Sorry, disagree -- be prepared to do all accounts
Posted By: Patti on 2006-06-06
In Reply to: You shouldn't be picking up, dropping off or using your paper anyway - Million
If you want to start off with your own accounts you have to prepared to take anything and everything so that you can get your name out there. Also, there are still many docs that use tapes and though they are the minority, they do exist. Also I have many calls from people that want seminars, conferences, etc. transcribed and they are all on tapes. 75% of my accounts are still on tapes and I pick-up, deliver, print, cut apart chart notes, etc. Part of my SERVICE to the customer. If you need to so this, you can build this into your cpl. I enjoy getting out of the house and doing it, good write off for the use of my car, I get to know the office staff and docs and I feel we are "people" to each other and not just a voice. Again, when starting out you cannot be so picky -- but that is just my two cents but have been in the business for 18+ years so it works for me. Patti
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
Prepared
Bravo! Well said. I live in Florida. I heard Jeb Bush say the other day that people had plenty of time to stock up for at least 3 days. I cheered - he is so right! I'm tired of all the whining from all the "victims" in this country - people need to take responsibility for their own lives and get on with it. The government should help the people who truly need it - handicapped, elderly, sickly of all ages, but healthy people who take handouts are just irresponsibile and reprehensible.
and be prepared
All I know is in VA they zapped the heck out of me and I had to get a business license to boot. Employee status is a little more restrictive but Im getting money back not paying out over 2000 a year..
Fed govt should have been prepared.
Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Search the web
Yahoo! News Sign In
New User? Sign Up
News Home - Help
Primary Navigation
*
News Home
*
U.S.
*
Business
*
World
*
Entertainment
*
Sports
*
Tech
*
Politics
*
Science
*
Health
*
Most Popular
*
Index
Secondary Navigation
* Photos
* Opinion
* Local News
* Odd News
* Comics
* Weather
* Full Coverage
* Audio/Video
Search: Advanced
Los Angeles Times
Despite Warnings, Washington Failed to Fund Levee Projects
By Richard A. Serrano and Nicole Gaouette Times Staff Writers Sun Sep 4, 7:55 AM ET
WASHINGTON — For years, Washington had been warned that doom lurked just beyond the levees. And for years, the White House and Congress had dickered over how much money to put into shoring up century-old dikes and carrying out newer flood control projects to protect the city of New Orleans.
ADVERTISEMENT
As recently as three months ago, the alarms were sounding — and being brushed aside.
In late May, the New Orleans district of the Army Corps of Engineers formally notified Washington that hurricane storm surges could knock out two of the big pumping stations that must operate night and day even under normal conditions to keep the city dry.
Also, the Corps said, several levees had settled and would soon need to be raised. And it reminded Washington that an ambitious flood-control study proposed four years before remained just that — a written proposal never put into action for lack of funding.
What a powerful hurricane could do to New Orleans and the area's critical transportation, energy and petrochemical facilities had been well understood. So now, nearly a week into the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, hard questions are being raised about Washington officials who crossed their fingers and counted on luck once too often. The reasons the city's defenses were not strengthened enough to handle such a storm are deeply rooted in the politics and bureaucracy of Washington.
With the advantage of hindsight, the miscues seem even broader. Construction proposals were often underfunded or not completed. Washington officials could never agree on how much money would be needed to protect New Orleans. And there hung in the air a false sense of security that a storm like Katrina was a long shot anyway.
As a result, when the immediate crisis eases and inquiries into what went wrong begin, there is likely to be responsibility and blame enough for almost every institution in Washington, including the White House, Congress, the Army Corps of Engineers and a host of other federal agencies.
For example, Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, the Corps commander, conceded Friday that the government had known the New Orleans levees could never withstand a hurricane higher than a Category 3. Corps officials shuddered, he said, when they realized that Katrina was barreling down on the Gulf Coast with the vastly greater destructive force of a Category 5 — the strongest type of hurricane.
Washington, he said, had rolled the dice.
Rather than come up with the extra millions of dollars needed to make the city safer, officials believed that such a devastating storm was a small probability and that, with the level of protection that had been funded, "99.5% of the time this would work."
Unfortunately, Strock said, "we did not address the 0.5%."
Corps officials said the floodwaters breached at two spots: the 17th Street Canal Levee and the London Avenue Canal Levee. Connie Gillette, a Corps spokeswoman, said Saturday there never had been any plans or funds allocated to shore up those spots — another sign the government expected them to hold.
