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Tell that to the cruise ship industry.

Posted By: Mountain cabins are nice. on 2006-01-11
In Reply to: Funny how people are different. I find islands/beaches to be totally boring. - nm

dd


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Cruised Mediterrean in 60 passage cruise ship
South of France, great food, great wine, wonderful shopping, ancient ruins, Michaleangelo, so much more. Well worth 10 grand.
Why are you asking? I am about to jump ship here too
A post today was taken off twice for no reason really. They blanked out places just because I was asking about what company now did so and so work. I worked for the hospital before and wanted to hook up again. They are being overboard on these matters.
I didn't have to pay to ship the computer.
I had no problems with the people I worked with. The work was easy, and I always had very high QA scores. I left because the work kept running out and they don't pay much at all, although hardly anyone does. If you get an offer, look at the benefits before you decide. Personally, I'm done with nationals, but Amphion is probably not any worse than the rest of them.
40k here as employee, but ship sunk
I just jumped ship from a large national after my account converted to SR. I had made 41K the previous year, and that with very little overtime. I knew that with the conversion to SR my income would drop drastically, so I left for another company. It will take me a bit to build back up to the 40K+ level, but I know I will. The name of the game for me is expanders!
Unionization WILL NOT ship jobs

If American MTs were to unionize today..jobs would not magically clear up and go overseas.  Why??  Because if Cbay, MedQ and other large MTSO do not need the threat of a union to ship jobs overseas...if they had the manpower set up (as they are busily trying to do....training the little Indian people as quick as they can to decipher american medical language...most likely very poorly)....then these jobs would be gone now...  We do not have jobs because we are not unionized.  we havwe jobs because at this point in time..India, Philippines and any other third world country they can set up their server is not able to handle all of US transcription. 


If we were able to form a union....the first order of business would be severely limit the amount of transcriptinon that goes overseas...as well as provide informed consent to the docs, hospitals, and clinics that their dictation is going overseas...  Also..I would demand to see examples of transcription provided by these third world countries.  I would also demand ASR is paid NO LESS than 20% of an MT Line rate and I would ensure cost of living raises just like every other industry.  I also would dismantle the worthless AAMT as their only purpose is to sell exhibit space to MTSO.  They have historically servied the MTSO...NOT the individual transcriptionist...


Transcription... sinking ship?
Is it just me or does it seem like every hospital everywhere is outsourcing their transcription???  Has anybody in the transcription field changed careers or have thought about changing careers???  I am thinking about going to college for x-ray tech if my hospital gets outsourced.  I was going to go to another hospital, but I am scared of being outsourced yet once again.  Can I get you guys thoughts on this???  Is anybody else feeling down and out about this field for a career???  I hate I am having these dreary thoughts, but it is just disheartening to me to see how this is affecting alot of people.
Staying on board a sinking ship
I worked at a different company in an unrelated field where all the employees were required (not requested) to take a 15% pay cut and receive stock options in return.  I left.  Others chose to stay with the company and told me I was crazy to leave; I would "never" earn as much money elsewhere.  I thought they were crazy to stay and said so.  The older employees said they had to stay or lose their pension.  Well, the company went under anyway, the stock was (of course) worthless, and the pension fund had long since been looted by the major shareholders.  Staying on board a sinking ship of a job may be more comfortable but not in your overall best economic interests.
Staying on board a sinking ship..maybe
I forgot to add that if you are making top pay at that company and the 1 cent per line pay cut is still better than you would earn elsewhere, it may well be in your best interests to stay on board that ship patching and bailing (grin) but still being mindful that the ship may go under suddenly.
Might also be a good idea to ship the equipment
n/m
That's hilarious, hiring bonus. Everyone jumping ship?
nm
Jan, it has been great exchanging information with you - thanks and I hope your ship comes in soon
nm
My sister makes Clipper Ship Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Milk chocolate chips, sometimes toasted pecans, and varies between Grand Marnier or sometimes Amaretto in them!

Oooooooooo!!!! Large cookies, and fresh baked with a glass of super cold milk!

