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I have been an MT for 15 yrs and I am burned out too. Don't know how people say they

Posted By: have been doing this 20+ yrs. Sally Doe on 2005-07-15
In Reply to: I have been an MT for 15 years. I feel burned out, SM - question

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30 yr and not burned out
I suppose it is different for everyone as to how to keep it somewhat fresh.

for me, maybe it is because I seldom 'kill' myself on the job (rather 'for' the job) anymore unless there is a dandy bonus. I have a comfortable pace, take frequent breaks and set reasonable line count goals.

When i'm done working, I make time for myself, relaxing, gardening, messing with my critters, etc.

I try to keep a good attitude about my work (venting when i'm irritated vs. getting ulcers) and am truly thankful for what God has provided, which helps reinforce the good attitude.
But I crashed and burned.

All three MTSOs had the bulk of their work on the same day each week, so it didn't work out.  I quit one and only do the small one on the weekends or evenings.  I asked the "good" one for more hours so I didn't have to work three jobs.


It's one thing to think about how much money you "could" make if you were working XX hours at XX lines per hour.  It's quite another thing to actually do it.  I get slower the more I type and the later in the day it gets.  It's better for me to get up early and crank out as many lines as I can by noon.  Then if there's anything left, I can do it at a leisurely pace.


Me thinks you have burned one too many..
I'm also in agreement with the movement to legalize marijuana, but come on--do you think this group shares your views? Save your passion for the petitions.


I am so burned out....someone revive me please!!!!
I have been doing this job for 14 years and my production has just bottomed out.  I just can't seem to get anywhere.  I have a great job working from home for a hospital who sent us all home eight years ago with health insurance, great dictators, large volume of work (270 bed hospital) at 11 cpl on a 60-character line.  I also work for a brain and neurospine clinic at home and they pay me 13 cpl on a 65-character line.  I could be making all kinds of money, but I just can't seem to get motivated anymore.  I really don't want to change jobs, I just need some ideas on how to get yourself going again after being in a slump.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated before my husband kills me for not pulling my weight on the financial part.  Thanks guys  
burned to a crisp

Anyone else finding it difficult to stay focused in long dictations?  I can feel energetic when first logging on to work, but after a couple of long dictations, I'm burned out and ready to throw up.  Wondering if I need to change careers after over 2 decades in this field.  Didn't used to get burned out like this.  Menopause kicking in, too, and it seems like my memory is going...


burned to a crisp
Thanks, you guys, for helping me feel like maybe I'm not losing my mind. :) Great ideas from both of you (vitamins, herbs, lots of water, splitting the day into halves or thirds). I know that I'm capable of doing so much better (if I only had a brain, like the song from Wizard of Oz!). I used to be super-productive and made excellent money. Nowadays, I can barely pay my bills. I second that emotion about naps during the daytime.
burned to a crisp
Wow. You DO sound happy! I'm happy for you. :) Do you need a degree to enter your career field?
I have been an MT for 15 years. I feel burned out, SM
and was wondering how others deal with it. I can't seem to get my momentum back.
You have my respect, I was that way for years, but got burned out! nm
x
those burned oils stick to EVERYTHING.

I've thought about it, but am usually too burned out ..(s/m)
.. at the end of the day to want to do more transcribing. But that may be a good way to get my feet wet... maybe filling in as a part time IC for someone who is on sick leave or vacation, so it would only be temporary.

Thanks for your thoughts!
I'm majorly burned out. I have CTS, and I've

recently started on antidepressants.  While I haven't actually changed companies I've been looking.  I've interested and/or tested with multiple companies and every one has offered me a position, but none of them can offer me the flexibility that I need, the line rate I currently make, the easy platform I have, not to mention I have been with this company 5 years so I'm comfortable with my dictators.   The thought of having to change all that I think would be too stressful, so I'm staying put.  I don't really have any issues with my company, I just thought a change might help get me out of this slump.  My line count keeps going down and I need it to go up.


Sorry I can't answer your question, but wanted to let you know you aren't alone.  I agree with other poster, take some time off.  It might not be the solution long-term, but it will give you some time to rest.   Even if you just take a 1/2 day off (since you're an IC and you s/l you need the $$) it will help.  


