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

IMHO and experience, in most, if not all careers-SM

Posted By: No. Cali MT on 2005-12-04
In Reply to: Here is a question for anyone interested.... - ETMT

the better your memory and flexibility, the better your success.  If your memory is so-so, then find tools that will increase your success, i.e., account post-its and sample reports, even reading something out loud.  For me, if I handwrite what I am given in print regarding an account/doc, I am more likely to remember it.  Making handwritten notes takes time, but helps things stick in my memory.


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

careers
I don't think medical billing is the next logical step for MTs. To me personally the logical thing is something else in healthcare, but for other people the logical thing would be what they are interested in, health care or not, or what opportunities arise. I'd like to slowly start to work on something else as I don't see MT carrying me to retirement in 30 years. I'm thinking about radiology tech, ultrasound/MRI tech, health care administration, or nursing in its various levels since there never seems to be a shortage of need for those.

I haven't done billing before but have done coding and don't see it with a long-term future, either.
Changing Careers
I absolutely LOVE medical transcription work. It is the best kind of work for me. I have always, up until five years ago, made plenty of money to support my family (I am a single 45 year old mom).

However, I have become very scared. So, I have 80% decided that I have to go back to school and start over. It makes me sick, but I can't watch my pay decrease every year like this.

I really, really, really want to continue MT work, but it just doesn't feel secure for me anymore.

AND - changing careers at my age is also scary, but I have a friend who did it at 50-something years old, so I guess I can, too.
Changing careers

I have been an MT my entire life.   I had no formal training - just had a knack for it and always had a job doing transcription.  I was sought out many times. However back about 1993 I started hearing rumors about voice recognition. I at that time decided to go to school and get a nursing degree as I wanted to stay in healthcare. I obtained my LPN- RN - then BSN in 1999.   Took me awhile but I did it.  Since that time I have done some coding, worked as a nurse and been promoted to transcription supervisor in 2000.  I also teach transcription at our local college.  Since I have such a broad range of experiences in all the things you are looking at I would suggest nursing - you are going to get the most valuable education in that field - with many opportunities.   If you don't like it you would have the bulk of your education and could easily slip int to coding or transcription.  Just my opinion.


changing careers

It seems a lot of people are feeling the same crunch.  I have been an MT for 10 years  I too used to have a excellent hourly plus incentive with great bennies in-house jobs which was outsourced to an Indian Company. I worked from home and make ok. Now it's hard to even find a decent line count with benefits at all. I am working as an IC at 9 cpl and no bennies. As a single Mother I simply cannot do this anymore.  There companies who offer employee status and bennies but the line rates are so low or they want you to work 2nd or 3rd shift and with my family situation this is not possible.


I too am making a career change plans.  It seems that nursing is all the rage with the high paying jobs and plenty of them. But as a former nursing student years ago before MT I know it's not for me.  Too high pressure and the bullying in nursing school is unbelievable as is the 2 year committment to school full time.


I decided to try Assocaites degree Accounting/CIS. I hope to enter as a clerk or bookkeeper and work towards the Bachelors degree once working as a clerk.  In the meantime I have been brushing up on Powerpoint, Excel, etc and applying for secretarial and admn assistant jobs. 


 I had considered medical billing but I am somewhat soured on the healthcare system and outsourcing.  I figured Accounting is much broader and can work for more than one industry, but have seen accounting positions in healthcare systems too. 


I wondered if people would share what fields they were considering.


For new MTs... the field IS dying between VR contsantly improving and outsourcing/offshoring our jobs are dwindling as are the pay and benefits.  If you are a married-stay-at-home type of Mom with luxury of a second income and your husband's benefits MT might still be ok for a little extra money on the side.  But for anyone trying to support either themselves or their family on MT -- forget it.   Its a good part-time Mom job these days and that is about it. 


Sad.  There are many excellent and quality MTs who have a ton of knowledge.  I wondered how they intended to transfer skills to another profression.  The writing is on the wall.  I hope to be out in 2-1/2 years tops. 


