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The national I worked for refused to pay mine when I decided to move on for better pay.

Posted By: klm on 2006-12-26
In Reply to: With every job I have had... - anon

Hope it works out for you!


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I was teaching, and Katrina hit, and I decided I needed a job that could move with me if need be.
I have a friend who was an MT (actually, she and 2 of her sisters are MTs). When I asked her what she did, it was like a light going off in my mind--it sounded really interesting, since I loved typing and grammar and had good ears (I thought). When Katrina hit, I took time during our enforced semester off to take an online course, loved it, and began working as an MT. I discovered quickly that having good musical ears is not the same thing as having good MT ears!

What I love about MT work is that it is so interesting. I get to learn every day without having to actually be there to see/smell/hear. I am fascinated by the human machine and enjoy learning about it in detail.

Eventually, I'd like to move into a mentoring/teaching position with young or new MTs, but I need more years of experience before that happens. I totally admire those of you who have been doing this for a long time-- you guys have amazing ears and I'm always impressed by the knowledge you have picked up by working! That's what I aspire to, as well.

If you do decide to move to the national..SM

make SURE you are completely current with the way transcription is being done at the national service level.  Most use at least some of the AAMT BOS 2nd edition and a lot of them stick to it rigidly.  Verbatim transcription, not expanding everything, not fixing the doctor's grammar, and LOTS OF ESL dictators.  I mean a LOT. 


I am only saying this because I have seen a number of my colleagues leave their hospitals where they had been for years and they received a very rude awakening when they decided they'd had enough of the hospital office politics.  Out of 4 of them who made the leap, only 1 is still transcribing (and still having a rough time 8 months later).  The rest have left MT.


Maybe 5 years, but had worked fine until the move....nm
x
I've worked weekends for 10 years, now I want to move onto a company
that does not require at least one weekend day.  I realize hospitals are open 24/7 but you would think that companies seeking good MTs would be more willing to offer a M-F shift.   
I don't think so. It sounds like you've never worked for a national.
Nationals DO check references.  That's the job of the HR department.  They DO run credit reports when you accept a job, and they tell you so on the piece of paper you have to sign giving them permission to do so.  They DO prosecute and report to collections against people who don't return equipment.  They DO keep deposits on unreturned equipment.  They DO get the equipment super cheap anyways in bulk deals through major technology suppliers.  Equipment, losses, and shipping are all tax deductible anyway.  They DO use QA so that lazy or inexperienced MTs aren't sending garbage straight through to the clients.  Most national MTs don't have any contact whatsoever with the clients.  In addition, the majority will let you use your own equipment or charge rental fees so it's not coming out of their pocket.
Free computer? Have you EVER worked for a National?
Though it may take a while for them to get it picked up, it is not free. Many places make you pay a deposit. Both MQ and Spheris sent me a label. I then boxed up the computer and called the number on the label and it was picked up by the next day.

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about!
BTDT. I worked for a large national. I had to practically get down
on my knees and beg for a secondary.  Got one, had even less work than my primary.  I went to upper management and got a third account, even less work that primary again, so 3 accounts, and still not getting in but about 600 lines/day. 
Worked for Zylomed South Florida, don't have mine yet. nm
nm
A contact of mine worked for them for 6 years w/o probs, FT. She retired from them, too. nm
s
A small national is a national company that is smaller
than a big national.  There are a few "big" nationals, where they have hundreds, if not thousands of employees.   I work for what I call a small national, only has about 30 employees.    An MTSO could also be considered a small national. 
Don't blame you - I refused also.
nm
Never actually refused to do one doctor out of many, SM
Usually they're just part of the averaging out, and I've never had an account where I couldn't make acceptable money.

A few times when one was truly consistently horrible I just started sending all those reports to QA with masses of blanks, rather than fighting to fill them in as much as possible. The forwarded reports from someone who tries to send as little as possible to QA, and the intensive work they require, hopefully spoke for themselves to someone closer than I am to the people who have to stroke and handle the clients. At least I never had anyone fuss at me for it. To the contrary, my employers usually want as little time as possible wasted in struggle instead of production.