Now my mouth is watering! LOL
Cruise - Especially if you don't have to fly to get to one.
Best value for the money out there.
cruise
I wish.  I have a radiology account and three separate doctors who have been with me for five years....  Have taken one vacation and left on Friday and came back on Sunday.....  Everyone wants they work back the same day.  I have these people spoiled rotten...... and it is all my fault too... 
cruise
Thanks for the info on the $$$$$....I guess I will have to get busy training someone local to help me for that one week...
Now Tom Cruise also...
I can't stand HIM!!! Freaky...but now Matthew, that's a different story.  He's *dreamy*
I second the Tom Cruise boycott.
Didn't know about Johnny Depp, but he's way better looking than Cruise.
It's an OPINION Cruise has.
He is entitled to an OPINION isn't he?  Just as you THINK you "survived" PPD.  Think of the damage people on drugs who have PPD have done, like the mother who drowned her five kids.  She was on drugs. 
cruise and work
Has anyone ever taken a cruise and worked off of a laptop while doing so?  We have just been given the opportunity to go on a cruise, but I have not had much luck with finding someone to help me out for such a short period of time, so I was wondering if anyone else has worked while on the cruise?  Is there access to e-mail on these ships?
Tom Cruise gets squirted!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4808545647162091471&q=tom+cruise
Cruise information - SM

Would appreciate any feedback on which cruise and/or cruise line you have experienced and if you recommend them.  Would like to stay away from Disney, as it will be just hubby and I.  All the websites are so full of "perfection" I would like to hear "real comments."   TIA for any input everyone. 


I think Tom Cruise is a total whacko- sm
I actually thought it years ago but then he was kind of reclusive and didn't speak out so much.  Now that he's opened his mouth again and by his actions, he is showing his stupidity.  If you saw him on the Today show with Matt Lauer and the things he said, he was unbelievably pompous and arrogant about things he obviously knows nothing about.  Why do these "stars" think we want to hear what their opinions are?  Who cares?  All they are are paid ACTORS.  Tom Cruise only has a high school education and he acts like he is the most brilliant person in the world.  Look at Nicole Kidman - she got out while she could.  I pity Katie Holmes.
I am a PPD survivor and boycott Cruise nm
x
Tom Cruise?!? Ick! I only liked him when I was in high school.
Apparently that is still the trend! How old is Katie????? LOL!
YOU CAN EVEN CRUISE/TAKE ROAD TRIP

I'm leaving again next week on a cruise, and can take the work with me.  As an MTSO, I don't have to transcribe, but could if I needed; just download via ship internet to laptop and type offline, then send back.  I use to move files, answer emails, and JUST IN CASE, have the ability to transcribe should the world fall apart while I'm gone!  Also, if you get an AIRCARD, you CAN download/send files while traveling where phone signal is available.  Life is good with flexibility!!!


I refuse to validate the idiot Cruise
or to enrich him with one penny of my hard-earned money. I will not be seeing his movie or any other project in which he is involved. I feel the same way about Johnny Depp since the horrible, hateful statements he has made about America and Americans. They are free to speak their minds, but I am also free to choose not to reward their hatefulness.
This wasn't a thread about Cruise's opinion which

some of you think he doesn't have the right to have.  I don't care HOW ridiculous it is, it is HIS opinion...just the same as we all have ours that he's nuts. LOL


Yes, I think he's really gone out there making the ridiculous claims he has...but, it is his right to think the way he does.  Just as you have the right to think differently.


Doesn't change the fact that he is a fabulous actor and a box office sure bet. 


I don't subscribe to his perspective on PPD or drug therapy or psychiatry at all.  I'm sure he doesn't subscribe to my perspective on sitting at the computer all day to type out reports about other people just to make a few bucks. 


Now, there are people in this world sadly enough who will not seek help because of what he said and for those people I am truly sad for.  Those tend to be the same people who VOTE according to what their favorite celebrity says as well.  LOL


I believe in complete autonomy so if these people must mess up their lives because they have the right to - then let them. 


I won't boycott anyone because I differ in their opinion about treating problems.  He's not a criminal; he's not a child molester; he's not a sexual offender; he's not a thief; he's not a tax evader; he's not .. he's not any of the things that I feel I SHOULD make a boycott about it. 