Nevertheless, the Corps hardly was alone in failing to address what it meant to have a major metropolitan area situated mostly below sea level, sitting squarely in the middle of the Gulf Coast's Hurricane Alley.
Many federal, state and local flood improvement officials kept asking for more dollars for more ambitious protection projects. But the White House kept scaling down those requests. And each time, although congressional leaders were more generous with funding than the White House, the House and Senate never got anywhere near to approving the amounts that experts had said was needed.
What happened this year was typical: Local levee and flood prevention officials, along with Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.), asked for $78 million in project funds.
President Bush offered them less than half that — $30 million. Congress ended up authorizing $36.5 million.
Since Bush took office in 2001, local experts and Landrieu have asked for just short of $500 million. Altogether, Bush in his yearly budgets asked for $166 million, and Congress approved about $250 million.
These budget decisions reflect a reality in Washington: to act with an eye toward short-term political rewards instead of making long-term investments to deal with problems.
Vincent Gawronski, an assistant professor at Birmingham Southern College in Alabama who studies the political impact of natural disasters, said the lost chances to shore up the levees were a classic example of government leaders who, although meaning well, clashed over priorities.
"Elected politicians are in office for a limited amount of time and with a limited amount of money, and they don't really have a long-term vision for spending it," he said.
"So you spend your pot of money where you feel you're going to get the most political support so you can get reelected. It's very difficult to think long-term. If you invest in these levees, is that going to show an immediate return or does it take away from anything else?"
Gawronski said flood control projects do not have the appeal of other endeavors, such as cancer research and police protection. At the same time, Congress habitually approves billions of dollars for highways and bridges and other infrastructure that politically benefits individual congressmen.
Gawronski called it inexcusable for the United States to have been "gambling so long" that the old levee system in New Orleans would hold.
"Disasters are often low probability, high consequence events, so there's a gamble there," he said. "It's not going to happen on my watch, there's the potential it might, but I'll bet it won't."
In the case of New Orleans and flood control, another factor was at work: the reputation of the Corps of Engineers. Over the years, many in Washington had come to regard the Corps as an out-of-control agency that championed huge projects and sometimes exaggerated need and benefits.
The Corps began as a tiny regiment during the Revolutionary War era; it now employs about 35,000 people to build dams, deepen harbors, dig ditches and erect seawalls, among other things. But critics say some projects are make-work boondoggles.
In 2000, Corps leaders were found to have manipulated an economic study to justify a Mississippi River project that would have cost billions. The agency also launched a secret growth initiative to boost its budget by 50%. And the
Pentagon found in 2000 that the Corps' cost-benefit analyses were systematically skewed to warrant large-scale construction projects.
As a result, said a senior staffer with the Senate Appropriations Committee who spoke on condition of anonymity, requests by the Corps for flood control money were especially vulnerable to budget cutting. "A lot of people just look at it as pork," said the staffer.
The Bush administration's former budget director, Mitch Daniels, was known as an aggressive advocate for Corps reform who cast a skeptical eye on its budget requests.
"The Army Corps of Engineers has a very large budget, and it has grown a lot over recent years," Daniels, now the governor of Indiana, said. "To the extent there's been any limitation of [the Corps'] budget, it has to do with previous tendencies to build marinas and things that don't have much to do with preparing us for disaster."
The Bush White House maintains it never ignored the security needs of the Gulf Coast. "Flood control has been a priority of this administration from Day One," said White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.
He said hundreds of millions of dollars were spent in the New Orleans area in recent years for flood prevention, and he said the failure of the levees was not a matter of money so much as a problem with drawing the right plans for the dike work and other improvements.
"It's been more of a design issue with the levees," he said.
Other administration officials said there were not enough construction companies and equipment to handle all the work that had been proposed.
John Paul Woodley Jr., assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, who has responsibility for the Corps of Engineers, said: "It's true, we cannot accomplish all of our projects at full funding all the time. I think that's true of any agency, particularly any public works agency, but we had a lot of work underway in New Orleans, and I was personally supportive of it.
"As a native of Louisiana," Woodley said, "I understand the problems associated with flooding in New Orleans. I don't think there's any lack of support for flood control projects in New Orleans, particularly within the context of other projects around the country."
On Capitol Hill in recent years, several Democrats warned that more money should be marked for the protection of New Orleans. For instance, in September 2004, Landrieu said she was tired of hearing there was no money to do more work on levees.
"We're told, can't do it this year. Don't have enough money. It's not a high enough priority," she said in a Senate speech. "Well, I know when it's going to get to be a high enough priority."
