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Maybe it's your attitude to begin with.

Posted By: choose to be happy on 2005-07-27
In Reply to: Yep, there is definitely that American "attitude" you - have to get through before

Change your tune.  Be sugary sweet when you think someone is being rude to you and see what happens.  Pay it forward.  Give someone a smile or a kind word.  Let someone in line in front of you.  Just do one little nice thing per day and it will multiply.  People are never rude to me.  Everywhere I go, they know me by name because I take the time to be kind to them.  Gas station, grocery store, bank, school, doctor's office.  You might have to fake it 'til you make it, but you can change your outlook and how you perceive the world treats you.  If someone is "rude" to you, blow it off.  Maybe they're having a bad day and it's nothing personal.




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Where to begin?
Brandy,

Where do you live, most importantly? I am a mom to 3, in Georgia, and am currently homeschooling my son in kindergarten. I can give you some tips, if you want, but there is a lot, too much to post here. IF you want more info, post back and I'll give you my e-mail address or e-mail you privately.
Oh, where shall I begin. sm

The *hoopla* about offshore not being secure is absolutely a valid threat. It may have nothing to do with transmission and everything to do with the value system of another group of people though. At least three VERIFIABLE instances of offshore MTs holding medical records for hostage and at least one where the MT threatened to publish the records on the internet if she was not paid, exist. Hardly *hoopla* my dear. I seriously doubt if the CMT will ever become a mandatory credential and I seriously doubt that for several reasons. After nearly 30 years, the AAMT has fewer members now than it ever had. People are leaving in large numbers. I also have it on good authority that the test the offshore MTs take is not the same one given to US MTs. Personally, I don't put someone down for having a CMT, I just have no great real respect for it or the association. I trust I am allowed my opinion. I worked at a local hospital where the transcription supervisor was a CMT and she could not answer one blank when asked! I actually know a lot of CMTs who are not all that.


To begin with, I would suggest
Paying for your rent/mtg, food and utilities without fail first.

I ended up in BK 13 so I can't help you with a company name but this is what I learned, food and shelter come first.
That's Why I Posted To Begin With
I didn't make the assumption that 'fast typing' was all it took. I still believe that you have to be able to type fast, but I also have 'top notch computer skills' and can learn well. I wanted to know more about training in this field because I assumed training was a necessary evil. One thing I didn't assume was that the folks on this forum were just downright rude!! Not saying you are, just most of the others that replied to my initial post. I am certainly not looking at MT as a way to pay my mortgage or put my daughter through college. Just a way to fill some free time.

Thanks for your post!
You should have a system to begin with. SM
I recommend mining the Productivity Talk forum for tips and a book such as Saving Keystrokes by Rolland. One high producer strongly recommends Easyscript Express by Levin, an old ABC-based ShortHand method that can be used with a keyboard.

When I first started with expanders, in the Ice Age seemingly, there were no forums like this to consult and I just started dropping definitions in without a good system. I've since had to redo everything a number of times as I wanted my Expander to do more and more for me.

As time goes on, you'll also want to abbreviate EVERYTHING for you, which requires system, both because you can't possibly remember thousands of abbreviations but remembering a few rules is easy AND because you need to have a way to enter various terms that seemingly need the same letters.

One tip just to jump you off: Some systems start two-word phrases with the first two letters of the first word and the first two or three of a second word. However, if you look up "lesions," say, in a medical dictionary, you'll see immediately that starting with three letters of the describing/adjective word and two of the noun (i.e., cocle for cochlear lesion and corle for cortical lesion) would serve you much better. Although if you gaze over just at the ones that start with intra- you'll realize more system than that is going to be needed for more complex terms. I personally start that prefix with "ia" to differentiate from ones that start with inter- "ie". Best wishes.
ADD vs. MT - Let the Battle Begin
Have you tried setting a timer for 20-30 minutes, then giving yourself permission to get up from the desk (setting the timer again for 10 minutes or so), wander around, surf the web a little (on a different computer if you can, it will help keep the surfing bug separate from the MT'ing bug), then when the timer goes off again, go back and set it again for 20-30 minutes and start typing again?

These days, I'm working in bed from a laptop due to back and wrist issues that don't play well with conventional desks, but in some ways that actually helps keep me focused, because it's such a pain in the neck to get up and walk away... I still struggle with wanting to surf while typing though - a problem I never dreamed of having back when my shiny new computer was an IBM PS2 or something like that - where the floppy drive held less information than my cell phone does today!