The movie was fantastic.  You're missing out but, hey, that's your right!!  LOL 


Enjoy your evening!


Tom Cruise has always been manic. He has always been what he is, you just haven't noticed it.
He was always cute and now he looks haggard and it seems like he is trying to recapture his youth with Katie Holmes.   Whatever.  He did make some really good movies and I think he is extremely talented but no heart throb. 
MSNBC said today cruise ships are on the way now SM
They said it takes a little bit of time to get there, but Coast Guard works closely with the cruise lines.
I found you the link of the cruise line...
Here's the latest I found of what they stated. Just seems to me like they are "buying time" so as not to use their ships for these "poor" people. They don't want to give up one of their 21 American owned ships for use, though, from what I have heard....While they work out the "legalities" people are continuing to die in MS and LA. What a darn shame.

Although I did hear on CNN that a GREEK cruise liner is on its way as we speak to help some refugees!

We'll see....
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/31/D8CAV3MGC.html
I haven't had any excitement since my last husband sent me on a cruise...
thru the Bermuda Triangle. There's something missing from my life but what, what, what could it be? I have everything a woman could want - a beautiful home, financial security - and I have two, two, two mints in one. But I don't know, somehow something is still missing...
Could be the yellow hair but his eyes are puffy too, like Tom Cruise.
Bring back the old fun loving Brad and Tom. 
We used to cruise the main drag, race on the old highway, and
stop at the burger joints to see where the parties were.  The kids don't get to do that any more because the cops bust them for loitering, curfew, etc.  In fact, that's the first thing DH and I noticed about each other was our cars while cruising the drag.  He had a red AMC Javelin and I had a red Dodge Coronet.
Any cruise! No phones, no email, no snail mail NM
NM
Used to be Tom Cruise but he stopped being irresistable when he became a lunatic. Lost all respect!

That has already been brought up by the govt.They asked Carnival cruise lines sm
to bring a ship into port and allow some residents to board the ship. Carnival says they will "consider" it. Carnival is owned by a Florida company...I can try to find the link for you where I read this.

I am irritated because "they have to think about it." If I owned the ship I would be more than happy to let the homeless use it for a while - at least a month - until they can get on their feet - get insurance stuff together, etc.

Carnival is taking WAYYYY too much time "thinking" about it as people lay dying in the streets of New Orleans
We did the cruise to the Bahamas out of Cape Canaveral. I absolutely LOVED it sm
We went on Royal Carribean and they have their own little island with tiki bar, beach volleyball, snorkeling, etc., that you can go to for free once they dock in the Bahamas. That was the best part.

We want to go again. We also did a snorkeling trip that went right past Atlantis....It was gorgeous. Can't give you any info on the Atlantis, but I can the cruise.

Of course, if you've ever been on a cruise the best part is all the great food. We'd be eating our 4 course meal at dinner and our waiter would be announcing that at midnight there would be a pizza buffett on the upper deck! We were like, ugh! But, if we went dancing that night then we'd go for a bite to eat around 1 in the morning. I was so bad on that trip!
We also did the Bahamas/Carribean cruise and toured the Atlantis. If I had my choice..
The Atlantis is the most gorgeous resort/casino ever. Our kids loved the underground aquariums. The cruise was the best thing we ever did..We usually go to Florida every year and do the Universal Studios thing and then onto something else. After seeing the Atlantis, our cruise line offered a tour, we think next time we will just fly directly into the Bahamas and stay there..It is spendy to stay there but they do have specials so check out their website for those www.atlantis.com. Good luck
not only the MT industry
making changes with insurance.  DH works for one of the large telephone companies.  We now have to pay for a larger portion of our Rxs when previously they cost us nothing, plus office visit copays also increased.  It's still better than not having insurance at all.  But, the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer!
What does this mean for the MT industry? sm

I saw this *** and wanted to share this with other MTs. What is your interpretation of this? Are we going to be out of work for good because I'm thinking electronic medical records are going to replace us, or am I misinterpreting this statement?   What is your take on this?


"...President Obama has also talked about the need to computerize all medical records in five years, creating a huge opportunity for information technology jobs and data entry jobs."


