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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Nursing has created their own shortage

Posted By: me on 2005-12-26
In Reply to: There would be less mistakes if - Tarpey's Mom

by severely restricting the availability of classes for students and refusing to make the class time available in the evenings, weekends, etc.

They also created their own shortage by making so many of the jobs papershuffling jobs rather than hands on care, and many of those jobs could easily be filled by a trained technician rather than an RN.

I do not feel sorry for nurses.


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nursing shortage includes nurses for instructors...sm
you can't teach nursing classes without nurses to teach the classes - that's part of the shortage and part of the reason why the shortage continues. Also more nurses are going for the bachelor's degree (4 years vs. 2 years) and that is extending the time before they are out in the work force.
same way in nursing - men in nursing make more on average than women in nursing and quickly
move into management. Just what we needed.
Gack! Is nursing your idea or his? Nursing is highly demanding and long hours.

I'd check with a college counselor/advisor on programs they have for women over 30 to return to academia and enter new careers.  Then I'd ask to take some career tests to see what your interests are and what you'd be be suited for.  Also, there is scholarship money available for women over 30.  Ask about it.  


Since I've already raised my kids, I'd also like to state that jr. high and high school are the years our kids need us at home the most.  Those are the years they can get into the most trouble if left to themselves.  If he's already 9, why not just enter college part-time to finish in about 6 to 7 years?  But definitely go talk to a college counselor.


IRS created the new SE definition and

then felt it was being abused.  They then noticed how large the MT industry was and decided that would be where they would focus their efforts to decide whether to keep the status or do away with it.  In order to find out that information, they had to start doing audits if the "SE" box on your W2 was marked.  I hired a tax person to help me but his efforts were fruitless.  One day after faxing back and forth and writing back and forth, I got on the phone and held for almost 5 hours until I got someone in the department created for consumer complaint resolution.  I was amazed to find myself talking to someone who was intelligent!  They saw what the problem was, saw that all the documentation was in place and negated all activity by clicking a few keys on his computer.  I had owed about $2000 that year but had already paid it as it was a retroactive audit, so I was lucky with how things worked out.


I was just wondering if anyone else had problems.  I've chosen to never again have SE status so as not to have lightening strike again!


 


If this was on a template that you had created--sm
or if it was sent to you, you can open the template, change the view percent, save the document that way, and it should reopen in the new view percent.
Not all QA people are created equal
If you absolutely love it, you really must have an aptitude for the job. Many of the QA people were once MTs themselves and could not keep up the pace nor did they have the necessary aptitude it takes so they became QA. So you are dealing with this scenario. Think about it.
Not all jobs are created equally either.
I won't work for the big nationals. They always wind up sticking me on ESL and difficult specialties that "nobody else can do," bouncing from account to account for coverage, several pools of hundreds of dictators, can't use your Expander much because you never hear the same dictator twice, every work type, look up addresses and patient demos. It's all about what *I* can do for them, not what *I* need to earn to support my family. Forget that! Why should I work harder for a cut in pay?
Zipper/MQ Lover created another friend.
MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
Great! Created a heading format, now want to
have the cursor start at the beginning of the first heading, can that be done within the autotext?
Wow .. $149!! It says it was created for ipod users -- is the cord sm
long enough to go to your computer, or did you have to get some kind of extension device?  They sound great ... just not sure if cheap ol' me is ready for fork out that kinda cash. 
...do an incorrect word or even pull up something already created...nm
s
With shortcuts, the important thing is that they are created with - sm
a system that is consistent, and that you can remember easily. It's generally not a good idea to try to incorporate someone else's shortcuts (though I appreciate the chance to look at them, as sometimes they can give me ideas for one's I've not yet used :-) for that reason, and these don't seem to follow a very consistent method.
I had created a huge dictionary in my expander too...sm
But I was still a butterfingers! Just lack of fine motor skills, I suppose. Couldn't have made it without my word expander.

