If you can explain exactly what kind of field or what you want to do, maybe we can help
Posted By: need more info on 2005-10-27
In Reply to: How do you make fields in Word Perfect like in Word? I'm drowning out here - old dog<<>>new tricks
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Ctrl + F9 adds the field brackets - F11 jumps to the field.
xx
Not new to the field either. Been there and seen it. (sm)
However, routing is NOT ALWAYS the only problem. Times when bonuses are out show a vast difference in dictators that are left to type and number sequence of the jobs. There are some who do cherry pick and return these jobs to pool. In a smaller hospital setting this was not so prominent because others could see it, print out a report and show the boss who would address it in one way or another.
Unfortunately, we are such big organizations now and the people in the digital rooms are just worried about keeping TAT that they don't care who does it as long as it gets done.
Then world is not a perfect place and you cannot be pleasant and assume good things will happen always. People do cheat, people do send back reports they don't make good money on.
It certainly is not the company I am distressed about, it is the few (or I assume just a few) little prima donnas who are doing this "me, me, me" thing. You can choose your company, you just can't choose your co-workers.
Until a wand comes down from the Heaven's and casts a Pollyana spell on all of us, I don't think your new attitude idea will work.
are you new to this field or are you just
uninformed? A few months back, the AAMT subject was brought up on this board. One single question was asked: What has the AAMT done to help improve the pay and overall career for the American MT? After days, I don't think there was one, single positive post to that question. Oh, yes for sure, there was a lot of "spin" but not one direct positive answer. Do you know something we don't? If so, could you please share it with us?
Welcome to the field!
I've been in the field for about 22 years. Stedmans Words Books are a great resource and easy to use. Google words when you get stuck and best of luck!!! Stay away from Amherst....
another field
I often think about another field as I am tired of transcribing (going on 9 years now) and then there is asking my PS questions and its like pulling teeth to get an answer because honestly I don't think she knows and also not feeling like I'm being pay for what I feel is a hard day's work. So maybe for me something in the beauty industry like esthetician where your also providing a service for people that want to feel good about themselves.
What field? (nm)
.
how best to get into the field
Hello. I am reading the messages about certification, AHDI, AAMT, etc and see that you have a very reasonable message. My sister wants to get into the MT field and I want to help her as much as I can. What would you recommend in today's employment outlook, for her to do to pursue this? I was steering her towards accredited schooling and the RMT or CMT, but after reading this Board, I am now very confused!
I'm currently looking to get out of the MT field too
I can see it going down hill really quick and it worries me. I don't know what I will do if MTing isnt around even long enough for me to get out of the field first. I wouldn't just go get any job though. I would need to go to school for something so I can make sure I would be making more money than I do now and have better insurance and benefits. I would love a job where I could just work 8 hours a day. Some days I sit here from 8 am to 8 pm or later just to get enough lines in to pay my bills. It sucks and I'm sick of doing it.
I'm currently looking to get out of the MT field too
I can see it going down hill really quick and it worries me. I don't know what I will do if MTing isnt around even long enough for me to get out of the field first. I wouldn't just go get any job though. I would need to go to school for something so I can make sure I would be making more money than I do now and have better insurance and benefits. I would love a job where I could just work 8 hours a day. Some days I sit here from 8 am to 8 pm or later just to get enough lines in to pay my bills. It sucks and I'm sick of doing it.
I don't know if any particular field is more difficult
than the next, if all you do is type one speciality. I think ER and Psych are mentally hard because with ER a lot of the patients die and it is depressing and then psych is depressing because of the severe dysfunction of the patients and/or their families. Oncology can be depressing too cause outcomes are not always great and like the previous poster said frequent new meds.
I used to transcribe for a teaching hospital connected to a medical school and that dictation was very hard, much more technical than your normal hospital, lots more dictators too and a new crop every July.
I wish I had read this BEFORE getting in the field
It may have been great once, but it looks like dog meat now.
Returning to MT field
I went through a training program and then worked one year for a national - Spheris. Had some health issues (and a young son paying daycare for) so gave my notice and got done. That was several years ago. My son is now in kindergarten and want to do medical transcription again.
What is IC and how does that work? Do all nationals have this? How does part time work for most of these companies?
Any hints on brushing up on my skills before I return.
