Needing to vent.....

I have to say I consider myself still fairly new.  I have been a Transcriptionist now for just almost a couple of years.  I am a little upset because I have at least 99.6 QA score each month.  I work on several different accounts and we are always told to push, push, push the reports and get them out. Because if we don't meet our standard line count amount then you will get canned.  But, my question is this, on the accounts I work on, it is hard to make normals for all of them, which does save time.  So, when you are flying through your documents and trying to proofread as you go, you are sure to miss a few MINOR mistakes.  I do not understand this field and sometimes I wish I would have never spent the money to get into it, because we are yelled at if we don't get our minimum line counts and get yelled and told to slow down if you make a few small mistakes---nothing that would put the life of a patient at risk.  So, please tell me where the happy medium is.  Again, my QA score is never below 99.5. 

Seriously thinking about getting into a different profession.  Thank you for listening. 

• Needing to vent..... - Summergirl
  • Life is too short to be miserable - MTinNC
  • thank you - Summergirl
  • Summergirl - OLDTIMERMT
  • I feel for you sm - mt
  • I don't blame you. I have the same problems, only - I've been at this for over 25 years!
  • MT not for weenies - Shannon
    • ohhhh, so right!! - zyla
    • I vehemently disagree. Never in my 25 years - sm
      • VEHEMENTLY - OLDTIMERMT
        • Your comment, and I quote: (sm) - Some people think they know it all...haha
        • Yes, I did start out working from home. - Summergirl
      • And I disagree with that. I've worked home and in-house, - happiest at home. sm
        • In other words, you are an - INtrovert.
        • working at home - zoesnana
          • Nothing is perfect, it's work not a picnic. - grasshopper
        • So where, pray tell, do you work?? - spiningjenny

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Hubby and I had a stupid fight.  I was watching a television show last night, really engrossed in it when DH decides to fuss with the candles on top of the entertainment center and stands right in front of the TV.  I thought it was rude as he had just walked into the room and had not been in there previously plus he knew that I was just sitting there spacing and watching a show.  So then after 2-3 minutes he turns to me and says he needs help with something he's holding in his hand, a model he's working on.  I just say, okay, now that you've stood in front of the TV and I was watching it, what is it you need?  He storms out of the room and doesn't say another word to me the rest of the night.  HOW STUPID IS THIS!!!!  I can hear that little girl Stephanie on that old TV show saying "how rude." LOL.

So he didn't really need my help obviously, I guess he's survive.

I just needed to come here and vent to you guys.  I don't post here much, but I do come and read a lot of the posts.  I think there are a lot of wonderful people on this board.  I just needed to come and express myself somewhere other than my husband and friends. 

To start with my mother has COPD and has been unable to work since March of 2005.  She is not on disability yet, because we were both naive and kept waiting for someone to contact us after filling out the paperwork online.  Anyway, I have been working at a casino job for 12 years and I have let her have my pay checks for the last 3 years to help her out with bills and other things.  I also work full-time with Spheris.  I work 60-65 hours a week.  I also try to do her grocery shopping and do errands for her on my off days.  I don't mind doing this, and if I had to work 3 jobs just to keep her here on this earth with me, I would.  We have always been close.  She doesn't have any insurance, so she doesn't get to go to the doctor as much as she needs to be going. 

The thing that is really bothering me is the fact that I am the youngest of 4 children.  I am the ONLY one who calls her every day and asks her if she needs anything.  I have told my siblings that I cannot do it alone anymore.  My older brother did start helping somewhat over this past year with the prescriptions and going to the store on occasion.  But he will only do those things if I call or my mom calls him.  My middle brother, about 2 years ago, won 50,000 dollars at a casino, called my mom to brag to her about it and never did one thing for her!!!  He also about a year ago won 30,000 total in one night, and NEVER called her, and never came by to see her or anything.  Last week, he wins ANOTHER 54,000, and yet, again, the very same thing.  