 


We all get burned out, don't feel alone. That is good (sm)
money. You can set your own hours, etc. But, taxes are a concern as well. I went to work for our local nursing home and found it more rewarding emotionally. Actually was left money by a lady I use to stay and play cards with. So just remember to be true to yourself and there are people who do good things when you least expect it. So your efficiency obvious has not gone ignored, but take the break if you feel you need it and go back when your ready. That's the great thing about being an IC!!
Try "jaded and burned" and it's more accurate
Sure, there are bad MTSOs, but I get sick of people blaming all the MTSOs for all the problems. Flaky transcriptionists are nothing new; it seems they just "get around" more now that we have Internet based transcription.
Once bitten, twice shy. Twice burned, thrice learned. :) nm
x
Update on another one burned by Four Seasons Transcription
Okay shocking news here.  I just received part of the pay Robin owes me.  Why, not sure.  Supposedly she''s in the hospital, but I also was told she's famous for "being in the hospital for surgery" as an excuse for nonpayment.  I'm still not sure what made her go ahead and pay part of what she owes me... I just hope my other invoices get paid as she bills the acct for them.  Now if she seriously was in the hospital she has my sympathy BUT according to other MT's she's burned... this is a signature Robin move... minus the actually getting paid... I honestly don't know what to say.
BioSpot not safe, burned the hair off the back of my cat.
please see link. Cheaper when using pesticides on your animal companions is definitely not the way to go, and use all other topicals very sparingly.

http://www.apnm.org/publications/resources/fleachemfin.pdf
Yet another one burned by Robin Hall/Four Seasons Transcription

Robin managed to find me via Guru.com.  I wish I had read the earlier warnings about her on here back then.  I kept on working believing she way pay, falling for her excuses.  She's very good at what she does.  My paycheck was 5 weeks late when I finally said enough and told her I could no longer work for her on 02/01/08.  Since that time I haven't been able to contact her through home phone, cell phone, e-mail, yahoo messenger or anything.  I even tried calling her business number listed on her website for Four Seasons... guess what... that number has been disconnected with no forwarding number.  She got me for over $800.  The part I feel the worst about is I referred a friend to her shortly after starting with her myself.  Robin now owes that friend over $900 and has still not paid her to this day.  I know there's nothing I can do (still investingating legal action though) about what she did to me.  I mainly want to warn other MT's about her.  Please... before any of you accept a job at ANY company IC or employee.... check them out in any way possible.


Becka


Unfortuantely this lady has pretty much burned her bridges with everyone years ago. sm
No one...and I mean no one will set foot in that house to relieve my in laws. It is a very sad situation.
You're right, i spend way too much time on this board when should be working, I am just so burned
NM
if you live among trashy people, low income people, people w/o goals or direction,
content to just get by, you by default become a part of a group. "people" have decided to group trailer people as trash. that is because there are enough people in that group to earn the title and even if you aren't trash, you are categorized by others. did i think i was trash in lower class neighborhood surrounded by people who drank and fought all weekend? no but i knew i wasn't staying and did not try to pretend that all the fools in the neighborhood were just nice folks who ended up where they were because high horse snobs deemed their neighborhood low class. people for the most part live exactly where they belong because they don't want to educate themselves, they don't mind "trash" around them and they don't want to be bothered trying just a bit hard to extract themselves from that world. they justify everything to themselves i guess saying everyone who doesn't like their lifestyle is a snob and the comedians (Jeff Foxworthy/Chris Rock, etc) who make fun of them are just ill-informed.

As for me, I fought hard to get out and don't even want to look back. It amazes me people stay for generations.
You're not losing it, you're burned out on your main job.
I feel for you... I am having my own "version" ;-) of these kinds of struggles. Lots of recent changes at the admin level have made my job do a 180, going from a really great one to a really crappy one.

For me, it's a struggle to get through the day with a shred of motivation. I get distracted in the way you discuss as well.

