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

MTs with less skill s/b paid less with that money going to the best

Posted By: MTs who can do it all. on 2005-09-28
In Reply to: Update on "Direct Hit to Cherrypickers" - MQGuy

I can do xxxx but it makes me sick when the slackers get the exact same pay as me. Please don't give me the xxxx story that I can make more by being more efficient.


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

If you believe editing is a HIGHER skill, then why are we being paid

Yeah, money, that's it. I paid $20.00 for my dog. Money is NOT THE ISSUE
walk him daily, play ball daily, he sleeps in my office daily while I work. Yeah, I got a lot of money, NOT HARDLY. And, my dog is HORRIBLY HORRIBLY ABUSED because he wears a collar around his neck. It's people like you that make me sick. I am done defending my use of the shock collar. I am going to continue with it and my dog will continue to be pampered , educated, fed, kept warm, and love me for everything that I do for him even when I remind him that his barking needs to stop. So, with that said, I will not respond to any more of your CRAP in reference to the shock collar.
Isn't tjat why we get paid so much money? :)

:


NOPE, took a lot of money, dad paid,
bought, ran to meetings, everything to try to make it work. Multilevel just don't work for the little guy and that's the way they're set up. Try as you might to change the way people think about multilevel, it's possible that a lot of little people already got stung by that bee!
Actually, no, it's poor you! You're the one who paid all the money
ha
It wasn't right in that I paid money up front
for a 3 part procedure. The physician performed 2 of those, ok. He FORGOT the face lift. I worked at the same hospital he was head of the plastic's department over. Got that so far? When I told him on my first followup visit he forgot he wrote me an IOU on his letter head office stationary. You following so far? After this time he did not want to take my calls about the money and I went to hospital mediation. He told them he would not be part of that. Hold on- there is more. He started calling me personally at my home in threatening manner. Eight (that is 8 in numerical) months after my original surgery he dictated my report and put in he did the face lift- He falsified a legal document on me and my hubby was always with me- I can not fight city hall- Hold on, we are getting to the end- I called lots of lawyers- all said no case. Elective surgery- not an emergency appendectomy, not brain tumor surgery - elective- are you there with me? I finally because I HAD TO HAVE A JOB, just let it go. I could not risk my job by going after this department head surgeon that worked at my hospital. I hope you understand this time and if not, can't explain any better.
I got into this because it paid more money and I didn't have daycare expenses.
I have more time for a social life now that I work at home.  I go to lunch or coffee with family and friends.  I used to run errands on my lunch half-hour at my old job and either pay my bills or balance my checkbook on my breaks.  I know all the other parents at the school now, so we get together on weekends or chitchat at the school.  When I used to work outside the home, I was so exhausted from dealing with crabby people all day long that I just wanted to isolate myself at home on evenings and weekends.  Now that I work at home, I actually seek out friends to keep from getting isolated.
Check with the school that you paid money to for MT training.
If they can't help you get a job afterwards, then you've been robbed.
Money talks & the smaller the amount paid out,
x
I am a very social person and I entered this job at home because it paid more money
than the jobs in the office and I was a single parent. I just learned to balance my life outside the work environment with things that did allow me to use my social skills
Speaking of rip-offs, anyone have any advise on how to get back money paid for a product you never
received?  I needed a Dictaphone C-phone for my job (was using a loaner) and put a note on the equipment board pertaining to this back in May.  A woman contacted me stating she had one for $100 (I only needed the phone, power supply and phone cord).  She said she was going away for 3 weeks and to Western Union the money to her that night and she'd send it out the next day.  I did not like the high pressure and was still shopping around anyway so I told her I'd wait the 3 weeks and contact her then.  About a week later she emailed me stating she cut her trip short but was going away again that Friday (It was Tuesday), I had by this time decided to buy her phone.  I mailed out that day via Priority mail a M.O. for $100.  She was very anxious for the money, and thought I'd sent it Express Mail, which I of course informed her I did not.  She stated that it should be there by Friday and if she did not see her mail that day that she'd have her mom check the mail and then mail the C-phone to me.  After 2 weeks I emailed her as I had no phone as yet, no response.  A week later still no phone, emailed again, no response. Then I called her (looked it up) and she claimed her email was "broken" and she had not received my emails but would email me back as she was on her way out the door to a baseball game.  I asked her how can she email me back if it was broken??? So then she backpedaled and said she'd call me.... I held my breath at that point.  So the next day by some miracle I get an email from her stating her mother had mailed it regular mail, no way to track it, etc.  So supposedly it is lost.  I emailed her back which it appeared she did not get as she did not respond to my questions but she did email me again saying she'd return my money.....again I am holding my breath.  That was 8 days ago.  She is in OK, I am in VA.  If she sent me a refund promptly it would have been here by now.  Now when I call her, she does not pick up, and no answering machine either.  I am planning now to mail her a copy of her email and my response to getting my money back.  I am assuming at this point that I was taken for a sucker and was obviously too trusting.  Right now I don't have $100 to burn (who does?) with my drives to the hospital (60 miles round trip) for my daughter's chemo, doctor visits, etc, on top of only making about 1/2 what I used to make due to the changes in my life right now.  In the meantime I got kicked off the account for which I needed the C-phone for (add insult to injury here) due to problems at the company I was working for, so that does not sweeten my disposition any.  So does anyone have any idea how I can squeeze her and get my money back?  Contact the police there for fraud? Small claims court in OK?  I am a persistent pain in the butt and will keep at her until I get my money back, if it is fraud then she picked the wrong person to screw with, if it is on the up and up then it is unfortunate but she should have insured it to cover her own (and mine) butt, and sent in with a delivery confirmation too....but you know what they say about hindsight.  Any ideas???
I do not get extra money for typing and supervising.. I get paid salary which means