In 1997, my mother and I took out a 15,000 mortage on our house to do remodeling.   We ended up being taken advantage of by a guy that we had known for many years.  We didn't have a contract drawn up, so there was nothing we could do.  He came out and tore out a wall and concreted the add-on area, made a concrete porch, and then left everything else torn up.  She has squirrels that get in her house from time to time from some hole somewhere.  I absolutely kills me to see my mom in the terrible health that she is in.  I try so hard to help her.  I can't afford to get her house fixed up, but it kills me to think of her passing on without seeing her house fixed up.  She deserves so much more.  She and my father were married for 32 years when they divorced--due to his infidelity.  I have tried talking to my siblings and it just doesn't work.  How can a child be so cold to their mother??? I told my sister that I hoped that some day when they becamed aged, that their kids didn't do the same thing to them; also, I hoped that they didn't get in that type of health. 

My sister has a gambling problem and doesn't do anything to help her either.  She will call her and tell her that she will bring her something down, and then never shows up.  I am just so tired.  I have a 4-year-old son and a husband, 2 jobs, and the rest of my family JUST DON"T GET IT~!  

I am sorry this was so long, but I just can't take it anymore.  Thank you for listening. 

Paulette

I've been job hunting, testing, sending out my resume for 2 weeks now and no bites.    I'm not a new graduate.  I worked for 2 years but have not worked MT for a little over a year now.  I have 3 toddlers and finally am able to have enough time to work full-time again.  My family really needs the extra income right now and I'm finding it very frustrating that so far I am not able to contribute. We live in a very rural area and driving into town for a job plus daycare for 3 toddlers would kill any income I'd get. 

I get answers from companies saying I have a good resume, experience, and even tested well but they are only hiring people with  #+ years RECENT experience. 

*sigh*  I'll just keep looking, emailing/faxing resumes, and testing... one will want me eventually. 

/rant.

Here in the SE AT&T had internet outage this week and now 1 of my computers is asking for the IP address, trying to get back on line. Where to find this? TIA.

I wanted to post because I have had a very eerie feeling lately and wanted to see if anyone has been experiencing a similar thing... I was a home MT working directly for a hospital for many years and a high producer.  Then, the hospital cut our incentive and many of us ended up with a MTSO after that.  Well, after being with the same job for many years, I spent over 2 years with the MTSO and found out that my line counts were very low because the platform was not counting my lines in a well honest (to me) way.  I thought I was losing my talent, but after finding out about this for sure by looking at the minutes versus the lines over a couple of weeks and checking with other MTs (finally) I found out it was not me.  I since have been working for a very reputable MTSO (no hospital jobs around directly that I could find by me) and something is happening. I am struggling to get my line counts again, and I did a study with the minutes and though not as bad as the other MTSO, the same thing is happening AGAIN! (dont mean to yell, just emphasizing).  It is so hard to look for yet another job...My question is this: Is it my imagination, am I just losing my talent and my mind, or are most jobs now counting the lines differently than before say 3 years ago when I left the hospital job. And, if I can't produce that much anymore because they count lines differently now, how does one find at least a job which is moderately easier to get more than minimum? Look, I used to make over 50K a year and now I am eeking out perhaps 27 a year and feeling like I am losing my talent.  Any advice would be appreciated here. I don't want to go through job after job, stress after stress.  BTW: My husband will be able to provide benefits in a couple of months, but until recently I have been the one to have to provide health coverage and this has figured heavily into where I work.  Thanks in advance for your opinions.  I don't want my hand held, just a little reality check.  Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone, I'm Canadian and am currently researching possible MT schools. I was originally thinking Canscribe, but am not so sure anymore (I read on another forum that they don't train students enough, and I want the best possibly training so that I am great at my future job). I know M-Tec and Andrews School are seemingly the top two schools in America, but I kind of wanting to attend a Canadian based school possibly. If anyone can help me out, I would really appreciate it. Also, if someone knows a Canadian based MT forum please let me know. I have been trying to find but it doesn't seem like there is any out there.

Thanks so much for your time!

:)

I live in a very remote area and am unable to get DSL but can get it through Alltell cell phone.  Is that good enough for internet transcribing?  Also where could I buy bulk durable micro-cassettes ? 