Speaking of stroking clients, thank goodness I don't have THAT job in these days of scrambling to somehow hold onto accounts...
Maybe if we all refused to do cruddy Dr, they
x
Has anyone ever refused to do an account or doc? sm
I am so frustrated and pulling my hair out here.  I do editing for 0.03 cpl for my MTSO but I also have my own docs straight typing and make good money from same MTSO.  My problem is the editing.  I am not just filling in blanks.  I am basically having to retype half of the reports.  I mean the names are not even correct even though they get patient lists.  It is such a waste of my time and money as I may be earning max of $10/hr off the editing, yet my other good money making accounts get behind.  I want to say I can't do the editing anymore or pay me more, but I am worried about risking my good accounts if I do so.  Anyone been in this situation before and how did it turn out?  Any suggestions for me?
I agree. I have already refused to do it.
It is never going to work. The MTSOs should at least make sure that the MTs can use their bloody systems and make money on it BEFORE cutting their pay. Most of the ASR systems I have worked on are a complete joke! However, it is not funny when the joke is being perpetrated against your paycheck.

The only way to fight VR is to refuse to be used to train it to further cut your pay :-(
I agree! I just refused a job with a company because
the tech didn't do what he was supposed to do for my computer to work with their software and then got extremely upset with me when I questioned him about it. He told me that if I had used their computer, these problems wouldn't have happened and it would have been so much easier and better for HIM! So much for support for the MTs. I guess we should all acquiesce to what is best for tech support and help to make their lives easier, not the other way around.
I'd inform the boss of this and if he refused
to pay, I'd turn him in to the labor board and then I'd quit but just like MT world there will always be someone willing to work for free thus nothing ever changes with making employers do the right thing.
Well, Saddam refused to allow the UN weapon inspectors to come in and
look for WMD's. This problem just didn't come up in recent years. These evil nasty my way or the highway countries have been causing trouble for millenia and will continue to do so until something is done about them - and done right. If you don't mind living under threat of terrorism, go ahead and sing your Girl Scout songs. Clinton didn't do squat regarding the Middle East. He didn't want to and he didn't know how to, so he chose to ignore it instead.
If a job can be rejected, refused, or hung up on, it's being cherrypicked. nm
s
I went from national to small back to national
My large national has all the resources and money to operate successfully and have decent platform, etc., to work on, the small company did not, and I went back to the national.
No, my turkey is still in my freezer. I refused to cook this year.
I'm either going to cook it at Christmastime or slap some Cajun sauce on it and BBQ when the 18" of snow melts.
That's true. My parents refused to fill out the FAFSA
because they weren't going to help me go to college at all. The school counselor just blew me off after hearing that. They wouldn't even talk to me at all and I couldn't qualify for anything on my own without my parents filling out that stupid form. "Adult" children are considered dependents by the government for financial aid considerations until they are either 22, have been married for a year, or have children. I was 18 and a high school graduate but still couldn't afford to go to college working two part-time jobs for a total of 50 hours per week. I wasn't able to go to college until after I was married with two kids to qualify for student loans.
I once decided to not go with a Co due to
The recruiter simply said she was the team leader, that there were two others, one which was leaving and the other that she "did not like and hoped that she would leave, too" and that made a shuddering sound.

I thought this was in bad taste and did not have a good feeling about her. But, I certainly never reported her. It isn't my job and I am not a watchdog group looking out for the companies who hire MTs.

I just think you have way too much time on your hands.
well, so far i have decided...

to just keep pursuing ideas and options until I hit a dead end.  A very nice MT did email me and told me how she got into mentoring.  She seemed to really have a handle on it. 


It seems that I would need my own accounts and then subcontract the work to newbies.  I just cannot seem to figure out how I would have the time to provide service to a client AND mentor someone just out of school.


