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I'm aware of where this degree could lead - sm

Posted By: islandgirl on 2009-02-07
In Reply to: Respectfully disagree island girl - HIM

I worked in the HIM dept of a hospital at the beginning of my 10 years in this field, so I know what position this degree could put me in.  I also know that just the fact of having a degree is more than just being an MT and it will give me advantages than I currently have. 


I do feel like this is almost a lost cause and that the MT industry is reaching the point of no return (or has already).  I currently work for a fairly small transcription company and I am very thankful for the work that I have, even though I don't get paid what I would like, but I do have plenty of work and it is getting me by.  I chose to go back to school because I don't want everything to turn upside down and I have nothing to fall back on.  I wish all the best for the MT industry and if things do turn around I would never leave it, but I don't think that will be the case.




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lead 5??? what sm

The patient’s EKG shows a sinus rhythm 73 beats/minute with normal intervals, normal axis, normal QRS, normal STs.  The patient has nonspecific T-wave inversions in V2, V3, V4, V5, and V6, as well as biphasic T-waves in lead I and aVL.  She has flattened T-waves in leads II, III, and 5.    There is no lead 5 (at least not in roman numbers)  What should I type here????


possible lead
x
Here's a lead....sm
Contact June Jackson, our recruiter at Transolutions, Gail or reply to me by email from this post. We'll do everything we can for you!


Lead the way!

What about involving MTStars as a way to get a petition started, or to create a new formun.  After all, that is what WE, the MT wants and this is what the website is about correct?  Maybe that is how to get a union started, or a petition big enough to send to the people who care, whether it is Washington or the IRS.  I am in the same boat as the rest of you all.  I made big bucks three years ago, for 8 years, and now it is just gone. I am making a 1/3 of what I did.  If you lead the way, I will follow. Just tell me where to sign.


I was lead to believe ....(sm)
I was lead to believe that it was an agreement between eScription and the hospital itself, not the MT company, that had renegotiated the way lines are counted (probably so that the hospital will stay with the eScription platform). The MTSO that I work for was taken by surprise about the lines being cut as much as I was (i.e., no longer counting the header and footer). This means that eScription agreed to accept less and, by default, the MTs that work any such affected account, as well as the MTSO all get paid less. We are just feeders, per se, in the chain behind eScription's contract with the hospital. Has anyone else been told something similar?
Shift Lead MT/QA
In this position currently at 15.00 per hour.
What exactly is a shift lead MT?

I would think this would lead to a lot of guessing.

You cannot type in what you cannot hear.


It looks like the healthcare one is in the lead, but - sm
at least it's a topic that is another one that is related to many of us, since only a certain percentage of US MT's have health insurance at all. And often what we DO have offers inferior care by disallowing care & meds that WORK, and only paying for the absolute minimum, even if it causes the pt. to eventually become sicker and then need LOTS of medical care, even hospitalization. We're getting nickled-and-dimed to death from every angle, and yet look at the high old life the big-shots at the hospitals, HMO's, and insurance companies get to live. IS there even a Middle-Class in America anymore? If so, I sure don't know any of them. There are either the Super-Rich, or us - the Working Poor.
My team lead is not even an MT!

She never understands anything I am talking about. I have to explain things to her like she is a 2 year old, and even then she just doesn't get it. Why would a company put someone who is clueless about transcription in a position over other MTs!!!??? It is just another frustration to add to an every increasing list of frustrations. But, like you, I am keeping my mouth shut. I just don't get it!! 


But you stated you questioned your lead SM

and nowhere in your original post did I read that anyone checked with the doctor.  That is the problem we have.  If you or the lead had actually checked and he said to change it, fine.  But neither of you checked.  You asked the lead, the lead said change it and you changed it. 


What would you say the range of pay is for a Team Lead, editor sm

and MT?  Just trying to get a feel if our pay rates are in line with the norm, too high or too low (have a feeling too low). 


Working on making positive changes.  Any input appreciated.


As background ... small national, 150 MTs, all work kept in U.S.A.  Work types:  Clinic, HIM, ortho, cardiology, radiology.  All ICs, might be looking to hire employees. 


