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Has anyone asked for a raise lately? How do you go about it? Work for a national and have not

Posted By: HELP! on 2005-08-09
In Reply to:

increase for five years.  Just pumped some gas and realize my cost of living is going up but my pay is stagnant.  How do you go about asking for a raise?


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Has anyone ever asked for a raise at OSi? (sm)
I have worked there for almost 3 years and am wondering if I have a shot at actually getting a raise? Thanks for any input anyone has!
Funny, I just got my 3rd 100% review and asked for a raise
I was told SEs are paid on a sliding scale and there are no raises at all EVER.
(1) Don't work for a national. (2) Don't work for a national. (3) Don't work for a nation

If you still want to stay in MTing, which is a dying job, go to a hospital and apply to do radiology.  They sometimes hire people just out of transcription schools.


But don't work at home thinking you will make any money at all - even with 20 years of experience - the nationals have wrecked that. 


Be under the umbrella of protection at a hospital.  That way when your computer breaks, the weather is bad, you are sick, there is no work - you will not be without a paycheck. 


The nationals are selling a line of BULL.  Gradually they have taken what used to be our built-it benefits------------> and moved it over to their pockets and called it their PROFIT.  They are not brilliant - but they are unethical thieves.



nm would you mind if I asked where you work and what type of work hosp, clinic ?
x
This has not always been the case, hence it hurts more. Merit raise/cost of living raise
dd
I work for a national
and I have a ton of doctors (clinic and hospital).  I type 1000 lines in 3 to 4  hours.  I don't have a lot of normals.  There are some but don't use them on a daily basis.  I just put my nose to the grind stone and make myself sit there for a certain amount of reports before I let myself get up.  It can be done.
do you work for a national?
Then why do you work for them if they are a bunch of crooks stealing from you?  That is the only alternative to my theory, if they do not offer benefits, make you test even when you are seasoned, do not give raises, with no good reason other than they are greedy thieves?  It doesn't make sense to me. 
no. work for a national. nm
x
Currently work for a national

and all I currently know about the ENT office is that they have some system in place currently in-office that the doctors dictate into using a phone.  Their work is currently done in-house by 1 full-time MT who is retiring and 1 p.r.n. MT.  I currently use high-speed (cable) internet but might possibly be soon moving to a location that would only have satellite for high-speed (or dial up).


When you take on too much work. Getting 2 PT job offers plus have FT with national (sm)

Two local doctors offering me 2-3 hours per day each, plus the FT (about 6 actual hours of typing a day) with a national. 


One doctor is orthopedic, the other vascular surgeon (H&Ps in office).  One is a mumbler, the other has a lisp.  The national job is radiology (fairly easy - would be faster if I could master IT, though).


What should I do?  Am afraid I will take on more than I can handle and at same time, refuse a job that I later will regret.  I need the money, needless to say.  Anyone ever face this? 


Well, I work for a national, but my account
is a big hospital, doing acute work. It was a heck of a way to learn starting off, but I know it will benefit me in the long run, just one of those days!

Closing in on my 2 years now, I thought about maybe applying at a hospital inhouse here that hires starting out at $20, but once you add all the expenses (not counting any deductions), you come out to about the same. It's just not worth it. It would probably be less stress considering I would work set hours instead of all the crazy ones I have been doing, but then you have to add in at least 2 hours of drive time to that each day. It evens all out I suppose.
I average $32,000. I work for a National. nm
xxx
also, I work for a national - not my own clients! nm
x
The raise you're describing is a merit-raise, - (SM)
and I agree that a worker has to go above and beyond in order to get them. But what doesn't seem to happen in this industry is COST-OF-LIVING raises, which should automatically come to workers either in small increments yearly, or in larger increments every 2-3 years. Without wages that are at least somewhat *realistic* (and modern-day MT wages are a pathetic joke), it's no wonder quality workers are harder and harder to come by, and much harder to retain. An MT should not have to work sweatshop hours for 7 days a week just to keep their head above water financially.
Don't work for a national. Find a small
MTSO that pays well. They are out there, as long as you hold up your end of the bargin. I left my hospital job to work for a national, several nationals now but who is counting. I found a small company and finally am making the $$$.