It's the same as any industry...
You have the bottom, the top, and the in between.  I happen to be closer to the top, but there are so many others who are not at the bottom.  And if you knew me, you would know that I do not have the 'screw everybody else' mentality... and it's not really fair to accuse me of that based on my post, which did not mention anything even close to that mentality.  I just do not believe that we have it so bad in this industry, that's all.  I think we should spend some time looking at the positives versus the negatives.  There are so many people out there who have it way worse than majority of the MTs here.
State of the MT industry

Obviously, you work some place that pays very well and you might even have secure employment. If so, that's great.  Some of us worked for companies that were sold or sent all their work offshore and we had to take jobs where we could get them.  Don't be so quick to judge other peoples' choices.  It's true that in some companies, wages are lousy, but do you really think you'd be a fry cook at the clown's over working from a home office?  If you are earning great wages and have a good job, I sure hope you're able to help other MTs find something as good as what you've got.


 


 


If this industry has become amoral it's because:

MTs for the most part have always been treated poorly, no respect and low pay.  We have to stand up for ourselves and not back down from our line rates because no one is going to look out for us but us.  No, not even the docs and/or the OMs, surprise, surprise!  I say she should go for the full monty.  They get to see more patients and therefore have a higher income.  Why should she have to settle for a lower income because they're smart and use time-saving macros?? 


Men make more than we do in any industry.
Sucks, but that's the way it is.
What is the industry standard...sm
Tried to post this on Wednesday, will try again...I need to know what is the industry standard conversion for minutes dictated to minutes typed?  Not how much do you do - but what is average for one hour dictation - how many hours typed.  Bosses think we're taking too long but we do not get automatic demographics and need to look on log sheets (if they arrive and if they're correct) for everything from patient name to referring doctors, addresses, patient #'s, etc. So I need to give him an "average" number of hours dictated equal "X" amount of hours typed taking into consideration the lack of information, the searching we must do and the various typing speeds.  I'm not going to "judge" anyone's advice  - just need some input from those that have been there.  Thanks for sharing.
I agree - as with almost any industry (sm)
you have to find your niche and the place you can call home.  IMO and experience, you can make $60,000-$120,000/year in MT if you find the right hospital, your own accounts, MTSO and/or area of transcription and increase your skills constantly.  After say 4-8 different gigs and nothing works out, then MT work is probably not for you.  Same for any job, whether it is tech support rep (my former career), mortgage broker, service tech.
Industry Standard for VR Pay?
What is the industry standard for VR pay? Specifically for someone just starting out.
Industry pay is sinking.
With 9 years experience, I was offered 5cpl for straight typing.  Nuts if you ask me.  Yet the company filled the positions with that pay. 
The going industry rates are....sm
Around 14 cpl, 65 character line for transcription, 6-7 cpl for editing.

You can "thank" overseas competition for these pricing because they actually will quote around 8-10 cpl for transcription and 3-4 cpl for editing.

Stinks, doesn't it?

I remember when we used to be able to get 18-20 cpl, gross line and could pay the MT 10-12 cpl and all were happy. Gone are those days - I wish they were back!
You could mention where the industry is going
at all because it may offend someone.  The funny thing is that some of the course outlines on line may give you some great material to go by as it explains it pretty well on some of those sites. I think it is a great career, so I may be biased.  
Please do this industry a favor sm
CHARGE WHAT YOU ARE WORTH AND NOT A PENNY LESS!

I mean it. The last person I talked to about this has her own company. Clinics she charges 14 to 18 cents a line, depending on the difficulty and the logistics of the office. Nope, does not include printing or tapes, they have to call in, period.

For hospitals, she charges 22 to 26 cents a line and she gets it. She usually types as many of the OP notes as she has time for and doesn't sub them out because she likes that. Any lines she does herself goes into the corporation at 100% and she pays herself a salary for all her work, not by the line for MTing she does. She has 20 yrs of experience, all of it in acute care.

She says, DO NOT sell your skills short. Don't try to undercut someone to get the job. Remind these people that they get what they pay for and deliver on every promise, but don't make promises you can't deliver on 99.5% of the time. Incorporating is good, better than not and I know all of the reasons behind that too.

I wish you every luck.