I get to type the stuff everyone else has rejected!


Wwwowoooweeeiiieee.. lucky me and my 3 dollars an hour!! 


We paid hourly with incentive for high production. So she's making money when she's just
sitting there.  I don't know if it is a habit or not because this is the first time I've really had to work with her for any length of time.  I usually only work a couple of hours a day with her when our shifts overlap.  I think I'm definitely going to ask the girl I'm filling in for what she thinks about her.
1099 ? Is the amount on the 1099 only the money paid to you in 2008. So if I did not receieve payme
than that $$ would be on my 1099 for 2009 not 2008??  I have to invoices that were due to be paid in 2008 but I never received the $$ until January of 2009.  Do I have to claim that money on my taxes this year or next???  Thanks in advance for your help.   
For QA consulting I'm paid per hour; QA instructing (college) paid salary, QA editing paid per li
I am an IC and work for two different MTSOs as well as instruct at a business college.
Money, money, money, mmonnneyyy. Singing the Apprentice song.
:+
transcriptions have a skill also
as far as looking up addresses go!
There's a shortage of US MT's because the skill is becoming obsolete

Schools don't even encourage anyone to get into this field anymore because they don't want to have someone take a course and then be out of work in a few years when this skill goes the same direction that shorthand did several decades back.


Like someone said on the Company board, education is the key.  Don't allow yourself to be a one-trick pony and learn how to do something else while you can.


This is all part of transcription and the skill
I have had in all of my years of experience many types of dictators.  I can honestly say that I have had ESL dictators that were better than your run of the mill American dictators.  We are a melting pot, and what's funny to me is that so many make comments about an MTSO sending ESL dicators offshore, yet we have Mexican, Chinese, and Indian restaurants that we eat from and love the food.  I think we need to somehow learn to embrace the ESL dictators.  I had an ESL that was the most lovely physician.  He knew that his dictation was difficult and was always willing to answer questions and would take the extra time to explain why he stated this or that. 
Upping the skill ante.
You might go online and look at Oak Horizons. They have an excellent reputation and are affordable. Also check VO-Technical schools for grammar as they are less expensive but adequate and junior colleges in your area. Good luck and good for you in improving your quality.
Good research skills the best skill an MT
x
Failing national skill test
This is to Vicki. Please do not be discouraged. The MAJORITY of the companies out there (most of them advertising here) actually DO NOT want experienced MT's. They are looking for the stay-at-home mom (not critizing, wish I could be one) that do not actually have to carry an active part in family income. If you are experienced you would actually produce (imagine that-isn't that why we are working cpl?) and that would cost them money. Where a newbie makes the minimal amount for a time and that makes them happy. Not to say that they would not be on the newbie's butt to produce 98%+ etc.

I have 30 years experience, and I have failed tests from a national company. I have kept myself updated over the years and extremely computer literate, and had been in charge of staffing before they recently outsourced our workflow to India, so it is not a case of not accepting the "new ways" of doing things. Many of the "new" AAMT guidelines are grossly incorrect according to the major hospital system that I represent.