Good luck!
Does it have 3 letters, begin with an M?
If so, I'm there too...Ain't life grand???
The one time I asked for one, they said no. Ask and if they say no, begin looking elsewhere.
dd
The rules for Op notes are a little different. You may begin a....sm
sentence with a numeral; so, you would never spell out cc for blood loss, IV fluids, urine output etc. In the indications section, if a sentence starts with a number e.g. "Three days ago the patient" or "One day prior to surgery, I spell out the number. Otherwise, in the body of the report or in the headings, I use the number.
Don't get excited. You should have provided it to begin with. nm
x
The head set worked to begin with so
if it was in the wrong hole would it have worked in the beginning?  Because it worked until I downloaded the pedal software.
How do you begin to come up with a line rate..
to pitch to a new account?  Been working for others as an IC, now contemplating approaching an account on my own.  No clue how to not hang myself and selling out at too low of a rate vs giving a quote that's too high and will make them back off quick.  Would it be a good "rule of thumb" to take what you make as an IC on someone else's accounts and add .05cpl?  From what little I've gathered over time, that's about the ballpark of what the MTSO gets paid per line for the account vs what the IC gets paid to do the typing.  Does this sound about right to those of you who have experience with this?  Tks
I promise you - I begin work at 7:00 p.m. - I'm only PT, and my day always begins with
stat, H&Ps, consults, etc! I love it!
When they have me working mornings I am getting special procedures, ops, caths, and don't like it one bit! Maybe 2nd shift would work for those who just can't see themselves working from 11 to 7. Good luck!
Nope. It was a small account to begin with.
The work never went anywhere.  The company has not lost contracts.  I'm not being "phased out" either.  The workload simply doesn't suit my needs any longer.  I can do it in my sleep, so I'd like more work that's more challenging.
I would never begin a sentence with an abbreviation, for one thing. nm
x
I begin my day, every day, with a nice 2 to 3 mile walk with
This gives me time to think, alone time, fresh air and of course exercise. I love to walk and it seems that since I began doing this I am less stressed out. Have you had your thyroid checked??? Just wondering if that could possibly cause hair loss. I wish you the best.
Was taught in my program that all those eye words begin with
s
That is assuming they could even understand the dictation to begin with.
I would love to see the doctors having to listen to dictation.
Utilize the speed typing engines and begin
storing in their favorite phrases so that a few letters will bring them up. I am working for several physicians. Took me a few months to get all the words into speed typing mode but now that I have, the time I spend typing is cut in half.

Never type a word larger than 4 letters.

chest pain - cp

pneumonia - pnea

atelectasis or infiltrate - aoi

so on and so on - whatever works for you. This is how to make money these days, high production. And the speed typing engines lessen change of typos and other erros.


Okay. Where do I begin? I need some advice! My husband is in real estate. sm

               He owns 5 houses (rents 4), and just closed on a house on Friday that he needs to "flip" really quick! Basically, it's a 30,000 profit IF he sells it quick! We've never bought a house to flip before, but have purchased them for rental property and to gain the equity. Okay. I'm spoiled. Very spoiled. Or you could call it blessed! We are both Christians with good jobs. I only work part-time and then we live off of his salary and the 700 we make in rent that is extra after paying ALL the mortgages. But we are in a real bind now. We have renters who owe us 2 months of rent, well now 3 months of rent! They won't take our calls, you know the rest of the story!  This house that my husband bought on Friday cost us ALL of our cash because we had to put some down and then pay closing costs (close to 4,000!).  So now, for the first time, we are broke (NO cash flow whatsoever now). And I'm struggling over here! I mean, we can't even go and get ice cream tonight.  I'm really questioning our decision to purchase this house.


See, we had no idea UNTIL closing (honest to God), just how much it was going to cost! So, we couldn't back out of it. We were thinking 2000 on the high end.  I completely flipped out when the attorney told us how much we needed to write a check for!!!!


 


We've gotten a couple of calls on the house, but obviously no takers. My husband went straight from the attorney's office to the house to put up for sale signs in the yard! It's a cute house. We just need someone to buy it ASAP!


