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The only solution I've found is....

Posted By: Nowhere lady on 2008-01-01
In Reply to: Humdrum - SM

to just totally quit every so often, get totally out of it and if you find no new way to make money, go back to it.  The break helps, but honestly it's happened to me half a dozen times over the 20 years I've done this.  It was so challenging when I first started and I enjoyed it.  The catch-22 is when you finally get to high line counts it becomes monotonous.  What didn't help was when the line rates went into a freeze...kind of kills the motivation to sit there and type.   For me, I would get sleep attacks transcribing and would wake up almost falling out of my chair;.  More than once, I've quit and said I'm never going back.  Now I just quit for awhile but knowing deep down I may be back again.   All in all, if you can keep the right attitude, it's a great job that offers a lot of freedom as far as flexibility and freedom to travel around the country and keep a paycheck coming in.;


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OKay, we've got that much. Now what is your solution?
x
I've found that most physicians who
dictate at such a ridiculous pace are trying to make up for other deficiencies....you know like "male menopause" where the older guy goes out and buys an expensive sports car, etc., etc.  Seems most of the speeders on my account are DOs, NOT MDs.....guess they feel inferior in some way. 
I think most recruiters are NOT MTs. They know very little about MT from what I've found. nm
x
It is in NJ, which I've always found weird. nm
x
Without a doubt the best I've found!

I searched and searched for someone who could design a small simple site with digital dictation file upload and download capability, and www.sitefever.com made me a great site and maintains it for 40 dollars every month, and for a one time fee of $150 they custom designed what I needed to upload and download my dictation files. They have been great and I have had no problems with them at all.


Hope this helps!


Dawn


I've found files sm
I have "lost" files before and found that sometimes if you click on "start" at the bottom left of your screen that you may find a temporary saved file under documents. Sometimes it doesn't save the whole document, but part is better than nothing. Probably a long shot, but thought I'd mention it.
The only way I've found to avoid this is to.....

have three part-time jobs.  I used to have one full time and two part time, but just recently went to three part time.


I NEVER run out of work now, but always have in the past six years in the business.  This works for me, but took almost a year to balance the three so I'm not working a ton of hours.


Yeah, that's where I'm at, too. I've found these
for half the money I used to make. And the work isn't easier, it's harder. I used to do about 8 docs that I knew like the back of my hand. I usually knew what they were going to say before they said it, because their thought patterns had become second nature to me. But now I do several accounts, hundreds of doctors, plus nurses, PA's, med-students, etc. The reports are longer, and it's all straight typing, no templates. Even though I'm home all day, far less gets done around here than before, because I always have to work if I'm going to buy food and pay my rent.
I've found, fortunately, that

those types of people are not the "norm" in the MT world or I would have quit a LONG time.  The sad thing though is they are becoming more prevalent lately, but perhaps I'm becoming jaded.  I can think of only 5 truly glaring examples in the past 23 years.


I think some of these unpleasant B's are just on power trips because they have a position of "authority" (big deal - I'm certainly not impressed).  I always let management know, even if they choose to be in denial or blow it off, I've at least gotten it off my chest and had my say.  When I complain to mgmt. I stick to the facts/issues/dates ONLY and there is usually silence on the other end of the line (no arguments) as they are taking it all in.  Funny thing though, even after numerous complaints, they seem reluctant to eliminate the offenders. 


I've found that it's not just one website
I have found that the manufacturers' websites often show the brand names of the equipment used.

Not every employer or hospital will acknowledge a manufacturer's website as being a legitimate source, but at least the manufacturer often gives you a direction to look in and an idea of how a brand name is spelled.

Here's an example:

http://www.medtronic.com/your-health/bradycardia/device/index.htm
I've found it more lucrative to charge .... sm

... by the report, although others might disagree.  $1.10 to $1.25 is average when working as an employee.  If you're working as an IC you really should charge more, considering your overhead, etc... and make sure you charge for every report, not page.  For instance a report that includes more than one requisition, such as a foot and ankle, would be two reports.  If the radiologist is getting paid for each study(which they certainly are), then so should you.


Hope this helps !