Just my say. Thank you.
If I had just one other skill that allowed me to pay for my modest lifestyle, I'd utilize it.
Maybe it is the 20 yrs in this business. I now have tinnitus, am absolutely sure that sitting for 8-10 hours a day is having a detrimental effect on my health, am more anxiety ridden now that there is very little job security and I am a sole operation here in my little world, have arm and hand fatigue (it's a freakin miracle I do not have CTS yet). I just really do not enjoy doing this as I used to. I have to really force myself to stay focused and am really really trying to find some joy in it by realizing other people have tedious jobs just as I do that they must also dislike.
B.S. in HIM, no MT school, OTJ training for that skill, but the HIM classes for the knowledge. nm
x
It depends on your skill level, your speed, your ability to do the
nm
Editing is the higher skill since it's more brain work,, AND SM
the computers are taking over the finger work. That and practitioners entering directly into the electronic medical record mean that most traditional transcription jobs before too long will be a thing of the past.

So I'd recommend you go directly to editing since you'll end up doing that anyway. If there's a future in this, it's going to be with a higher level of medical knowledge and a more expanded involvement in medical records beyond merely editing dictation, but likely including that.

Plus, with editing you'll be in at least twice as many reports as if you were transcribing them, which means you'll get much more experience more quickly. Whether you'll lose some benefit from not typing every word out I don't know, but you will spend a lot less time getting verbage you don't need to learn on paper. I.e., instead of typing some version of, "The patient presented to the emergency room by private automobile with a complaint of" a few hundred times a week,...you don't.

Do commit to developing an expansion base that will cut the Keystrokes it takes to do your work to the very minimum. As long as anyone's paid on a production basis, and as long as we're using keyboards, someone using 5 keystrokes to make 2 edits will BOTH make a lot more money than someone who takes 9 keystrokes to make one correction AND be a much more valuable productive worker--i.e., worth keeping on and developing as most traditional jobs disappear.

And do sign up for more medical classes, the ones people preparing for nursing and medical school take.

Whether you'll make more or less money one way or the other right now probably depends more than anything on the particular talents you bring to the job and the particular skills you choose to develop. Unlike the previous poster who does better transcribing, I make more editing, but I'm a fast reader and a slow keyboarder, so the less my income depends on what my fingers are capable of the better. Best wishes!
Yes! We're talking critical skill developement here! nmx
x
Totally agree. They're no longer paying for this so-called skill
and that's part of the reason the quality is down.
This is a very basic computer skill/concept. You copy files to another drive using Explorer.

There are very detailed instructions in the Help files that accompany Windows. You can read those for more information.


Basically, you open Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer). Locate the files you want to copy, highlight and right mouse click. Choose Copy. Now, find the location where you want to copy these files (usually another drive like D: or H:, whereever the flash/jump/thumb drive is located) and paste the files there.


 


Good for you, Linda! SM First, editing's a desirable trend. Higher skill, easier SM
I feel it may be like a train about to rush around the bend at me.

For the discussion, editing is a higher skill and it's easier on the hands--absolutely no carpal tunnel problems since I started editing. And the WAGES ARE ABOUT THE SAME--you go through approximately twice as much dictation (some people more, some less depending on talent) in the same time it would take to transcribe it and get paid half as much for that amount of dictation, ending up without a drop in wages from editing. This is fair and market-driven.

Fewer editors would be needed, but some would be needed for the stinkers, even scary-good as VR gets with most dictators.

The big threat is from the electronic medical record, where physicians and their assistants check boxes on a handheld device they carry around with them and there is NO text report to come to us at all. England has had this for some years; go look and see how MTs are doing on the Emerald Isle.

No Chicken Little here, guys, AND not burying my head in the sand either. I don't have a view into the future, but the one thing that's clear is the future will require developing new skills, professional or trade level, of one kind or another. I just hope and pray it doesn't require going back to suits and office politics. School's okay, even at my age, but am guilty of putting it off to see if I'm going to be allowed to continue pretty much as is until I'm too old to work...huh--maybe there's some sand obscuring the picture after all. Best wishes.
Make money? I'm not making any money because of my decision. You read my reasoning
You can agree with me or not, but don't make false assumptions please.
You're working to make money, not to spend money.
These people should be ashamed of themselves taking advantage of people this way!
I also blew some money signing up with Quixtar... The only way to make any money is to bug everyone

you know into signing up.  I felt like a snake oil huckster.  I hated it.  I was flushing money down the toilet from the moment I handed over my money. 


RUN, do not walk away!  I do an entirely different side business now that I really love (in addition to my MTing, which I also love!)  Find something you're good at and that you truly love doing.  Then make a business out of it.  That's the best way to have a side business.  Selling discount toilet paper through Amway/Quixtar?  Not so much. 