Thank you for your input.  It does seem that newbies should have a better option that just "luck" when trying to gain experience.


I decided to let her go...sm
to the funeral and I'm glad that I did. She handled it extremely well and I am very proud of her. They had an open casket and she decided against going up to view the body. When it was over we talked again and she asked several questions. She seemed more concerned about how to treat her friend now that she had gone through this, than the actual funeral itself. Her friend went back to school yesterday and my daughter said that she simply started by giving her hug and telling the little girl that she was so glad that she was her friend.

That was actually the second time that she had shown more concern with ones left behind that whoever had died. In her only other encounter with death she had done something similar. When she was in 1st grade one of our dogs came down w/acute kidney failure. She got to the point where there was nothing the vet could do and we made the decision to put her to sleep. I went and got my daughter out of school and ran her up to the vet so she could say goodbye to the dog, which she did. We ran her home and then went back and stayed with the dog while they put her to sleep. We also own the mother of the dog that died. When my husband and I got back from the vet a while later we found my daughter in the backyard with the other dog. She was on the grass holding the mama dog and letting her lick my daughters face and hands. When we asked her what she was doing, she said that she was letting mama dog say goodbye to the dog we had just put to sleep. She knew that our older dog could smell Molly on her hands and clothes from her petting the sick dog and giving her hugs at the vet.

I am very, very proud of her.
My account has decided to go with EMR. please sm

I charge them 12 cpgl and have for 8 years.  They are still going to need me through their transition (who knows how long) and will need me for overflow to type letters, narratives etc. 


 


I am wondering if anyone has had an experience like this and how they would do their contract.  Im thinking of charging them 1-2 cpl higher, but with a shorter Turn Around Time for the overflow work since I am losing the majority of the work. Any opinions or suggestions?  Thanks so much!


Just for fun, I decided to sit down and try to remember... SM

how many services I have worked for since I started working from home back in the mid 90s.  And the grand total is 16!  Isn't that just sad?  Of course, I left for various reasons from no work, bad dictators, late or no pay checks, laid off because work went to India, etc.


I've realized over the years that it's best to work for yourself and if you have to work for somebody else, work directly for the hospital or doctor's office.  Benefits are way more affordable that way.  I have a dermatology account of my own and I work full-time for a hospital for the benefits.  I also cover for a friend of mine when she needs time off, I take over her account and she does the same for me.


It's a really sad statement when it seems not one MT has ever found satisfying work with at least one of the many services out there!


I do QA also and I've decided
not to change capitalization anymore - just for that reason.  It explains it in the BOS but still confusing to me.  I feel badly now for the times I did change knowing it could have been scored against the MT - not sure my company does that tho.  Interested to see what others say here.  Good question!
I have decided not to test for them...sm
I googled "transrx in Canada" and it has a website with a forum from Canada called Canscribe and someone was asking about them and it says they don't pay on time. That is enough for me to say forget it.
You know, you are correct... I have decided
I am not going to have any part of working for a company which is not 100% USA. I was wavering about going elsewhere for a job, but I have a great job right here with one of the best medium MTSOs and why get an IC job which operates overseas just for extra money. I think that we need to keep the money and labor here in our industry. Thanks for your input, it really did help. :)
Okay, I decided to try mobile

wireless internet through Verizon.  I currently have a Verizon cell and have no problem with reception in my home, so I'm hoping this is a go.  I also have a 30-day trial period, so I'll know for sure if I have any glitches. 


What I don't understand is this lingo about voice files, etc.  I'm on the Bayscribe platform, so any info would be greatly appreciated.  Please "dumb it down" for me, as I am not a PC person.  The lady that signed me up told me that the limit is 5 GB and that that generally means about 35,000 web pages a month.  How does this correlate to voice files?  Do I even use voice files on Bayscribe?  I'm assuming so since I have an audio player. 


At least I know if this doesn't work out, I can cancel and not lose anything.  Then I'll have to sign up for satellite, which is about $300 upfront and $60 to $90 per month for service.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Verizon will work for me.


