for two places. One is a hospital so I don't know how negotiable that pay rate is. The other one is a doctor's office.

Urology. I started with them September 11, 2001. (crazy, sad, i know)... I started at 12 cents a line.(the hospital pays me 10 cents) They are located in California, where I used to live. Two years ago, they got a new office manager (i was pretty close with the first one). Well this office manager happened to be someone I had previously worked with, who had screwed over my mom and I because they sent their work to India without EVER telling us until two days before hand (even though we told her to just tell us when it was going to happen). Well that practice eventually broke up... and what luck I had, she is now AGAIN my office manager. Well a year ago I decided I was going to move away and I bought everything for the office that they needed to go digital (we were doing tapes before). Now I live in Nevada and do their work over the internet, returning their work within 24 hours.

My question is, I think I deserve a raise, and I have no idea how to go about it. I have been with them for five years, obviously the cost of living has risen, including health care. By the way, I receive no benefits from either the hospital or the office.

Is this reasonable, and does anyone have any suggestions or pointers? I still feel pretty young and vulnerable because I have never been in a position to ask for a raise. Since I am an independent contractor, I suppose it wouldn't be asking, rather than just telling... but I want it to be more appropriate than that.


And I'm basically wondering what others are making as independent contractors, i know companies don't pay as much, but they also offer benefits...

Thanks for taking the time... back to work for me.

Emily


Proofing Help Pleeeez! (long post)

I am 53, divorcee with 1 child in college,  been MTing for 32 years. When I started out I was one of the best in my field, accurate, at my peak was making close to 50,000 a year, only one job and only 40 hours a week.  Now, here I am going through menopause, working 12 hours a day (1 full-time and 1 part-time) and barely making ends meet.  My production is at an all-time low, and I'm working on my 3rd or 4th job this year- I forget, it's been so many, for various reasons why they didn't work out.  But, now I find myself, going into my third week of employment with this company, still in QA, making stupid grammatical errors, and leaving out words, that I am not aware of. I would like to say one of my problems is that this is a huge Children's Hospital with a lot of procedures, diseases, and terminology I have never heard of, but I cannot really say that, as most of my errors are gramatical, i.e. not putting comma or semi-colon where it belongs, leaving out it, and, but and they.  I am beginning to feel they may not keep me.  I am 1 pay check from being homeless, now jobless, already uninsured, as I could not afford the Cobra.  I have applied for jobs completely out of the MT field, so far with no luck of being hired.  I put in an application last week for a State Job with excellent benefits, paid by company, and although the salary is 22,000 to 36,000, if they call me, I am definitely going to take it.  I figure I have 15 more years before retirement, and if I can tap into the retirement for the next 15 years, that would be a help, as I don't have any 401K to fall back on.  Anyways, if you guys can give me some proofreading tips that will not take away from my production, I would greatly appreciate it.  Most companies don't offer a training pay that would last at least 2 weeks, which would be a help.  So here I am trying to make money, which is virtually impossible when you're training on a new account, new company, new software and everything.  Help Guys. 


just thought you might get quicker help there
xx
Best post I've read in a long time.
I tend to go back and forth with my feelings about this profession. In the mornings I am glad I do not have to get up, get ready and go to an office. Many times in the evening, after I have during the day and still have work to do, I feel like stuffing it all. Many times I am disheartened when I get my paycheck, but I am glad to be getting one, while my sister worries about getting laid off from her manufacturing job. MT has advantages and disadvantages.
Actually, it started long before the post you're talking about.
'Shroom had nothing nice to say in a number of different threads, mostly because she didn't want to believe what people were telling her about the kind of income they are able to generate by working for themselves. Either way, the word is inappropriate and should not be used. Fighting among each other is non-productive and only makes this site less useful to those who need information, encouragement and a place to turn for advice. The "advice" and name calling that was undertaken by 'Shroom is inappropriate and should be deleted.
I just crochet them together instead of sewing. It's quicker. -nm
x
quicker than wildfire if no asnwer
As an American Transcriptionist, how dare they feel they can take our work and our forums....Any one who ever noted how proud and American they are would go fast if not American site anymore. Otherwise a bunch of hypocrites.
There is NOTHING to post! The boards were trolled for a long time by the lawyers AGAINST MQ, looking
for any lame info in a very unprofessional (not to mention unethical) manner.  They used us and left. Now the law suits are in the "discovery process", where both sides are gathering info, where they can then decide whether to proceed forward or not.  No news at all for us MTs.  Again, the $$-hungry lawyer(s)? were all over this board months back, stirring up the pot, begging us for info, and then VANISHED!
his next allergic reaction will be quicker and worse.
get thee to an allergist.
Things will go quicker, smoother and with less worries,,,,,,
:p
Naw, not nicer. Moderate just quicker to delete
x
Ask on Company Board for quicker response.
nm
Buy canned air - much safer, quicker & cleaner!
nm
Enclosed are the steps involved, my point of view only. Very long post. sm
1. Make sure you have the qualifications. If you have EXCELLENT spelling and grammer skills, good typing skills, complete attention to the smallest details, and willingness to work HARD and learn constantly, you may have what it takes.