 


 


 


changing careers
After almost 30 years of MT work under my belt, I'm ready to throw in the towel and hit the pavement. I'm already out there interviewing. Even if I make only what I make as an MT, if it's a job that I like, then it'll be worth it. Wish me luck!
When I click Careers and try to get to job back
Am I overlooking something?  Having an operator error?  Or do we not have a job bank anymore?  Thank you!
Legal Scoping Careers?
Has anyone looked into or taken the training course from the lady, Judy Barrett who posts on the "other" board about the scoping career?  I am curious if any one has gone through the course and if anyone has found this lucrative?  Any information on an outcome would be appreciated.  Thanking you in advance.
And why would you want to switch change careers?!..
I am an MT and not a newbie, about 15 years of experience and I don't make $44,000 a year (oh, how I wish)! Why would you want to break into this business? This career is just going down hill in so many ways. I hear medical coding is on the rise and some seem to be transitioning from MT to just that. I also understand medical coding and billing can be done from home as well. I would be checking into that if I were you. If you are expecting to make $44,000 a year as a new MT, you are SO dreaming! Sorry so harsh, but would hate to see you make a huge financial mistake, IMHO!
Sorry, meant to say change careers
nm
Interesting article about best careers in 2006. sm
http://biz.yahoo.com/special/job06_article1.html
Question for MTs pursuing nursing careers.
I am also considering going back to college and studying to become an RN.  I took a 2-year course in "medical records technology" 18 years ago at a junior college and got a lot of the prerequisites out of the way including Anatomy and Physiology I and II.  If I decided to go back to college, how long would it take me to complete an RN program?  Isn't it typically 4 years starting from scratch?  Any help is greatly appreciated!!  Thanks!!
A-M-E-N! The main reason women in all careers - sm
earn less than men (and employers get away with paying them less) is that it's impossible to get groups of women to stick together on ANYTHING, let alone anything that might involve a little initial personal risk before things are ultimately straightened out and this archaic pay disparity between men & women in the US workforce is resolved. Can you imagine the kind of clout MTs in this country would have if they all stood firm together and demanded that they be paid fairly for a job that not just anyone with a PC and a set of headphones can do? A few years ago when HIPAA first came about, we should have taken that and run with it, when it comes to securing our profession on US soil. We didn't do it then, but I think if we were to dig our heels in, and start writing and talking to the right media, we could still use HIPAA to our advantage. Think about it.
What kind of alternate careers can MT's transition into?

Guys, I've finally made up my mind that the profession that we used to know is gone and is never coming back.  The industry leaders have made it their business to turn MT's into the equivalent of sweatshop workers, and I don't find that dynamic at all appealing. 


Can any of you give any suggestions as to what types of careers we might transition into and make a decent income?  I'm polishing up my resume now, but I fear that I've stayed in this industry for far too long and have handicapped myself from being able to take advantage of any other career opportunities that might exist out there. 


Any and all feedback would be appreciated. 


I had a person sound really interested in changing careers and doing this...
until I mentioned that she had to take a really reputable course in this field and that it would cost a fair amount of money but that for this price they would mentor her into a position, and not to pay for a course that offered less than this if it were what she really wanted to do, and this changed her mind quickly.  She didn't know it would cost her!
Time to switch careers. I did and life is much less stressful.
x
But it does open our options to move on to careers rather than joe-jobs
and bring people the respect they deserve.
IMHO...sm

QA gets the pits because the good ones aren't hard.  I've never done QA, but I know the reports with blanks I do have are from really awful ESLs or Americans.  I think I'm pretty good with ESLs, but some of it is just flat mush.  And of course there are those folks who don't really care about what they're putting out, figuring QA will cover their butts.  You're going to get the dregs just by nature of your job.


As far as going back to MT, if you love it, do it.  Life is short, why hate your job?  It's a big part of your life.  I work for MQ and I'm doing fine, contrary to all the nay-sayers out there.  I'd say research companies or look locally, because it's not all as bad as you might hear.  I've worked in offices, as an IC, and now as an employee at a national.  Good situations are out there, just do your research, and take all the complaining with a grain of salt.  Complainers are usually the loudest people on the boards, it's human nature.  Email me if you want to chat more.  Best of luck!


IMHO
I worked as an IC for a private practice for 4 years on an hourly rate. It worked out just fine. Of course you have to keep track. That sometimes can be difficult but it certainly can be done.
IMHO
Well, I'm a "newbie" also and am getting so discouraged with looking.  If it were me, I'd take it and run.  I haven't even been able to find a company that would offer that much of a chance!  Anyway, like I said, I am a newbie also, so I don't have an experienced opinion, but its an opinion all the same. 
IMHO...