Thanks for any info.


I've already decided to quit.
I'm just waiting for the phone call to tell me what my MT/ME reward plan will be. Then I will tell them to take a flip flying hike.

I can't handle my base pay being lowered to 7 cents per line for ASR reports.
We decided to simplify! We ditched

the new cars and trucks and ditched the big,expensive house in the burbs.  We bought a little place in the woods (1000 square feet - only two of us) and have it paid off now - pretty easy since it was only about 40K when we bought it.  We live on a canal with access to a big river and have all kinds of wildlife.  Matter of fact, I just chased a big raccoon away from my birdfeeder!  I drive a 22-year-old Mercedes and my husband drives a 10-year-old PU truck. We don't totally live like the Waltons - have DSL, DirecTV with Tivo, etc. - but by simplifying we have so much less stress.  We don't have kids at home any more so that definitely makes it easier.  


 It just got so old toiling and toiling just to pay for expensive "STUFF".   Just a thought - It's probably not for everybody, but it sure works for me.


Thanks for the suggestions, I've decided on....sm
ordering a couples massage (waiting to hear back from our honeymoon destination on setting that up) and found on line a really neat engravable key chain that let me put the title of the song I wrote for him for our wedding on it as well as a bride and groom monogram.
Yes, absolutely. My sister and I have already decided we
were going to take them in, a few months at her house, a few at mine. Our Dad is retired and our Mom will retire in two years from nursing.

I do have one other sibling, a brother, but he's knee-deep in debt and is already taking care of his in-laws so he probably can't help much.
I had one who decided lunch time ....sm
would be a good time to dictate.  Opening wrappers, eating, drinking, etc.  I was so repulsed by the eating sounds, I was ready to give them up.  I called my contact person about 3 x and asked her  to ask him to stop.  Finally, I called the manager.  When she approached him about it, HE DENIED IT!!!  Said he didn't eat while dictating.  Of course, she believed him and was dumbfounded at what I could be hearing!  I told her I knew what I was hearing and  it had to stop.  Anyone who has ever heard that sound while transcribing KNOWS they are eating.  What a jerk.  Interestingly, the eating stopped, and I still have the account.
Yes, I lost a client because they decided to go with them.
h
The BOS is just a bunch of "rules" decided on
x
Because BOS are rules decided on by ladies
x
I've already decided on Obama ----- sm
His opponents and detractors keep saying he's "inexperienced". Yeah, and look what "experienced" politicians have brought to the table in the last few decades.

New ideas are good.
Youth is good.

I think it's time for a new way of doing things in this country, not the same ol'. It's a new world, with new problems (such as the plight of American MTs and other workers), and maybe he'll bring some relief (or at least some new ideas on how to get it) for the dwindling middle class, which has been carrying the weight and finances of this country on its shoulders for too many years.

Time to stop letting our country get s*****d by India, Mexico, Asia, and others. And I think he has the ability to say "no" to these countries without starting a war with them.

Sometimes "inexperience" is a refreshing change.