2. Realize that you will not learn this career in 1-2 years. That is a good beginning, but then you will have an "apprenticeship" period. This runs anywhere from 1-3 years, depending on the job you get, the training available there, and your ability to branch out and absorb a constantly changing field.

3. Do your homework on the training schools. Some schools offer a program that will actually help you get a job when finished; others have a reputation that will allow you to hire with some companies as a "newbie." Don't waste money on a school that gives you a certificate and sends you out on your own. You may find it difficult to get a job without experience, and can't get experience without a job. I am not recommending a school. DO A LOT OF RESEARCH. Every school has "lucky" graduates, so get a consensus from MANY graduates.

4. If you expect to make a fortune, look elsewhere. You will find "exceptions" that make anywhere from $50 to $100 thousand a year. Most of us with a lot of experience make anywhere from $30 - $50, depending on your speed and stamina. Without stamina, you'll burn out or develop physical problems in a couple of years.

5. VR will never replace transcription. However, it takes a lot of knowledge to "proof" VR reports, and as the machines get smarter, we also must have more experience to catch their errors. I do not foresee us being replaced by machines. It is possible, though, that the wages will not go up because of this, and most MTs will stay on a plateau. Not easy, when cost of living keeps going up, but right now it is a reality, so consider it.

This is my view of the MT field, and its future. I have 18 years experience and have worked on the web for 9, since being outsourced from a hospital. It's a rough field, but not impossible, and I'm happy with it. I only have 10 years to go, though. I'm not sure I would start it now, if I were younger. You have to have a lot of determination. Good luck to you.
You're welcome Tad, you will get quicker answers on the word board

Ctrl Z may be quicker than going to the Edit menu. It reverts back to what you typed.
x
Yep, google has it goin on... I really like the google earth...
Have you tried Google earth? You can type in any address, street, city, state, country, etc. and it will zoom in and show the area and then you can hit the + button and zoom right in and see the exact house, building, etc. that you are looking for.
Mainly Google; I google the known words in the phrase (sm)
That's my most frequent tactic if I don't find the word in my word books. I'll play with leaving certain words out and adding them in, in various combinations, to try to get a hit that has a word which sounds like my blank. If I get a hit, I'll Google WITH that word, and see what hits I get, and what their source is (i.e.,checking the sources out for reliability). When I say 5 sites or searches, I mean I don't often try more than 5 different combinations without a serious hit. If I get a hit, then I will spend a little more time checking that out before I give up.

If it's a drug name, I use RxList, or more frequently the Drugs.com website. Since they redid RxList, I haven't found one that has quite as good a wildcard search, but Drugs.com works okay most of the time.

If it's a place name (like when they give names of outlying outreach clinics and etc.) I'll use Mapquest and look up the city my hospital is in, then "pan out" and look at the outlying towns.

Hope that's what you're looking for. I do have bookmarks, but I find that even the ones I think I'll visit again, I waste more time doing that than with an intelligent google search. An example is the time I was looking for "banana bag." The only place I managed to find it with a degree of reliability was on a nurses' message board. I've found quite a bit sometimes on the various specialty message boards out there, but I think the quickest way to locate that is through a search engine rather than bookmarking each individual site and trying to figure out which ones to search for a particular term.
Sorry, 'MT way too long,' my post was not meant for you, it was meant for Wow! Sorry!!...nm
nm
Thank you, Google God. My google icon is
x
I hate Instant Text. It is expensive, long long learning
curve, and too much distraction for me.
How long should I wait after applying for a position before I follow-up. It has been as long as two
without hearing from some.  Just wondering if I should send an e-mail to follow-up to see if they received my resume or not.  I don't want to offend anyone but feel two weeks should be long enough for someone to at least acknowledge my resume and that I have applied for a position.  Right now I would accept anything even a note saying no thanks.  Any advice would be appreciated.  I haven't had to apply for a job for the past 10 years so I am a bit rusty at this.  Thanks again for any advice. 
Congrats! How long have you been a MLS and how long did you study for the test!