With everyone complaining about companies, it can't hurt to ask what the norm is - the good norm :)


OMG! HAHA! Do they have a Humor Board? You could lead it! nm
nm
storms lead to stray dogs.....
and we have one of those now for 2 years. He's a Collie mix, sooo sweet. We decided he's ours now, but he was extremely scared of storms at first. Now, he knows to come look for us. He stays inside and doesn't get as nervous as he used to, just wants someone close by. The vet gave us Ace (short for something), which I give him when there's ongoing storms. It sedates him a lot but doesn't put him out, unless I give him lots more. We just love, rub, and reassure him. We have a female cat that does the same...she cries and cries. That's also how we ended up with her, I' m sure, trying to outrun a storm. She never hangs around the dog, but during a storm, she goes and sits practically underneath the Collie for protection...the scared consoling the scared, but it gets her through it.
AT, how about a nice shelf with whatever's needed to lead to it for your little dog? SM
A separate room helps me concentrate somewhat, but mainly I just like making it a nice place to be, with in my case, the cat bed on my desk to the right where she can look out the window while I stare at the screen. BTW, a mirror carefully positioned also reflects some of the view outside for me.
I would call your team lead or manager and talk to them. Maybe there is sm
some advice or help they can give.

I have been with 3 companies and range in pay from $1.05-$1.45 per report. I actually make the most at the one I am with now at $1.10 per report because the account is really good.


In that case you have to do what your lead tells you, but I would have never even asked my superviso
I would have just transcribed it and moved on. The only thing is, the x-ray is possibly not consistent with the rest of the medical record.
The 12-lead system comprises six limb (I, II, III, aVR, aVL, and aVF) and six chest leads (V1 to V6)
xx
Have never known shift lead who just worked 8 hours a day for 5 days. By the time they
:+
Personally, I would keep the production MT position. Lead not worth the headaches! nm
x
I'm lead transcrip for small ofc, in the field since 88, and I've found (sm)
that depending on the person, it can take up to a year. You either have to be very smart and very driven to make it shorter, or you would have to have some exposure to the systems/docs etc. It takes a longer time if you are also new to the field of MT. But after about a year, if you don't find yourself relaxing when you are at work, talk to somebody. That's long enough, and you should be finding a niche for yourself by then.
Yes, Live, his fave group - and the lead singer is his *idol*.
x
I get this to a certain degree also (sm)
It usually happens after quite a while of typing, and usually only when it is a little cold in the house, but I think it happens in warmer weather too. Mine doesn't sound as bad as yours though. It always resolves fairly quickly, does yours? I haven't had to wear gloves (yet). Let me know what you find out, if anything. I have always attributed it to poor circulation because my hands and feet seem to get cold easily, but I suppose it could be something else as well.

Sorry I didn't have any words of wisdom, just wanted to let you know that this happens to others as well and you are not alone!
Do you have a college degree, and in what?
I know there are MTs out there who have Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degrees.  According to other posters, those of us with higher education who choose to do MT are pitiful.
what online degree are you looking at
.
However, a lot of people think getting a degree
is like getting an automatic ticket to an entirely different life with better job opportunities, more money, and career satisfaction. I thought that, too. Things have drastically changed out there, though. More and more people have degrees, so the competition is fierce. They're willing to work for less money, too, just to have A job, any job.

Also, minimum wage went up but middle wages didn't, cost of living went up, and wages have actually gone down in other industries besides MT due to offshoring.

I guess I'm just in an "if I knew then what I know now" mood. LOL None of my siblings went to college, and they're better off than I am. They make way more money than I do and don't have that monthly payment to make.

I love writing, too. Have you done any freelance writing or editing? If you get some clips built up, you might be able to break in based on talent instead of having a degree. With that specific career field in mind, it might be worth it for you to get a degree. I don't know how much competition there is in that field right now.
Bachelor's Degree
I have a BS in Communications 1990 with some graduate work. I worked as an instructor in a college doing medical assiting job placement and then I just kind of fell into transcription when my daughter was born in 1998.
PAs have at the very least a Bachelor's Degree ..

correct??


I think it's a 2 year degree (sm)
I looked into this also, but I think the pay is really low, like $7.50 an hour.
With your degree, there are a lot of things you could do.
This is only my opinion, so follow your yeart.  As all the other posters have said, this is not an easy business to get into.  Although many have done PT with young children, I could not have done it without help.  My baby had special needs, though. When you consider working at home, the key word is "working".  This job takes concentration and long hours at the keyboard.  With many jobs you work a shift.  My hours have been flexible, but you have deadlines, and you cannot always just stop to take care of your baby.  My baby needed lots of attention.  I was lucky in that my mom and mother-in-law kept her when I could not.  I never tried to do transcription unless she was asleep or my husband was home.  With a business administration degree, however, I think you would have a lot of options in starting your own business.  Many people have done well with ideas they came up with themselves.  I now do MT full-time now, but have other part-time home businesses that I am involved with as well. 
Agree to a degree
I do agree to a degree but I do know that I have my clients basically because I do not balk at doing tapes and am agreeable to do them and accept them.  Once they used me then they saw my quality but if I were to tell them it was digital or nothing, they would go somewhere that would come and pick up the tapes, that is medium that they wish to use.  And if I pressed the point, I would be without 60K a year. 
Eh, I am going ahead with the BS degree.
I can always take electives for x-ray tech. This program has a lot of identical courses, so it would not be hard to switch to another discipline like x-ray. X-ray pays less, but either of these careers is more than what we get as MTs these days... and in 18 months from now, hospitals and clinics will still need on site techs like this, unlike transcription which can unfortunately go poof gone any day now. It's going to be hard, but I am going for it...gotta get out of this business I am sad to say of Mting.
Ad-Aware SE
I have XP sp2 and have no problem using this.
What would you do if you are aware of a