I just try to make my environment as comfortable as possible and make the best of it while I decide what the best way is to deal with the burnout... I figure if I can't change my inner brain workings so that I still like this job, I need to find another one, or this feeling will possibly get worse!

I hope it works out for you. Wish I had some better advice for you, but this really does look like burnout and extreme job dissatisfaction to me. We all wear it differently. Try to be good to yourself while you figure out a solution.


so many people was wishy-washy nowadays...love to see people make
a stand for what they believe in...

it is kind of wierd those statements have to be made in the first place but guess we are an ever-transitioning country and are still young. so many different beliefs yet not much tolerance.

I found your post respectful, and right on as to how you feel. it does not seem that difficult to sift through to read and respond to messages someone might not care for...
Just remember that it is not the people on this board who short changed their people and ONLY after
caught did they (after they were suied) make an effort to look good by sending out these checks. Now, think about this--had they done this many years ago when they short changed everyone, that would have been honest. Does it not bother you that only after they know they are under the gun that they are doing this to try and make themselves look good?

I used to work for MQ and I used to like what I did. I never can say I really liked the people that I worked with, but I really think they had some of the best accounts that I have ever come across in the MT industry. I loved working the major teaching hospitals that I did, but that certainly does not mean that I enjoyed being cheated out of pay.

So chill already. People have been cheated, were lied to, and only AFTER they got caught have they tried to return some of the money they robbed us of (as well as cheated their clients).

We all have reasons not to be happy with this company and you go off on us because we are complaining of things like small refund checks of a penny or a few cents or a few hundred dollars and NO WAY to even check to find out if this is correct?

I am sorry you are unhappy all of us thinking that there is still a dead rat in the cellar, but there is still a dead rat in the cellar and nothing will bring the dead rat back.

I would hold no love for a company that I know willingly cheated the very people who helped THEM make money out of their hard-earned money.

Go take a deep breath and think about that.
My people skills are just fine. I just want to hire people who want to work.
I've not been ugly, I've asked questions, legitimate ones.  Please tell me what is wrong with that.  This site is not just for MTs, it is for QA Editors, Supervisors, Service Owners, there's even sections for Billers, Coders, and Nurses.   
rude people? I would take good pay over polite people any day
Besides that they have never been rude to me and I have been here for almost 2 years. What do you consider a bad account?

I know my account is a little tough, but I am used to it. I am tough!
Rude people? I hardly think so. They are some of the nicest people I have ever worked with. sm
Not just management, but QA as well. No one is rude. They are a very understanding staff. There is one account that is hard but all it takes is getting used to it. Once you are used to it, it is no harder than any other ESL account that you would do anyplace else. I have heard all these things about TH from the archives and I have yet to come across rudeness or any kind of thing that I have read about in the archives. I would definitely pursue them if I were you. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
2 people to do that amount of work, is she nuts? More like 20+ people - nm
x
Certain people getting raises, certain people not. Guess who is?
Say what you will about unions, the good and the bad. But, one thing they did ensure is a raise, good benefits and that you would have a job in the morning.


Yeah right, OF COURSE! How could there be other people who don't like QA people?
Could only be one.   Hahaha.  Dream on.
I agree, some people will never get it but, then again, what does it say about them as people? Not

.


I don't like people
nm
Just so happens there ARE some people who
CAN really produce and NOT cherrypick. GEESH.

Problems come from working with stinky attitudes like yours.
The people....
Did you ever think that what you take as politeness might just be their poor language skills?

Why don't you go over to India and live for awhile - they have half of our MT jobs so you should be able to find work (Healthscribe, Medware). Then, tell us how polite they are.

People are people - just because they live in another culture doesn't make them any better than us or any worse than us. It is the job, working with the public, that wears people down eventually. It is particularly easy to be rude over the phone.
There are people who don't know better, there are people

who need to be at home for whatever reason, a chronic illness, kids, caregiver to sick parents, etc.  Any job is better than no job if you need to eat.  