Okay, with an hourly rate you can do some figuring.  I believe that, even though one would typically have more experience doing QA, they do not necessarily make more money on a per hour basis because their line per hour rate is much lower than the MT rate to make up for the greater number of lines done when editing.  I think QA is primarily a bonus in that you don't have to do all that physical typing.  I think MT and QA makes about the same amount per hour in general.  Assuming this, then you can figure out where you are pretty much. 


If you type 160 lines per hour at 0.08 cpl, then you are making $12.80 per hour.  I don't know for sure, but that sounds like a pretty average number of lines per hour and line rate for many MTs out there, so what you are making sounds pretty average, IMO. 


If you want to challenge yourself, however, you can do better.  I can do almost 200 lines per hour and make 0.09 cpl, so that's about $18 per hour.  That's as an independent contractor working at home through an MTSO, not an employee, and not as an IC on my own accounts (make much more on those with no MTSO middleman).  Even if you stayed with the 0.08 cpl and upped your lines by 20 an hour to 180, OR if you went to 0.09 cpl and stayed at 160 lines per hour, you get a raise to $14.40 per hour. 


Hope this helps!


 


Well, IMHO we MTs
are worth MUCH, MUCH, MUCH MORE than that! 
IMHO your best bet is to find an
accredited community college near you that offers an MT course. They don't really help you find a job, but they don't make empty promises about that either. They will introduce you to other established MTs in the area, and you may find a mentor there. Also, the cost is reasonable and the instruction hands-on, usually by a CMT in your area.
Unethical, IMHO

I have this to say to that person


1.  Its stealing from your fellow teammates.  You are awarding yourself 4 hours of their shift and their work because you're too lazy or too incompetent to get your speed up.  They have bills to pay just like you do, and are sitting there out of work because YOU stole it.  Especially if THEY are honest and only work approved OT.


2.  Its lying to your employer and yourself as to how efficient you are, when you are falsifying your time card.  It is also putting them in jeopardy with the labor board, should you both get caught.


3.  Its bragging to post this - bragging that you are lazy and incompetent, and like to steal work, so you think you're smart and slick to have found a way around hard work and better skills.  Shame on you!


Thank GOD where I work the ONLY way you can type a job is if you are punched IN to the time clock.  So I know you're not my coworker.  I pity those that are.


IMHO, I would leave. (sm)
Some people/companies are using the hard times right now to profit themselves, basically just reducing pay when there is really no need. Yes, I understand that there are legitimate companies who are in trouble and really need their employees to reduce their pay or lay them off.

BUT, ask the doctor if his income has changed in anyway. Has the patient load decreased? Are the insurance companies not paying? Its just like these executives who get a 250,000 bonus after they get bailed out, yet they are laying people off left and right. Just does not make sense to me and if they really think they can find another LPN to do their transcription and do their nursing, then they need to try and find one. I am sure you can get another job somewhere else where you will not get taken advantage of.
IMHO, MTWS is better

MT Word Seeker is definitely better IMHO.  The search results are more to the point, perhaps because it searches 1100 medical / MT websites. 


can't think of one female who dictates well, IMHO.

the point in a nutshell, IMHO sm
the point I think everyone is trying to make here is, yes, most of us have done it and succeeded with small children, BUT it is by no means easy. You have to be flexible and hopefully have a flexible employer. It's not impossible, it can be done, but it won't be a piece of cake! If you're motivated, organized, and willing to compromise a portion of your sanity, then by all means, go for it.  But the bottom line is this...you have to do what works for YOU, not anyone else! Think it through and make an educated decision, and not one just based on the opinions on this board.  Good luck to ya!
Drs comments were inappropriate, IMHO
Dont you think his comments are a little inappropriate?  To be dictating and saying that?  He can put the information in a research paper he is writing but to state it while dictating?
IMHO..too high. Ours was 11 min/hour. NM
d
Picky is the name of the game IMHO. Either it's right or it's not.
nm
IMHO, you don't want silent...you want quiet. sm
Keyclicks do provide important feedback.
IMHO outsoursing is only one piece of this pie. (nm)
.
IMHO outsourcing is only one piece of this pie. (nm)
.
Meat cooking is harder, IMHO
Remebering my childhood as an animal eater, I think it is harder cooking for meat eaters and way more expensive than vegetarian foods.
IMHO Speedtype is a costly version of...