She then told of a New Orleans emergency worker who had collected several thousand body bags in the event of a major flood. "Let's hope that never happens," she said.
But in May 2004, then Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he had visited the levees as a guest of Landrieu and believed them adequate.
He praised the ancient water pumps for keeping the waters from cascading into the city, proclaiming them "these old, old pumps that hadn't been changed since before the turn of the century, that still keep New Orleans dry."
"It was as clean as a restaurant," he added. "These big old pumps work."
Today, eight of those 22 pumps are underwater and inoperable.
Over the years, several projects either were short-changed or never got started. The Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project was authorized by Congress after a rainstorm killed six people in May 1995. It was to be finished in 10 years, but funding reductions prevented its completion before Katrina struck.
The Army Corps of Engineers did spend $430 million to renovate pumping stations and shore up the levees. But experts said the project fell behind schedule after funding was reduced in 2003 and 2004.
The Lake Pontchartrain Project was a $750-million Corps operation for new levees and beefed-up pumping stations. Because of funding cuts, it was only 80% complete when the hurricane hit.
The project that never was started was an examination of storm surges from large hurricanes. Congress approved the study but did not allocate the funds for it.
In May, AL Naomi, the Corps' senior project manager for the New Orleans district, reminded political and business leaders and emergency management officials that a Category 4 or 5 hurricane was always possible. After that meeting, Walter Brooks, the regional planning commission director, came away shaking his head.
"We've learned that we're not as safe as we thought we were," he told the local newspaper, the Times-Picayune.
Last week, Corps commander Strock defended past work, saying, it was his "personal and professional assessment" that work in New Orleans was never underfunded. What he meant by that, he explained, was that no one expected such a large disaster before all the renovations and other improvements could be completed.
"That was as good as it was going to get," he said. " We knew that it would protect from a Category 3 hurricane. In fact, it has been through a number of Category 3 hurricanes."
But, he said, Katrina's intensity "simply exceeded the design capacity of the levee."
Asked whether in hindsight he wished more had been done, Strock said: "I really don't express surprise in my business. We don't sit around and say 'Gee whiz.' "
Times staff writer Mary Curtius contributed to this report.
* Email Story
* IM Story
* Discuss
* Printable View
RECOMMEND THIS STORY
Recommend It:
Average (899 votes)
4 stars
» Recommended Stories
Full Coverage: Hurricanes & Tropical Storms
Off the Wires
* 59 dead in first official New Orleans hurricane toll AFP, 14 minutes ago
* Louisiana says 59 confirmed deaths from Katrina Reuters, 15 minutes ago
Feature Articles
* Despite Warnings, Washington Failed to Fund Levee Projects at The Los Angeles Times (reg. req'd), Sep 04
* The Prologue, and Maybe the Coda at The New York Times (reg. req'd), Sep 04
News Stories
* Military, Civilian Satellite Tools Help In Hurricane Response SPACE.com/LiveScience.com via Yahoo! News, Sep 04
* NASA Facility Struggles in Wake of Hurricane Katrina SPACE.com/LiveScience.com via Yahoo! News, Sep 04
Opinion & Editorials
* An open letter to the President at New Orleans Times-Picayune, Sep 04
* Falluja Floods the Superdome at The New York Times (reg. req'd), Sep 04
Top Stories
* New Orleans Begins Counting Its Dead AP
* Lawmakers Scramble to Replace Rehnquist AP
* Texas to Airlift Some Katrina Refugees AP
* White House Ramps Up Katrina Response AP
* Saddam to go on trial October 19, faces hanging Reuters
Most Viewed: Top Stories
* Louisiana official haunted by drowned woman Reuters
* New Orleans collects its dead in 'ugly' search Reuters
* US accepts offer of UN help in Katrina aftermath Reuters
* Saddam to go on trial October 19, faces hanging Reuters
* Kuwait donates $500 mln oil products for Katrina Reuters
Los Angeles Times
* RESCUE ME: A Dog's Journey Through the Canine Underground Railroad
* WAL-MART COUTURE: Retailer Aims Upmarket
* HBO's "Rome" Wasn't Built in a Day
* Web Mystery Sensation "Piano Man" Debunked
Los Angeles Times
Add headlines to your personalized My Yahoo! page
* (About My Yahoo! and RSS)
Top Stories - Los Angeles Times
Add to My Yahoo!
» More News Feeds
NEWS ALERTS
alerts
Get an alert when there are new stories about:
* President Bush
* Pentagon
» More Alerts
Full Coverage
hurricane coverage
Hurricane Katrina
Latest news, features, photos, video and more.