I've found the answer and how to declutter.
Get diagnosed with cancer.   Got the diagnosis yesterday and today I've been going through the house like the Tazmanian devil.   I'm throwing stuff away, boxing stuff up to go to Goodwill and Freecyling some stuff.   We were in serious need of a Clean Sweep (though I never would do it because I'd be too embarrassed that I let my house get like that).   I know it is a bit of an overreaction, but both of my parents died and didn't have things in order and I was left to deal with it all and don't want the same for my family.  I also don't want to look at the clutter anymore and want my house to be relaxing and not be afraid to open my door when the doorbell rings.   It also helps keep my mind occupied.   I only made a teeny, tiny dent in the clutter, but at least it was progress.   I also don't want my kids growing up thinking that our house is "normal."  I have boys and I don't think their future wives would  appreciate a slob for a husband. 
the lightest touch i've every found
was the Kinesis -- they are not cheap but man, i wish i would have found them years ago. Some have said before that the Goldtouch keyboards have a good touch too.
I've found an adapter that has the 2-prongs
and then you plug your headphones into the other end, just didn't want to buy them from TVPS. 
I've found nothing has a higher pay level (sm)
all same across the board these days.
I've found you have to work more than 8 hours a day to
If I had to stick to an 8-hour time period, I couldn't afford to continue.
I've moved to 4 different states until I found what I want that pays what I want
The world isn't going to come to you. You have to make some effort yourself.
I've actually found Medicare very easy to deal with...
wouldn't dread the call. It will probably go better with Medicare than with the nephrologist.
I've found it helps soothe the mania and keep me
x
This is the best site I've found about treating fibromyalgia. It works for me, maybe it will for

I'm lead transcrip for small ofc, in the field since 88, and I've found (sm)
that depending on the person, it can take up to a year. You either have to be very smart and very driven to make it shorter, or you would have to have some exposure to the systems/docs etc. It takes a longer time if you are also new to the field of MT. But after about a year, if you don't find yourself relaxing when you are at work, talk to somebody. That's long enough, and you should be finding a niche for yourself by then.
In our area of NY, I've found that hot summer weekends are terrible...sm
for sales. No one wants to get out of their cars in the heat! Have done best in early spring or in Sept/Oct., here anyway. And a Fri./Sat. combo is more successful than a Sat./Sun. weekend. Have BIG signs at major intersections and showing the way into your neighborhood and right to your house. Run an ad in the Garage Sale section of your paper. Be prepared for early birds coming down your driveway or right into your yard 2 hours ahead of time. Block your driveway with a car or sawhorses until you're actually open, but be ready to say 'come back later' when people show while you're setting up. Have prices on everything or group things by price in one location. Have lots of singles and quarters for change. Bring your phone outside with you. Paper and pen if people want to call you later. Have packing material for glass and china, plastic or paper bags for purchasers. Some hard candy/mints on a table out of sun helps people stick around longer. If you have big jackets, long dresses, bedspreads, etc. put them up for display - on hangers, in trees, strung up between ladders. Try and keep all your displays up at table height - people aren't keen on getting down on the ground to paw through boxes or check out stuff spread out on a bedsheet. Use every card table, picnic table, folding table, etc that you can find for displaying stuff. If you have anything electric to sell, have an extension cord plugged in so people can see that items still work. Keep expensive small items near you at your 'check out' station to keep them from walking away. And always be ready to come down on price as everyone will ask you, "can you do any better?" Or "what's your best price on this?" Enjoy your sale and treat yourself to pizza after all your hard work! :)
I have found that honesty is always best. I've quit a job right after receiving the equipment S

because a better offer came along.  I have always just been honest, tell them that I've decided to accept another position.  I apologize for any inconvenience, ask them to instruct them on how they would like me to return the equipment, and then I always ask that they keep my resume on file.  They are usually pretty diplomatic about it.  They'd rather you tell them up front than waste their time and yours in training for a job you're not going to be happy with.


I've found this resource pretty useful for rehab work. Link inside.

Have this as one of my bookmarks - found this handy whilst handling rehab work. Hope this helps!