I remember when we typed on IBM Selectric typewrites and EVERY single word had to be typed out. Geez, what a bore!
Religion is an outdated notion created centuries ago
and has no place in today's society.
Can an expander be created in Shorthand while typing the document?
Or do you have to get out of the document and make up the expansions?  When you download it from the website, do you get any instructions along with the program?  Any other info would be appreciated. 
Not all 8 cents a line situations are created equal sm
I am coming off a job using Extext and going into one using ChartNet. I have used Smart Type for over a decade and for Chartnet I have to go to Instant Text. I am able to do over 200 lines an hour after about a week at the new job. I will get to 300 again in a month or so. I say again because I have not done that much in a long time.

Extext...I loved it when I first used it, but after 18 months I can't get above 170 lph and that is with echoes and normals with lots of free lines, and that includes dozens of normals and report shells I have made myself. It won't get better and that is poor pay at the 8.5 cpl base rate, but then again I always have bonuses of a couple of kinds and shift differentials...but I can't do better than 1200 lines a day with any consistency, not in 8 hours a day.

I work a job in MedRite. Like Extext, it is a Word client and rather similar. Top rate for MedRite is close to 300 lines an hour on a horrid account with 80% PLUS ESLs. It is just a faster platform.

Enter ChartNet...never used it. Had to switch to Instant Text...never used it. I have been working about 5 days on it and I can do 200 lph and only one doctor so far who throws me for a loop when I can't do that. She is not an ESL, but a slurring motor mouth who skips around and forgets what she is doing on the phone in the first place.

The Extext work has been 90% OP notes, my specialty. The others are all the basic 4, and I have to say that I went from clinic for many years to OP notes, skipping the rest in between. I have very little experience in DS, CN and H&P notes, VERY little time with those. I'd be faster with them if I had done more of them before.

Part of speed is the expander, part is the platform and part is you. It doesn't matter how great you are as a typist and how perfect your expander, if the platform isn't very good you can't make money at any line rate. If the platform is good, but you are not Expander savvy, you won't you make it either. You can, however, be like me and a poor typist with a great expander and a decent platform...and STILL make money. LOL

In MY experience, the largest problem with making more money is the expander GLOSSARY, not which program you choose. I have heard some of the craziest stories about how to use an expander while on this board...ridiculous, wonky, time wasting, counter intuitive toro pu pu!!!! If you are struggling with an expander FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME. I am happy to spend my time helping anyone who will genuinely give my methods a shot.
No, just a shortage of US MTs who will
s
No shortage out by Akron, OH
s
lol they eat dog too, i think they were just having a shortage of dog at the restaurant so....
they had to do a roundup. Next, they will report the feline virus is out of control and do a roundup on them as well and that's all I have to comment on this post. Take care all!
Finish the course. I think there will be a shortage sm
in the future of all medical personnel from MT to MD. Looking at the whole picture, those of us from the baby boomer age are pushing 50 and as families, many of us had 3 or fewer children or none at all. So, in my opinion, that leaves a much smaller volume medical personnel to care for the aging in the future. So, finish that course so you can type my reports when I need them.
There is supposed to be a shortage
of American MTs I am reading in a large national information management magazine, and also according to our own gov. and our national association.  So why are wages falling if we are so desperately needed?  After 20 years, I am also seeking to get out.  I am at the height of my career in MT and find this is a losing profession.  They took a survey and were surprised in the article that wages have gone down.  They said a reason might because so many MTs work at home and so are part-time.  What a bunch of "you-know-what.!"  Wages are dropping because we do not get paid what we used to be paid.  I am making less now than 10 years ago.  I was recently offered an IC job for 7 CPL!   That was starting wages 15 years ago for FT.  Now they want to pay that for experienced and IC to boot, so you have higher percentage of taxes.  I have even seen 6 CPL.  These companies are trying to outbid each other by charging less and less, so they pay their MTs less and less.  They also must cover those big salaries and bonuses for the CEOs.
is there a shortage of American MTs?
nm
There is not a shortage. A lot of work
is being sent out of the country.
And the MTSOs say there's a shortage of
But yet they can't understand why.  Go figure. 
I live in the NE and let me tell you, there is NO shortage of trees.
cc
gas shortage/leaving for ohio in the am
Here in Brunswick stations closed at 6 pm and not open until Friday and can get only 5 gallons then. Trucker said Atlanta was getting $5 a gal and now Atlanta is completely out of gas. I am leaving for Ohio in the am and concerned if this shortage is just here or all the way up. Any info would be appreciated.
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.