If there were enough decent paying jobs with honest companies no one would work for the low paying, dishonest companies.  So far I have turned down jobs with MQ because of their actions, quit a job with SS because it is a lowsy company, I have turned down 2 positions with companies that offshore.  Fortunately I got on with a company that paid a decent wage and one that doesn't offshore, though it isn't the great company that it used to be either, but it is a living. 


try something most people have a
problem with and your worth increases .. neurology and ophthalmology for instance.  Most people are afraid of the eye .. wonderful once it becomes second nature.  Oncology is another sought after skill, but takes a lot of work.  Also you might contact M-Tec to take their class in neuro or OAK Horizons .. they are both very good.
That people such as yourself
would quit airing your dirty laundry and asking for advise - and then get all pissy when people give their opinion. After all, that is what you were after right? This is MT Stars, this is NOT a military advice column or posting board. When you open yourself up on a public forum, then be prepared for what follows.

Personally, I think anyone who signs up to defend the country and then turns his back on his duty is HEARTLESS.

The military makes your obligations and consequences VERY clear.
Sure some people do need help..(sm)

The below is an e-mail that I got from a lady who lives in Houston.  These are her observations only, but it sure does make you think about all of the self-righteous out there who really don't understand another person's hesitation in taking many of the people in to our communities.  Some of them come from a whole different kind of mentality.


 


Well...

 

I feel sorry for these people - they have lost everything - they have nothing. I blame their own government at least a bit for not evacuating the ones that were too poor or had no way to evacuate.

 

That being said, it isn't going as well here as the media makes it out to be. Anthony has been down the to the Astrodome as required by the Fire Department, and I went down on Saturday with a friend of mine.

 

The Astrodome holds around 50,000 people - and there aren't that many evacuees down there. There are bathroom facilities, but these people are squatting on the streets, parking lots, and lawns of places down around the astrodome and leaving behind urine and fecal matter. They are throwing trash wherever they are when they finish with it, and quite a few act like we "owe" them something. I can't tell you how many people were bitching about the MRE's that they were being served.

 

As high as gas prices are, I will go out of my way not to have to drive by the Astrodome (my RE's office is about 1 mile from the dome). When you stop at a stop light they come up to your car and beg - and knock on the windows. There have even been reports of some jumping in the backs of pickups and even scratching cars and trucks with knives, if you don't give them money.

 

I know that there are some good people out there, but there are a lot of bad ones too. There are some that were appreciative of the baby formula (breastfeeders - please don't jump on me here) and diapers and coloring books that we were handing out - and some that were bitching about the brand of diapers, the fact that we were only authorized to give out one can of formula per child and that we didn't have a certain kind of bottles. I even had people that refused to take gift cards from Grocery Stores - wanting money instead.

Last night, one of the evacuees was able to score some alcohol somewhere, got drunk and carjacked a car and ran into several parked cars - the police were able to pull him over after a 15 minute chase.

 

And I can't get over the smell of raw sewage in the area of town that most of the evacuees are housed. The plumbing in the toilets are working just fine - but they aren't using it. They are trashing the place.

 

I can't imagine what it must be like for them, having nothing but the clothes on their backs - but I think I would be more appreciative of whatever someone could do for me, instead of griping about what kind of bottles they were giving me to feed my kids with, and that the MRE's were cold.

 

I really have mixed emotions about the whole thing. I feel sorry for the people who couldn't leave, and got stuck in the chaos. I don't have as much sympathy for the ones who could have left, but didn't want to.

 

I am sure I sound like a cold, callous, b****, but I was absolutely amazed at the attitude of most of the evacuees that I was in contact with on Saturday.

Some people believe anything

Evacuees are NOT trashing the Astrodome! You people choose to believe anything. There are enough cameras around the Dome to show how residents are reacting. Security is very tight and strict there right now! As far as "sorry people" that were evacuated, you do NOT know their situation NOR their minds and hearts. My brother was one of the evacuees. He was a student at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He lived in Orleans parish just blocks from Ward 9. Most of Ward 9 are very poor people, handicapped and disabled, and yes there are some drug addicts and lawbreakers there. But I bet if you would look in your own neighborhood you would find them there yourself! Some people, if you could crawl out of your own self-righteous world, do not choose to be in the financial shape they are in. Let's see here, I live in NE Mississippi and people's financial status in this community is very poor. Why? Is it because we have women having babies at 15 and no daddies and no desire to better theirselves? NO! It's because our lovely government signed NAFTA and allowed all our manufacturing jobs to be taken away. So what happens to the people? They fall in the cracks!