MS Word's AutoCorrect.  I bought is and asked for help in transfering my AutoCorrect entries to it.  The owner kindly answered she would do it FOR me . . . for an additional fee of $25!!!!  Being as I had just paid $189 for it, I thought that was terrible!  Her instructions for doing the transfer do not work.  I honestly think it is just a ploy to make more money.


I finally did the transfer myself, after numerous tries.  Now I don't even use it.  Since it isn't anything "special," it isn't worth the trouble.  I much prefer IT to SpeedType.  In fact, ANYTHING other than SpeedType is better, in my opinion.


 


Nope.Not her. Not starting trouble. Just IMHO.
Honest observations. Wondering if this board is a good or bad part of my day, and thinking out loud. But, as usual, mixed feedback and as this post above which I am answering shows, a lot of paranoia out there too. Probably this is it for moi. Just not my style. See ya.
IMHO, outsourcing is only one ingredient to this stew. NM
.
The absolute worst IMHO is the dictator
who loads up his mouth to capacity with marbles and then proceeds to talk.
TechSupport what do you think? IMHO this is all in preparation of EMR, compressing the
long, very narrative and repetitive version of straight transcription. You are building a new software, or at least a software template for EMR. Isn't this it?

Bayscribe kicks ExText's booty, imho. SM
I have worked on both. Bayscribe only has the 1 page on which you enter information. There are dropdown lists of providers (no additional lists or documents), you can easily change templates at any point in the report, and the only shortcoming to Bayscribe that I have found is the spellchecker, which works okay but could use some updating.

ExText, on the other hand, had multiple pages per report, no way to easily access provider information, changing a template required a bunch of steps, etc. etc. I never did make much progress with ExText, although I know that some of my friends love it.

It may be what you're used to, although I think it would have been a lot easier to start with ExText and move to Bayscribe than it was for me to start with Bayscribe and then move to ExText. Bayscribe is also fast to load and fast to work in-- no VPN.

Hope this helps.
I agree Nature Sounds better than music.. IMHO.. NM
NM
Experience on top, current experience first. Education second. Leave out ALL fluff.
Recruiters don't need your life story. They need to know if you can do the job. If you want, put your current employer, then state "I have 20 years in the profession doing....." Keep it simple; keep it clean. If you want to go into more detail, do it during the interview. A HUGE red flag is to see that you've worked for 10 different companies, for months at a time. I know that someone who has worked for the same company for 2 years or more is going to have some degree of loyalty and will work through issues rather than cut and run.
IMHO, helping humanity is along the lines of teaching, volunteering, nursing, working with
s
How is one going to get experience, when no one will hire without experience????
I constantly see all these job openings asking for experience.  How can I get experience, when no one will hire me without experience???
Do you need to have 2 years full time experience or just 2 years' experience? nm
..
In my experience,

ratio is about 3 to 4 on a large hospital account doing all specialities and report types.   I think it would be closer to 2 or 3 with clinic work.   


In my experience, I had to (sm)
allow the company to access my computer by clicking on an icon on my desktop.  After they were done, I had to click "out" of the program, thus they cannot access my computer unless I give them my "permission" by accessing the program on my end!  Does that make sense?
in my experience, (sm)
work always slows down in the summer, especially after a holiday.  Hang in there, it gets better!
I had such an experience
It was years ago but I woke up laying on my stomach with head turned to the side and arm up by my head, couldn't move then saw a transparent arm coming back down into my arm and when it was completely fused with my arm I could suddenly move. It was very weird, scared the crap out of me, but in later years read about what actually happened and like you said, my spirit body wasn't quite back into me yet when I woke up - astral travel, yes. We all do that when we sleep.
My experience...
I personally found many of the Texas hospitals had a lot of ESLs. My two primary accounts were in Missouri and Washington State and there were very few ESLs. The platform I was on was not difficult (TWS I believe it was called).
experience
I had a very hard time trying to understand the guy trying to train me. He would tell me he would call at a certain time and he wouldn't. It would be the next day or 2 hours later than what he said. Told me you have to work until the jobs are cleaned out of system. I don't think so!!!!!