Thanks cb

That's what this board is for.  Well, that's what most of us believe.  Some us like to bash people and argue and just be plain mean, but ignore them.

SM stands for "see message."

NM stands for "no message."

Do you have an abbreviation expander?  If not, I would suggest PC Shorthand.  In my opinion it's the easiest to learn and use and it's affordable.  If you choose or already use PC Shorthand, then I would follow the Mary Morken link that someone posted below and download her abbreviation and Expander list as it is formatted for PC ShortHand and it would be a great starting point for a new MT.  I would take the time to print out her list as well so you can read over the abbreviations and expansions and become familiar with what you're using.  Then start adding your own abbreviations to the list.

My kids and their friends threaten to video me on their phones and post it on YouTube or something because.... honestly, sometimes I get really rockin when I'm working.  Heee heee

Then I came across this video the other day and I thought.... Oh My!  That could be ME caught in a "moment" one of these days.

Will try to link to the video.  Hopefully it works.

If you had the choice between a shift lead type position at somewhere between $14 to $16 an hour or production on an account with a lot of normals.  The shift lead gets you experience editing, supervising, etc., but the production account you are just transcribing. You can make a lot more money at the production job, but the shift lead will get you started in a more management type of position, which would you choose? You will be stuck at that hourly wage with the lead position, but there are possiblities of moving up with the company.  But, the money on the other account is quite good, as there are a lot of free lines.  I am just so confused and have to make a decision, as I cannot work them both at the same time.   Any suggestions, comments, or feedback?  Thanks.

Can anyone give me a good program to invest in that would allow me to keep a line count and also provide invoices? Also, is there a recommended HIPAA approved transferring site to transfer files through the net? Thanks a bunch!

I have a note (discharge summary) that is 27 minutes long, dictated by RN, that goes into such detail that it might as well be the H&P, every consult, every operative report, and every lab report rolled into 1 document.  She is even dictating  problems the patient had on previous hospitalizations that have nothing to do with this admission.  To make matters worse, she is jumping back and forth between prior problems (that aren't related) and current problems for the hospitalization, as well as listing every single lab test/values from all prior admissions and comparing them to this admission, as well as dictating the whole report for every x-ray the person ever had in this one report.  The guy came in for nausea, vomiting, and dehydration and she's dictating x-ray reports for fractured ankle and rotator cuff MRI from 2 years ago...THE WHOLE MRI REPORT.   Good gravy, missy.  It's good to be thorough, but then too much information just confuses the reader.  arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. 

All better now.  Thanks for letting me vent. 

I've already had enough problems working this weekend with technical problems and down time and now that I'm breezing away and making good money, what happens?  My stupid cat decides she needs attention!  First she rubs on my leg and purrs (so far so good, not really a distraction) but THEN she has to move to look at my face through the crack in my desk where the drop down keyboard rests and reach her stupid little paws through, hit the function key that saves and closes the report (which I cannot alter once it is sent through) on a report of over 100 lines!

ARRRRRGH!!!  I was almost finished and needed to spell check it!!!  That just cost me $10.  Her food costs that much!

Anybody wanna a free soon to be hungry cat??

d~ 

I have worked with a company for over seven years as an IC.  I work part time and whatever work I do that morning has to be turned in at 3:00, which gives me around a six hour turn around.  I have two young kids and another account that I work on that has stats that I have to take care of too.  I have only gotten one raise in seven years, and a crappy one at that.  Every other company I have worked for gives me at least about 24 hours to get it back to them.  I am trying to get my kids ready for school and I also have other things going on at the moment.  I get an email in all caps "I NEED THE WORK NOW."  I am just so fed up with this.  I don't want to quit because the work is easy for me since I have been doing it so long, but I feel the need to put my foot down.

I'll try to make this to the point... ;o) My husband got bought out at the end of January so has been off work since then. His buyout will last us until about next January so for now he's enjoying the time with the kids. I on the other hand have gone from working very part-time to full-time, at home,  "just in case" and to help pay off some debt while I've got Mr. Mom here home to take care of the kids.