Good luck to you.
Why do you say $20/hr? I work for a national, and at 11 cpl, 300 lines per hour, sm

that's $33/hour.  I'm not driving a Lexus or anything, but I'm comfortable.  Generally speaking, find a mid-sized national, big enough to have enough work for you all of the time, yet small enough to care and realize that quality work deserves quality pay.


They are out there.  Good luck!


Our hospital laid us all off and I went to work for the national that got the bid. nm
x
Yes, midsize national. Low work. Overhiring. nm
nm
The national I work for has a no blank policy. sm
Plus you have to have 90% no blanks to QA to get bonuses and to maintain full-time status. This is very hard sometimes with some of the dictators that dictate from across the room, while the ward is going ape, and this all right next to the telemetry monitor and the ringing phone or at home with the yapping dogs in the background.

But I have found our QA to be forgiving and understanding, so I am getting more comfortable. I think they have a high standard so we will step higher, but they understand the reality, which I think is good.

DH says he definitely would not go through what I go through to be sure there are no blanks, but I am hoping that in time it will get easier, and I will get more productive, and I think it is.

I work for a national, and we're allowed
.
Question: If you work for national that provides computer,
can you ask their Tech support to move their files onto the laptop computer?

One other question: If you are required to have HSI connection for dictation and files, do you have access to that and how?
I'll bet I work for the same national! While I have great dictators, seriously they never say the
same thinge twice, save one surgeon who always ends his op reports with the same paragraph, which, of course, I have in my expander.  I mean it - there are probably 30 doctors, and I never ever get a repeat or any pattern at all! Again, I have a huge expander that I've set up on my own over the years, and rarely type more than a few words "longhand", but I still am not hitting over 200-250 lines an hour.  Oh well! At least I have great dictators, right? 
when you work for a national, you sign a confidentiality agreement...?
the same rules would apply, and you must have signed a confidentiality agreement with whomever you work for. you can be fired, if breached.

my opinion, as a professional, you transcribe it and mums the word...

when I worked in a hospital, someone was caught 'sharing' information about the CEO from a transcription report, and was fired on the spot.
Actually, it is quite easy to skip jobs, and I work for a national. sm

Depending upon the account, just press the appropriate number on the C-phone, and *poof* you're at the next job.  In my case, I have no "proof" per se, but when jobs skip from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. then to 1 p.m., etc., and then it gets back to "normal" when you get to the non-ESL docs where I guess they stopped working.  it's not too hard to figure out that someone took what they wanted and left the rest.  It doesn't matter to me.  As has been stated, the MT who cherrypicks cheats himself/herself out of the chance to master everything and assure himself/herself of a larger pool of work.  That goes also for those who limit themselves to only certain work types.  Sure, we all have our preferences (I prefer admit notes and consults), but if you can do everything, then you're more likely not to be one of the ones coming here complaining of no work.


Just my opinion, and you know we all have one.  Happy Friday the 13th!   I have the weekend off for once, and it is actually beautiful weather here.  Yippee! 


I work for a national, $600 yearly deductible and 15-30 copay
nm
How do you do 2000 a day? Do you work for a national or small company? nm

nm


If you work for a national, what difference does it make where you live?
If you work locally, then yes I think it makes a difference. I work for a national, live in the boondocks and still do well.
The one national that I am aware of, employees would be thrilled to work just 8 hours a day. They

:)


Can a national require full time MTs to work overtime?

?


I don't work for one of the larger nationals, but a good-sized national and

in 5 years the hospital system has been down twice and my company wasn't able to pull work and the company's system was down once for a hurricane and once the power was out for part of a day.   I never went a full day without work.


I think maybe some of the nationals are poorly managed and they use "server down" as an excuse for no work.  For a company that depends on their servers for their livelihood I don't believe they actually have the much down time.  I don't think most companies pay for downtime. 


 


Oh, bull. I'm with a large national and those clients whose work is offshored
That one statement is bunk.

I work for a national. Most of the time the voices are pretty good, but

I have been getting some of late that have background noices, door slamming, people talking,  Sometimes the doc will stop talking but the noices sound so close to him that it is annoying.  Do you think the sound card would interfere with my company's computer?  It sounds nice to have even though it does not help the background stuff.   I guess that is a good question for tech.  Thanks again! 