» More Full Coverage
Full Coverage
supreme court
Supreme Court
News and more on Chief Justice Rehnquist's death, and John Roberts' nomination.
» All Court Coverage
ALSO IN Y! NEWS
Tech Tuesday
Opinion and Editorials
Diverse views on news from the right, left, and center.
» All Opinion
MOST POPULAR
most popular
Popular Photos
The most popular photos and slideshows.
» All Most Popular
YAHOO! SEARCH
More News in Yahoo! Search
Premium subscription news content now in Yahoo! Search.
» Learn More
Yahoo! - My Yahoo! - Mail
Search: Advanced
Primary Navigation
* News Home
* U.S
* Business
* World
* Entertainment
* Sports
* Tech
* Politics
* Science
* Health
* Most Popular
* Odd News
* Opinion
Copyright © 2005 Los Angeles Times
Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback
http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20050904/ts_latimes/despitewarningswashingtonfailedtofundleveeprojects
Be prepared to pay big bucks - nm
nm
Also true... but bid low and be prepared to do it yourself...sm
because the lower you bid, the less likely you're going to find a quality MT who will do it for you for less that what you bid it.
That's all I'm saying. I know that's the way it's going... it's going that way everywhere... doesn't mean we have to take the lower pay. There are good paying jobs out there, you just have to look a little harder to find them. There are MTSOs who won't bid too low to pay their good MTs a decent rate and they should be commended.
Not difficult if you are prepared sm
but also you have to be prepared to stick it out until your income picks up. You're not going to come out of the box making huge bucks right away. I find that MT is something you either love or you hate, no inbetween. Read the boards and look at the comments. Check out the new MT/student board and see what they're saying. Quite honestly, anyone that has asked me about going into MT recently I've suggested they find another career as MT ain't what it used to be. Good luck to you though.
Yep. But also be prepared for them to immediately end your contract. nm
x
I would call Linksys, but be prepared...
Linksys tech support is in India.
If US wipes out its MT industry, it better be prepared to
I know I'm at an age where, if US MT disappears entirely, I'm too far from Soc. Sec. or retirement to be able to take advantage of that, and too old to go back to school for the length of time it would take to learn a new skill that would pay the rent/groceries/gas/etc. So most likely I'd be on the government dole. Multiply that x tens of thousands, (hundreds of thousands if you add in all the OTHER US workers in other industries, but in the same boat age & skill-wise, and you've got a whole 'nother Katrina going on.
Oh please, Floridians had plenty of time to get prepared.
These hurricanes were not unexpected events. In fact, there is no excuse for being unprepared as there is a specified hurricane season every year. This happens every freaking year. What part of be prepared don't you understand? At least start preparing now for next year. It's not that hard.
We were prepared to survive 3 weeks cut off from the outside world.
We moved out of Florida after getting hit with 3 hurricanes last summer, but since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, we took it very seriously. As long as the roof held, we had 3 weeks of emergency canned goods, batteries, a portable TV and radio, oil lamps, sterno, pallets of bottled drinking water and at least 120 gallons of stored water in containers tinctured with bleach for personal hygiene and flushing toilets. Cars gas tanks were topped off before the hurricane.
I no longer live in Florida, but everybody should always have some emergency supplies and extra food and water on hand. Every part of the country has some kind of weather or power outages at times. My parents lived during the depression and taught us to be self sufficient and never wait for a hand out.
I went to career step & graduated 3 yrs ago. I think it prepared me well.
Be prepared to pound those keys for a national
and you have to be able to stay focused if you chose a national requiring set hours. Consider your benefits. There are pros and cons to working from home. I would say unless you have a really good reason to type from home, then keep your day job. I do fine myself because I am an IC, but I sometimes feel very isolated from the outside workforce. I do have children, but adult conversation when you are pounding those keys all day is hard to come by. The other duties you speak of on-site keeps you sane! Just my opinion! Good luck whatever you decide. The money is just not there anymore working for these nationals unless you are willing to put on long days and pound out about 300 lph. 
I am prepared to quit, too! Have the patches. Going to get popsicles and lollipops.
dd
Your daughter will be better prepared for life by having a part-time job now. sm
Meanwhile, her BF will end up feeling entitled to everything she wants because she's being spoiled now. Hopefully your daughter will continue to work because she enjoys it...the money, the responsibility, the feeling of being a little grown up. Maybe it'll rub off on her BF. If not... well, rest easy knowing your kid is doing all right.
I felt very prepared for a job after finishing AT-Home Professions course.