For the most part, he's being excellent - doing the majority of the housework, all the cooking, taking care of the kids all day. My only gripe is he sleeps in until 9:30 every day while the kids (ages 4 and 7)are up at about 7:30-8. Mind you this is spring break for the 7 yo but when it's school time he gets him off to school and then goes back to bed. The kids play pretty well on their own but if they come into the bedroom he'll put the TV on for them. This leaving them on their own w/o even getting them breakfast and/or the TV thing drives me batty. I've been a wahm since my first one was born and always made them my priority (working around their schedule very part-time), getting up as soon as they got up, rarely turning the TV on to "babysit" them, etc. I feel like he's undoing what I spent years working so hard at.

Now I get up at 5 to go to the gym and then get my work done ASAP so that I can have time with the kids later as I'm finding it very difficult emotionally to be so unavailable during the day. This is making me even more resentful of my dh with him snoozing until 9:30 while I'm so tired a lot of the time. Then to top it off, he gets hurt that I'm usually too tired to be "interested" by 10 at night and I want to go to bed early...  He supposedly understands that I'm tired but still is putting the guilt trip on me.

I know that a lot of this is my own resentments and largely there's nothing wrong with what he's doing and he needs to do things his own way with regards to the kids - I get that, but I'm still resentful. Any thoughts? Thanks for reading the novel and just letting me vent. So much for it being to the point!;o)

I am so sick and tired of day after day trying to figure out what in the heck these ESLs are saying.  I'm tired of them preventing me from making a decent line count and making decent money.  Why in the heck don't they learn English?  From this day on I refuse to make any sense of what they are saying and will type verbatim, stutters, poor grammar and all!  If the company I work for doesn't like it - then fire me.  It's about time MTSOs put it back on the docs to better themselves and NOT us!.  I've been doing this for over 6 years and it gets worse and worse. 

Please do not reply with "I'm sure your ancestors were from another country, etc......"  They were ----and--- now I was born here - AND I SPEAK THE LANGUAGE. 

MTSOs want to send work overseas.  Send all the ESLs.  Also, when it comes time to me "editing" overseas work --- Ha-Ha.... that will definately be my LAST day on the job!  Let the owners of the companies edit the overseas work and see how they like it.

Thanks all. 

Why on earth would a doctor prescribe physical therapy to strengthen a patient's muscles who is in the end-stages of myasthenia gravis?  Money?  A patient with nothing else to do but go to physical therapy?  I don't get it.  This group of doctors are a pain in the ***s.  One has such a high incidence of infections in his surgical patients that I cannot believe he is still allowed to practice - and this one puts everyone into physical therapy - unless they are a 4-limb amputee.  Does anyone know the # to the California Board of Medicine - because I think it is time to call them on this one - work or no work - I am sick of it.  i feel better now. 

No, I am not a doctor and would not care to be one.  But over the years I have seen so many cases go bad and with doctors policing themselves, very few ever suffer any consequences.  My husband works with a doctor who was using cocainen while in surgery.  At one point he was doing a prostate biopsy and passed out on the patient, jamming the needle through the prostate gland.  The other doctors in the  group encouraged him to get treatment or they would kick him out of the group.  So, he got some rehab.  The patient sued, thank God.  But guess what, he is back in the operating room - snorting in the lounge before each case.  The surgery center personnel are afraid of losing their jobs if they report him to the police, so he just goes on doing surgery under the influence.  Perhaps my animosity comes from being abused by several different physicians at different times in my life - and regret at not reporting them.  However, knowing the system, I realize that it is a losing battle.  But, having been through these experiences I can spot these docs a mile away.  Sorry  if I offended anyone - but doctors are human and our lives are at stake, as well as the lives of others when a doctor practices bad medicine.  I appreciate all of the input and understand your anger.  I posted this more as a person than an MT.  I just thank God for what I do know - and wish that there was a way to fix the problem of poor physicians, drug abuse in the medical world, and the patients that suffer at their hands.