Please see message. I have three daughters with long, long hair.
I also have long hair down to my waist and my three girls have hair that long too. My daughter brought them home from school last year. I was devestated and grossed out!!!! I have never had to deal with lice. Anyway, we did the treatments and two of my girls broke out in a severe rash with the OTC stuff. Their little heads were so sore!! I thought I was being meticulous with eggs, only to find them hatching again down the road. A nurse at the pediatricians office suggested I try oil to suffocate them since my girls were allergic to the lice solution. I bought a huge bottle of veggie oil and dumped it on all three heads, plus my own. I then wrapped the heads in platic wrap and then a towel. I left this on for 30 minutes. It takes a while to wash out the oil, but we never, ever had the lice or eggs again!!! If you try this, make sure you put on an old shirt and put a towel around your shoulders. Obviously we were desperate, but we all have such long hair and very thick hair so I was willing to try anything. And I figured there was no chemicals involved so that was pretty safe. And it sure did help my littles ones since their scalps were pretty raw from the solution. Hope this helps and Good luck!
It's been a long, long time since I've used a C-phone, sm
but I do think jobs can be paused.
Should just post all their open positions in one post and only be allowed to post one of those a day
nm
I had a problem with this for a long, long time sm
I have always worked days, like from 6-3. Over the last few years, it didn't matter how much sleep I got, I became real groggy between 7 and 11. Really shoots the day. Talked to my doctor and he said my blood pressure pills were the culprit but he refused to change me to another brand or dosage since I have multiple aneurysms (2 in the brain). My BP has been stable for a long time and he wants to "keep it on the low side". I tried taking them before I went to bed instead of early in the morning, but then I had headaches all day. So, I am changing to a night shift for a few months so I can sleep when those pills kick in and so far it is working pretty good. I stay mostly awake during my shift and die when I hit the bed from 6 am to 10 am, then I lay down again later in the afternoon for 2-3 hours. I still get 6-7 hours of sleep, it's just split up during the day, plus I am mostly awake now when I sit down to type. I don't have to deal with the heat in my office, either. It tends to warm up real fast in here with the south sun on the house and 2 pc's running all day, even with the air conditioner on.
Way back when, a long, long time
ago and in a galaxy far, far away, I had my own accounts also and some years cleared $75,000.  Yes it can be done, but you need to have your own accounts.  Also lots of delivery, and other duties involved.  I work for a large national now and make much less, but I got tired of accountants, having to deal with hardware problems, deadlines, driving deliveries, printing, printers, etc.  So I decided to simplify my taxes and stay home and just type.  Don't have to worry about computers either, because the company will just send me a new one. 
Long, long files. Seemed like they'd never end! I'd never go back to VA again. nm
s
I've been doing this a long, long time...

I used to make $70,000 and up a year and did so for most of the late 80s and 90s (one girl used to make six figures a year working 7 days a week!)  Because we were making more money than the supervisors and Medical Records Directors in hospitals, they began to switch to transcription services which were sprouting up all over the place.  Plus AAMT came into existence and even though in the beginning it claimed it was to fight for transcriptionists (although assured us it was NOT a union), they eventually morphed into an organization that was more management friendly.  They developed the "guidelines" and the 65-char line.  That was the beginning of the end for those high-end wages.  Then all those mickey mouse transcription schools popped up, and now outsourcing overseas.  YES, we're complaining. 


Been in this biz a long, long time, 30+ years and....sm
I love/loved MTing. However, things have changed so much during these years. The job definitely gets easier; don't have to look up much, can decipher ESLs much easier, in other words, you get pretty comfortable with things and you have confidence in yourself. The more experience you have the easier the job, but....

I actually made more money 10 years ago!! We didn't have speech recognition and you actually got paid for headers/footers, demographics, carbon copies, etc., you got paid for what you did fairly; today, I am not so sure.

You will feel burned out at times, but that passes and you find you like your job again.

Good luck to you!!
Takes one to think you know one?
x
Whatever it takes
to remove yourself from that situation within reason, do it.  If you think the arrangement with your brother is going to keep your BF from slinking back in, the 'brother' all the way.  If his habits change in the future, you'll just have to make necessary adjustments at that time.
Takes one to know one!
I am with the program and I enjoy very much working for MQ!

If people are not spoiled at MQ, then why on earth are they now complaining about having a set schedule? Why don't you get the with the program and look at all the companies that are hiring and when you realize that 90% of those companies want a set schedule, then I will be waiting here for an apology. Until then, go brush your teeth!

As far as being a dope, why the heck are YOU STILL WITH MQ IF THE SUPPOSEDLY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF YOU - HMMMM????