The ladies and instructors at the school were very helpful. I have been working as an MT for 7 years now and felt like they tought me a lot. I think it depends on who you talk to. Definitely helped me that I first got my experience in a small hospital where I was able to learn at a slow pace and built speed with time. I didn't pay 2-3000 dollars for the school but felt very confident when I went looking for a job.
How about zillions of accounts. MQ has these accounts so overloaded even the new hires dont have any
work. I would love to read some of these reports and then they expect perfect QA and no blanks. Did they lose their minds completely.
Of Course Endiqua read your post. It is irrelevant to her what you wrote and she is fully prepared
Hush and take notes. Endiqua is the authority on all things and doesn't need to read your post or even understand it. She's got an opinion and by gawd you will listen. QA is annointed boss of you.
Husband likes it prepared in skillet basted with bearnaise sauce. nm
The accounts are old and she keeps her accounts TRUSTING she hired the right MTs
who if in doubt will ask questions regarding reports. No one can find all mistakes in all reports and that is human to have a report with perhaps a typo. You think anyone reads through all the reports of a national company before they get to the hospital? Not a chance. Some random QA is supposed to correct all mistakes? Not hardly. Doctors/dictators make mistakes too. We all do. So do QA people. So the thing is this person hires good people who are trustworthy, the hospital likes the way she does their account and life goes on quite nicely w/o hovering editors/QA people. BTW, who QAs the QA people on your accounts. Ever wonder?
Forget dinner! Just prepared a huge lunch. Skillet chicken: Skinless boneness breasts cooked in skil
golden brown, add can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup of frozen mixed veggies, 1/2 c water - cover and cook about 15 minutes.
Then I made homemade mashed potatoes - extra thick - with plenty of pepper :0
Then, boiled my water for my sweet tea....with lemon.
After the chicken is done, pour a cup and a half or so of mozerella cheese on top and let it sit for about a minute or so.
The mixture from the potatoes is a creamy blend with mixed veggies poured over either rice or potatoes. I just make stuff up all the time like this. You could even add crackers to the mixture to give it a crunchy feel. My 2 boys were in heaven today. Of course, I may have to work the night shift when my lunch is finished - when I eat like this during the afternoon I usually skip dinner altogether because of the carb content.
Remember with this dish: You can do it low fat by substituting above ingredients. Also remember to have plenty of color to your diet! Voila!
Not all accounts are good accounts. One
That should not be the case. Sounds like you need new accountant with strong knowledge of IC deduction. We save a several thousand on what we pay in taxes based on what I can deduct as at home IC, $2000 off the top for what I pay my child to help with office chores, as an example. The measly 7.xx% I pay that an employer would pay is well worth my independence in being my own boss.
I disagree
Edix/Spheris pays a bonus based on production and QA. The MQ office I worked for didn't give a rats bottom about QA, it was LINES LINES LINES and they paid production bonuses. My company expects the lines with NO bonus, NO shift differential, NO weekend differential, and NO OT. What you download you are expected to do, doesn't matter if it's 200 reports, you better have them done.
I have to disagree with you.
I think that people actually like it. That is the thing. I care a lot if the people are fat and ugly. It is such a weird concept to me. Being extremely thin and beautiful, I can't stand that. I mean, what is the harm in getting plastic surgery or gastric bypass? It will be a very hard thing for me to do.
I would have to disagree with you...
I have lived in California for most of my life and now for the last 6 years have lived in New England. Yes, it's expensive but not nearly as expensive as California, especially Southern California. For instance, a small tract house with 1200 square feet and no yard whatsoever, lined up like sardines in a can, will run you about 450,000. We have a 4 bdrm 3ba, in ground pool,1.4 acres, 2,300 sq ft house worth 300,000. The reason most of theNortheast is so expensive is the high tax burden, with the exception of New Hampshire,which has the lowest tax burden of all 50 states. One thing that is horribly expensive is college tuition, even community college is ridiculous compared to California.
I disagree with you. SM
As the other poster said -- if they're all that concerned, they need to (a) watch who they hire (b) provide the equipment.
No way on this earth I'd grant that kind of access to my computer. They'll have to find another way to calm their fears.
I disagree... (sm)
I believe Silent Type is a totally family based, oriented firm and found them most pleasant to work for before starting my own business.
I disagree
I have been an MT for a fair few years. One of the reasons I chose this career was because of the "bright" outlook. I believed that there really was a shortage of MTs in this country and jobs aplenty. Plenty of MTSOs are hiring, but trying to get my own account has been like pulling teeth. I have had to move out of my city, then out of my state, and now am calling surrounding states looking for work. I have excellent qualifications and reasonable rates, and I can tell you, nobody is interested.