already brought it to the Docs attention, but he doesn't care as long as he is making money (and he makes it hand over fist).  Without going into detail....should I report him?


Are any also aware that--sm
In doing my taxes this year with an electronic program, and a feature to find more deductions, I clicked on a few of these added deductions and I was extremely surprised to find one that actually gives a deduction for people with their own home businesses if they use India personnel to do business with. Now how many people would take advantage of a deduction on their taxes if they outsourced to India? Quite a few, I would say, if all they thought about was the bottom line! In my view, it is pretty sad when our own government is undermining its own American jobs and population to third world countries! JMO
Perhaps you are not aware sm

of how much grammar rules have changed over the years, particularly when it comes to punctuation. As I said, I learned this long ago. And you are right in saying that the method I was taught is British, although I grew up in a small town in the U.S.  Here is a quote from a British grammar site:


There are peculiar typographical reasons why the period and comma go inside the quotation mark in the United States. The following explanation comes from the "Frequently Asked Questions" file of alt.english.usage: "In the days when printing used raised bits of metal, "." and "," were the most delicate, and were in danger of damage (the face of the piece of type might break off from the body, or be bent or dented from above) if they had a '"' on one side and a blank space on the other. Hence the convention arose of always using '."' and ',"' rather than '".' and '",', regardless of logic." This seems to be an argument to return to something more logical, but there is little impetus to do so within the United States. 


 


Ad-Aware
Also my neighbor who is a computer whiz and qeek put Ad-Aware on my computer and I run it once a week.
I am aware of that. I even have
2 acute care accounts that do not follow JHACO recommendations. All of our accounts specs are essentially to BOS standards with exceptions for the facility or specific dictators requested noted.

I was simply curious what other companies that use the BOS as were doing and that is why I asked specifically about companies that use the BOS as a guide.
No not that I am aware of...sm
They are a small company. I don't think they have enough work to outsource.
Yes, I am aware...
that they are 2 different features.  I generally use AutoCorrect, sometimes AutoText.  My files are saved in a different location than normal for Word 2003.  I had an issue with this a long time ago when I was trying to move them to a different program, but I was able to find them eventually.  As I said above, adding entries directly into my main Word program saved them into EXText, maybe that will help OP as well.
I'm aware of that but - sm
wasn't aware that it wouldn't show up on the pay stub.  It was for this reason I wanted to verify that I was covered ... you never know with these companies, especially if you live in 1 state and the MTSO is located in another and the payroll office is in a third state. 
Might be something like a right-angled something-degree scope..nm
s
What are you planning to do with the psych degree?
x
How many jobs are out there (without a college degree) that actually pay this well? NM

A year???? Is that possible? What sort of degree is it? - nm
x
There are plenty more jobs if you have a degree
I live in Atlanta. If you go to craigslist.org right now and look under the admin. jobs section...there are dozens of jobs that pay 50,000 or more if you have a degree...in anything.

There are many jobs in many different fields that pay well. In many many cases, they just want the person to have a degree, it doesn't matter in what. The ad just says...must have a bachelor's degree.

I'm currently an MT and will graduate in May with a degree in Psychology. I intend to apply for some of those 50,000+ administrative jobs and feel very confident that I will get one.
There's still going to be some prerequisite degree you'll need before you do this. nm
s
I didn't know there was an associate degree for
Guess we do learn something new every day. How long did it take you to get this degree in MT? Did you go to college or tech school? If you have an associates degree in MT, you should be overloaded with job offers, I'd think...
I have a friend who did that, and the 2-year degree I don't think
has the salary range I am looking into. A master's degree may be a bit much, but I really have not seriously considered it. Maybe that is another thing I can speak with the counselor about. Thanks. :)

The cat story...that would be a good thing to not have to deal with, lol.

It will definitely be a challenge doing all this with the kids, but on the plus side, I am still young. I do have that advantage. So, are you doing the 2-year program or going to be a PT? Good luck on your application. :)
So true! Nowadays a B.S. Degree is just that --
hee
I believe you are my QA headache -- English degree -- uh la la nm
n