The CMT exam is overrated. Don't waste your time & money. Use that money on
paid anymore just because you have it.  There are a few CMT cheerleaders that post to people like you but they are pretty well sucked up into that association.
if mt paid 9, editor paid 4 or 5...how can company charge 14 and make it..sm

I know the going rate in our area is 14 cents per line.  As MTs most companies here pay us 8 or 9 cents a line.  Now add in the Editor rate at 4 or 5 per line..you are paying OUT more than you can charge a line.  How would companies stay in biz?


Unless all work is sent by the company overseas at pennies per line, this would not pay for a company.


just curious how this works out


But how much are the US EDs gonna be paid? Typically this work is paid at 2-3 cpl. nm
:+
You don't get paid an hourly rate you get paid by line - sm
so because of how you are paid (not an hourly rate) you don't get OT, especially if you are an IC.
I would move on. I think it is so unfair not to be paid for spaces! I think we should get paid

per keystroke, but that'll never happen.  I just think that these national companies are going to keep finding ways to cheat us.  I found a job working for a hospital as an employee, paid hourly plus incentive, and they let us expand everything!  Somebody's gonna have to kill me to make me give up this job.  I will never go back to the national's again.


I feel for you though.  I know that for us MTs those good jobs are few and far between and some have little choice but to work for the nationals.  I just happened to luck into the job I have now.  I just applied at the right time. 


Good luck to you whatever you decide.


If those companies paid a fair wage, and paid more
all came out equal, people wouldn't feel the need to try to make up the deficit by going for the good stuff. I actually prefer the harder, juicier reports. But I can't make a living doing only that, because the pay is not commensurate with the difficulty. So even though I prefer not to, sometimes I have to pick up some of the easier, more boring 'line-o-matic' reports just to make ends meet. Tell your MTSO to make it work their while, and MTs will stop taking all the easy work away that you obviously would prefer to keep for yourself.
You wont show UE being paid because it is employer paid -
the employee will never have to pay this.
It's not funny when you're on a board where language is one skill you're selling.
.
It's not even a sport - these guys aren't athletes - it's a SKILL not a SPORT
x
Money is money and most people will do whatever it takes when in need. sm
if you do bring it to the attn of the office manager, why not offer her a raise to compensate. it is obvious she just needs or wants more money than your office is paying her. I agree, it is a free country and although it seems odd, unless you had it outlined in contract, she can work for whomever or whereever she pleases on the side. at least she is typing and not at a strip joint, lol. I see no conflict of interest, she has experience obviously in whichever field you are in and what is wrong with doing extra in that field. i agree with MYOB "nicely" and concentrate on your reports than looking at older reports and seeing who they are typed by.
What you "should" be paid and what you "are" paid

sadly are two very different things.  Good luck on demanding more..because someone else will just come along and take it for what they offer and they know it. 


Editing is the higher skill. I earn more editing SM
because I'm able to produce more--if the company doesn't adjust the way production's figured down and down again to keep the account from going elsewhere (when that happened to me on EditScript with no explanation of why my income was dropping, I went elsewhere also).
10$ late if invoice is not paid within 10 days. At day 15 work stops until invoice is paid. Hardly
xx
No need to wonder..It always means less money for the MT and more money for MQ.
z
Money, honey, money!!!!!!.
nm
One year and you make decent money? What is decent money to you?
k
Here's how to get your money....sm

Do an internet search for the small claims court that she would need to report to.  Typically this would be either the city or county her business is in or she lives in if she doesn't have an official business name. 


File the claim and in  the claim be sure to include that you're seeking the costs of travel to court if she fails to pay up ahead of time, as well as the time off from your current job.  You can even give rough estimates for the plane fare, hotel, rental car and time off from work.


Generally speaking most small claims court cases are heard within 30-60 days.  All you'll need is to take the judge proof of the work you did, money she owes and that she flat out refuses to pay.


Once you win the case (and you will if you can prove you did the work and she agreed to pay you) then immediately file a lien against her home or business - that will quickly get her attention that she needs to pay you, because if she doesn't pay up quickly then she risks losing her home or business to you.  You can do all of this without collection attorneys or any attorney - this type of thing is generally handled by individuals since the dollar amount isn't high enough for an attorney to be interested.


I had one friend who recently won a small claims court case against a car dealership over a faulty engine that was sold to him and the owner refused to pay him until he placed the lien against the business.... and of course the owner realized he wasn't playing games any longer and had the cash ready that afternoon (I told my friend to place the lien and insist on cash only, no cashier's checks, no checks, etc - cold hard cash!). 


Good luck!


Less money
Also don't forget that some accounts are not paid for spaces which is a substantial loss in lines.