http://medicaltranscriptionwordhelp.googlepages.com/rehabmedicineterminology


I've also found it varies from editor to editor -
In one case I researched it fully, and found that both of them were wrong, and I had been right all along.
[Sigh........]
Oh, I found it really creepy when you said you found the flowers not so skillfully arranged on your
steps, and from your own flower bed.  That's what I was worried about, having gone thru some psycho kids myself with my pups.  Someone's been in your yard and in your garden and at your door without your knowledge.  Its just creepy to me, and I'd still be very, very careful.  Especially valid sounded the other MTs warning you about potential fake molestation charges.  You just NEVER know nowadays, and these people have already turned on you big time once. Luckily (though I don't believe in luck), you had it on film to save yourself and your puppy.  You might not be that lucky next time, and the whole thing just sounds very unstable to me right now.  I know you feel sorry for the little girl, but probably the only time I have ever made BAD decisions regarding my life is when I felt sorry for someone, particularly kids.  My son even has an evil kid in his life, but one who has a million reasons for sympathy, and I was saying how we should "be bigger" than the situation and invite this kid over to play.  Thankfully, I regained my sanity long enough to remember - ever time I have done something like that on a personal basis for someone just because I feel sorry for them AFTER horrible behavior, it has always been a disaster... Be kind, but you don't have to risk your family again. Be kind from a distance.  Its sorry she went thru this horrible experience, but YOU didn't cause it, and its not really your problem.  But it could be your problem if this kid acts out in your life.  Know what I mean?
Solution........sm
I live in Florida and have Adelphia cable which is lightening fast, WHEN it's working.  I was losing connection while working at least two or three times a month, which you obviously know, can be a nightmare, especially when it's down for hours at a time.  I have the solution.  I got BellSouth Fast Access DSL as a backup.  It works through my telephone line.  It costs me about $50 a month, but it is soooo worth it.  Now when my cable goes down, I just swith over to DSL and I'm back to work in a snap ! 
I have the solution..
Lets all move to India and only work for companies THERE that offshore!!!
a solution
There is probably a quicker way, but here is how I do it:
1. Go to google.com, highlight, right click and copy everything in the address bar. Minimize explorer.
2. Right click on desktop and select new > shortcut. A window will open. Paste (control-V)the Google info in the "location of the item" field, click next, name it, click on finish.
3. You will then have a new icon on your desktop which is clickable to google. Drag that icon down onto the toolbar next to the start button.
There is a solution that they don't tell you about. SBC/ATT have
a business plan that is called Complete Business Solution that is unlimited local, local toll and long distance. It is $59.99 in my area for this and they switched my residential line to a business line for $12. This is less than I was paying for my residential line and there is no limit on the unlimited calls, length, etc as long as you are not a telemarketing center. My boss (who has been slammed here too often for me to say her name without causing flames) researched this and let me know because I got the .19 per minute letter from SBC. No problems since and it was over a year ago!
Possible solution?
Okay, ethics is questionable here, but at times you need to fight fire with fire. At one MTSO all of the formats were templated. They charged the client, but didn't pay us. So...Many MTs would delete the template as soon as it popped in and put in a matching one of their own. They got the lines, the client got the template, and no one was ever the wiser (so far).

Would something like that work for you? It might be dodgy, but if they are going to play this game you could conceivably play right back. I know I'm going to get flamed, but MTSOs are looking for every opportunity to take food out of the mouths of our children, and at some point we need to say NO.
Got a solution...Buy a new/used one from me;) s/m
I have a couple of extras I'm getting ready to list on Ebay. Would you like to make me an offer? Just send me an email. Thanks.
Here's one solution

Send all the ESL dictations over there!  It seems really wrong to me that I'm sitting here typing ESL for residents with heavy Indian accents and they're sitting over there typing american doctors, and we're all struggling to understand!  Seems like everyone would be happier if those docs could dictate in their native language, those overseas MTs could type it in that same language, and then they could run it through translation software to come up with a report in English.  I know a lot of american patients don't wamt a doctor treat them that they can barely understand, and I often wonder why so many ESL folks want to practice here, dictate here and have americans type the dictation!  Why don't they sent THAT work oversease, and quit driving the rest of us nuts!


My solution
Recently I changed my working schedule in that I work three-hour stretches. It has definitely made a difference in my productivity, as well as decreasing the total time per day I spend transcribing (I'm an IC).  This works for me, although the downside is that for anyone, three hours without a break is a long time to transcribe.  I would recommend working up to what would be the longest time you could tolerate.
Somewhat of a Solution

Actually, I was able to copy the whole contents of the document and paste it into a new document, and the marks disappeared. Just in case anyone was curious.
Here is a solution.
If you have access to the folder containing those files. Right click on that folder, go to properties ...

and set it Owner can 'read', 'write' and 'execute'. In Unix/FTP terms it's known as chmod 777 permission. Try googling chmod 777.

BTW, which FTP client you are using? CuteFTP? or WS_FTP?. Sometime, you need to set options within the FTP client program as well.


no solution here yet either

I have been at this for over 7 years now and still have not found a solution to this problem.  My situation is not nearly as bad as yours, but I have always said that my husband's mouth was connected to my pedal.  I press play and he starts talking LOL


Me too and solution

I use Escription as well and I think you're referring to something that reads ProcMon or something?  Well I disabled the darn thing and nobody said anything.  Didn't realize it was a monitoring tool but IMO unless you are going to provide me with a computer then you have no business montioring me especially without telling me. 


So here are some instructions.  Go to Control Panel.  Click on Administrative Tools.  Click on Services.  Find EditScript Process Monitor (assuming this is what the process is you have that I have).  Double click on it.  Under the General tab there is a drop down menu that says Startup type.  Choose Disabled. Click Apply then OK. 


Make sure this is the same exact thing you are seeing.  NEVER change any process that you do not know what it is.  This is something that is best left to someone in the IT field.  It so happens my husband was a Senior Network Engineer (he's since moved on to development) and these instructions come from him.  But be very careful as you could turn off something important!


RIGHT HERE is the solution sm
We could mount a campaign to make outsourcing of medical transcription illegal, or at the very least tax the crap out of it until it is not practical. Write your representatives, write to the political talk shows, write to Oprah, write to news magazine programs, write the New York Post. Get on the phone and talk to people who can make a difference!!!!