I decided to stop working two MT jobs and just keep the one - sm
but I work at another job totally unrelated to the medical field. I was getting too burnt out doing transcription and the taxes were killing me.
I have decided to quit my job. I hate this company.
It's worse than ANYWHERE I have ever worked before.  The problem is that I don't have another job yet.  However, I know I can easily find another job.  I just don't know if I should hang on to do the responsible thing and find another job first. ~ OR ~ If I should take some time off for Christmas with the kids instead of busting my chops for this company when I know I'm not going to stay anyway.  I wonder if they give Christmas presents or bonuses.  LOL  I can take my $7 an hour from their lousy ESLs and crummy platform and go buy lottery tickets and a bottle of cheap wine!  Hooey!  McDonald's, here I come!!!!
Was gonna post, then decided not to. Opened
my door, went outside to water my petunias. Went to turn on the water and uncoil the black hose, and there was A HUGE SNAKE COILED IN WITH THE HOSE!! AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! It did not move - it had a fly walking on its back, and I PRAISED THE LORD THAT IT WAS DEAD!! DEAD SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not as bad as a living snake. As I was going to poke it with a stick to fling it, my daughter screamed - ITS NOT DEAD!!!! ITS JUST SUN BATHING.  I looked and looked, and it sure looked dead. IT WAS NOT.................................. It was about 3 feet long, which will probably morph into 8 feet by the end of the week as I tell my tale!! It was HORRIBLE. I live in NJ, and moved to a new area a few years back. Never saw a snake, a tick, or a black widow spider in my LIFE. Now they are everywhere. I laughed at the posts to call animal control. If you live in an area with snakes and the like, they LAUGH at you. Believe me, I know. I actually called the POLICE when I found my first bonafide black widow spider guarding her nest. She ATTACKED US!! They are actually aggressive when by an egg sac. Turns out they are everywhere in this 1 section of NJ - brought in via immigrants, per the Health Dept. So, I feel your pain!!  I wouldn't kill them either. Killed a 2 foot rat about a year ago, and still feel bad. The thing lived under my fridge.  HORRIBLE. One night the thing ate a 12 pack of English Muffins. Anyhoooooooooooooooooooooooooo....I can relate!! My only advice - RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My DH has decided to become a Pampered Chef demonstrator.

Does anyone have any info on this?  Is it a good way to make some extra money?  I said NO, he decided to do it anyway.


That's one of the reasons I decided to give up my IC status
and become an employee. There's no way I'd work when I'm on vacation. When I'm on vacation that last thing I think about and would want to do is work. I know that IC status does have advantages, but for me the disadvantages outweigh them. Good luck with whatever you decide.
I think it is decided, and you can kiss this account goodbye. I would present the sm
finished work, along with a bill, and when you expect payment.

Meanwhile, get real busy looking for something else to make it up.
I decided I did not want to be a file clerk for the rest of my life.....
I was hired in a 5 doc urology practice as a file clerk. And we all know that the file room is a toxic waste dump from people who have no idea what to do with whatever piece of paper they have. After working in the file room, the docs asked me if I would help out the other transcriptionist. (She was the only one at the time). Since I KNEW I wasn't cut out to be a file clerk, I said sure. So I filed part time, helped with transcription overload. We got a new peds urologist fresh from a Fellowship at Mayo Clinic so he was a really wordy type.

Long story short, he was so busy I was out of the file room for good, typing just for him as he saw lots of kids, and loving every minute of it. He moved to Arizona in the early 2000's, called me in 2006, and the rest, as they say, is history. He is still a peds urologist and I am still working for him. Everything is done over the Internet. No paper anywhere except what his office prints out.

He is one of the reasons I LOVE MY JOB.
My puppies have decided a fun place to play is on my foot pedal. sm
The bring one Nylabone in particular, shaped like a wishbone, and chew on it under my feet.  The more I shoo them, the more they come back.  Negative attention. 
I guess Ms. Flip decided not answer my question. I am sure MedQuist would love to have...sm.
many more MTs with such an attitude.
Funny! Mine is almost as large, and I don't mind cleaning mine!
It's no problem at all.  Besides, I'll take lots of oodles of square footage any day of the week over living in a sardine can!
Every company is different -- I worked FT for one as an employee but worked a split shift - sm
So I never took breaks. I would work 5 hours, break for about 4 hours then do another 3. Another company I worked for did not care what hours you worked (IC) but wanted a min. amount of work each day, 500 for PT and 1000 for FT-- BUT they paid you by how many lines an hour you put out, the higher the lph the higher up the scale you made per line in pay; they have since changed everyone to a flat rate with incentive. But bottom line, if you are an IC it does not matter what hours you work, though many ask for a schedule and ask you to stick to it, they just want you to meet line requirements daily, i.e. 1000 per day, 1200 per day, whatever it is.