Thank you for your help,
Hopeful MT
But you have to look deep down within you and ask why you are even in this field and
why being an SE is so important to you? To be honest, I've been an MT for quite a while and an SE MT for MQ for over 6 years now. The flexibility has been, well, too good to be true. I, too, can say that I haven't been a perfect MT because I havent keep to my "schedule" even though I have on as an SE. I just pretty much come and go as I please. Can you honestly say you do the same with your company? And are you with MQ? Well, that is just not really fair to them, if you really want to dig down and get honest here. They need to know that their clients will be covered all around the clock and their SEs just really are not consistent and I think all companies need consistency. It's funny, I am in the process of looking for another job, and have interviewed with quite a few folks and once they decide they want me - it's all about - hours, hours, hours. When can you work, what time of day can you start, can you work weekends, can we have that in writing?
Ok, I just had an ENTIRE post of great advice on 401 K programs for part-timers and it got deleted in this very post! That stinks!!!!!
Bottom line is: If you are an SE MT you have nothing invested and when you want to retire you will have nothing. It is sad. No one in my family who is retired or going to be retired have 401 KS and they will be living off the govt. or me, or other working family members. I don't want to be them in 20-30 years. Don't count on Social Security ladies! (and gents).
My husband works for a large corporation and they project when he retires (they send us followups monthly) that when he retires we will be millionares. Well, that sounds great, but what if leaves me for another woman? It happens everyday. And then where will that leave me and my kids? We are devout Christians and I know he is committed, but you just never know. I've seen church members leave their spouses before. I ain't takin the chance! Hence, I will seriously consider investing in 401 as a part time employee (first time in my life) just so that I can have some kind of cushion when I retire, even if its just 30, 40, or 50,000! Hey, if MQ is willing to match earnings, etc, why not? Why just take them for a paycheck? You should seriously, seriously consider all your options if you are an SE, which is what I am right now, and start protecting your future. Especially if you are stay at home mom with little kids. I am a Christian and I feel really led to start doing this. Don't just transcribe your little heart out so that in 20 years you have nothing to show for it.
SE is GREAT for flexibility. But it is NOT a great long-term thing to do to ourselves.
For PT MQers to qualify for 401 k, you have to work a minimum of 1,000 hours a year. You figure out the math. I don't have the time right now! Keep on keeping on girls.
45 yof, MT 10+ yrs, med field 20 yrs Alabama nm
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Use F11 to jump to each field (nm)
x
Have not in MT field, but in other fields
and how many of us women are the sole support of our families? Many...
Me too! Too much uncertainty in the MT field...sm
and too much potential in nursing. I have a small MTSO and since I'm getting a salary and can set a flexible schedule, I'm getting my BSN. Our state college only has a full time program. 1000 people applied and 70 got in. If you didn't have a 3.50, you didn't get in. The curricula is incredibly tough. I'm pretty smart but this is very challenging. Yet I am finding out I love the challenges too. Working as an MT is a definite plus. Everybody! comes to me to ask me how to spell things, including the instructors :) and I was the only person in the class who knew what a pheochromocytoma was. (I have lots of other medical background too including medical assistant, paramedic, etc. but listening to thousands of medical reports teaches you an immense amount.) Not to mention my charting is impeccable.
My main plan is to go on and get an Advanced Practice Nurse degree (master's) so I can work in primary care in the physicians' offices. Good luck to you. and Email me with any more questions.
Leaving MT field?
I feel for you and can understand all your concerns. I think there are areas out there with great demands like teaching, nursing (get your LPN or CNA to get started in the field), radiology technology or a shorter schooling experience would be for medical coding, though won't be surpised if technology takes that job away too! You can become a certified phlebotomist and get started in the lab work area. These areas are just the tip of the iceberg, but change can be done and is not impossible. Good luck!
esthetician field.
At least from what i've researched. Starting pay is enough to live on.
If you find out how to get into this field--
Would you mind sharing on this forum? I think it sounds interesting, but I don't know who you would contact, either.
Field Codes
Not sure if this is what you mean, but if you place field codes (CTRL + F9) in the appropriate places in your template, you can jump to them by pressing F11.
Field Codes - yes that's it...
thank you so much.
Long before I got into this field...
I was at an appointment with my GYN and he dictated right after the exam. When he was done, I asked him how anyone could understand what he just said and his reply was that they can just "slow it down". Now that I know better, I'm thinking, yeah right!
This is why our field is going downhill -
how to advance in the MT field ...
I am wondering what it takes to advance to another position in the MT field. I've been an MT for about 13 years, acute care for 12 of those years. I'm tired of typing and have done QA as well, but the pay is horrible. What does it take to move up the ladder to another position, such as MT supervisor or account manager? I'm just curious. I know there are probably many more qualified people than I out there for any such position, but curiosity has got me as to the general qualifications and average salaries of each. Anyone know? Thanks....