I disagree (sm)
My husband loves it when I tell him I pretend that he's naked. 
I mean, wow, lighten up. I doubt ilovejackbauer is some kind of pedophile so I'm sure it was just a harmless suggestion. This world has gotten way too sensitive.
I have to disagree with
I worked set hours at home with an infant that I was nursing...yes I did! When he needed a change or to be nursed, I took the few minutes, changed him, latched him on, and continued working. It's hard, but not downright impossible. We are women, we can do anything we set our minds to. Good luck to the OP!!!
Disagree - that's all!
x
I have to disagree
My live-in BF's exwife used to do the online game instead and he hated it. No time with him or daughter. He is now pretty much doing the same thing to me with his model airplanes and helicopters. When he works on them and deals with them he does it and nothing else. He is very single minded. If not flying it is working on them, surfing the net for them, talking about them, etc. I have just about had it as well. He says that at least he does not go out to bars and drink. Well if you are not spending time with me and kids and not helping me do things around the house so that I am tired and stressed it is all the same to me. I have been there on both and just because they are not cheating, drinking, drugging, etc does not mean it is okay. If you need attention and help you need it no matter what their reasoning is or hobby is in this case. You have to balance your time. I say what if all I did was play my games or shop or go to the bookstore and had no time for anyone or house work. I have to balance it so that we all function relatively well. It should be equal play time for both of you and equal other stuff too.
I disagree
It involved her when her husband decided to share the info with her. AND they involved him when they brought him into their little THANG. Don't for a minute think it is innocent, or else she would have called his wife to ask where he was at. I think if the OPs husband doesn't set his friend straight about not wanting to be involved in this crap then he is not beyond suspicion. JMO.
And, do you want some unwritten code making a fool out of YOU if your man should decide to start doing the same and his friends (your friends also) know about it!?!?!?!?!?! Come on.
Sorry disagree
Your creditors have the RIGHT to not work with a credit counseling agency. I tried this route also before Chapter 13 and several chose not to work with them. Most of the major ones do but some do not. This is a profitable business that is paying your bills for you working out a credit plan for you and if you miss ONE payment they have the right to drop you and many will. They also monitor the usage or your credit card use, etc. Again, there are always two sides to everything but some of my creditors did chose not to work with the agency. I was told by one of the biggest Credit Counseling Agencies that though most "do work with them, some chose not to and they do not have to as you are the one that agreed to pay back the debt not the credit counseling agency." But they do have to accept a Chapter 13 order. So again, look at all the facts and make your choice. The biggest agency I talked to was the higest for their fees and really did not save me much with my payment but the interest and late fees stopped. Also if they negotiate a plan to reduce the balance due -- beware that if a credit card compay writes off any amount of the debt -- say that they will settle for 50% of the $10,000 that you owe, then they will issue you a 1099C - cancellation of debt - for the $5,000 that you are not paying and you will have to include that as income on your taxes for the year. So there are several pitfalls with some of these agencies, just ask the right questions and do some research. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Patti
I would have to disagree with you
I just took a job that offered me 7.5 cents per line to start. I just finished my online training for MT at the beginning of August. It can happen, although I applied to every company I could find. I did the legwork and now the offers are rolling in.
disagree
depends on the companies ethics, method of counting, etc. I can do mooocho lines on escription platform but suck on any other platform.
I disagree with others, I think 12 is low
Some MTs make that from a service so you can imagine what the service is charging and they are paying it. With picking up, delivering, printing? 12 cpl is selling yourself way short IMO. Not to mention bringing down the rates overall for others. I would not do it for less than 14 cpl. And if they won't pay that, work for a service that will pay you 10 or 11 cpl, without all the headaches.
I disagree with you
You are very opinionated.
I disagree. sm
I've been in both situations - one punitive, and one that rewards MTs extra efforts. Reward is far more motivating than punishment. Punitive management styles just make employees tense, demoralized, and even more apt to make further mistakes. If it goes on long enough, they become resentful and angry. Ultimately they leave. The way to keep good employees, and to turn marginal ones into better ones, is to reward them for a job well done.
I disagree
...if you Google "new hires" every instance that comes up seems to related to new employees. This was also heard spoken by the Human Resources department.