The end result? There are NOT enough highly qualified MTs to do the work that needs to be done. So, supply and demand will work FOR us. Benefits and wages will have to go up so that companies can attract the best, most productive MTs and keep them. Gone will be days when we work for such a pittance. We will be in demand.
Well, for both of you I have a solution

that is going to sound reeaally strange.  I got the suggestion from my chiropractor when I complained of sore lower back and sore hiney.  He suggested that I buy one of those large (about 24" round) inflatable pilates exercise balls and sit on that.  He had one in his physical therapy department and I gave it a test sit.  Felt pretty good.


STOP LAUGHING, I KNOW HOW WEIRD THIS IDEA SOUNDS and the visual image is a scream.  Yes, yes, I know.  You think that would be a totally unworkable situation and so did I.  But I was ready to try just about anything and this $20 idea seemed affordable, so I went for it.  The theory is that you learn to hold yourself straight by strengthening your core muscles instead of leaning against a chair back.  And the seat is very yielding under your butt.  I initially had a problem with my ball/chair rolling away every time I stood, but I solved that by getting a giant heavy plastic flower pot saucer to set the ball in.  Voila!  Looked weird, worked well.


Takes some getting used to, but I eventually did.  My back was more tired than ever for about a week, but my bum was in heaven.  Then I got the hang of it and it was great.  I sort of got away from the system when I broke my arm and the cast was throwing my balance way off so that I had trouble with my..uh... mount and dismount.  After tipping over a couple of times, I deflated the ball and stored it, rolled in a regular chair so I could one-handed hunt and peck for e-mails and internet.   


Been back transcribing for over a year, but never got back 'on the ball.' Now that I mention it, though, I think I'll reinflate that sucker and try it again.  I SAID QUIT LAUGHING, BOTH OF YOU!


best solution to this
Better Business Bureau, file complaint under misleading advertising. Bring the complaint here and ask everyone who views it to make a complaint to the BBB. It would shut them down. I filed one on Transcription for Dummies website www.transcriptionfor dummies.com!
no solution for me,
other than positioning in the shade, with sun not shining on the screen. Its so nice to be out there working in the fresh air, but much less convenient for me (even with the minimal items packed along, and the various concerns, animals knocking something over, dust, wind, bugs...)
THE PERFECT SOLUTION....sm

I interviewed for a company a while back whose method for discouraging cherry picking was to dock their paycheck by $5.00 for every report they cherry picked !    ha.. love it !!


 


 


 


Same problem - no solution yet
I just have the same problem. I hope i can resolve it soon. I am afraid that some new worm has come, or some security fix from MS has coused it...
Needing a solution!
Does anyone know how to eliminate static on the AM radio created by the treadmill running.  This is quite annoying and with my New Year's resolution (lose some weight!),  I can't be on the treadmill until hubby leaves for work.  He's an avid listener to the radio in the morning!  Don't want to start the day of bad!
Easy solution for you...
It is an OPEN forum.  People will complain. They will also joke, take polls, discuss physicians, etc.... If it pains you, your solution is an easy one...stay away...we won't miss you one bit, I promise.  Some of us come here to vent and for support....not to be further put down...like we need that in our line of work....give it up, okay?  Just stay away!
Simple solution
Keep the door closed and the cat out! Cats CAN indeed be trained that certain areas are off limits, but nothing works better than a keeping the cat out of the room. Problem solved, yes?
Possible Solution For Kitty
I have a female cat who does the same thing. She tries to use her box and never attempts to do her business anywhere else in the house. She just has a little problem determining her positioning in the box. I have a big roll of 33-gallon plastic garbage bags and use these under the box. If Miss Kitty misses and pees over the edge, I just remove the plastic garbage bag and dispose of it and put a new one down. These cats are trying to do the right thing, but they just have a little trouble...LOL. Also, I agree that a bigger, uncovered box might be a good idea for your big boy. Good luck!
The solution is simple
Report that MT to your boss. If the MT continues then report to your boss again along with your boss's boss. Keep climbing the chain of command until SOMEONE does something about this MT.
No helpful solution

Sorry, I don't have any answer for this, but I'm having the same issues myself.  I'm trying to set up a C-phone with internet phone connection to be able to call and access that dictation (as you have exactly described).  We researched any other way to download the info, to no avail.  If you've found a way to do this, please let me know.  My C-phone won't dial out without getting recordings.  Still trying to work the bugs out. 


Melda in Texas


 


Personally I think the best solution
would be to work in house (hospital or office) like in the old days. Then the lead MT could call a problem dictator in and play his dictation back for him and respectfully suggest ways to improve, as a way to improve TAT and lower costs of transcription.