 


Back to New Orleans. Let me tell you all about the wanting certain things to be donated. A evacuee does not EVEN get to choose what they want. How assinine of you! Do you think they just sit on the streets and wait for handouts? NO! They have to get passes to even leave the Astrodome or any other shelter. It is the Red Cross that is not taking clothing donations and asking for particular donations. My brother went to the Red Cross to get assistance and was told unless they were living in a shelter, they could not help them at this time. Where is the justice in that? We took clothing to the shelter here in MS and was told to take it back home because they didn't have the time to sort through it. They said that was the job of the Salvation Army. ALSO, our area churches wanted to adopt families and take care of them. Out of 300 families, 50 were given homes to stay in. Last Thursday, we were told by the Red Cross unless we could take them all, we could have none! It had to be the evacuee to approach us and ask, they would not allow us to come in and get families because they said it would only stir up strife. The Red Cross needs some serious reorganization! They have infuriated me!!!


 


So before you get on your high and pious throne discrediting ANYONE, why don't you come on down here in our area and just try living in the situations that are going on right now. Life is very difficult for most of those people. They have lost all of their livelihood and have no hope for the moment. It's only when loving, kind people with caliber that you do not seem to possess, try to help those that are less fortunate!


BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU
I get the garbage every darn day.  You people bite the big one and not well.
BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU
I get the garbage every darn day.  You people bite the big one and not well.
Why are you trying to tell people
what to say? If you would look at the start of the post, MQLOVER was trying to help. People were coming down on her and she became defensive, rightfully so.
Why are you using other people's
initials. You don't use my initials just because you are replyig to me. Use your own name. You confuse people by doing this. Why are you doing this? Are you new to this board?
Look, people,
I am saying I have missed her and other people on this board. It is extremely sincere. xx oo
exactly what would you like to have done? People would need to know what they were (sm
walking out for. 
Wow, some people
are really dumb. It kind of is a shame. How are we getting screwed more with the new plan? Your logic is coming from a tiny mind. Please, leave MQ. You are the MT that is giving the other MTs a bad name. Go work for MT Tards. I bet you will get a job there hands down.
Why is it that people in this....sm
industry get upset when pay scales aren't posted in ads when with most jobs pay scales aren't posted for any industry?   
Please don't put people down sm
There are lots of us with college degrees who are doing MT'ing and that most certaily does not require a college degree.  My first husband had a college degree and made his living as an electrician; one son has a college degree and makes his living as a plumber (both cases that's where the money was).  There may be a lot of reasons why an individual doesn't have the opportunity to obtain a college degree and it isn't necessarily because they aren't college material.
Some people are using
Dragon Naturally Speaking to redictate reports instead of typing them.
People like this...
haunted me all my growing up years and made me feel like I was an evil, worthless human being at the age of 12 - so I tried to hang myself. It almost worked but my mom ripped off the rope as I was passing out. That was 30 years ago and I still have to hear garbage like this. Haven't we evolved as a species in all these centuries to be at least a little bit more enlightened on the subject of sexual orientation? Reading this thread today has been a very depressing experience for me, but all too familiar. Isn't there enough hate in the world these days to go around for you people? And like someone else say, I pray none of your children are gay or any of your family members - they would sure have a tough road ahead of them.
I know several people...

No. 1, many times labs can be wrong on these tests, I saw a special about that on TV once telling about the numerous erroneous reports on Pap smears.


No. 2. I have known a handful of people (my sister included) who had Pap smears come back abnormal, many times just infection, and they do repeat Paps about every 3-6 months for a while and follow. So far, none of these have had a malignancy.


The majority of Paps are NOT malignant, so try not to worry too much. I know it is easy to say when I'm not the one with the abnormal Pap smear, but I hope this helps some. Hang in there. I'll be praying for ya!