What a shortage of medical transcriptionists

Whoever says that needs to take a look at the job board and the posting that has over 1,000 views.


There are no transcriptionists looking for jobs either.


What holiday shortage? None this year
nm
About "US qualified MT shortage" and s/m
claiming that MTs won't work nights and weekends, I don't know about you, but at my job, God forbid I have a technical issue that's not between 8 AM and 5 PM.  It's the office staff that won't work nights and weekends, not the MTs.
Unfortunately, this company has no shortage of workers.
I know they hired a few new grads after I turned down their offer. As long as someone will work for that, they have no incentive to raise rates. Companies now don't seem to care about experience and quality, only concerned with the $$$. They didn't care that I can transcribe 2000 lines a day with 99% accuracy. They would rather stick to their cpl and hire new grads. Well, good luck to them.
Is there a shortage of experienced MTs here in the USA? Am I blind and deaf? sm
I was talking to a prospective employer today.  First off, it is a start-up company in US.  They already have a base in the Philippines. Well, that turned right off; however, we continued the conversation.  My question to this person was this.....so, if you were to get contracts for MT here in the US, are you willing to just hire US MTs?  Answer...Well there is such a shortage of good quality MTs here in the US and we would like to have the work done in the Philippines.  My next question, and if the contract specifically states all work is to stay in the USA, what then?  Well, then we would hire only US based MTs. 

Finally, I had to stop him in his tracks....I told him I emphatically disagree.  There is not a shortage of US MTs.  The problem is that you or any other Internationally based company is not willing to pay the US MTs what they are worth.  You want cheap labor, and you won't get that in the US.  Our MTs here in the USA produce such a high quality patient record and you have to be willing to compensate for that.  If you are interested in USA contracts but want to use cheap labor with no concern for quality, than I am not the person for this position.


 


I am so furious right now as I mull over the conversation......am I just blind or is there really a shortage here in the US of quality-driven MTs.



I am an MT myself as well as QA Specialist and I just do not agree with this mentality.  I think they use this excuse to justify their wanting to offshore.  I see through the smoke screen; however, I guess I just need to hear it from my fellow MTs. 



What are your thoughts on this issue of not enough trained and experienced MTs here in the USA?  Personally, I don't agree. 


This was an executive-type position with an awesome benefit package and salary; however, I turned down any opportunities with this company.  I will not encourage or support giving our MT jobs to the Philippines, India or anywhere but the USA.



 


The real shortage is good MTSOs
First of all, congratulations to you for having the guts to stick up for your convictions.  I am really proud of you for telling them like it is.  There is no shortage of good MTs, there is, however, a shortage of good MTSOs and national MT companies.  Fortunately, we have boards like this one to tell us who those are, the ones who pay peanuts, the ones with inferior equipment/platforms, and the ones who outsource their work overseas and think the foreign MTs are "far superior" to the American MTs.  Most of us experienced MTs who have been in this business for any length of time, would not work for them.  The ones who cry that "there are no more good American MTs" are the ones who are outsourcing overseas or otherwise abusing their employees - that is why they have such a hard time attracting "Good MTs."  They need to look in the mirror to see the reasons why!
I am the orginal poster asking the question about the shortage. I am under 40.
I started MT while in high school in a VoTech program and have been doing it ever since! I am 35. Not every MT out there is "old".
Shortage on multiple accounts through a national. nm
x, nope, none, zip, all EMPTY
my point is -- not like there's a shortage of people to talk to.
dfkus
Question to ponder...If there is such a huge shortage of MTs, why is everybody always

I live right off I-75 in Richmond, Ky and we haven't had any shortage yet, but price is definitel
up at $2.99 a gallon.  Good luck to you!
or maybe nursing? lol. j/k nm
nm
Nursing to MT?
Has anyone gone from being a nurse to being an MT or know someone who has? Someone asked me about it and I am not sure what to tell them.