I have 2 clinics still on tapes, love'em! Also work for a national. Like that too. nm
nm
IC being asked to work OT weekends
I'm new to the IC business, always been a employee in the past.  Can a MTSO ask you as an IC to work overtime on the weekends if that was not what you signed up to do originally?  Do labor laws require an employer to pay overtime over 40 hours a week?  With the summer months and the other MTs obviously on vacation, we are backed up  at work but I don't want to work every weekend when I've put in a 40 hour week (my regular scheduled hours).  I have always volunteered but its getting old and since they cut our pay scale for ICs 6-7 months ago, I'm really not motivated to break my fingers as it were.  Does anyone know the legality issue of an IC being asked to work more hours?
I would work extra if it is not asked of me
too often. Would you rather they hire extra help and then there may not be enough work to go around?
The midsize national I work for has a nice tiered incentive plan sm
for employees, not sure about the ICs.  In order not to qualify for one of the incentives, you'd have to transcribe at LESS than 150 LPH.  Pretty easy to make bonus each pay period.  The faster you are, the bigger the bonus.
I didnt ask for ANYTHING. Merry Christmas and watch your back when u work for a national.
thats MY point.
Volumes are high and we are asked to work
xx
All MTs are asked to work a couple of hours
if they can to keep the clients covered. No one is "assigned" holidays. Normally, this takes care of everything.
Been at home for over a year now and I switched to night shift. I work for a national. Started out
working the night shift and sleeping in shifts during the day. My kids are way older but that doesn't mean they don't interrupt me. Besides, there the phone issue, more interruptions, the dogs bothered me a lot, too. Love them dearly but, oh so spoiled. It was taking me 10 hours to do what I can do in 8 on nights, plus I manage to get more sleep, if you can believe that. I still get supper on the table, vacuum, laundry, etc. So far it is working pretty good, so I think I will put in for permanent night hours for awhile. No sense in working 10 when I can work 8.
The national I work for usually offers jobs to the in-house people when they acquire an account. nm
nm
A small national is a national company that is smaller
than a big national.  There are a few "big" nationals, where they have hundreds, if not thousands of employees.   I work for what I call a small national, only has about 30 employees.    An MTSO could also be considered a small national. 
I would charge more per line for working holidays or if asked to work scheduled days off. SM
But did you address that in your contract? 
I went from national to small back to national
My large national has all the resources and money to operate successfully and have decent platform, etc., to work on, the small company did not, and I went back to the national.
every question asked on here could be documented in some book. So? cant a question be asked?
x
MQ raise
My last raise was in 1998.  When I asked for one last year, I got one quarter of a cent.  Then three quarters of a cent were taken away from me when I started DocQscribe, as I was told I was gonna make so much more money with DQS.
raise
May want to follow up with a phone call, sometimes if they get a lot of email it is easy to overlook them. That's what I do if they don't get back to me as soon as I think they should, anyway :)
getting a raise
How does one go about getting a raise as an independent contractor? I am not even in the same state. Shoud I e-mail or phone and how long should I wait before asking? In the past, I could always ask a co-worker, but my kids are my co-workers now. Does anyone know the correct protocol?
anyone with DSG ever get a raise?
d
Raise
I've been with MQ for a good while and I'm happy (just because my office is awesome), but I'm an intrigued with their production comparisons (ASR vs non-ASR) and interpreting polls (after the first one I sent that they "interpreted," I never sent another).

My theory on raises: Since the ASR rate will be reduced, you already have a "built-in" raise by not doing ASR. This is not to say they won't give raises eventually, but if you ask for one because you are doing the scum, they will say, "Well, the ones who do ASR don't get paid as much."

My advice to you would be to do ASR. Or get a different job because with MQ, this is the future. At least if you can master it and as the ASR improves (you'll get faster), you won't have a continuous diet of bottom-feeder material. That would absolutely drive me crazy. They probably eventually will eliminate all non-ASR'ers anyhow once the system is more refined.

Just total speculation on my part.
raise?
I hope whatever they gave you in the form of a raise compensates for what you have to go through, day in, day out, without any reprieve, and without even a good doc thrown in for good measure.  Does it?  Was it at least a buck an hour, and preferably two bucks?  Or was it two bits?  Keep your eyes open, MQGuy.  It won't be long before you are OUTTA THERE!   (Will the 0.050 cents per line, or whatever paltry sum it was, pay for your psychologist to keep you as sane as you are now?) I wish you luck, and I mean it sincerely.  They got you hook, line and sinker.