So, if you've ever wanted to meet the people on the Carlton Sheets infomercial - here we are!!! yes, we've made a lot of money in real estate, but there are huge, gigantic RISKS! You could go for the gutso (like we did and buy all these houses) and you could lot a lot if it doesn't work out. The loan we got on this new house is a type of loan I've never heard of before. It's just a "quick" loan where you need to pay it back pretty quick in the hopes that you will make the 30,000 in equity that the house did appraise for.


What do you do on a budget? What do you do when you are so broke you can't even buy ice cream for the kids? I want to cry now, even though I know some of you out there have zero sympathy for crazy folks like us...Well, I need some ideas on food.  What's cheap to make and cook? I put 30.00 in my SUV last night and that will have to last me until the 15th!


To all of you who struggle every week like this, my heart goes out to you. It truly does.  Now I know what it feels like to live in desperate need every day.....


They're not thrown to the dogs when they had no work to begin with!
nm
LOL LOL LOL? What do you know about my attitude? LOL
I know you are management and you know what? You can't put out this fire. Attitude? Why I'll just tell my mortgage company that my attitude was bad, I got a bad QA report because I couldn't interpret ESL dictator and could I please not have them foreclose on my house. Attitude indeed. Check own queenly gotta be right I'm better than you lowly MT attitude yourself.
you can keep your attitude to yourself
The information I got was in the email, not on actual paperwork.  If you don't want to answer, then go but somebody else.  I understand the concept of work more, get more, DUH yourself. 
Attitude
I am truly sorry if I offended. The question itself sounded kinda "duh" to me. Again, I apologize. I've been 46 hours with no sleep and okay, so my brain is not on it's best functional mode.

I am utterly at a loss for words now as I honestly meant no offense.
wow, what an attitude he has!
Well, I am sure glad that I do not work for THAT company! Seems this outsourcing thing is getting WAY out of hand. He moans about not having enough MTs in this country - I think that they just need to get the pay per line rate up some (pay us what WE are actually worth for once, and quit sending it ALL overseas so that these companies can "SAVE MONEY??"). I would like HIM to live on what WE have to live on!!
i like your attitude
excellent point
Someone with her attitude needs to
go elsewhere. With her around, I was almost dreading coming on the board sometimes. She is always looking to start an argument or putting somebody down. I, for one, am glad to see her go, and only pray she stays gone. What a drag!!!
Attitude is everything.
My impression of your post is that management never gets it right; only you do. I wonder if they could ever do anything right in your eyes.

It's too bad that there are so many people out there with the attitude that the company is "out to get them". There are a lot of good companies and people running them out there--just as there are good MTs.

If I work with someone like you, I'm sure I already avoid you because I don't want to be around such a negative attitude; if you work at home, I'd like to say "thanks for staying home".
With your attitude you should do the same
Since the only thing you can come away with from this discussion is "give up and do something else"!
Certainly, with that attitude...
You will have a difficult time achieving anything positive in life, connections or not.
Are you serious? The only attitude so far has been yours! nm
x
just me and my attitude?

apparently not.


Their attitude usually starts it!...sm
I've dealt with some really helpful techs, but mostly alot of real winners (not):

One experience I had at MQ (no longer work for them), but I told the tech that the modem they just sent to me was fried. He told me that was impossible; they check everything before shipping. He made me do this and that for about an hour! When none of that worked, he said, "you don't know anything about transcription equipment do you?". I told him I knew enough to know when a modem is fried, and probably said something else! He told the supervisors that I was rude and whatever else he wanted. The next day the supervisor called and alluded that we had a "personal problem"! UGH!

After two supervisors had me do this and that with the modem and computer, they decided the modem was unusable and would ship me a new one (24 hours later with me losing work time while paying them to rent the equipment, not to mention getting stressed and frustrated wasting time with the tech with an attitude).

Your being frustrated and sarcastic is perfectly understandable! But, yeah, they "tell" your supervisor!
There was no "I'm better..." attitude in my post.
Your perception of me is that way because you don't like my point of view, my success, my refusal to be a part of the pity party like everyone else.

I gave the OP a good piece of advice. Save her money and work on healing the heartache of this situation. I stated in my post that it is a heartache and her frustrations are completely right on.

Too bad if you don't like my advice. I'm not cat fighting with anyone. Sounds like you have PMS!