Thanks.
I'm looking into nursing as well...sm.
Already have the basic A&P, terminology, medications and proper doses and welcome the chance to try a hands on job now. Plus a recent confidence boost gave me the kick I needed to finally make a decision. Good luck in whatever you decide.
Nursing...........
My brother in law has 3 degrees (in medicine), is 51 years old, and is in nursing school..

Niece is 30 and just finished up nursing school, as did her fiance, who is 33.

Never too late if that's why ya wanna do!! Good luck to you!!!
nursing..
How about medical research as an RN? That sounds good to me.
Nursing is your problem

Nursing, well there is your problem.  I have interviewed and tested many nurses who wanted to change careers to MT and not one of them could do it.  Nursing is way different than MT.  Nursing terms and medical terms are different.


Way more notches than I will ever see, LOL..whew..well, guess I better just step back, hun..dont want to mess with a super-super-duper-duper MT.


 


When I looked into nursing ...
When I looked into nursing, you had to get at least your LPN or RN training at a real school where you could get the hands-on training. The part you could do on-line would be the more advanced book parts, like getting your BS or masters.
Does anyone know if Nursing Homes have MTs? Thanks.

Nursing Homes
I used to work for a clinic consisting of 6 doctors and they dictated their nursing home visits along the rest of their dictation once a week. Good luck:)
Nursing school
I am a RN. I went to school with a lady in her 50's. She did just fine. I taught aid classes for a while and always encouraged my students to get LVN first then go for RN so you are on the right track. Besides, RN just do alot of paperwork.
I am in nursing school right now...

to get a BSN. I've been in the health care field, including paramedic, medical assistant, etc., and doing MT off and on throughout the past 25 years.  However, seeing the handwriting on the wall re: the future of MT, I decided not to wait until I didn't have a job to try to find one. I own an MTSO, so I make plenty of money now, probably more than I would make as an RN, but I'm not stupid-- that's only going to last another 5 years...so in the meantime I'm in school! I am in a four year program, it was extremely competitive to get in (1000 applicants, took 70). If you didn't have a GPA of 3.5 you didn't get it. So you will have to take that into consideration. There are long waiting lists at all schools though If you go to a community college 2 year program probably the grades won't be such an issue. You will also have to take plenty of prerequesites, which will keep you busy for 1-2 years. The good news is hopefully your MT job will be flexible enough so you can work around a changing school schedule, plus it's not like you have to drive somewhere to work. With your experience in medical records, you will be very strong in charting and every one in your class, including your teachers, will ask you how to spell words. You will at least be familiar with drugs and their uses, i.e. Aricept is for Alzheimer's.


Although it will be very difficult, know that at least you have a future ahead of you that can't be outsourced to India. My friend just finished the same program 2 years ago and she is working 32 hours per week, 3-11 shift at the community hospital and making over $50K plus benefits. That ought to help you get through school!


 


I am in nursing school too...sm
I had an associate of science degree from community college, but then had to take some more prerequisites, including developmental psychology, nutrition and organic chem. I am going for a BSN initially. It took me 2 semesters to get my pre-req's done, then my program is 5 semesters (no summer school). However, I would caution you-- the admit to nursing programs can be quite competitive esp at university level. We had 1000 applicants and they only took 70. If you didn't have a 3.5 GPA, you didn't get it. In addition, nursing school is GRUELING. They only have a full time program. I asked about part time and they said, if you don't want to go full time, get out of the way because 933 other people want your spot. Although all my classmates are straight A students (which you would have to be to get in), some are even failing classes -- that's how hard it is. Not only do you have to attend class, you have to write papers and do a whole bunch of other work outside the classroom. I study all day when I am not in school. My husband does all the cooking and we just skip cleaning for now (LOL). I will be going on for my master's straight out of the BSN class because I already have medical experience (was a medical assistant for years and also a paramedic). So good luck to you and email me if you have any more questions...
Transcription to Nursing
My mom went to nursing school after a divorce when she was in her early 50s.  She was afraid she was too old; I pointed out to her that she was going to continue to age whether or not she got her degree.  She had quite a good career but retired to take care of her (new) husband when he became ill.  She's in her late 60s, and hospitals are offering her incentives to come out of retirement.