Looks like field of MT-ing is slowly
fading out. I have seen 3 MAJOR hospital transcription departments close due to outsourcing. I'm not going to sit around waiting until the place I now work decides to follow suit. I'm training right now for the field of broadcast captioning for the hearing impaired. Hear they make between $25-100/hour for captioning television shows and the company supplies your equipment. I should be able to pay my rent with that!
There are a lot of people in this field sm
who really are typists. They even refer to themselves that way. It is really abohorent. Just a little while doing QA as a fill in made me aware of this. I got the reports when there were blanks, but you would truly be amazed at what other stuff they were sending through, not flagged. It embarrassed me for our profession and the low hiring standards.
I have been in the field for a little over 8 years.
I have never been paid this way. I want to mention also I will paid for headers and footers.
Just because you go into this field to stay
home does not mean that you are not a professional at what you do. I get my work done. I get it done correctly. My kids were home with me. I am a professional MT whether or not you and I went into it for different reasons or not. It is the end result. People go into fields all the time for different reasons. That does not make one better than the other, and that is basically what you have said in your other posts. On the gab board, you did make the comment that we couldn't cut it in the real world and hold a job outside of the house. You say do not assume things about me, like not being a mother, yet you assume so much about others.
And, no, I'm not going to go back and read them because I do not feel like it. I know what you said though.
I also think the poster way above said it correctly when she said that Kimberly and others just come here for a little support and to vent. They are not expecting someone to figure out a way for them to get their work done for them, geez.
HARD FOR NEW MT TO GET INTO FIELD
 New to the field, and I have encountered rude, self-centered MTS. I am working presently for 6 cents a line. America definitely needs more teamwork. About 99% of workers are for themselves. My last job was the same too. However, I did really well as an employee . Also, I always helped OTHER C0-WORKERS whenever I could. NO WONDER INDIA IS LEADING US IN TRANSCRIPTION!!!!!
If you truly have a desire to be in this field
Do not give up. It may take a while for you to find job, just keep applying. Make notes as you go along of those areas you are having the most difficulty with and study prior to taking your next test. All you need is to get your foot in the door. Can not tell you how many test I failed before finally passing one. Once you find employment, you may find you love it as much as I do.
someone must know someone in legal field
nm
Disappointed with this field.
I feel the blame is squarely to be placed on our wonderful association. They have ruined what used to be a good career to have. Now terrible pay, no raises, poor benefits, and you are expected to have perfect work with constantly changing rules so they can sell their book.
Get into *what* field? Transcription?
Your comments read as if your experience is in coding and billing. If you don't have real experience in transcription, you really need some training in the field - it's not just typing.
The terminology you may have picked up will help you (again if you are not experience as a scribe) but it won't translate to experience listening to doctors strangle the English/Latin, etc., languages on tape (LOL)...and translating it to a final report.
If you have the basic skills for transcribing (excellent hearing, spelling, and memory) then you may want to proceed even without direct experience, though it will be difficult to get hired.
Good luck.
IT HAS RUINED OUR FIELD
NM
Advancement in MT field
I began working in this field in 2000. I stayed with one company for 6 years. During those years I advanced from ER work to acute care, promoted to quality assurance, and then to supervisor's assistant. Unfortunately, 3 months after I accepted the supervisor's assistant position, the company made cutbacks and my position was eliminated. They requested I accept a pay cut along with my demotion. I left the company and was hired by another company as an MT, with a promise that I would be considered for editing in the near future. I have been with this new company for 2 years. During this time no positions have ever been advertised but at least 5 girls have been promoted to QA during this time period. I know of at least 2 other girls who have also expressed an interest in editing and yet we all been passed over, not even allowed to apply for the position.
For anyone who has achieved a supervisor position within this field, could you offer some suggestions on how to start climbing the ladder again? Which companies do promote? What type of experience is needed?
Thank you so much!!
Have been in this field for 15 years. sm
You are not going to like this - but would advise you if you have a steady job inhouse to keep it at this time - it has always been feast or famine for MTs at home and with a new baby and changes that brings - is not a good time to be making a major change. Making $$ at home is very tough - very tough. I am not saying you cannot do - but with a new baby and a very young child and doing reports you are not used to - making a decent line count is tough - I'd wait and try part-time sometime down the road - maybe evenings and weekends and see if it is what you want to do. Best of luck to you!
is MT still a good field?