Take some Midol, will you!
nice attitude
xx
And it is exactly this kind of attitude....sm
that will continue to keep MTs classified as clerical help. Until we start taking some accountability for our own professionalism, nobody else will sure recognize it!
18-year-old with attitude
Our son is a sophomore in college now. He works during the summers for clothes, books, etc, but we pay his monthly tuition. He is almost 20 and just now got his license, no car or truck, cannot afford to insure that right now. Last year we paid 700.00 a month for tuition, this year 1300.00 a month for tuition, but he is a good kid, has ADHD and studies hard. Tuition is a lot to pay for every month, but if he can get a good education, works hard, etc I am willing to pay for it. He is home now for winter break, helps me around the house with everything and is a good kid. We never thought he would go to college because he struggled so in his vocational school in high school, but his last year of high school he studied and turned his life around, got help with his ADHD and now seems to be on the right track. I opted not to take out a lot of loans for him because I do not want that burden on us or him in the future. Do what you think is right for your son. Of course their attitude is everything. We don't mind helping our son out because he has a "good attitude" and wants a college education so he does not have to work as hard and as many hours as his mom and dad do, as we both have 2 jobs each.
lol Who are you to say her attitude is out of line?
lol
She probably doesn't have your attitude and THAT
nm
It is all about the attitude, not the accomplishment!
x
Only if you want..its all about attitude and effort.

I am not a Dr. Phil fan either. Just do not like his attitude.
;
Horrible Attitude
That's really a horrible thing to say....just because someone feels confident in their skills is not a negative thing...it's a good thing....more people need to be "in love" with themselves and maybe the world would be a better place!
good attitude
Bless you for raising your sons to be men of honor -- soldiers. No matter what one thinks of this war, I so admire the men and women who are putting their lives on the line for us every day. Thank you. (Though I envy the part about "fantastic salary" at the hospital where you work, you deserve it!) You go, girl.
good attitude

Thank you so much for your kind words Dawn. I hate the war, this is not a "good" one....but all the gals and guys that are in it deserve all of our prayers and good wishes. We must stand behind them until they all come home.


 


As to the good salary...I am most grateful for it. I wish each and every MT could have the same, and let us hope things change so they (and you) will.


 


Keep smiling and pray for peace!


Oh, that's a great attitude.....
I am very confident in my job and my brain and my knowledge of the use of the English language. I know I am better at composing a grammatically correct and near perfect report than most doctors dictating as fast as possible just to get it done, or especially since the surge of ESLs. Sorry you don't have that confidence, some have it and some don't. That attitude that this job is just typing what they say is what got this industry into the poor quality state it's in today. If an account doesn't state *strictly* verbatim - and most do not -we are expected to type it using proper English and good grammar by editing without changing the context or meaning. How long have you been doing MT? Just curious.
Having an "I'm worth it" attitude
However, with so many companies hiring to simply crank that work out, it is a shame that we are not compensated for such.  If you are an MT from home, there are quite a lot of advantages to that.  I also have found that working online is less stressful, therefore, I really do not mind the cut in pay.  The online work is where I have taken the cut.  It is not the accounts that I have attained on my own.  My suggestion would be to cut out the MTSO and gain your own accounts, and I think you'll find that MT pay is really good.  Sometimes you have to take your own initiative to make a situation better.  What is the saying?  When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!   
This attitude is a prime example of why
LOL
This is the kind of attitude

Almost any job can be viewed as helping humanity. The checker at the grocery store helps you in the process of obtaining the groceries you need to feed your family. The bagger helps you bag them and maybe even helps you carry them out.


You don't have to be some hotshot doctor or nuclear physicist to help humanity. Just smile at everyone you come in contact with today. THAT's helping humanity. You may not know it, but someone may really appreciate that smile, and it may give them a sorely needed boost.


MTs work day in, day out, transcribing various types of medical records which are a VITAL link in the chain of medical care. Helping humanity? You bet we are!


It kind of seems to me like an "I was here first" attitude-
"I was here first and this is MY job and who do you think you are trying to get in on it now?" Just my 2 cents.
I can't believe what a lousy attitude this MT has
That certainly isn't the way to get a better raise next time.  If I were in your position, I would start training someone else for this job. When that person is up to speed, sayonara, Ms. Bad Attitude.