Diane
I would have to disagree.
an IC work a set schedule. Unfortunately with this OP being an employee, she must adhere to the strict work schedule. As an IC, you are not required to work set hours, and if you are being told to do that, then you are an employee and not an IC. Someone on this particular board posted a link to a court action suit brought against a company classifying an employee as an IC, but was in the wrong because that is considered control due to the fact the work was required back in 24 hours. Believe it or not, but I read it myself on this board.
Think about it as a plumber. When the IC plumber comes to your house, gives you an estimate, do you say to him, now I want this work completed at such and such a time (strict schedule)? No, the plumber tells you I'll be there between the hours of 9 and 5, and the work can be completed in such and such amount of time given there is no unforeseen problems, etc.
Now with MT, the usual TAT is 24 hours, but as an IC, you should be able to transcribe that work within that amount of time, but not work a set schedule even if that means typing for 15 minutes, take an hour break, and then type for 15 minutes.
I am soooooo glad the company I work (only one) as I have my own accounts, knows the true meaning of IC. A lot of these MTSO's do not know the true meaning.
Furthermore, the accounts I have on my own do not require 24-hour TAT, so that is also something an MTSO will play on when in all honesty they actually have 48 hours or even 72 hours to complete the work. I'm there, I'm doing it, and I know it to be true! My accounts are happy with 48 hour TAT. I QA my own work, which is also another problem in this field. If there were not so many chiefs making demands, I think the Indians could have more time to do their "hunting" for their bounty! 24-hour TAT should be for STAT requests only.
I'd have to disagree.
I am my own team. I am not part of anyone's team because if I was, then I'd get the benefits "the team" gets. With that said, yes I will charge for faxing and taking the time to do things other than typing. And, NO, in 10 years, the physicians I type for ask no questions as they charge fees for their different services as well, filling out workers' comp forms, etc.
So I encourage transcriptionists to charge as such. If you price your line rate high, they will outsource to a large company that they can pay less, so this may work for you, but not necessarily is the norm. JMO.
I disagree.
For example, Medquist requires 150 lines per hour for full time with benefits, which is a 1200 line 8-hour day, and that includes ASR. There are high producers who are hitting those numbers, but they are the minority, especially now. Your numbers are great and certainly what I aim for, but may be daunting to someone just getting started if they think that is the norm.
I'm getting paid!
http://boostyourincometoday.blogspot.com/
I have to disagree with you a little on this one...sm
I don't think our profession was "dumbed-down" by people who can't (or won't) do ESLs. It has been dumbed down by the big companies who make the rules and know nothing about actual transcription.
If the companies would tell the clients they need to make their doctors dictate clearly, this would be a moot point. The companies need to come down on the clients and the clients need to come down on their doctors. Dictation not clearly dictated is 99.9% of the problem in any of the transcription I have seen or done in my 17+ years of doing this... both MT and QA.
If you can't understand the doctor due to a heavy accent, background noise, poor quality equipment, or whatever, you can't transcribe an accurate report.
I have seen a lot of changes in the technology of our profession over the years and by all rights we should be making tons more money because of the advances that have improved our production... but why is it our wages continue to go down?
Part of the problem is companies not paying higher line rates, cutting out headers, footers, cc's, etc., but I think the biggest problem of all is how sloppy dictation has been allowed to get by all the doctors, but mostly because of all of the ESL doctors we have these days. It used to be that you had one or two on a large account and now I can honestly say that I bet I transcribe probably 80-90% ESLs and many different nationalities.
Yes, we all need to learn how to do some ESLs, but for crying out loud, the companies need to make it a little easier for us to learn them! And just for good measure...since I'm blithering away for nothing anyway...(teehee)... why do WE have to learn them?... why don't they have to LEARN TO SPEAK ENGLISH?
Sorry if I offended anyone... I'm just tired of not hearing a clear-speaking doctor, whether it be a language barrier, a mushmouth, dictating in a busy hallway full of barking dogs, whatever... I'm just sick of it. It didn't used to be this way. Doctor's used to be polite when they dictated and it showed in their reports.
have to disagree again
I have no help from anyone.. There is no husband in my home to help with my children. I only have on in school, and then still have an 18 month old who is at home full time. I dont believe in allowing others to raise my children, when i am home and perfectly capable of caring for them. Some days, my youngest will sit on the floor by my desk and "work" with me, using an old keyboard i have.
Some days, my children are content to watch TV in the other room, some days they arent. It is a matter of what you as an individual are willing to do in order to make things work, that is all.