Hi, I'm considering studying maybe with CS. Is MT still a good field to get into or is it getting phased out due to outsourcing or automated programs? I just got laid off after 10 yrs with a co doing data entry. Considering MT. I hope this isn't too blunt to ask but how much per year can I expect to make starting out? Thanks!
is MT a good field
I don't know about the others on this board but we had a doctor in our clinic that was going to get voice recognition system and replace me. He left to go on his own and got this system. since we are in the same town and refer patients to him I have had the opportunity to see some of what these things produce. Most of it is pretty good, not all. What I am getting at is this: These things are constantly improving and it is my opinion that in 5 - 10 years there will not be much work in MT. I enjoy transcribing but when asked by others about getting into it, my answer is like this: not if you want to work a long time. Older doctors and I work for one may not want to go this route. I would welcome other's input on this subject but having had a shaky job situation 4 years ago at age 62 due to the doctor's wish for voice recognition, I feel that this automated system if the wave of the future.
Re-entering the MT Field
After being out of MT for 4.5 years I have recently returned. I'm having a hard time finding the right fit. The biggest problem I'm seeing is everybody seems to be requiring headers for reports and then each report put in a separate document, due to the new electronic record. I find that this slows me way, way down. Maybe I'll eventually get used to it, but I sure do miss the days of one document for doctor's day's work. There are so many procedural details that I can't just sit and transcribe. I've also run into very poor voice file sound quality.
I worked in the field for 14 years and never had major problems adjusting to new accounts. Maybe my time is just over for this type of work.
I know technology has definitely made MT easier in some ways, but in others, it seems like such hassle. Does anyone else have problems with headers and all these separate documents? Does the field seem to be worse now than 5 years ago?
Who do you know that is in the medical field?
Think of any friends that you have that may work for physicians. That is how I found my clients. Also, type (not email) your resume and a cover letter and mail them to individual doctors who have their own practices. I have worked for a private physician for 12 years, I set my own fee, and I get paid weekly regardless. I found this job through a friend who referred me. Most of the time it's who you know. It can be done. After you get yourself established with one physician, you can ask him or her for any referrals. Where I live, doctors are always looking for transcriptionits. I have never worked for a transcription company. I have always been independent and have been very happy. It is a good living when you work for the right people.
The field is changing, Just Me, and SM
those whose incomes are dropping drastically are either unable or unwilling to change with it. The unables have my sincere sympathy; but in any case, don't make the mistake of basing your decisiosn on those who are on the way out. If your talents suit the work you'll end up doing over time, whatever that turns out to be (you won't be doing straight transcribing, though), you'll make a decent middle-class wage appropriate to a skilled clerical worker. Which is what we are. If the changes lead you to advance your secondary education and move to a higher skill level, well, hopefully you'll make even more. Best wishes.
If you put it in the "name" field it
will show up.
what code do you put in each field so sm
you have something to jump to? I haven't ever set these up before.
Please explain further.
What do you mean by WT? Do you paste report into a Word Document?
explain please
what happened?
Could you explain please exactly what you mean?
I want to be aware of anything I may not know about.
I just ran a numbers check in Word, using "Tools" "Word Count" for all my work I did yesterday and the numbers were exactly the same - characters with spaces divided by 65 - except it appears the company software does not round up so you may lose a line there. Otherwise, they were exactly the same.
Thanks so much.
That's what I was trying to explain the other day -
I was hired to hold a sign at a construction site. I was offered more money than I was making at MQ after being with them 6 years. I have been doing MT for years and years, and my skills are non-marketable.
AT the construction site: I don't have to know computers, buy one, keep up with one, be responsible for one, have the internet, deal with updating computers to satisfy a company.
All I have to do is show up.
At MQ they wanted more and more and more. Buy more equipment, know proper English, type fast, no errors, NO RAISES, no work most of the time (their solution was more accounts, what a joke!), offered tech support/make an appointment, offered QA/make an appointment/we will call you within 48 hours.
The way I see it is MQ is covering itself with NUMBERS of transcriptionists.
They don't care if we make a living, only that their dictation is done.
They are going to go through us like water/we can't make a living/ok, they kick that girl to the curb and bring in the next MT/and so on. IT'S NUMBERS, BABY!
They think because they have some sort of "idiot program" going where you supposedly can hire a warm body to clean up jibberish spit out by a voice recognition machine, they can hire 1000 indians or girls with borderline education (after they have driven any experienced MTs who were making anything near livable wage away), and pay them pennys they have the answer to medical transcription and still charge megabucks to hospitals and they will make the king's ransom in profit because they have little or nothing invested (remember they just got rid of the 1-800 phone numbers saving millions of bucks), and now want to pay pennys for editing.
Well, I am off to hold my sign for $10/hour PLUS BENEFITS AND WORKMAN'S COMP, INSURANCE, RETIREMENT, HOLIDAYS. And I will look back in every once in a while at whoever stays in this business while MQ takes it down the tubes.
Hey "bumed" you have it right. And I'm afraid it's not going to turn around until you see piles of blitzed MTs over in the corner. It is a non-career and thanks to the suits they have brought the quality of medicine down below putrid. Get out. Don't spend any more money to accommodate these profiteers. Look out for yourself. Think outside the box. Right now the world is a little upsidedown because everything for the moment is "bottomline". It can't go on this way forever or we will all be dead from "bottomline" thinking. And while it is turning around, look here and there - and don't let MT take you down with it. Good luck to all of us.
That would explain it....
So she is stuck at the age when she was molested, which would be about 6. Poor Yuck! I feel sorry for Yuck!
Perhaps you can explain this to
HOUSEHOLD INCOME DOWN, POVERTY UP:
MORE THAN 1 MILLION FELL OF MIDDLE CLASS IN 2004
Before President Bush took office, under Democratic leadership, income was on the rise, jobs were expanding, and the economy was booming. Today, the Census Bureau announced that real household income has decreased in 2004, falling for the fourth consecutive year. Since the beginning of the Bush Administration, household income has declined nearly $1,700. Over 1.1 million people fell out of the middle class into poverty in 2004, an increase of 5.4 million people living in poverty since Bush took office. Despite this, Republicans still have no plan to help struggling middle class families. Democrats are fighting to create jobs and keep good paying jobs here at home.
HOUSEHOLD INCOME DROPPED SINCE BUSH TOOK OFFICE
Household Income Declined by Nearly $1,700 Under Bush. For the second consecutive year, median household income declined: income dropped last year by $93 -- down to $44,389. In real terms, median household income has declined by $1,669 since 2000. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table A-1]
African Americans And Latino Household Incomes Have Declined by More Than $2,000 Under Bush. Real median household income did not increase between 2003 and 2004 for African Americans and Latinos. African American households had the lowest median income, at $30,134--down by $2,273 since Bush took office. Median income for Hispanic households was $34,241 in 2004--down by $2,141 since Bush took office. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table A-1]
Average Earnings by Women Declined by About $330 in Real Dollars During the Past Year. The median earnings of women declined over the past year, from $31,550 to $31,223. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table A-2]
1.1 MILLION PEOPLE FELL OUT OF THE
MIDDLE CLASS AND INTO POVERTY IN 2004
Number of People Living in Poverty Increased by 1.1 Million in 2004. Approximately 1.1 million people fell out of the middle class into poverty in 2004, an increase of 5.4 million people living in poverty since Bush took office in 2001. The poverty rate has increased from 12.5 to 12.7 percent over the past year, increasing for the fourth consecutive year. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table B-1]
Nearly 1 in 5 American Children Lived in Poverty During 2004. 13 million children lived in poverty in 2004, an increase of about 1.4 million since the beginning of the Bush Administration. This comes on the heels of a 730,000 increase in the number of children living in poverty in 2003. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table B-2 ]
Disproportionately High Number of African Americans and Latinos Live in Poverty. Nearly 25 percent of all African Americans (9 million) lived in poverty in 2004, an increase of over 250,000 over the past two years. Nearly 22 percent (9.1 million) of Latinos lived in poverty, an increase of almost 500,000 over the past two years. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table 3]
1.9 Million More Americans Enrolled in Medicaid in 2004. As 1.1 million Americans dropped out of the middle class and into poverty in 2004, the enrollment rate in Medicaid increased from 12.4 percent of the population in 2003 to 12.9 percent in 2004. Without the safety net of Medicaid and SCHIP for people who dropped into poverty, the health insurance numbers would be even worse. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05, page 16 ]
NEARLY 46 MILLION AMERICANS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE: NUMBER OF UNINSURED INCREASED BY SIX MILLION SINCE 2001
Today, the Census Bureau announced that the number of people without health insurance nationwide increased to 45.8 million, the fourth consecutive annual increase. A total of 800,000 Americans became uninsured last year - many because fewer employers offer health insurance to their workers. As a consequence, American families are paying higher and higher health insurance premium - which are expected to double under Bush's tenure by 2006. Yet, Bush and Congressional Republicans lack a real plan to address the problem.
ONE IN 7 AMERICANS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE
Nearly 46 Million Americans Are Uninsured--Increasing for the Fourth Year in a Row. The number of Americans lacking health insurance increased by 800,000 last year--and by 6 million since Bush took office in 2001. Today, a total of 45.8 million people are uninsured--roughly one in seven Americans. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table HI-4]
Should not have to explain
We are allowed to do things for ourselves once in a while. It seems ridiculous that we have to "explain" how or why we are doing something because we feel guilty. I think it is great that you are able to do what you can do living in Florida especially with your hurricaine season being what it has been. I think it is great and go and have a good time.
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