And I disagree with you
My two IM's prior to using my company, did use a call in system for several years but after coming to me he told me he would never go back as there was no comparison as to quality, TAT and their satisfaction, I have talked to them several times about digital as I am set up to do digital and do it for overflow to an old MTs that I used to work for, but they prefer the tapes. So be it. If it makes them happy, that is fine for me. They are stand alone doctors, and they do not like the large companies. I know that they have been called, e-mailed, etc. but they chose to stay with me. Like I said, I am not cocky, I appreciate and count my blessing but if they chose to stay with tapes that is fine. They need the chart notes back on sticky paper anyway so I would continue to deliver and the office staff is overworked enough and would not put it onto them to print the notes. I actually like getting out and delivering and talking to them. My surgical oncologists do not even have a computer in the office to do the scheduling, they use an old fashion appointment book and write in their schedules. And I have talked with them about digital but they like it. Only have 5 more years before I retire so we will see what they do. And my price is fair, they pay on time, never a bounced check so we go on as such.
Sorry disagree
#1 - I have a back up computer, transcriber, printer, you just plan for this. You have to be ready for all and everything. I have been down only one day for computer problems in the past 3 years and that was because one acount I send out via internet, Comcast was down for 12 hours. But if I am, I make it up over the next few days, the work is still there to do.
#2 - When I am sick my accounts are very understanding and though it does not happen often it does but no problem. Work is there the next day. And they do not rush me to get it back.
#3 - My docs provide me with free care and samples of prescriptions. Saves a lot on my high deductible. Plus my insurance premiums are paid through my company. Deductible.
#4 - I contrbute off the top to my retirement fund.
#5 - I do depreciate my house as I know I will be in it for two years past retirement.
#6 - Holiday/vacation/sick -- I average those into my cpl and charge that. And I charge a reasonable rate to my clients. They have all been with me for over 10 to 18 years. Suppose they could leave suddenly but then your hospital based job could be gone in a flash also, that is life.
#7 - Again I pay less than 10% to taxes and that is with 15% for social security. And I make good money, I would LOOSE money to work inhouse in a hospital and I have figured it out when offered a job. I would not have the lifestyle that I have now and I am single supporting myself with a house payment, etc.
So to each their own, like I said.
You can disagree...but
you obviously did not read my post. The *first* thing I said was to get medical attention. Regardless of what you may think, I am very fond of depression myself. I was diagnosed with clinical depression (yes, the kind where you don't get out of bed) at 17 and have struggled with it since. I am 26. I have also been diagnosed with OCD. Trust me, I know depression. I have been off an on antidepressants since 17, at which time, they saved my life, literally.
There are other aspects to depression, though. If you are not willing to take the steps to get help and take control of your life...then it will contine to get worse.
The main point I wanted to address in my post was a person needs to take care of themselves...take care of the basics. That is a daily choice, although a very difficult one to achieve with depression, BUT not impossible.
My advice:
1. Get seen by a doctor.
2. Get a job.
3. Make the daily choices necessary get the first two things done.
Disagree, disagree, disagree
LIke I explain to my accounts which I have had for the past 20 years, I allot so much time per day for their account. If they do not give me consistent tapes, then I cannot use that time and carry it over to the next day when they decide to double up on their tapes. I am relying on that dictation for my pay. Just like when a patient does not show up. But again, my accounts were obtained and we went over everything and they are considered "daily accounts." I have had a couple and when they drop down to nothing, I will inquire as I need to know if I need to search out another account to supplement my income. I would just nicely ask when I could expect dictation as I need to make out my monthly schedule, etc. Also if they are not going to use me on a daily basis then I need to reasses my TAT and my price. But to me, you need to find out what is going on unless you are happy with it this way. I do not like the unknown, and need to know what I will be receiving daily so I can plan out my schedule and time. I do not think you were out of line and once I even asked if they wanted their letterhead and envelopes returned as it was apparent that they were using a different service as I had not received anything for a month. So if it was up to me I would find out either through the doctor or through the manager. Maybe someone in the office is sending it to someone else and the doctor thinks you are doing it and so that is why he looked at you funny. Anyway the call is yours, but I would definitely want to know what was going on. Let us know what you do and find out.
Disagree!
I won a gift card from that site and received it, $50. My experience was great!
I would disagree that it's
possible to do that many lines on full edit consistently. If that included quite a few blanks-only or experienced MTs maybe, but 4800 lines of full-edits a day on new MTs? Not gonna happen if you want quality. QAs need to be paid hourly rather than production anyway if your ultimate goal is true Quality Assurance rather than quantity, and 3 cpl like I read somewhere above is laughable.
|
